I am convinced that all children can make poetry. The trick is getting them quiet and giving them a window of time to observe both the world and themselves.
-Jessica Jones
Artist in Residence
A Day in the Woods is a year-long poetry project at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center (CVEEC) led by Artist in Residence, Jessica Jones. Every Wednesday Jessica works with four groups of about a dozen middle school students, meeting each trail group in the woods, by the pond, or at the meadow, to talk about poetry. What is a poem? What does it do? What are the tools that poets use to express what they experience? She reads each group a few poems by established poets, and a few poems by children, and then guides each student to quietly observe nature so that they can compose their own short free verse poems.
The best of the children’s poetry can be viewed at
www.dayinthewoods.blogspot.com .
For photographs and excerpts from Jessica’s online journal please visit www.yearinthevalley.blogspot.com
