Ms. Bloomquist kept a great selection of quotes on a slide show in between shows. Following are some more pictures from the Mt. Vernon Poetry Expo, 2010, in Alexandria, Virginia.
The “Little Theater” at Mt. Vernon High on rehearsal night. Poet Janice Kephart prepares her poem
The crowd gathers…ready to here Mic Tha Poet for the fist time !!! Poets Latorial Faison and Janice Kephart in foreground
Students gather and the Mt. Vernon High School poetry contest winners get ready to give their introductions
A delightful student, whose name shamefully eludes me now, gives an excellent introduction to one of the four featured poets. Great job!! Students played a huge role in the hospitality shown towards their featured guests
Another student poet and performer, Francisco Montenegro (who’s name was just catchy enough to remember, i suppose!), performs his poem after the featured poets. Francisco also stopped in to share his thoughts with us poets at the “meet & greet” session after Friday’s shows
My student prepared gourmet lunch!! I was very impressed with the “out of the box” offerings of Mt. Vernon to their students. Student chefs, who were learning gourmet food preparation, served meals to us in an impressive banquet-style restaurant setting. Additionally, in another area the school had a small television studio where students produced and televised a “news” broadcast - every single morning!! Very cool
Here is a (poorly done, lol) re-make of a poetry poster in Ms. Bloomquist’s classroom. I thought it might be cool for some of her students to perhaps recognize here. There are some handy reminders here for aspiring poets!
And here, of course, is a clip of Francisco’s poem…please leave a comment below if you know the title or if you just like the poem! I love his stage presence – his leadership command layered over a foundation of sincere courage and compassion. With a little bit of inspiration and attention, this young man has great potential in tha art of performance poetry.
I was moved by tha poetry of several young men and women at Mt. Vernon High: one young student shared a poem with me, in a moment of privacy, that nearly moved me to tears – tears that I only held back in order to provide her an image of courage deserved by her reflection; I had the opportunity to read a young man’s poetry on stage, regarding the duplicity of human nature and the limits we impose on ourselves; and we all shared a great moment rappin’ to THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR theme song!!! (full song lyrics here)
…a reminder…
“grant me a pearl of your wisdom,
and I will keep it…and share it…
until tha day comes
when you will again need to wear it”
Poetry is powerful, people – and it is ALIVE at Mt. Vernon High…
More video to come - soon – from the 2010 Mt. Vernon Poetry Expo !!!
mtp
i thought his piece was good as well and he looked so young but he made he made his presence known and his style spoke for itself.
-tha gift
glad u liked Francisco’s piece, it is inspiring to see the next generation of up and coming leaders, artists, and rebels… it sure keeps me going… so did u send me that Alone in tha Dark video yet, or do i gotta go to youtube? Plug that ish right here brother !!
yo give to the end of the week-and ill plug the video in for ya!
Yo sorry im leaving out words.lol- i meant give me to the end of the week and ill plug the video in for ya!
LOL. its all good, i got u…yeah, when ur ready just leave a link to it here …anything going on in tha ROC ???