Beginning with poetry–as early as possible

A couple of weeks ago in PARADE MAGAZINE, reader Jeff Kawabata from Omaha, Nebraska wrote in and asked why his tax dollars were going to support a poet laureate “when no one reads poetry.” The editor clarified for Jeff that it is donations, and not tax dollars, that go to support our nation’s poet laureate–but that’s not what got me thinking about his query. I was more concerned with the “when no one reads poetry” tag at the end of his question.

The Panel on the Pedagogy of Jack Grapes, Part I

As I get ready to head to La Casa de Maria for the California Poets in the Schools (CPITS) Symposium, people might ask, “Why do you want to moderate a panel on ‘The Pedagogy of Jack Grapes?’ or ‘What’s a ‘pedagogy?’ or ‘Do Jack Grapes look at all like Jacaranda?’”

Here's Jack Grapes, poet and scholar.

I put in the proposal for this panel for three reasons: First, when I talk about teaching poetry, I often mention something the Los Angeles poet Jack Grapes said, and some other poet usually says, “Oh, yeah. I took one of Jack’s workshops.” This panel is a chance to get together with three other teaching artists who have studied with Jack and to articulate what we’ve learned from him that has kept us going.

Second, Jack Grapes worked hard for many years to develop his method of writing. His theories prompt discussion. Since he is a California poet, the CPITS Symposium is as good a place as to discuss what those theories mean.

Third, as we approach a decade of No Child Left Behind and California Language Arts Standards–neither of which made significant claims for creative writing in the curriculum–it’s a good time to consider a teaching system that continues to motivate writers.

Much of Jack Grapes teaching today can be found in Method Writing. It’s a detailed, lengthy book that defies summary in a blogpost, but watch me try: Grapes’ method evokes from students the “tonal dynamics” of their inner voice.

Current Writing Theory

This post is by blogger Brandon Cesmat from May, 2009.

Current Writing Theory: Dr. Andrea Lunsford at Pt. Loma Nazarene University

Pt. Loma Nazarene University sits on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean. It has a wonderful view from the Fermanian Business Center, where Dr. Andrea Lunsford, Stanford’s Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, recently addressed writing professors from colleges around San Diego County (4/21/09). But with that view and the geographical fact that the university’s paths slope seductively down toward the waves  and that the sky was clear with the temperature in the comfortable low 80s, it was hard to stay away from the surf and work indoors, but we did.

Perhaps best known as the author of The St. Martin’s Handbook, Lunsford has done an incredible amount of work on writing theory, which is why when she said, “We currently have no writing theory for the kind of writing our students are doing,” a lot of the professors sat up a little straighter and scribbled notes a little faster.

The Poetry Circus

This post is by blogger Brandon Cesmat from April, 2009.

Although I’m no longer San Diego’s area coordinator for California Poets in the Schools (CPITS), I happened to be in Sacramento today, so the board invited me to the meeting. CPITS is doing great! Board members Terri Glass, Susan Sibbet, Cathy Barber and Daryl Chinn were all there, and they are important reasons why things have turned around for what is the largest artist-residency program in the U.S. Grants are coming in, new counties are being added and new poet-teachers are being trained.

Welcome to the new CPITS Blog!

Hello and welcome

Welcome to the new California Poets in the Schools (CPITS) blog! Over the next few months, a group of CPITS poet-teachers and administrators will contribute content to this blog on various subjects of interest to teachers, writers, literature-lovers, critics, students, and the web-surfer. CPITS members are trained, professional poets & educators, award-winning writers and performers, and trench-activists for Arts in Education. We will try to rotate the bloggers and bring in fresh voices and points of view, and we are especially looking forward to having on-line conversations with YOU, readers–so we hope you will submit your comments and ideas to the posts as this blog develops. Thank you in advance for circulating our blog web address: cpits.wordpress.com.