Fifteen eighth grade students and some teachers from Cortez Middle School will present their poetry Dec. 10 at the Sunflower Theatre.
Local poet Lisa Taylor might also read poetry, said English teacher Lyssa Lycan.
The reading, 5:30 p.m. at 8 E. Main St., is free.
According to Lycan, the eighth graders in her and Forrest Kohere’s classes completed a poetry portfolio and performed them for classmates. Teachers selected students for the theater performance based on their “exemplary” portfolios.
In October, Taylor helped the students work on their poems.
“She worked to introduce them to a variety of poems and helped them to understand the ways that poetry can be powerful,” Lycan said. “She provided students with prompts, and they practiced writing poems on the spot.”
Learning poetry is standard from the Colorado Department of Education, and Lycan said poetry can help students reflect on their lives.
“Many of our students in this community have already been faced with a staggering number of challenges. In this unit, I worked with students to see that the power of poetry (and all forms of art) lies in their ability to take an experience and put it through what we have dubbed the ‘art machine.’ ... “This is where they take a step back and see how an experience has changed them, how they've grown and who they are now. If they succeed at putting an experience through the art machine, they can create something powerful; not only a beautiful piece of art, but something that is healing, both for themselves and for their audience.”
Lycan said that as the students shared their poetry, students provided encouragement, and acknowledged one another for “bravery in telling true and sometimes painful stories.”
Lycan said students don’t stop after completing their portfolio.
“They continue writing poetry for themselves long after this unit is over … and if I'm very, very lucky, they continue to share it with me, too,” Lycan said.
Lycan can be reached at llycan@cortez.k12.co.us.
