Terry Locke - Poetry PD

Tonight's Professional Development is hosted by poet Terry Locke via Zoom (due to the current Covid-19 lockdown in place!)

Writing Apprehension

Prior to the session we completed a writing apprehension questionnaire - this was interesting as it made me really think about my thoughts on writing.

• Teachers can be strong influencers of young writers - both positive and negative
• Can the opinions and apprehensions be changed?

What is Poetry

• "Best words in the best order" - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• "A momentary stay against confusion" - Robert Frost - a sense in that we all need something to hang onto when lives are in disarray - a way of making sense of our lives
• It can resist definition in many ways

Concrete Language - enable a reader to respond sensuously to an experience

Abstract Language - language or ideas or concepts  - its main purpose is to reason through generalisation or argument

Messages from tonight to consider with future teaching

• Have you had a 'red pencil' experience from a teacher?
• Our primary role is to respond to the writing - respond to the ideas in the message

First Sample Piece of Writing

Our first writing task was about a place that had special meaning to us.  Once we had completed the writing we needed to highlight our concrete words/phrases in yellow and our abstract pieces in blue.  This was my piece:

And then feedback received on the above piece of writing from Terry Locke:

Further Research & Readings

Book:  Beyond the Grammar Wars

Book:  Close up for Poetry