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Poetry Minutes 2012: Journey Stories

Hear Poetry Minutes every weekday in April at 7:19 AM and 4:19 PM

WKMS and Murray State University’s Teacher Quality Institute have teamed up for the fifth year of a special project during April, National Poetry Month. WKMS broadcasts Poetry Minutes, short poems by students in western Kentucky public schools, that air at 7:19 a.m. and 4:19 p.m. weekdays through Monday, April 30. 

Click on the image to start the slideshow.

Poems About Journey Stories

From late January through early March, 4,000 visitors, including public school groups, toured The Smithsonian’s Journey Stories exhibition, sponsored by the Kentucky Humanities Council, at Wrather West Kentucky Museum on Murray State’s campus. The students explored images, artifacts, audio, and video that showed journeys that help us trace American history. Besides touring the museum, many of the groups participated in poetry workshops conducted by MSU Faculty Scholar Constance Alexander, award-winning poet, columnist and commentator. Using postcard images from the exhibition, Ms. Alexander also conducted Journey Stories workshops for schools that were unable to visit in person. As a result, hundreds of students from the region wrote poems inspired by Journey Stories.

Celebrating National Poetry Month

The Academy of American Poets established April as National Poetry Month in 1996. According to their website, poets.org, the purpose “is to increase attention paid by individuals and the media to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our poetic heritage, to poetry books and magazines.”

We'll post the poetry minutes as they air, here:

Check back all month long, for more!

April 2 (download the mp3)
Bright Night by Meg Panor, Clark Elementary School, Paducah (read by Emily Dawson, Murray Elementary)
Manifest Destiny by Alexandra Michanski, South Livingston Elementary (read by Austin Cobb, Murray Middle School)

April 3 (download the mp3)
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Briley Chambers, North Marshall Middle School (read by Cheyenne Maddox, Calloway County High School)
Millions of Acres by Sarah Haight, South Livingston Elementary School (read by Anna Cate Brown, Murray Middle School)

April 4 (download the mp3)
One Way Ticket to Nowhere by Chloe Bilak, Clark Elementary School (read by Lydia Herndon, Murray Elementary School)
Brooklyn Bridge by Briley Chambers, North Marshall Middle School (read by Dera Hale, Calloway County High School)

April 5 (download the mp3)
Dining Car by Manshi Patel, McNabb Elementary School (read by Tyler Murphy, Murray Elementary School)
Survey Team by Shalynn Marvel, South Livingston Elementary School (read by Andrew Brown, Murray Middle School)

April 6 (download the mp3)
Normal by Carson Short, North Marshall Middle School (read by Tylor Futrell, Calloway County High School)
Trail of Tears by Colt Winchester, South Livingston Elementary School (read by Wendy Waltrip, Murray Middle School)

April 9 (download the mp3)
Harriet Tubman by Shadaye Romelien, McNabb Elementary School (read by Jack Epperson, Murray Elementary School)
Trail of Tears by Zachary Yandell, North Marshall Middle School (read by Dera Hale, Calloway County High School)

April 10 (download the mp3)
Chained by Yasmin Arellano, Morgan Elementary School (read by Zachary Fletcher, Murray Elementary School)
Immigrants Crossing the Plains by Haley Stiles, South Livingston Elementary School (read by Nathan Weber, Murray Middle School)

April 11 (download the mp3)
Going Through Detroit by Dylan Walters, North Marshall Middle School (read by Cheyenne Maddox, Calloway County High School)
Millions of Acres by Aiden Wyatt, South Livingston Elementary School (read by Brynn Jones, Murray Middle School)

April 12 (download the mp3)
Slavery by Sakura Smith, Morgan Elementary School (read by Amitri Williams, Murray Elementary School)
Lands for Sale by Becca Lawrance, South Livingston Elementary School (read by Patrick Jones, Murray Elementary School)

April 13 (download the mp3)
The Journey to Freedom by Tyler Waldridge & Ahquavion Elmore, Morgan Elementary School (read by Rachael Trespass, Murray Elementary School)
Trail of Death by Chris Ford, South Livingston Elementary School (read by Austin Cobb, Murray Middle School)

April 16 (download the mp3)
American Airlines by Tristin Burkeen, North Marshall Middle School (read by Taylor Futrell, Calloway County High School)
Leaving Home by Brooke Thompson, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Andrew Brown, Murray Middle School)

April 17 (download the mp3)
Long Trip by Taylor O'Steen, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Anna Kate Brown, Murray Middle School)
For Now I Say Goodbye by Mary Cox, North Marshall Middle School (read by Taylor Sheridan, Calloway County High School)

April 18 (download the mp3)
Arriving at Ellis Island by Issy Hamilton, Carlisle County Elementary School School (read by Natalia Karvounis, Murray Elementary School)
Always Together by Grace Ellegood, North Marshall Middle School (read by Dera Hale, Calloway County High School)

April 19 (download the mp3)
In Another Country by Alexis Dawn Ward, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Olivia Kelly, Murray Elementary School)
The Day Out by Tori Duncan, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Wendy Waltrip, Murray Middle School)

April 20 (download the mp3)
Who I Am by Sarah Armstrong, North Marshall Middle School (read by Taylor Futrell, Calloway County High School)
Moving by Micah Bice, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Brynn Jones, Murray Middle School)

April 23 (download the mp3)
I Cannot Choose by Garrett Booker, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Andia Karanja, Murray Elementary School)
Midnight Boat Ride by Noah Beard, North Marshall Middle School (read by Taylor Sheridan, Calloway County High School)

April 24 (download the mp3)
The Pack by Carson Beckett, North Marshall Middle School (read by Dera Hale, Calloway County High School)
Bon Voyage a Vous by Travis Hayden, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Patrick Jones, Murray Elementary School)
Going West by Kaitlyn B. Draper, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Andrew Brown, Murray Middle School)

April 25 (download the mp3)
Men on a Railroad by Ru Jones, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Livy Bogard, Murray Elementary School)
Away to War by Maddy Mensch, North Marshall Middle School (read by Cheyenne Maddox, Calloway County School)

April 26 (download the mp3)
The Other Side by Maddy Mensch, North Marshall Middle School (read by Taylor Sheridan, Calloway County High School)
Flat-Bottom Boat on the Ohio by Ian Hunter-Fry, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Anna-Cate Brown, Murray Middle School)

April 27 (download the mp3)
Location Move by Billie Moore, North Marshall Middle School (read by Dera Hale, Calloway County High School)
Off To War by Caitlynn N. West, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Wendy Waltrip, Murray Middle School)

April 30 (download the mp3)
American Airlines by Brody Flentge, North Marshall Middle School (read by Cheyenne Maddox, Calloway County High School)
Evening by Allie Blackwell, Carlisle County Elementary School (read by Brynn Jones, Murray Middle School)

Learn more about Journey Stories at Smithsonian's website.