Tell your story by creating poetry

TO BE OR not to be? Young poets might know the question from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet from movies or television, but not from reading the Bard himself. And it might not matter.

Kids are creating poetry that matters to them. “I’m seeing (poetry) not be something that is only available to you if you are taught about it in school,” said Aniyah

Smith, 17, Washington DC’s youth poet laureate, an honour given to a Washington-area poet between the ages of 14 and 19.

It’s not that Aniyah and her peers want to ignore the works of Shakespeare or Edgar Allan Poe. But young people want to talk about today’s issues, such as gun violence and race relations. Speaking truth to power can come in the form of verse.

“I think that poetry is the most powerful tool currently. As a young woman of colour, I am often told to be quiet. I’m often told my voice doesn’t matter. As young people in the poetry scene, we are using our words as a protest to a country that is kind of rendering us voiceless,” Aniyah said.

Established poets welcome this younger generation using poetry to illuminate the issues of today.

Nikki Giovanni, who began publishing poetry in the 1960s, has had poets of all ages seek her wisdom. “What I dislike is the people around my age who say things like, ‘Oh, that’s wrong’, because we heard all of that when we were growing up – ‘Oh, y’all don’t know what you’re doing’,” Giovanni said.

She is often considered a living legend in poetry, but sees herself as just one contributor to the form’s growth. “I don’t know where the kids are going to go with it; (older people) will be watching where they’re taking poetry and how they’re using it – and it will always be with us,” she said.

One person who understands Giovanni’s impact well, is her former student Kwame Alexander, author of Newbery Medal winner The Crossover as well as Rebound.

Giovanni was Alexander’s professor at Virginia Tech. Both use poetry in inventive ways to tell stories for children, and they want to make sure that kids’ concerns are taken seriously.

“Kids are smart. In many instances, they are smarter than we think they are and more aware of what’s happening… they just have a lot of questions,” Alexander said.

It’s not just poetry books that are trying to answer those questions. Kids are finding poems on social media platforms such as Instagram. They also might be introduced to the idea of poetry through hip-hop or rap music.

Alexander says these are good entry points to poetry, but they won’t be as meaningful as reading the works of Giovanni or Pablo Neruda. – Washington Post

Author and poet Kwame Alexander, who won the Newbery Medal for his book ‘The Crossover’, talks with kids at book-signing event. PICTURE: WASHINGTON POST