Racial identity, gratitude and the overwhelming state of current events are just a few of the topics explored by the young poets of BronxWrites – an initiative founded by the arts and social justice platform GlobalWrites. Their work culminates in two competitions – a group in February and an individual final in May.
While the individual BronxWrites finalists performed at Lehman College over the years, the group finals took place at Joe’s Pub in the East Village for decades. This year, the group poets will be able to compete in their home borough for the first time in 28 years when they grace the stage of the Bronx Music Hall on Thursday, Feb. 12.
“This is part of our vision of making sure to celebrate in the borough,” Ellen Hagan said, head of the poetry and theater departments for the DreamYard Project – an arts and social justice organization dedicated to working with Bronx youth and partners with BronxWrites.
“That was the idea to bring it to Bronx Music Hall, so that our students and families and everybody can be a little closer to home.”
BronxWrites collaborates with several schools across the Boogie Down ranging from elementary to high school with one particular legacy school, P.S./M.S. 95 near Van Cortlandt Park, which has worked with the organization for 25 years. The program was utilizing teleconferencing to connect students around the world – from Alaska to Japan – long before Zoom became a household name.
“There’s a few who have gone on to become teachers and writers and there’s a few from two years ago that were really excellent poets and they work with social action and justice,” fifth-grade teacher Nick Merchant of P.S. 95 said.
“So yeah, I definitely see that there’s been a ripple effect.”
Once a week from October to May, teaching artists from DreamYard instruct students on the elements of poetry from format to literary devices to writing original poems and finally, memorization and performance.
One student moving on to the finals, from P.S. 46 near Kingsbridge Road, is 10-year-old Derlon Norales Bermude who wrote, “How Amazing It Is.” In his poem, he expresses extreme gratitude for the simple things in life; like the smell of nature, a hug from your family, that feeling one gets from a new pair of sneakers and the joy of friendship.
“I would like people to know that I was raised having cousins without fathers and mothers and I want people to know that they should have love for their family and they shouldn’t take their family for granted,” Norales told the Bronx Times in a touching moment of sincerity.
The poems are graded using a rubric divided into three sections: the poem itself, interpretation and performance. Each section has several sub-sections which include, but are not limited to: judging if the message is effectively conveyed.
Does it include figurative language? Is it memorized? Does the poet speak loudly and clearly? However, tapping into personal matters and finding their poetic voice are also key components of the BronxWrites program and just as crucial.
“One of the things the regular classes really focus on is the intellectual side of writing; the revision, the editing and being right and having the right answer all the time,” said DreamYard teaching artist Andrée Greene.
“I’m getting them out of that a little bit . . . feeling like you can say anything, that’s the voice I want.”
Greene went on to describe her own struggle with finding her voice as a writer, especially being raised by a family of teachers where using correct grammar and formal ways of speaking was emphasized.
“So finding that thing in my head that I know is separate, that is different, that is not necessarily following the rules was a little more difficult. I really had to work really hard to listen to myself, and I think that’s always the key. You have to listen to yourself and accept yourself,” Greene added.
Much like 10-year-old Naelys Payano, who received the highest score in her school, also at P.S. 46, with her poem, “I’m From D.R.” Payano performed with pride while depicting the unique beauty of the Dominican Republic.
“I am from an island kissed by sun/where merengue drums say life begun/from salty air and coconut trees/and ocean dances with a warm wind breeze/ I am from platanos frying at dawn/ from cafe caliente strong and drawn,” read parts of her poem.
“I love poetry because every time I write a poem I like to put something about D.R.,” Payano said. “People should know that poetry is not that hard, it’s actually very fun.”
Out of more than 100 performers, about 30 will move on to the finals where they will perform with their peers and family members in the crowd, which can be specifically daunting for students who suffer from anxiety or are overwhelmed by self-consciousness.
Alicia Cole-Quinlan, a fifth-grade teacher at P.S. 46, who works in an Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) setting, that melds general education students with those who have learning disabilities, emphasized the importance and power of self-expression.
“I was interested in seeing how it will play out with students who have different needs and just seeing their ability to still be creative and express themselves has been very encouraging to me,” she said. “Everyone has a right to express themselves regardless of how people may perceive you or however people may perceive your abilities.”
Tickets to the BronxWrites finals on Feb. 12 are free with registration, which can be found on Eventbrite courtesy of DreamYard Project, Inc.
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
