O me! O life!

Christmas break provided us all with a much needed recharge of the batteries.  Brains and attitudes came back for the most part ready and willing due to extra sleep, time with family and friends, the ability to read a good book or play a game, etc.  Second semester always brings a variety of change, whether it be the switching of classes, new courses, winter activities, etc.  As for us, December sent off 23 Creative Writing students with a hearty fair-thee-well.  The new year, and this blog, welcomes many familiar faces as well as some new souls into the world of Advanced Creative Writing!

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On our first day together, I showed the kids a clip from Dead Poet's Society...a brilliant film, in my opinion!  We watched as Robin Williams' character, Mr. Keating, encouraged his classroom full of male students to rip out the pages in their books regarding "Understanding Poetry." 

The message to be creative and view poetry as a privilege rather than a duty is maybe my favorite scene.  What Mr. Keating follows this specific scene with are some of my favorite lines of the movie:

 "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute.  We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is full of passion!  Medicine, law, banking--these are necessary to sustain life.  But poetry, romance, love, beauty?  These are what we stay alive for! I quote from Whitman:

O me! O life! of the questions of these recurring; Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish, . . . What good amid these, O me, O life?   

That you are here--That life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

Keating pauses in the movie, and repeats that powerful last line one more time to his students: "That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."  He looks around and asks intently, "What will your verse be?"

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On that note, I went through the normal routine of what would be expected of the members of Advanced Creative Writing, as well as some of the projects we will tackle along the way.  This week they finished up their first task, to write their own "This I Believe" statement, inspired by thisibelieve.org.  I chose to end this week with some daily activities intent on getting them to think about the power of the written word.

Today, on a beautiful sunny, 40° reprieve from Father Winter, we made our way outside for the last 20 minutes of class.  Recess, if you will!  After getting the concept of throwing a snowball out of their system, members went about finding a dry place to sit in the grass and on the sidewalk outside of my room.  What followed was so peaceful, so amazing....that I fear I can't give the moment justice.  I didn't care what they wrote about--if they wanted to go further with our discussion that happened indoors on joy writing, or observations, or memories...it didn't matter.  I just asked them to write.  

For 20 minutes, the heads of 15 young men and women bowed to their paper, at times pausing to turn closed eyes and blissful faces towards the warmth of the winter sun, cocking a head in the direction of the gentle breeze through the trees, the music of birds, and the laughter of children on the playground....and they wrote!

It was a wonderful thing to witness, and a powerful moment to be a part of.  What would our world be like if everyone took the time to slow down like this on occasion?  Worries melted away like wax from a finely lit candle, and the pressures and stresses of Thursday were gone in minutes...it was all over in their body language and facial expressions.

Starting next week, Advanced Creative Writing members will begin sharing their own work, at their own choosing.  I welcome you in to witness their youthful brilliance.

~Ms. Olson