Poet as World Citizen

This class is part poetry workshop and part examination of the social consciousness and responsibilities of poets in the world. In class, we will explore our own creative possibilities, write and workshop extensively, and read the work of socially and politically engaged international poets such as Carolyn Forche, Robert Pinksy, Nazim Hikmet, Mahmoud Darwish, Bei Dao, and Martin Espada, among others. As an additional aspect of the course, we will collaborate with the Community-Word Project (CWP), a New York City-based arts-in-education organization that inspires children in underserved communities to read, interpret, and respond to their world and to become active citizens. This part of the class will guide you to transform your creative process into a teaching tool and will provide an opportunity to assist in New York City public schools under the mentorship of experienced CWP staff teaching artists. Please note that this yearlong class will require you to attend three Saturday training sessions in the fall and six-to-eight community field days in public schools in the spring. The class culminates in conference work that will ask you to reflect on the impact the collaboration has had on you and the impact you’ve had on your community.