High School Poetry

High school poetry suffers from an image problem. Think of Dead Poet's Society's scenes of red-cheeked lads standing on desks and [blank] verse, or of dowdy Dickinson imitators mooning on park benches, filling up journals with noxious chapbook fodder. There's also the tiring lessons [blank] iambic pentameter and teachers wringing interpretations from cryptic stanzas, their students bewildered and chuckled. Reading poetry is impractical, even frivolous. High school poets are antisocial and effete.I have always rejected these clichéd mischaracterizations born of ignorance, bad movies, and uninspired teaching. Yet I haven't been stirred to fill my lessons with Pound and Eliot as my 11th -grade teacher did. I loved poetry in high school. I wrote it. I read it. Today, I slip scripture into an analysis of The Day of the Locust. Nikki Giovanni's piece appears in The Bluest Eye unit. Poetry has become an afterthought, a supplement, [blank] something to study on its own.In an education landscape that dramatically deemphasizes creative expression in favor of expository writing and prioritizes the analysis of non-literary texts, high school literature teachers have to negotiate [blank] their preferences and the way the wind is blowing. That sometimes means sacrifice, and poetry is often the first head to roll. [blank] poetry enables teachers to teach their students how to write, read, and understand any text. Poetry can give students a healthy outlet for surging emotions. Reading original poetry aloud in class can foster trust and empathy in the classroom community, while also emphasizing speaking and listening skills that are often [blank] in high school literature classes.