All posts in Ola Faleti

Exploring Our Writing Impulses

This month at Refugee FORA, we’ve got a short and sweet five-week mini residency. Our first day was last week! During our first session, students discussed their experiences with poetry (very mixed – some […]

See It, Write It

For our 7th week, Bronzeville students learned about ekphrastic poetry, or poems inspired by an image. We examined Van Gogh’s Starry Night before reading the Anne Sexton poem of the same name. Then students […]

How to Eat

Nothing is more evergreen than food. But the question is, can you eat a poem? Eve Merriam seems to think so. In this sixth week of programming we discussed “How to Eat A Poem” […]

Where I’m From

How quickly the time passes, as this is already the halfway point of the year’s Bronzeville residency! Last week, students considered origins and the ways we define where we’re from. And there’s no better […]

Like Here, Like There

Since both similes and metaphors are the building blocks of poetry, in our 4th week we dug into similes! We talked about the differences between the two before reading “Carib Nightfall” by John Lyons. […]

I Am, I Am, I Am!

Greetings! Our third week at Bronzeville Classical was all about metaphor, one of the building blocks of poetry. We took a look at “Who I’ll Always Be” from student poet Riti Shrestha as our […]

What Does It Sound Like?

During this second week at Bronzeville Classical, we learned that poetry awakens all the senses. And what’s a world without sounds? Well, not the world we live in. After reading Kwame Alexander’s poem “Dribbling,” […]

The Things We Wish For

Hello, hello! The first day of residency at Bronzeville Classical Elementary went swimmingly. Ms. Siudock’s 4th grade classes and Ms. Shuch’s 3rd grade classes were so excited to start writing poems! We started the […]

Comparing and Contrasting

What makes a poem good? Your answer will vary depending on who you ask, but imagery matters. Simile and metaphor are at the heart of moving poetry. This week, students learned about crafting similes […]

Honoring What We Love

Last week, Howe students learned about odes. Ode poems honor the things we value, no matter how big or small they are. We brainstormed some of the things that deserve an ode before each […]

Donate

Support our student poets today!

CONNECT WITH US!

Twitter Facebook-f Instagram

STUDENT POETRY

Click on a school name below to browse student poems from current school partners.

POETRY ARCHIVE

Click on a school name below to browse student poems from our archive.

RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS

TESTIMONIALS

“Writing poetry makes me feel like I can see myself, like I can see my reflection, but not in a mirror, in the world. I write and I know I can be reflected.”
-Oscar S.

“Writing poetry makes me feel free.”
-Buenda D.

“Writing poetry is like your best friend.”
-Jessica M.

Search

CONTACT US

General Inquiries
info@poetrycenter.org

Programs (School & Organizational)
programs@poetrycenter.org

Reading Series and Events:
curator@poetrycenter.org

The Chicago Poetry Center is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
FEIN: 23-7400515

SEND US A POSTCARD

Chicago Poetry Center
1448 E. 52nd St, #256
Chicago, IL 60615

I’M FROM THE CITY LIGHTS / STREAMING OUT IN THE NIGHT / AND HUGE SKYSCRAPERS / TOWERING OVER THE LAKE – MELISSA E., 7TH GRADE POET