All posts in Poems

Poets Become Mind readers

Twain 6th graders became mind readers for their 6th week of poetry. I asked students, if you could look inside someone’s head, what interesting things would you find? Most students wished they knew what […]

Dada!

Today, we explored Dada poetry. We talked about how Dada artists were dealing with a world at war and post-pandemic and how they decided art should be random and meaningless. We discussed whether or […]

Personification (7th Grade)

The first step to building empathy is putting ourselves in the experiences of another, especially if that other can’t speak. The 7th graders of Clinton asked themselves what inanimate objects, animals, or fictional characters […]

Personification (8th Grade)

The first step to building empathy is putting ourselves in the experiences of another, especially if that other can’t speak. The 8th graders of Clinton asked themselves what inanimate objects, animals, or fictional characters […]

“Gems”

Today Brennemann 2nd graders read two “little” poems written by Nikki Grimes: “Moon” and “Shower.” Both poems had six lines or less, yet they packed a lot of interest. As a group we worked […]

Personas that make us laugh

Twain 5th students became comedians for their 6th week of poetry. Poetry can help us make fun of ourselves and the world around us. Sharing jokes and laughter connects people. Together we read Lesléa […]

A day to celebrate

The first Friday in May commemorated the end of my 6th and 7th grade residencies at Waters Elementary…how fast a school year flies by. 7th graders celebrated by writing a class exquisite corpse poem […]

Summertime (2nd grade!)

I got to make a special visit to the 2nd grade today. They’ve clearly had an amazing teacher with Ms. Leslie and they were very enthusiastic about poetry. We read Nikki Giovanni’s “Knoxville, TN” […]

‘Endless mirror’: Star Poems

Students read a student poem that used personification to talk to a star before trying their hands at their own poems addressing something… bigger than themselves, while using words from legendary poet/teacher Kim Addonizio’s […]

Sounds We Hate, Sounds We Love

We all have sounds we adore and sounds that make us cringe. The students of MLA asked themselves what these sounds were for them before we read “Sweet Like a Crow” by Michael Ondaatje. […]

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