November 2011
6 posts
Before Chicago...
I wasn’t sure of myself as an educator but now I have experienced how powerful teaching can be, I am inspired to share all that I have gained and inspire others with my work. Thank you Chicago and all who made this trip happen in one way or the other.
You changed lives by giving.
Indie x
““A poem moves forward on detail and verbs. The more you can make your...”
– Memorable Quotes from Chicago
Jennifer's blog →
Read Jennifer’s thoughts from the trip so far…
The Team Manifesto
In order to encourage a healthy and supportive creative environment we will: Ask questions that will prompt others to think.
Change the way we view things and we will not be afraid of ourselves.
Be completely honest and offer space, interdependence and competition (an eagerness to be the best we can be).
Critique to exemplify areas that do not work and pick out areas that do work and...
October 2011
10 posts
“I want to completely ignite a passion for writing and creating. I want to meet...”
– Jennifer Perry
“I hope to push myself out of my comfort zone and share the experiences that I...”
– Indigo Williams
“The LTPS Chicago Exchange project delivers the gift of community to young...”
– Jamal Msebele
“I hope to see how people in different parts of the world see different ideas,...”
– Shelomoh Shaylah
A huge thank you
This Friday, four young London poets will board a plane for Chicago for a week of poetry, teaching, international sharing and inspiration. Representing the London Teenage Poetry SLAM, they will travel with their poet coaches, their poems and above all, the incredible support they have been given by teachers, poets and friends of the project on both sides of the Atlantic, to make this trip...
SLAM in Chicago 2010 - appeal
We’re trying to get a small team of representatives for the London SLAM project back to Chicago this year, but as with most people in the arts at the moment, we’ve found the fundraising challenging. Here’s an appeal letter from long-time SLAM poet-coach, Sifundo Msebele:
Dear poets and friends
I hope you are well.
I am writing to you to keep London Teenage Poetry Slam...
January 2010
1 post
“Nobody has ever done this,” she said. “They came all the way from...”
– Hay School jams at poetry slam
December 2009
4 posts
“for me, the performance night was the most memorable day of the trip because,...”
– - a Facebook message from Jack.
“Meeeee too :(“
- a reply from Max.
November 2009
30 posts
On Tuesday, the students travel to Hay Community school, where we take part in a workshop led by Jacob and Peter. I speak to students whose fathers, uncles, and brothers have been murdered in gang related incidents. This shocks me. These children are beautiful; softly spoken, almost bashful, polite, and inquisitive. I will miss them.
Hay is not a well-resourced school. They have no arts...
My day at Hay School
(Tuesday, 10th November…)
For me, Tuesday was the most memorable day of the Chicago trip. We spent the day at John Hay Academy, an elementary school in Austin, Chicago, working with a group of 20 American students. Most of these students had never written and performed their own work before. They shuffled into the school auditorium, nervous and excited to meet the London students.
After...
Monday's Schedule
(note: for any Americans in the house, that’s schedule pronounced “shed-yule”.)
Mon. Nov. 9
—hosts bring to OPRFHS in the a.m. (note—this is a late arrival day for students. We need to arrange whether to meet at 8am or 9am in Mr. Kahn’s office—room 375)
—FREE Day to explore Oak Park and/or Chicago
—British visitors on their own until 3pm
...
WatchShane leads a writing exercise in downtown Chicago…
A response to Shane's exercise
(Sunday, 8th of November…)
This is the point where I enter the blog… Jacob has already introduced me somewhere below, but to reiterate, I’m Miriam Nash - Jacob’s assistant on this project and also a poet myself. But to the London SLAM team, I’m known as Aunty Miriam, which I think sums up my role this week quite nicely…
One of the best things about the week so far has been having a lovely...
Settling down in Chicago...
(Saturday 7th November…)
The flight out was fine. I had a seat next to Miriam - she hasn’t been to the US for many years, and I’m looking forward to this being a really good experience for her. As for the team, only two of them have travelled to the US in the past, and this is the first time in Chicago for all of them. Everyone’s in really good spirits - students and...
First problem...
Looks like I won’t have a camera to travel with tomorrow. Will the iPhone be able to do the heavy lifting for the first day or so before I pick up a replacement? Even if I pick up something at the airport, I’m not going to have it charged until Sunday…