By Aria Pahari
Using the Poetry Centered podcast format as a model, students will select a poem from Voca and prepare a brief introduction articulating why they chose the poem, allowing “listeners”—in this case their classmates—to experience the poem through their curation.
It is optional to assign an episode of the Poetry Centered podcast before this lesson. Since students will need to browse the Voca archive, internet and laptop/iPad access and headphones are required for this lesson.
Play Ada Limón’s episode of Poetry Centered from when she introduces Lorna Dee Cervantes’ “Crow” at 1:06 until Cervantes wraps up the poem at 5:35. Ask students:
- What details did Limón include in her introduction that allowed her connection to the poem to feel personal?
- How did Limón’s introduction provide listeners with an idea of the poem’s key themes?
- How did Limón’s introduction prepare you for the poem, as well as leave room for surprise?
After discussing Limón’s introduction, students will be “podcast hosts” and introduce a poem of their choice. Ask students to search for a poem they like on Voca. Browsing options include searching by reader, tag, year, simply by searching a keyword in the search bar on the homepage.
Once students picked their poems, have them prepare a brief introduction for it. It does not have to be perfect or completely polished, but simply include some key reasons why they made their selection.
Share these prompts to help guide their intros:
- Why does the poem speak to you?
- Do you like the way the poet reads it? Are there aspects of the poem like the words, form, or imagery that you enjoyed?
- What would you want listeners to notice about this poem?
Conclude with having students share their introductions and then playing their poem selection.
