Middle School poets shine at library
By Sally Applegate / Correspondent
Mon Feb 02, 2009, 10:46 AM EST
North Andover Poet Laureate Gayle Heney worried that no one, perhaps not even the young poets scheduled to read that night, would brave the horrendously frigid winds on Jan. 14 to come to the Stevens Memorial Library. She needn’t have worried.
All four North Andover Middle School poets showed up accompanied by friends and family, and even some sixth-grade students attended to support the seventh-graders, along with David Shore, the new president of the Greater Haverhill Poets, who also made it into the audience. The readings that evening by Connor Treacy, Kate Doughty, Jacob McIlveen and Kim Mandry all served as a prelude to the currently hanging exhibit of 45 poems, called “NAMS POETS,” on display now through March 21 at the library.
“I was thrilled when people began stopping by to read the poems even as I was still putting up the display at the library,” says Heney. “The poets’ words, their thoughts, and their hopes were available for the community to share.”
Here are some examples of what the seventh-grade poets read on Jan. 14. Jacob McIlveen read his poem “NYC.”
I try to find my way through this place
like an ant trying to find his
way through a spring garden
The lights of the street replace
the natural stars that I have
grown to love in Massachusetts
I hear loud conversations
people talking on their cell phones
as I walk through the city
with no destination
Here, some excerpts from “Managers’ Choice,” a humorous poem written and read by Kate Doughty.
Oh gosh what’s that?
What indeed
Can claim the title of
My school’s mystery meat?
……
Are those bat’s bones
Going crunch?
That’s what I get for ordering
Mystery Lunch
And here are excerpts from “Perfecting an Icy and White Snowball,” written and read by Connor Treacy as he describes a classic snowball fight with his brother.
I re-gather myself,
And rise to the peak of my barrier
Examining enemy grounds
Only to find the missile’s carrier
He fires another,
That skids on the street
While packing my snowball
I rise to my feet
These final excerpts are from “In the Box” written and read by Kim Mandry.
Such a strange place,
No light, just darkness
It’s quiet
Not a single sound
I am alone
Like I’m in another world
With no one to talk to
No one to be there
Heney taught six poetry classes to 150 middle school students during the week of Jan. 5, and to her delight, 45 of the student poets wanted to display their work at the library.
“They’re honest, they’re open, and they’re creative,” says Heney. “These kids are so delightful. They’re very surprising. In the classes I held up a crystal ball and asked them, ‘What’s the future of the world for you and your family? Now write.’ The kids in one class wanted to stay over to read their poems. I thought this was amazing. ”
Heney worked with middle school teachers Brenda Shanley and Bridget Leonardis and middle school media center librarian Anne Bate to create the large poetry display, which includes some
“Picture Poetry” also known as Concrete Poetry. The poems take the shape of their subject matter, including one poem on the future of technology, which is shaped like an iPod, complete with cord.
At the Jan. 14th poetry reading, the teachers surprised the kids with pizza to turn the event into a party. And for future enjoyment, the readings were captured on video thanks to filming by father and daughter team Ron and Lynn Zeheb.
North Andover High School teacher Sean Rorke has volunteered his tech course students to turn the raw footage into a cable TV program, thanks to new North Andover Community Access Media Director Brian Frazer. The program will eventually be aired on Channel 22.
Heney is happy for her young poetry readers.
“They can see themselves on TV — that is very cool for a middle-schooler,” says Heney. “Now you have the middle school working with the high school. That’s kids helping kids. It’s bringing the community together through poetry.”
The Stevens Memorial Library is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information on the library, visit www.stevensmemlib.org.
Corrections by Ms. Henney (2-13-09):
Eight, not four, enthusiastic North Andover Middle School (NAMS) poets read their poetry at the North Andover Middle School Library Media Center, not the Stevens Memorial Library as stated in the North Andover Citizen article of 1/31/09. They included Nick VanBuskirk, Daniel Zeheb, Keval Gala, Kate Doughty, Kim Mandry, Connor Treacy and and Matt Slauter. Poet Laureate Gayle C. Heney, who arranged the reading, apologizes for these errors. All the poets entertained us with their humor, candor and understanding of their world. Please visit the Stevens Memorial Library, not the North Andover Middle School Library Media Center, to view 45 poems from these and other NAMS poets through 3/21/09.
© All material in the project website is the intellectual property of the writers and photographers listed. Further use of the material beyond that of the North Andover Poetry Passion Project requires the written consent of the writer/photographer.
| 
