For the Love of Lit

Our Host

Barbara Edler is considered a retired English Language Arts, Speech & Drama, College Composition and TAG instructor.  However, she keeps going back to work. During this past summer, she taught English Composition at Southeastern Community College in Keokuk. When she’s not dabbling in a side job, she enjoys spending time with her family, playing cards, and, of course, writing. You can find some of her poetry published in editions of Lyrical Iowa and Grant Wood Country Chronicle, and the books Teacher-Poets Writing to Bridge the Distance: An Oral History of COVID-19 in Poems, The Cities of the Plains: Contemporary Iowa Artists and Poets, 90 Ways of Community and Words that Mend. She sometimes shares a thought or two at her blog Sitting Behind the Eight Ball – Writing to Heal.

Inspiration

I am always inspired by art and literature. When I think about my favorite times in the classroom, it generally centers on two things. The first is having rich conversations with my students about stories, articles or poems we have read. The second is when I have written and shared individual pieces alongside my students. Delving into a writer’s style, voice, and ideas is a central part of my classroom, and I think writing about what we read is a wonderful way to discover interesting connections and an even deeper understanding of the text. Today I invite you to write a poem about one of your favorite short stories, plays, poems, art, novels, or movies. Everything is a text, right? 

Process 

• Brainstorm a list of your favorite novels, plays, poems, stories, etc. Consider selecting one that you will have your students read.  
• Consider your topic. Do you want to focus on a theme, setting, style, character, conflict, or motif? 
• Is there a form or concept you want your students to learn? If so, write towards that goal so you can model it with your students. 
• Select one of your favorite poetic formats. You can find 168 different poetry forms at the following Writer’s Digest link: List of 168 Poetic Forms for Poets | Types of Poems and Poetry. If you have time, you might want to explore the list for a new form you want to dabble with. One form I have been recently experimenting with is the “fib” poem which follows a mathematical sequence in which each line is determined by the sum of the previous two lines. Check out this article from the Poetry Foundation 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, Fun… | The Poetry Foundation for a more thorough explanation.

Barb’s Poems

Both of these poems are extended “fib” poems that focus on Ruth’s character from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.

Ruth
weeps
undone
there’s no room
for one more, she thinks,
visits a doc who can make it
vanish like clouds on sunny days—
Mama says no way
we Youngers
love
babes

A
new
home is
what they need
rooms to breathe and bloom
like Mama’s plant, but whites don’t want
their kind in their hood
stealing Ruth’s
hopes
dreams

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human, and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. For suggestions on how to comment with care. See this graphic.