LANSING, MI –Poetry helps young people enjoy reading and writing. Poetry is also good for the soul. At least that was the impression students gave at a recent poetry reading. Over 300 students, parents and teachers packed into Shabazz Academy’s gym at 1028 W. Barnes Avenue. The annual poetry reading sponsored by The New Citizens Press and The Lansing Jaycees was a success as students from 2nd to 6th grade read poems by well known authors to the crowd.
The voices reflected the diversity in their interests and ages as a younger poet recited a poem about a missing front tooth and an older student about George Washington Carver.
Sixth grade student, Jeronte Jasper began to recite the words of a well-known song “The Wheels on the Bus”, the familiarity of which, engaged the kindergarteners as they began to giggle and immediately invited the audience to sing along.
Shabazz Academy Superintendent Dr. Eugene Cain expressed his deep appreciation for poetry. He explained how his grandmother would often read the works of notable African American poets’ Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes. He particularly remembered how she would recite Dunbar’s work known for its colorful language and use of African-American dialect. His grandmother loved poetry so much she named his father in honor of Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Poetry can also stimulate a child’s imagination and knowledge of their culture. Writing poetry can also spark an interest in using a thesaurus and a dictionary, which will be the best two friends of any writer. They will have the tools they need to be involved in healthy conversations that will give them a sense of command of language and a sense accomplishment when they can tell others that their mother “has qualities that delight the eye” or that “she is beautiful”, instead of stating that she is just “nice”.
“Even though we are living a very technically oriented society with e-mails and text messaging, I believe that it’s a good idea to keep writing. Poetry is a great way to condense thoughts into paragraphs and stanzas without taking up a lot of space or time”, said Nu Poet coordinator Rina Risper.
During the month of October, Shabazz Academy will be hosting a poetry program for their students with the Nu Poets to further expose the children to word play and the wonderful world that poetry has to offer them. The young poets will have an opportunity to be published and perform finished pieces.
