SOL 2016 Day 19: Poetry Workshop with Ellen Bass

Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life March Challenge 2016

This March, more than 300 teachers have committed to daily writing. If you’d like to read more “slices” (from other teachers and even students), visit: twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/challenges.

This is my latest Slice so far. I just got home from an all day poetry workshop at the home of the wonderful poet, Ellen Bass.  I sat on a very hard folding chair for 7 hours with 13 other poets while Ellen talked about poetry and gave us strategies and advice on taking our poems from the purely personal to be more universal. It was so inspiring.

Luckily I sat facing her front window. Outside she has the most beautiful olive tree. At one point in the afternoon I managed to write a few lines about it:

Olive tree coming into bloom

outside the window,

leaves silvered by sun low

in the afternoon sky.

I wish I had a full poem to share about this day, but the 1 1/2 hour drive each way has left me tuckered out. There's always tomorrow.