Finding the Poetic High: Building a Spoken Word Poetry Community and Culture of Creative, Caring, and Critical Intellectuals
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Innovative Practices Finding the Poetic High: Building a Spoken Word Poetry Community and Culture of Creative, Caring, and Critical Intellectuals Gerald T. Reyes Introducing… but don’t let the tears out have to say and all the experiences that because I’m tired of that… their thoughts have been rooted into, then “This next young poet coming to grace we limit their whole being. our stage brings the richness of her As 13-year-old Lydia’s words caressed It is through working with our stu- daily struggles to life through the our spirits, I knew she was doing what dents’ entire being where we unlock the beauty and truth of her words. Show June Jordan once proclaimed: “taking true magic of their growth and learning, your love for our next poet blessing control of the language of our lives” (1995). no matter from where they come. This is mic…ladies and gentlemen, please give Along with the other poets in our learn- the existence where we fi nd the opportu- it up for Poet Lydia Calderon!” ing community, I have never ceased to be amazed with their ownership in language. nity to enable what bell hooks (1994) calls, Underneath dim light of our trans- Whether Latino, African American, Fijian, “transgressions.” This is the “movement formed classroom, the sea of middle school East Indian, Filipino, Chinese, Tongan, or against and beyond boundaries. It is that youth goes wild with cheers and applause. Caucasian, it has always been essential movement which makes education the Lydia spurts up like a splash of water from for me to help guide these diverse young practice of freedom” (hooks, 1994). the crowded couch that sits in the middle poets to fi nd their own exquisitely unique of what we call the “Lyricist Lounge.” voices, because it is through their own Five Years Ago She drizzles onto the miniature stage and voices where they make language theirs. Five years ago when I fi rst entered glistens underneath the spotlight that It is through their own voices where the classroom full time, after working only illuminates each poet who takes control they discover that they have at least part time with youth in poetry, I was nearly of the mic. Placing her piece on the music one thing in common; that they all have brought to tears. Though, these were not stand, she now frees her hands and arms, something to say. The voice is exactly what the tears of frustration nor the tears of allowing them to dance in synchronicity spoken word poetry summons. If we do not “what have I gotten myself into?” but the to the rhythm of her words. With natural honor and encourage what our students sass tugging at her smile and right hand on her hip, she pauses briefl y to command attention and gather the thoughts needed to introduce her piece. As silence sweeps the room, Lydia gazes out into her audi- ence. Finally, she releases her soul. Why don’t you paint me like I am with purple cherries all around me dancing Paint me prancing around with dimples on every poetic smile I let out that shines with words you haven’t yet heard as I shout out Paint me with hatred in my eyes dried from cries from all the violence happening in my life like when my favorite cousin got shot R.I.P. Junior Paint me with a spot of sadness Gerald T. Reyes is the Middle School Lead Teacher at Lighthouse Community Charter School in the Oakland Unifi ed School District, Oakland, California. 13-year-old Lydia Calderon preparing to unleash her soul at the Youth Uprising Community Center in Oakland. MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION 10 Building a Spoken Word Community tears of joy in knowing that this 10-year make no judgment of wise and foolish, high the mathematical Order of Operations, old child who was writing poetry in my or low class, and give everything its full the Elements of Conquest, and the life very own classroom was celebrating free- due” (Snyder, 1995). cycle of a tree. And when that was not dom. Five years from that fi rst day, Kate Finding a way to adjust to the con- enough, I opened up the opportunity to McClatchy, a parent of one of my current straints of the institution of education create more authentic products for a real students and a principal in a local continu- should be not be interpreted as being audience with my school’s 1st Spoken Word ation high school, brought to my attention forced into submission. Obstacles, as Poetry Festival: Voices on High—“Where that “all passionate teachers cry on their antithetical as they may seem to us, can elementary voices turn it up high.” 1st day.” And so it was. But at what point make our solutions better. The poetry in a Voices on High was opened up to not does passion enable transgressions? solution means to use one’s own base thesis only the 5th graders of my classroom, but When I started teaching in a self- as well as the antithesis of the obstacle to the entire upper elementary school—4th contained 5th grade classroom, I quickly in order to give birth to a new synthesis. through 6th graders. That brought upon discovered that despite how these chil- The synthesis must be simple. It must be another challenge. I knew that my class dren loved their poetic words, nowhere the truth. And it must give power. This is was more unique with its culture of poets, was there an opportunity to explore their the truth and precision that June Jordon so I had to ask 2 questions: identities as poets within the Language spoke of when she asserted what poetry is. (1) How was I going to get students Arts content standards nor in the adop- This is the “taking life by the throat” (Von who were not in my class interested in tion of my district’s scripted (“scripted”= Ziegesar, 2000) that Robert Frost meant participating in Voices on High? bureaucrat speak for “teacher proof”) when he spoke of poetry. Poetry is beyond curriculum. Nowhere in this pressure- mere words. Poetry is action. (2) How was I going to make Voices on filled, quick results, A.P.I. (Academic High more equitable for the poets who Performance Index), A.Y.P (Annual Yearly Passions to Transgressions were not in my class? Progress) punitive educational climate was Five years ago when I entered the there much of a “business case” to journey Enter Poetic High beyond the towering and engulfi ng walls of classroom full time, I brought the poetry of high stakes numbers, and into the creative my life into our learning community. Then, Enter the Poetic High after-school and natural world of spoken word poetry. I let the poetry of the youth guide me into program. Employing elements of the Youth Just as it was back then, these are real both organically and purposefully taking Development model, Shirley Brice Heath’s obstacles that most teachers face today. In advantage of every opportunity possible Art Show (1999), Mark Statman’s (2000) 2006, we are still backed up into an alley to infuse poetry into our lives. I wish I models on teaching poetry, and my own to leave out the voices of our students. It could say that I had everything planned experience with Spoken Word Poetry, Poetic has been over 15 years since Jonathan from the start, but like language and life, High was born: Kozol critiqued school reform in saying “we our poetic culture evolved through time. I CLIMB HIGH had not been listening much to children integrated it into our classroom rituals. I FLY HIGH in these recent years of summit confer- integrated it into our Social Imagination st IDEAS FLY ences on education. The voices of children, 1 person perspective pieces of people like AT POETIC HIGH frankly, had been missing from the whole the Native American Tainos, La Malinche discussion” (Kozol, 1991). So, like Kozol, of the Classic Aztecs, or even the ancient While Poetic High was the after school who said, “I decided, early in my journey, to Chinese philosopher Confucius. I even program, its philosophical and pedagogical attempt to listen very carefully to children” found a home for poetry in remembering foundations, workshop methodology, and (1991), I too made that decision in that 1st year of teaching. Despite what I knew was right in my heart, I still had to consider how to make things right in my mind. I still had to understand how to navigate around the politics of education, for my students and myself, because it would be a disservice to all of us to remain naïve to the limit- ing bureaucracies that could limit our social access. So, it had to be (and still is) imperative for me to fi nd ways to enable my students to get the access needed in order for them to liberate themselves from whatever limited them in their lives. These real obstacles have to be motivations to fi nd the poetry within our solutions. For with poetry in our solutions, “we can be frank,” as Poet Gary Snyder (1995) once profoundly claimed. With poetry in our solutions, we “must be shameless, have no secrets from yourself, be constantly alert, The pictures behind the words. WINTER 2006 11 Innovative Practices culture were always prevalent within my (1) Transforming the Physical Envi- (7) The Open Mic regular class. So whether you have your ronment (8) RE-Vision own after-school program or classroom, (2) Holding the Spoken Wordshop (9) Move the Crowd the fundamentals of Poetic High remain the same.