Teach Senior Citizens How to Write Poetry

Teaching a poetry class to senior adults, mostly in their fifties and sixties is interesting and a lot of fun. The teachers for this project were those who had a genuine interest in a specific skill, were quite good at doing it and felt they could teach the skill to others.

A day was set aside for potential students to come to the Adult Center and register for classes. All hopeful teachers were also there with a sign on their table that signified which class they would teach. Most teachers had five or six students enroll for a class on enrollment day, and often more came on the first day of the class, which was fine. The classes lasted for six weeks and were held one day in each week for two hours.

On the first day of the class, it is important to find where each of your students stand in his/her knowledge of poetry writing. A short quiz can give the teacher a good idea of that standing. Ask each student to describe a different poetic term, such as rhythm, end rhyme, internal rhyme, alliteration, metaphor, simile and more. Some will do better than others, but most understand rhythm and end rhyme. Also, explain about rhythm and how we count syllables; example, an iamb is two syllables (one foot) with the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed. Iambic Pentameter is a line of five iambic feet or ten syllables.

For the second class, make up a list of all the poetic terms, and give one to each student. Also, make up a list of different meters (rhythm) that make our poetry flow, and how to count and recognize them.

With this information, ask each student to write a short rhymed poem on any subject. The poems will definitely contain a variety of subjects and styles. Then give each student a list of all the poetic terms and what they mean.

Most of these adult students will do well in the class, and usually move on to become real poets. Many will continue to take these adult classes as long as they are offered. There are also many who contact their instructors/teachers long after they feel they have reached their poetic pinnacle.

For the next week's class, they should have an assignment to write a poem in any form, rhymed or unrhymed, using as many of the poetic terms from their list as possible. Also, ask them to explain how they counted syllables and what meter they used. Here is a line written in iambic pentameter - note there are ten syllables.

¹ "of Course you Can learn Me-ter If you Try"

There was one gentleman I happened to meet there who loved to write haiku, and that is mostly what he wrote, and he is still writing this short, intriguing form. Haiku is an original Japanese form that is not easy to write, although some people believe it is due to its brevity.

¹ "Awakening The Poet Within," by Ann Gasser, Jessee Poet Publications, Butler, PA 16001, 1993.