Long Island Poetry Scene Huge poetry scene Dozens of poetry - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Long Island Poetry Scene  Huge poetry scene  Dozens of poetry readings  Workshops  Venues to share creativity

Apprentice Poets Working with schools to bring poetry and all its benefits to students. We’ve hosted a series of events, after school clubs, book launches and in some cases even had students take field trips to poetry readings

Why Poetry?  Poetry is often seen as intimidating and misunderstood  Poetry unleashes a student’s creativity and helps their general writing abilities  Performing poetry helps students learn public speaking skills and boosts confidence  Poetry groups become social settings helping students make friends and improve social skills

About Apprentice Poets  Norwood Avenue School hosts an after school poetry club where we have been mentoring the students with poetry prompts, poetry forms, reading exercises and publishing opportunities.  The students have recited their work for large audiences.

Linda Trott Dickman  Librarian of Norwood Avenue School  Bards Laureate  Author of 2 books of poetry  Frequent featured reader  Board member of The Bards Initiative

James P. Wagner  Founder and President of The Bards Initiative  Publisher of Local Gems Press  MALS from Dowling College  Former Dowling Professor  Editor of over 50 poetry anthologies

How Apprentice Poets Works  The goal of Apprentice Poets is to encourage poetry amongst students  The program is flexible and can be adjusted to fit the schools needs and wants in a collaborative fashion A few possibilities:  After-school Clubs  Contests  Assemblies

Book Publishing  A great way to show the accomplishments of poetry groups is to publish a book of their work  Apprentice poets works with Local Gems Press and the Bards Initiative to publish books of the students poems

After School Club  At Norwood we’ve had 1 day after school for 8 sessions in a row 2-3 times a year.  Students write based on prompts and get feedback from the teacher/advisor  Work on reading out loud, and teach fundamentals of poetry

Poetry Month Contests  April is poetry month  Some schools hold an April poetry month contest  Kids write based on a set of guidelines  Winners and honorable mentions are picked  These selections can be published as a chapbook

Assembly  One time gathering of students  Poems will be read by presenters as examples  Basic poetry prompts will be provided to students  A good introduction to poetry writing

Book Launch  Project results in a book launch  Similar to a recital - family, fellow students attend to support and hear readings from the book.

Costs  Book Publishing Varies depending on number of poets, length and size of books  Cost Several ways to work out cost: At Norwood Parents Paid for Copies (There is also the possibility of selling the books to raise funds for student projects, charities.)  Honorariums: If training provided and assembly or workshop given, modest honorarium is customary $200-$300 range

Whitman’s Apprentices  A multi-school poetry contest in celebration of Whitman’s 200 th Birthday and his legacy of Long Island Poets of the next generation  So far, 4 schools in Suffolk County are interested in participating – where will you fit in?

Contact Info  localgemspoetrypress@gmail.com  Local Gems Press Email  ishwajpwagner@gmail.com  James P. Wagner’s Email  linda.dickman@northport.k12.ny.us  Linda Trott Dickman’s Email