How Do I Get a Poet in My Classroom?

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it’s actually a question that the Dodge Poetry Staff hears a lot.  In the last few months, we’ve highlighted a few of the High School Mini-Festivals that have taken place this year.  As the school year comes to a close, we are beginning to map out next year’s Poets-in-the-Schools programming. We thought we’d use this blog post to share some of the nuts and bolts of Dodge Poet Visits and Dodge Poetry Mini-Festivals.

Dodge Poet Visits and Dodge Poetry Mini-Festivals are a chance for New Jersey High School students to explore poetry with accomplished, published Dodge Poets. Dodge Poets give students a way to relate to poetry that is meaningful and relevant to them, and through their modeling of curiosity and discovery, encourage students to be lifelong readers and poetry lovers.

Dodge Poet Visits and Dodge Poetry Mini-Festivals:

Dodge Poet Visits are one-day events featuring one Dodge Poet.  Mini-Festivals feature several Dodge Poets and may involve neighboring schools.  To minimize the expense to schools, The Dodge Foundation co-sponsors Poet Visits and Mini-Festivals. The staff of the Dodge Poetry Program identifies, hires and schedules your Dodge Poets, ensuring that your event is exciting and meaningful for your students. Recent Mini-Festivals are featured in our Poetry Fridays Blog.  Further information about scheduling can be found on our website.

We are currently scheduling events for the 2011-2012 school year. Our priority is to bring Mini-Festivals to New Jersey High Schools with the greatest need. If you’d like more information or to speak to us directly, contact Michele Russo, Poetry Coordinator at mrusso@grdodge.org or 973-540-8442 x113.