Writers in the Schools Poem by 4th Grader
The Writers in the Schools program (Houston) sent me this lovely poem by 4th grader Cody, titled Ink Heart:
What the night hides:/
a stranger in the dark,/
fire and stars, /
snakes and thorns,/
a house full of books,/
a night full of words,/
the lion's den,/
going farther south.
Love that last enigmatic line, Cody!
Folks, were you writing like that in 4th grade? I certainly wasn't!
Check out WITS' great program with inner city kids and others
at www.witshouston.org
About Chitra
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works...
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4th graders and their poems
Chitra, having worked with 4th graders over the past few years as NC's poet laureate, I'm not surprised by Cody's poem! But I'm envious. No, I couldn't have written a poem like that in 4th grade. Knowing that, I would suggest it's essential that we keep the arts, especially poetry and story-telling, in our schools. My most recent post on my laureate blog shows what 4th graders can do, both with poems and with presentation of language through imaginative displays. Unfortunately, this ArtPark program has been eliminated by the local arts council. Are they crazy?
Wow!
That is indeed impressive. Actually, it made me a little weepy because of its simple beauty.