When my imagination grows,
the whole world grows with it.
by Alex, 5nd grade
Houston, TX—Across the United States, April will be celebrated as National Poetry Month. Writers in the Schools (WITS) wants to give Houstonians of all ages the chance to appreciate the creativity and wisdom of children. For this reason, in April 2012 WITS presents A Poem a Day, celebrating Houston children—in their own words.
Through this project, WITS will share a child’s poem each weekday in April via email, the WITS blog (witsblog.org), and through KPFT radio. WITS has produced colorful poetry bookmarks that will be distributed by local businesses and organizations, including: Houston Public Library, Harris County Public Library, Houston Zoo, Copy.com, Half-Price Books, the Menil Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, HEB, and Georgia’s Farm to Market. If your business or organization would like to participate, contact WITS at mail@witshouston.org or 713-523-3877. Individuals can sign up at http://www.witshouston.org/join-our-list. Participants will also receive a resource guide filled with tips on sharing poetry with children.
National Poetry Month was established by the Academy of American Poets as a month-long, national celebration of poetry. As Houston’s largest literary organization, WITS realized the need to celebrate our community’s youngest poets. All poems featured in A Poem a Day are written by students in grades K-12 who have participated in the WITS program. More information can be found at http://witsblog.org/2012/03/15/sign-up-for-a-poem-a-day-in-april/.
WITS was founded in 1983 in an effort to introduce new approaches to teaching writing in primary and secondary schools. By sending poets, journalists, novelists, and playwrights into classrooms, WITS enhances the reading and writing curriculum in unexpected and exciting ways. This year WITS has placed writers in over 350 classrooms in Houston area schools, working with 20,000 students and their teachers. In addition to our work in classrooms, WITS writers also teach young people in museums, hospitals, libraries, and community centers, igniting imagination and a love of learning.
