All posts in Timothy David Rey

‘This is-not a-Shakespeare-sonnet-of course’: Iambic Pentameter Without Question

Over two classes, we focused on the Shakespearean Sonnet and iambic pentameter. In Sonnet 127, William Shakespeare muses on beauty and its perception as a ‘currency’ in the modern world: ‘In the old age, […]

‘I took a trip to Harvard in July.’ Iambic Pentameter Parts 1 & 2

In two class periods we focused on the Shakespearean Sonnet and iambic pentameter. In his Sonnet #127, William Shakespeare muses on beauty and its perception as a ‘currency’ in the modern world: ‘In the […]

Booked!

This lesson circulated around the concept of lists. Through Albert Goldbarth’ s long form list poem, ‘Library’ (truncated for our purposes ) we took time to create our own list poems. Lesson Note: A […]

‘As the| years went| by everything became fine.’: Emily Dickenson…in 8th Grade

This week we met/re-met Emily Dickenson, who had us looking at her poem, I’m nobody! Who are you? Discussion and experimentaiton followed on identity, iambic trimeter and tetrameter, dashes, rhyme and patterns in language […]

‘Just too big to be loved’: Personifcation & the Lyric Form

This week…a lesson on Personification, giving human qualities to something non-human via the poem: A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island. We took a look at Frank O’ Hara’s touching […]

Travel. Agent.

We took a look at Richard Blanco’s prose/mix poem about missed destinations in, We Are Not Going to Malta. Students were then given travel brochures exhibiting lush locales (decidedly not always depicting reality), and […]

Bright Lights, Big City… and Beats Pills (TM)

We began class with a reading of Lucille Clifton’s deceptively simple poem,’ in the inner city’. We looked at how the poet used lines and white space to draw us in. Students turned the […]

‘They both wash away and/ become remade’: At Table

A common household object became the focus for this lesson, while studying Joy Harjo’s poem, Perhaps The World Ends Here. Lesson Note: Harjo once commented, “I feel strongly that I have a responsibility to […]

Blackout Poetry

Our final lesson for 8th Grade A.P. English was on Blackout Poetry: A blackout poem is when a poet takes a marker (usually black marker) to already established text–like in a newspaper–and starts redacting […]

‘I was sailing in a small fishing boat.’: Meditation Poems

Students participated in a 10- minute creative writing meditation and breathing exercise. I read them I Close My Eyes by David Ignatow. After the meditation, they were asked to write whatever came to mind. […]

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