To see your young author published in our magazine please visit teachersandwritersmagazine.org. TEACHERS & WRITERS COLLABORATIVE (T&W) partners with New York City schools and community-based organizations to offer dynamic creative writing programs led by professional writers. Since 1967, T&W has worked with more than 750,000 K-12 students and more than 25,000 teachers at schools throughout New York City; published more than 80 books and an online magazine about creative writing education; and provided free resources for students, teachers, and writers on our website (www.twc.org). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This residency was sponsored by New York City Department of Education and Teachers & Writers Collaborative (T&W). T&W programs are made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. T&W is also grateful for support from the following: Amazon.com, Aroha Philanthropies, Bay and Paul Foundations, Bydale Foundation, Cerimon Fund, Charles Lawrence Keith and Clara Miller Foundation, Con Edison, E.H.A. Foundation, Hans and Ruth Cahnmann Family Fund, ING Financial Services, Jerome Foundation, Kenneth Koch Literary Estate, Laura B. Vogler Foundation, Leonore Gordon PD Arts and Wellness on the Go Fund at Stonewall Community Foundation, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, New York Community Trust, Rizzoli, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Simon and Eve Colin Foundation, Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, Wells Fargo, William T. Grant Foundation, and friends of T&W. A Teachers & Writers Collaborative Publication Copyright © 2018 1 WE ARE POEMS: MEMOIRS IN POETRY An Anthology of Writing by the Gifted & Talented Third- and Fourth-Grade Students Of PS188 Queens, New York Spring 2019 Janet Caraisco, Principal Teachers Mr. Matthew Carneiro Ms. Christine Garcia Ms. Christine Toth Ms. Jessica Wingenfeld Amina Henry Teachers & Writers Collaborative Writer-in-Residence 2 Introduction Yay! It’s been a pleasure to once again work with the Gifted and Talented 3rd and 4th grade classes at PS188Q. This year we focused primarily on personal memoir, or exploring the ways in which we can express ourselves – our memories, our feelings, our dreams, our hopes and fears – through creative writing. Our exploration led us to read poems from a diverse range of writers such as M. Scott Momaday and to experiment with different modes of poetry making such as collage. This deep excavation into ourselves has been both challenging and rewarding, with resulting poems that are, at times, startling in their lovely truth. It is an act of bravery to reveal one’s self in writing and it’s been wonderful to see how courageous these students can be. I want to thank Principal Janet Caraisco and participating teachers, Mr. Carneiro, Ms. Garcia, Ms. Toth and Ms. Wingenfeld for welcoming me into your school once again and providing such wonderful support throughout the program. I want to thank the Teachers & Writers Collaborative for providing consistent support for the success of this program. Finally, I want to thank Sherese Francis for all of your help this year. And lastly, thank you and congratulations to all of the participating students. I’m so proud of the work you did this year during my time with you and I hope that you are, too. Bravo. Amina Henry 3 MR. CARNEIRO’S CLASS Ellie L. – “Blue galaxies dance in moonlit skies.” Massin A. – “Happiness is the key to success.” Isabella A. – “Books are an amazing, magical wonderland.” Surika B. – “Music inspires me to be myself.” Chloe C. – “Badminton is harder than it seems.” Ryan C. – “Basketball: running, going slam dunk, swoosh!” Ethan C. – “Sundays, Saturdays: I really like weekends.” Peyton C. – “Dance is my heart and soul.” Gavin C. – “Basketball is the sport I play.” Angelina H. – “Puppies, adorable, fluffy: absolutely need one.” Cara H. – “Sports: orange basketballs, softballs, and skiing.” Chloe H. – “Happy times together, running and swimming.” Jayden K. – “Family is an awesome, fun experience.” Tyler K. – “Swimming reminds me to be myself.” Kiki L. – “Jumping paint colors, hours of happiness.” Elizabeth L. – “The world shows me new inspiration.” Alden N. – “Thief – puzzle – riddle – lock – key – solved.” David N. – “I hear, I smell, I see.” Tim L. – “Popularity can sometimes stink, sometimes not.” Allison Q. – “Friends are the key to happiness.” Mia P. – “I was here, there, then everywhere.” Victor P. – “If you die, walk it off.” Daniel R. – “My life is totally a blast.” Tony T. – “Sometimes new is a good thing.” Serena T. – “School’s about hard work and effort.” Tyeson W. – “I came, I saw, I left.” Amelia W. – “Accept yourself because you are amazing.” Viola Y. – “I dream, I believe, I achieve.” Adam Y. – “Lightning, thunder, who are you? Bye.” Olivia Y. – “The moon and stars shining, sparkling.” Andrew Z. – “Art is inspirational, creative and relaxing.” Henry Z. – “Bruce Lee is strong and awesome.” 4 Class Poems Cento In my dreams I hear the waves and the beach splashing sand I am a character in a fairy tale but Books are terrible things They are boring and dull As far as I’m concerned Born a warrior He shouts for the stars to rise They burn the eyeballs and lessen knowledge He built a wall I sent him on vacation but I don’t want to go Be alerted, you have problems to face I’ll swing you, wring you over the clouds I really don’t know, I really don’t care I am from a litter of yappy Yorkies Family and friends are the best We get to play games Faces turn pale I see a UFO and a bald eagle I hear bees buzzing Flaming emerald spears Break your bones! I gulp in terror I’m scared You’ll never get away I say hide me Wake up from bed Do your sigma Enjoy your new life PS 188Q Mr. Carneiro makes students laugh all day Some students think it’s cold, some think it’s hot Teachers sometimes want students to go away We have recess inside a cement lot The clusters make us give a blissful sway and we have that trip in May Sometimes school is boring, sometimes not In the lobby, there’s a clock on a clock We like playing instruments with Mrs. Block 5 Recipe for America Ingredients a bowl of busy cars, a handful of trees, one revolutionary war, 3 cups of cities, red, blue and white food coloring, pride, a bucket of people, hundred gallons of freedom, a bald eagle, a dozen cans of depressed Wall Street bankers, 2 baskets of happy tears for rivers, peace and integration, sand Directions 1.Mush up the war with a potato masher. 2.Add red, white, and blue food coloring to the war. Add trees. 3.In a bowl, mix the bald eagle and happy tears for rivers. Add peace and integration. 4. Add the cars and the freedom to the bowl. 5. Add the people and cities to another bowl. 6. Mix all of the ingredients into another bowl. Add depressed Wall Street bankers. 7.Put the whole mixture in the oven for 400 or so years. 8. When done, take it out of the oven and sprinkle sand on top. Enjoy. World ReVISION Add immortality. Cut out diseases. Cut out pollution. Erase deforestation. Erase global warming. Backspace criminals and corrupt politicians. Cut out war. Add more aid to the poor. Rearrange countries so that everyone has enough water, food and space. Clarify that peace is the most important thing in the world. Clarify that everyone is important. 6 Group Rhyming Day Poems An Exciting Day Having Fun Allison Q., Amelia W. Chloe C., Angelina H. Today is a very exciting day Today was a fun day We did a great cartwheel I played fetch with my dog And a million flips The sky changed And then we had a really big meal There was some fog After resting for about an hour, we went back I threw snowballs We did a bunch of flips and a good turn I went to Splish Splash We made ourselves dizzy And built a snowball fort Thank goodness class was over; our teacher was very I think I saw some ash stern Today was a fun day Today is a very exciting day I played with a bright yellow ball We made a big red velvet cake I had so much fun We also made a batch of mint cupcakes Down the hall For they were very easy to make Near the mall We argued over icing the treats I drank green tea Happily, despite our fighting, all the treats were iced It tasted yummy Finally we decided to sell them I went on the slide and then I went, Wheeeee! But they had to be priced The Day Is Very Mysterious Very Silly Day Victor P., Adam Y. Surika B., Kiki L. Today is very mysterious Today is a very silly day A ghost has been seen Dinosaurs are getting sold It’s very, very foggy Because of human experience There’s an ogre eating sunscreen People eat money to get gold It’s very, very dark I think I saw a deer singing a song My neighbor disappeared Or maybe it was Santa I can barely see Singing and dancing along I smell manure in my beard Today is a very silly day Today is very mysterious Cats and dogs are falling from the sky A chilly breeze blew When Santa Claus falls from his sleigh There is an old black cat My gift should be the power to fly That gobbled up my stew My mom is going crazy A giant fish comes crashing down Free gifts from a stranger? And a breeze blows by I show my gift to my Dad The earth suddenly dissolves But my Dad says, “Stranger danger!” Before I know it, I’m in an apple pie 7 MASSIN A.