book

POEMS
Poetry writing is incorporated in all educational systems. The language of poetry is
eloquent, familiar and effective, in the sense that playing with words can give many
messages. In the 5th short-term training session in Opwijk, Belgium, January 2016,
students attended a workshop on poetry writing. Further from traditional approaches,
they were acquainted with various techniques: acrostic, eleven-word-poem, haiku,
shape poem, tanka, tetractys, limerick. They were also provided with vocabulary of
emotions in English, to be used freely.
During the workshop, participating children were divided into multinational groups
and wrote poems together. A presentation followed. One of the students was reading
the poem aloud while the rest of the group were showing the words written on sheets
of paper. The creative output was filmed with mobile phones.
Back in their countries, the techniques were presented to their fellow-students.
They were invited to write poems in their native language or in English, and some were
also inspired by a visual stimulus (photographs or works of art). There was great support
by teachers of Literature and English.
In some countries, booklets of poetry were made and short-listing of poems for this
publication via voting was implemented.
In the 6th short-term training session in Bad Ems, Germany, March 2016, the poems
were presented in versatile, creative ways (displays, reiteration, video presentation with
the writers, animation).
We were surprised by the momentum of the participation, given the fact that
poetry does not seem to be a favourite means of expression in our days. This
strengthens our argument that poetry is inspirational, it can soothe spirits and souls and
it should be used in the educational process with emphasis.
We recommend poem writing to be an annual activity as a competition entry on the
International Anti-bullying day or as a part of an Anti-bullying festival.
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