Hear Poetry Minutes every weekday in April at 7:19 AM, 11:40 AM, and 4:19 PM
In honor of National Poetry Month, WKMS and Murray State University's Teacher Quality Institute have teamed up again for a special project during April, bringing short poems by students in western Kentucky public schools, that air at 7:19 a.m., 11:40 a.m. and 4:19 p.m. weekdays through Tuesday, April 30.
Poems About Picturing America, influenced by William Carlos Williams
Constance Alexander, MSU Faculty Scholar and an award-winning writer, conducted poetry workshops for elementary, middle, and high school students using works of art from Picturing America, a grant program from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In addition to the art works, short poems by poet William Carlos Williams provided structural models for the young writers. According to Ms. Alexander, "Some of the model poems were as short as sixteen words, with others a bit longer and more complicated. The young writers had to make the best use of vocabulary and syntax to craft effective poems. What impresses me the most is how kids use creative problem solving strategies to communicate their ideas within set structures."
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 1 (download the mp3)
-Patchwork Memories by Jaclyn Batchelor, 8th Grade Olmstead Elementary, Logan County (read by Maddie Rose, 8th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
-Too High by Lorenzo Garcia, 8th Grade Olmstead Elementary, Logan County (read by Claire Omstead, 8th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
April 2 (download the mp3)
-Soul by Lydia Manley, 8th Grade Olmstead Elementary, Logan County (read by Jake Hunter, 7th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
-American Flamingo by Tessa Pryor, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Sarai McCallon, 8th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
April 3 (download the mp3)
-Very Carefully by Matthew Harper, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Mattie Miller, 8th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
-American Landscape, 1930 Tan Thawainin, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Jake Hunter, 7th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
April 4 (download the mp3)
-Momma & PaPa & Me by Madison Jones, 3rd Grade Murray Elementary School (read by Kaylan Hall, 12th Murray High School)
-Magic Quilt by Joseph Whisenand, 3th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Julia Curtis, 12th Grade Murray High School)
April 5 (download the mp3)
-The Laborer's Way byAbong'o Adongo, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Mattie Miller, 8th Calloway County Middle School)
-Salute to the Confederacy by McKenzie Lynn, 8th Grade Paducah Middle School (read by Kaylan Hall, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 8 (download the mp3)
-Proud Lakotas byHannah Derby, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Sarai McCallon, 8th Calloway County Middle School)
-American Flamingo by Alora Morefield, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Maddie Rose, 8th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
April 9 (download the mp3)
-Empty byMeg Panor, 6th Grade Paducah Middle School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Calloway County High School)
-The Harsh Journey by Jacob Paluso, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Jake Hunter, 7th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
April 10 (download the mp3)
-The Peacock Room by Charles Graves, 12th Grade Murray High School (read by Kaylan Hall, 12th Calloway County High School)
-Echoes of the Past by Beth Courtney, 12th Grade Murray High School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 11 (download the mp3)
-Twin Towers by Kailee Moore, 8th Grade Olmstead Elementary School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
-Selma to Montgomery by Kayla McGill, 12th Grade Lyon County High School (read by Julia Curtis, 12th Grade Murray High School)
April 12 (download the mp3)
-The Sources of Country Music by Andres Martin, 12th Grade Lyon County High School (read by Holly Heathcott, 12th Grade Murray High School)
-Ancient Basket by Nicole Peters, 12th Grade Lyon County High School (read by Drake Dunnaway, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 15 (download the mp3)
-Stitched Together by Addy Jewell, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Mattie Miller, 8th Calloway County Middle School)
-Crossing the Lines by Tyshea Allen, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Claire Omstead, 8th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
April 16 (download the mp3)
-Migrant Mother by Alicia Cruise Ward, 6th Grade Farmington Elementary School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
-County Election by Gracie Acree, 6th Grade Farmington Elementary School (read by Drake Dunnaway, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 17 (download the mp3)
-The Escape by Addy Jewell, 5th Grade Murray Middle School (read by Maddie Rose, 8th Grade Calloway County Middle School)
-I Stretch by Mallory Wooldridge, 5th Grade, Murray Middle School (read by Sarai McCallon, 8th Calloway County Middle School)
April 18 (download the mp3)
-Strong by Ashley DeBoer, 9th Grade Murray High School (read by Kaylan Hall, 12th Calloway County High School)
-The Struggle by Cameron Pittman, 9th Grade, Murray High School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 19 (download the mp3)
-The Sources of Country Music by Tawni Gray, 12th Grade Lyon County High School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
-Left Out by Matthew Granda, 8th Grade, Olmstead Elementary School (read by Julia Curtis, 12th Grade Murray High School)
April 22 (download the mp3)
-The Veteran's Memory by Noah Coomer, 9th Grade Lyon County High School (read by Kaylan Hall, 12th Calloway County High School)
-Paul Revere by Paige Drew, Murray High School (read by Julia Curtis, 12th Grade Murray High School)
April 23 (download the mp3)
-Warrior by Katie Smith, 8th Grade Olmstead Elementary School (read by Kaylan Hall, 12th Calloway County High School)
-Portrait of a Boy by Claire Wilson, 8th Grade Olmstead Elementary School (read by Drake Dunnaway, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 24 (download the mp3)
-An American King by Hunter Heathcott, 12th Grade Murray High School (reading his own poem)
-I'm A Survivor by Amber Bozman, 10th Grade Murray High School (read by Holly Heathcott, 12th Grade Murray High School)
April 25 (download the mp3)
-Day on the River by Dawson Harrell, 8th Grade South Marshall Middle School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
-Empty by Kalee Gray, 8th Grade South Marshall Middle School (read by Drake Dunnaway, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 26 (download the mp3)
-The Shipyard by Chris Wallace, 8th Grade South Marshall Middle School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
-The Soldier's Dream by Parker Sykes, 8th Grade South Marshall Middle School (read by Drake Dunnaway, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 29 (download the mp3)
-Working World by Caitlin Harvey, 8th Grade South Marshall Middle School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
-Canyon by McKinnon Allday, 8th Grade South Marshall Middle School (read by Drake Dunnaway, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
April 30 (download the mp3)
-Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Starshae Hollowell, 5th Grade Caldwell County Elementary School (read by Kaylan Hall, 12th Calloway County High School)
-Quilts by Isaac Bayer, 8th Grade South Marshall Middle School (read by Megan Tremblay, 12th Grade Calloway County High School)
