In April 2017, Samara Huggins was named National Poetry Out Loud Champion at the national final in Washington, DC. Samara, from Marietta, Georgia, is now a first-year student at Pratt Institute in New York City. She sat down with poet, playwright, and long-time T&W teaching artist Dave Johnson to talk about her Poetry Out Loud…
By Sheryl Noethe Teachers & Writers Collaborative is turning 50 years old this fall. To celebrate this milestone, we asked people who have been part of T&W’s work over the last five decades to tell their stories. In this 50th story, poet Sheryl Noethe writes about becoming a T&W teaching artist and receiving the gift…
Teachers & Writers Collaborative is pleased to continue our partnerships with the graduate writing programs at The New School and New York University during 2017–2018. Each year, five MFA candidates at The New School are chosen as T&W education or editorial associates, while three graduate students at NYU receive the Writers in the Public Schools…
By Erika Luckert What is a poem? When I teach poetry, I often begin by asking students what a poem is. Their answers are ones I’ve come to expect: a poem has line breaks. It shows your emotions. It rhymes, or it doesn’t. It has fancy language. It’s hard to understand. Last fall, I began…
By Dave Johnson, Jessie Paddock, and Samantha Thomson LoCoco In spring 2017, T&W teaching artists Dave Johnson, Jessie Paddock, and Samantha Thomson LoCoco led a playwriting program for older adults at VISIONS: Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The outline below is an overview of the six writing lessons that preceded participants’ rehearsals and…
Please join Teachers & Writers Collaborative in welcoming new and returning writers to our teaching roster for the 2017–2018 school year. These literary artists bring a wealth of teaching and writing experience to their work with T&W. Their extensive expertise will benefit the students and teachers with whom we work for years to come. To…
by Tricia Ebarvia This article was originally published at movingwriters.org. The school year is winding down—and I find myself thinking more and more of warm poolside days—yet everywhere I turn, rich mentor texts seem to come my way. I’ll find something and think, “Oh, that would have been perfect to use with ____” or “That would have…
By Jeffrey Pflaum Teachers & Writers Collaborative will turn 50 years old in fall 2017. To celebrate this milestone, we asked people who have been part of T&W’s work over the last five decades to tell their stories. Jeffrey Pflaum reflects on how T&W books and writers have inspired his own teaching and writing. …