by KYW's Dr. Marciene Mattleman
Since 1996, high schools have been urged to add Poetry 180 to their curriculum. Initiated by Billy Collins, then US Poet Laureate, its purpose is to share poetry with students every day of the school year. The web site suggests selections.
For teachers who may have forgotten or for families who haven’t tried sharing the pleasures, fun, sounds and emotions poetry can convey, April is National Poetry Month, a good time to start reading together.
Whether it’s a sonnet, haiku, limerick, ballad, ode or other kinds of poetry—rhymed or unrhymed—reading aloud for even a few minutes is a great breather in a busy day.
Kate Ryan, the nation’s new poet laureate, was introduced to the nation as she recited at President Obama’s inauguration.
Her poem, “Hide and Seek,” can awaken in all of us some feelings. “It’s hard not to jump out instead of waiting to be found,” provokes us to think about some hidden words, ideas and thoughts that each of us may want to share with the world.
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