Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Capturing Thunder In Classroom
FARMINGTON – Native Americans, Europeans, Australians and various cultures across the globe have long dreamed of discovering an ability to harness thunder, lightning and the forces of nature.
Thanks to poetry prompts and creative writing exercises brought into the classroom by Master of Fine Arts (MFA) writers at the University of Arkansas one young man has done just that.
During a Dec. 18 meeting of the Farmington School Board held in Ledbetter Intermediate cafeteria, Ginny Luther, who teaches fifthgrade Literacy and Social Studies at the school, introduced two students whose work is showcased prominently in the 42nd edition of the Arkansas Writers in the Schools’ poetry anthology.
Luther informed the board that Kaleb Hendricks’ art was selected for the cover, and Cameron Vanzant, a line from his poem, ‘How To Capture Thunder,’ became the title of the book, “Make It Come to You.”
Luther said the school wanted to have students perform poems during the meeting, but quickly learned the students were shy about performing in front of the school board. Cameron Vanzant agreed and successfully performed his poem, “How To Capture Thunder,” without drawing any thunderclaps or lightningbolts from the heavens, yet earning applause from the school board, school Superintendent Bryan Law and all those present.
How to Capture Thunder
Step 1: Get a boomerang and throw it up to the sky to wake it up Step 2: Get some kind of noise maker to make it mad and it will start rumbling Step 3: Get something shiny so when thunder sees it
it will move and make a rumble sound like a lion roars
Step 4: Make it come to you by waving the shiny object at the thunder
Step 5: Say thank you that way, it will not get mad
Community Dinner
Bethel Grove Community will have its monthly dinner and music, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5, at the community building. Dinner is at 6 p.m. Music by James McKinney and Southern Justice will start at 7 p.m. Bring a dish.
that way, it is a soothing thunder sound
© 2017 Arkansas Writers in the Schools
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
“Writers in the Schools is all about writing creative poetry with lots of different rules,” Luther said. “One rule is they get to be weird which they like.”
According to Luther, 21 Ledbetter students have poems published in the anthology along with work from students from the other 28 schools involved in the project. Poems featured in the book were written by students across Arkansas – ranging from grades 3 to 12 during two-day residencies by MFA writers at the University of Arkansas in classrooms. The compilation was created from the 2016 – 2017 academic year with 29 schools, including Farmington’s Ledbetter Intermediate, participating. The visit occurred March 27 - 28.
A disclaimer in the beginning of the anthology states, “To the best of our knowledge, the poems selected for this book consist entirely of student work. We may correct spelling and minor grammatical errors, but no significant editorial changes have been made to student work in the production of this anthology.”
The anthology is dedicated to the late Frank Broyles, former coach and long-time athletic director at the University of Arkansas, 1924 - 2017, who went out of his way to be a champion for WITS; and also for James Whitehead, a professor who along with MFA student John Biguenet, created the University of Arkansas’ Poetry in the Schools (PITS) program in 1973. The program grew rapidly and remained steadfast in its mission of bringing creative writing to young people across Arkansas. In 1989 the name was changed to the more inclusive and upbeat WITS.
To order a copy of the anthology, download a PDF file of the anthology, or to request a WITS visit to a school, visit the WITS website: www.arkansaswits. org.