Dec 2, 2020
Cultivating Moments of Stillness
Using Poetry Podcasts Within the English Classroom
By Ryan Chapman, English Teacher from San Diego, California
Two weeks ago, I decided to have my students create their own poetry podcast episode. We’d been in school for around twelve weeks — learning together, building community as best we could, and making the most of a tough situation during a global pandemic. Daily, the students amazed me with their fortitude, flexibility, and grace; but, they were exhausted. I could see it in their faces. I could hear it in their tone and in their words left unsaid. Honestly, I was feeling the same way.
As I began to plan our upcoming unit, I knew that I needed to provide space for reflection and connectivity — a place for students to rest amidst the chaos of life.
For me, this is what poetry has always provided. A moment of stillness and beauty regardless of circumstance.
Poetry and Podcasts: Promoting Conversation and Connection
Last year, as I was reading an NPR article called “Podcasts Are Providing A New Way Into Poetry,” I saw an opportunity for my students. One filled with autonomy and purpose. In the article, Saeed Jones, an award-winning poet, explains that “with podcasts, we’re looking for air pockets to catch our breath.” Podcasts are about conversation and connection. Poetry is much the same. Jones goes on to state that for many people poetry is “a brief momentary space that contains breath, and the world outside the poem gets a little quiet just for a moment.”
This is what my students and I needed…quiet…if just for a moment.
In class, we discuss seeing past the literal and connecting with the poet on an emotional level — to empathize, to understand. As poetry is often filled with abstract thought, it would be easy for us to assume that this will cause the structure of a poem to be loose and fluid — with no containment or reason. Yet, each and every mark on the page is intentional. This is not to say that we should analyze poetry to the point of reducing its contents to form and meter.
But, rather, we must find balance.
Finding Meaning
We must heed the warning of poet Billy Collins as he reminds us in his poem “Introduction to Poetry,” not to “begin beating [the poem] with a hose / to find out what it really means.” I’ve found that discussing how a given poem makes a student feel is the first step in analysis. Yes, we want to understand the writer’s craft, but we don’t want to lose the heart and soul of poetic verse as a byproduct.
We must first begin with connection, with breath, with reflection.
Ideally, the podcast episode would serve as a vessel, a capsule of sorts, for their thoughts in this moment of time. I wanted my students to explore the world of poetry and discuss a poem of their choice, so I provided links to the Teach Living Poets Virtual Library and Poetry 180 in order to help them get started in their research. I encouraged them to take their time when choosing which poet and poem to use for the project — my hope was that they would find a piece of poetry (maybe for the first time) that speaks to them.
As a class, we listened to a few episodes of The Slowdown as well as Poetry Unbound in order to give students an idea of the formatting and expectations regarding their own episode. I wanted them to see and hear the humanity in the analysis — the discussion of life. These moments of analysis were more than a hunt for literary devices.
Developing a Deep Appreciation for Poetry
Most students chose to use Anchor when recording their podcast episode, and, as I listened, I was impressed with the depth of thought and quality of their finished product. I had the pleasure of listening to my students explore the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Maggie Smith, Terrance Hayes, Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, Mary Oliver and so many more.
But, for me, the best part of this poetry podcast project was watching the students come to see poetry in a whole new light…one that heals and revitalizes. For a moment, they were able to breathe amongst the chaos.
Ryan Chapman is an English teacher at Santa Fe Christian Schools in California. His passion is for students to understand the complexity and beauty of literature. Ryan’s educational articles can be found on websites such as Edutopia, NCTE, APLitHelp, and McGraw Hill.
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