Teaching poetry at Alexander Valley School

2.5 classes' worth of kid poetry journals read; 1.5 more to go. I'm flagging. Time for a Kahlúa smoothie. Then onto typing up final poems for all four classes, getting ready for the poetry book. Yep.

I have to change locale and/or jobs every 45 minutes or so, replete with treats, or I become a narcaleptic reader. The cookie didn't do it. My boat done cinq. Or maybe it's a raft, and that's the problem.

Well... deep subject....that went well, not only am I off the clock, I'm off the rez too. Note to self: maybe less Kahlúa next time. The instant coffee and cocoa powder was a great addition, it cut the sweetness. 

Will I be able to love my pillow tonight truly madly deeply? A nap is in order. Alexander Valley is, well, chardonnay valley. Every once and a while I get paid in wine.

One more class to go...then onto typing. Uh, saving the best for last. Will read them tomorrow AM. Done! A long day's worth of typing kid poems for their annual  anthology. Corrected proofs are pasted onto the back of their journals. 

They have one more chance to get another typed poem for the book tomorrow. I aim for three poems per child...Friday, art and book assembly. Monday Open House! I took a productivity powder this afternoon...quagmire of molasses...

The kids at Alexander Valley School are such great writers, and so fun to be around, it's all play. I've been teaching poetry there each spring for decades. In fact, one of my former AVS students, Lucy Carroll will be reading with Dana Gioia at The Shed May 19. So proud!

"Healdsburg High School sophomore Lucy Carroll will share the spotlight with internationally known literary figure Dana Gioia at Shed on Thursday, May 19 starting at 7 p.m. Gioia, California Poet Laureate and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will talk about the transformative power of literature, and read from his works, including his new “99 Poems New and Selected.”

He will also introduce Lucy Carroll and Melissa Lozano, the winner of the county-wide Poetry Out Loud competition."  —Healdsburg Tribune