Teaching Poetry with Poetry Unbound
In January of 2022, I was teaching English to high school seniors and I was twelve weeks pregnant (read: incredibly nauseous). I had a very short poetry unit planned because my students were supposed to be gone for a week for a senior trip, but the Omicron variant of Covid had just shown up with a vengeance and their trip was cancelled. We were all in terrible moods, to say the least. And, all of a sudden, I had a lot more poetry to teach than I was expecting.
After a quick search through my mind, I landed on the Poetry Unbound podcast by the On Being Project. Pádraig Ó Tuama hosts this truly lovely podcast that feels like being back in a college classroom with your very favorite teacher helping you to love a poem that they love themselves. It’s cozy, deep, reflective, imaginative, diverse and all delivered in Ó Tuama’s delicate Irish accent in a way that makes you fall hard for whatever poem he chooses.
Back to my grumpy students—I chose an episode that featured a poem by Daenz Smith called “i’m going back to minnesota where sadness makes sense.” In the poem, the speaker talks to California, telling it that they need to go back to Minnesota because it is impossible to feel the full range of sadness in California. California is just too sunny—this speaker needs reflection in the landscape that allows for sadness.
My students were HOOKED. As they listened to the episode, I saw them marking up their copies of the poem. No one left for the bathroom. Everyone sat quietly and didn’t twitch for their phones. After the episode was finished, they exploded into discussion with ideas. They could relate. They connected the ideas to their own lives. They nerded out over the specifics of the poem. They took the analysis further. They brought it up later in our classes. I was simply amazed.
Teaching Poetry with Podcasts Blog Post | Five Podcasts Perfect for the Classroom
If you haven’t tried teaching poetry with podcasts, I highly recommend it. I know poetry can be intimidating, but when students realize the potential of the meanings hidden in poetry, they can’t help their enthusiasm. And, best of all, by letting someone else (a podcast host…) do the initial analysis, you’ve cleared up your own time, you’ve given your students something they crave (more media), and you can sit back and watch the magic happen.
If you need help, I have a very flexible mini unit that outlines five episodes with discussion questions from Poetry Unbound, including Smith’s “minnesota,” that can be used in a variety of settings. Great for National Poetry Month or any time you find yourself with some extra time.
Contemporary Poetry and Podcasts Mini Unit | Check it out!
Have fun and let me know what you think!