Happy National Poetry Month! As April begins to come to a close, I want to highlight the literary form that the month celebrates.
Started by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month recognizes great works of poetry with readings and events in schools, libraries, and other cultural institutions across the country. The authors Julia Bullock and Louise Erdrich, as well as the acclaimed director Chloé Zhao, were featured in poetry readings this year. Also in April, teachers across the world highlight poetry as the literary pillar that it is.
This month, I had the pleasure of speaking to my former English teacher, Emily O’Reilly about her relationship to poetry. In her eighth-grade class at Springs School, students are encouraged to put their thoughts on paper and turn them into creative works. I have fond memories of discovering a love for poetry I didn’t know was inside me during my time in her class. Her love for poetry also began in a classroom.
When Ms. O’Reilly was a high school student, she also had the pleasure of having a great English teacher who encouraged students to write whatever they wanted once a week. During this time, Ms. O’Reilly frequently wrote poems, described by her as “full of a lot of angst.” It was a therapeutic experience, and from then on, poetry was a substantial part of her life.
As an English teacher, reading and writing poetry is still a large part of life in her classroom. Asked why teenagers should read poetry, Ms. O’Reilly says, “Poetry helps us make sense of the world, and forces us to make connections.” This can make things that seem so overwhelming to young people feel a little easier to manage.
Poetry is also a big part of Ms. O’Reilly’s life outside the classroom. She spoke to me this month from a poetry intensive in Vermont, at which poets are encouraged to share their works with one another and make edits with the feedback of fellow workshop attendees. Ms. O’Reilly described the atmosphere as warm and supportive, and said sharing her work with others is a great opportunity, if a bit scary. From the poetry intensive, she plans to bring back lessons that her own students can utilize.
Of course, who better to recommend poetry books this month than a poet and English teacher?
She suggested “Call Us What We Carry” by Amanda Gorman, and “Brown Girl Dreaming: by Jaqueline Woodsen.
“Call Us What We Carry” features “The Hill We Climb,” which Ms. Gorman read at the 2021 presidential inauguration. A favorite of mine from the poetry book is “Arborescent 1,” a beautiful poem that explores the root of the human condition and memory.
“Brown Girl Dreaming” is a poetic memoir describing the experience of growing up as African-American in South Carolina during the 1960s and ’70s. The collection is written through Ms. Woodson’s childhood perspective, leaving each piece with sparks of whimsy and naivety that only a child could provide. The title poem is quite simply breathtaking in its distinct voice. According to The New York Times, “Brown Girl Dreaming” is, “a book full of poems that cry out to be learned by heart.”
Not only is Ms. O'Reilly an excellent English teacher and recommender of books, she has been published by the Suffolk County Poetry Review. An excerpt from her poem “Origin Story” is below.
Finally, freedom forged
on the blades of her shoulders:
avowedly defiant
driven to rise
voiced, ardent
until incandescent spirit
sparked an inextinguishable flare.
She spread her pinions wide and wild,
striving to free this emerging bliss
and found the agency of her plume
flowed into her heart,
so she learned to soar in the placid audacity of
freedom
and breathed her renaissance aloft: unfettered and
awake.
Thank you to everyone for tuning in to this month’s edition of The Teen Pager. I hope this article encouraged readers to put a pen to paper, or pick up a book full of poems. They really do add light to the world. As always, my email [email protected] is open for any future book review suggestions. Happy reading!