|
Creative Writing Workshops
Programs Gabrielle Zane can bring to your
school or organization:
or arts grant funds. Consultation on curriculum is available for teachers and parents doing home schooling. Please feel free to contact Ms. Zane for information about fees and to discuss how a residency may be constructed to suit your needs. The program descriptions below are general
and based on workshops
that have been successfully implemented in schools and agencies in the past.
Elementary School Students: Keep a Poem in Your Pocket This is a workshop for young children in the celebration and memorization of poetry. Students learning the joy of language will benefit from the experience of poetry as a vehicle for rhythm, rhyme, story, song and meaning. Geared toward those with new or few skills in writing, this workshop helps students experience language as play, via the memorization and “acting out” of poems. (K-3) This is Just to Say The “conditioned” belief that “all poems rhyme” makes it a challenge for students to write their own poetry with out sounding “cheesy” or contrived. Using examples from the great poets of the Modern and Post-Modern eras as models, students will learn that the essential difference between poetry and prose is not rhyme, but rhythm. With practice using image, metaphor, rhythm and line break, students will create poetry from their own stories in prose. Using their young writers' natural sense of rhythm and fresh approach to syntax, elementary students can make powerful poems about their experiences and their view of the world. (2-5) Middle School Students: I Am the Voice I Hear Middle school age students typically misunderstand poetry as “boring,” “stupid,” or “hard to understand.” In this workshop students will be introduced to contemporary (living!) poets, who they can not only understand, but relate to. Using the lyric narrative poem as a model, students will practice writing poems based on their own experiences. In the process of creating poems from first draft to polished piece, in the same manner as contemporary poets do today, students will experience poetry as a valuable, interesting and thriving art form in our society. The production of an anthology of students' work will complete the experience of poetry as art.(6-8) Experimental Poetry The “seriousness” of the middle-schooler sometimes makes him/her hesitant to explore writing poetry for fear of “getting it wrong” or sounding silly. This course teaches students how to refute their own “inner critic” and utilizes the concepts of “sense” and “nonsense” in language to break through their resistance. We will do exercises that involve nonsense and surrealism to “break the rules” of syntax and grammar. Students will discover that by letting go of control in their writing they can create beautiful, funny, sincere poems of their own. (6-8) High School Students: Dancing On Daddy's Shoes Young adult writers will learn how to turn their own life experiences into dynamic poems. The elements of autobiographical writing, including giving oneself permission, dealing with memories, issues of “truth” vs. “fiction,” and avoiding sentimentality will be discussed. Participants will be guided with exercises that will help them practice the gathering, drafting and revision of autobiographical material. The practice of keeping a “raw book” will be examined with examples from the journals of published poets. Poetic License This class will introduce students to the Surrealist Tradition in poetry. An historical overview of Surrealism will be presented along with some of the major poets of the genre including Breton, Baudelaire, Neruda, Dylan Thomas, Kenneth Patchem, Frank O’Hara, E.E. Cummings, James Tate, and Dean Young. Students will complete a portfolio of writings experimenting with their own approach to Surrealism. Page to Stage Students will learn the art of performance poetry. Specific performance techniques will be practiced and students will be encouraged to find their own style of presentation and use it to create powerful performance pieces. A review of oral presentation of poetry and literature will be done, which will include a look at early traditions as well as modern forms, such as slam and performance art. Students will have an opportunity to create and present their own pieces of performance poetry. The Oral Tradition This class will present the role of the oral tradition in ancient and modern cultures including Asian, African and Native American peoples. We will review the origins of the oral tradition and its many forms past and present, including plays, song, epic poetry, traditional stories, fairy tales, urban legends, jokes, and oral histories. Students will complete an oral history project that will concentrate on telling the stories of their culture, neighborhood, family or selves. Techniques for creating the project will include research, interviews, and writing a narrative, along with use of other mediums such as photography, video and audio recordings to complement the work. Special Projects: Public Poetry This project involves the creation and “publication” of student poetry in public places. Participants will be guided through a poetry writing residency which culminates in the choosing of a “venue” for the display of their poems. They will be guided through the creation of the space and the application of the poems to/within the space. Some space options might include: mobiles, calendars, balloons, T-shirts, dish ware, sculpture, cafeteria chairs, building walls/floors, buses, etc., etc. This is a five to ten day residency and is appropriate for all ages. This project works especially well to facilitate the bonding of participants in mixed group activities such as local and visiting students, mixed cultural/language, inter generational, urban and rural groups. (grades 2-12) Leaping Mountains Haiku is one of the most ancient and inspired forms of poetry. This workshop will introduce students to the art that Basho said, “takes a moment to create and a life time to master.” We will look at the history of haiku and its four masters, Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki. Students will practice making haiku using the main elements and rules of the form. The second part of the project will expand on the tradition of the haiku as the demonstration of an attention or awareness. Students will write haiku in conjunction with a larger activity, such as a visual arts, environmental science, field or service projects. The haiku produced from the project will then be presented publicly (in school or community) to demonstrate student learning, increase awareness of a social or environmental issue, or promote a cause. The form of presentation will depend on the goals of the project. (grades 4-12) Special Populations: Diversity Awareness The students in this project will be involved in writing sessions, which focus on awareness of diversity and the issues of tolerance, specifically focusing on civil rights and repercussions of emotional reactions to political events. The exercises will initially introduce the students to the concepts of diversity and gradually move them to looking at issues of human understanding, biases, stereotypes and prejudices from both personal and universal perspectives. The Write Perspective The Write Perspective is a program that uses writing (in the forms of poetry, journal writing, and personal essay) to facilitate healthy discovery and processing of emotions and emotional issues. The level of experiential and insight work explored in the workshop is determined by the number of sessions contracted as well as the population, and needs of the contracting agency. This workshop is appropriate for psycho educational group work with teen or adult populations such as persons in recovery from addictions, those with physical handicaps and ailments, and children who may be ADHD, SED or dealing with family issues such as divorce or loss. Poetry Odyssey Poetry Odyssey is a unique program that utilizes writing as a tool for prevention and intervention. It establishes a forum for writing practice as an “alternative activity” to at risk behaviors. In the Poetry Odyssey group, poetry is generated in a casual and creative atmosphere to effectively teach participants creative expression while enhancing self awareness. The approach is based on the Positive Youth Development Model, which asserts that involvement in structured activities provides the opportunity for bonding with peers and community, developing skills, building successes, and receiving rewards and benefits for efforts. These experiences build a stronger sense of self and accomplishment, and promote positive social development, which can reduce the risk of involvement in unhealthy behaviors. Adult Audiences: Discovering the Poet Within This workshop demonstrates how memory, sense of place, dreams, past experiences, and the simple details of everyday living can be used in the creation of poetry. Participants will practice the process of poetry writing from first to final draft. Special attention will be paid to freeing participants from their “inner critic” so they may discover the natural poetic voice within. The workshop is geared to those who are "beginners" to writing poetry. Waltzing With the Muse This workshop is for those writers experiencing “writer's block” or struggling with a current writing project. Participants will explore the concepts and aspects of creativity and inspiration to help them discover where they may be unwittingly creating impediments to their own progress. A variety of exercises will be given to help writers navigate around impasses in their process and in some cases use them to their advantage. Healing Poetry Within poetry’s literary expression lies a unique and powerful force for self discovery and healing. Participants in this experiential course will learn how poetic language can be employed to release pain and grief, explore the inner self, and express the unique experience of being human. Students will read poems with a healing focus and practice poem-making to explore their own process of healing. This class is appropriate for those both new and experienced in writing poetry. Journal Writing Journal writing is an ancient and enjoyable exercise that many practice and praise as the best way to process feelings, foster healing, expand creativity, capture dreams, and record life experiences. This workshop will introduce a number of techniques to enhance the journaling process including ways to silence the “internal editor” and increase motivation to write. The use of the journal as a versatile tool for everything from healing and self discovery to creation of publishable works will be discussed. Class is appropriate for writers and non-writers alike. Those wishing to expand their journaling or beginning a diary for the first time are welcome. Teacher In-services: Poetry in the Content Areas In this workshop, participants will learn the major elements of the art of poetry. Some of the “myths” around the instruction of poetry will be discussed along with ways to address student reluctance to write. Exercises will be demonstrated which will help teachers to motivate students to create their own poems. The uses of modern and contemporary poetry in the content areas will be demonstrated. Teachers will have the opportunity to make a poetry lesson plan in their content area. Resources will also be given for other forms of creative writing.
|
