5th Genre: A Global Poetry Community

It might seem unusual...

It might seem unusual
that in a multi-genre project
so focused on writing

..."factual"...

accounts of emotional events
and
minimizing emotional language
that a
poetry community
would find
a place.

However, I believe that Penny Kittle
spoke true when she said,

"Emotion is the engine of intellect;
we write more powerfully when it is from
the center
of

who

we

are."
--Penny Kittle

So then, I say of course.
Of course,
students need an outlet,
some reassurance that
emotional connection to events
is still in their
wheel-house.

So I created an epals account.
-------------------------------------------------------

Yes, I created an epals account.  This website is designed to connect classes from all over the globe in a pen-pal-like fashion.  My class will find a sister class from some other corner of the globe.

The assignments for this page is this:

Select a current event that is specifically tragic and/or moving to you.  Research all you can about this event and then write a poem that not only tells the basic facts, but also your unique emotional and reflective response to the news.  How does it make you feel?  What personal experiences might lead you to feeling this way?

I think this is a critical assignment, because I predict that there might be an air of uneasiness in the classroom, due to the fact that they have been asked to write totally stoic, detached pieces about something which is quite upsetting and personal.

This is designed to be an outlet.  Students can express some of these repressed emotions in their writing, once again, especially in a historical context.

Here is the link to my epals account, complete with the description of my "class" and our "project."

http://www.epals.com/show-profile.php?edit=1

If it does not display, my username is MeyerClass2014 and my password is squeebob.  Simply go to epals.com and log into my account and click "profile."