NHS Teacher Brings Love Of Poetry To Classroom

By Martha Coville

Lee Keylock, an English teacher at Newtown High School “lives and breathes poetry.” He recently won a poetry prize at Southern Connecticut State University, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in fine arts. Meanwhile, at Newtown High, he is filled with enthusiasm over two poetry programs he runs for his students.

Mr Keylock recently won the 2007 Graduate Student Poetry Prize at Southern. The contest evaluated a “packet” of five poems, judging each poet by the body of his work. Brad Davis, a creative writing teacher at Pomfret School in Pomfret, judged the contest. Mr Davis is the author Though War Breaks Out, a collection of his own poems. He is also the editor of the Broken Bridge Review, a literary journal published by Pomfret School. Mr Davis called Mr Keylock’s poems “seductive, strangely beautiful forays into a handful of the uglier truths about us humans,” united by their attention to “difficult ‘outsider’ subjects,” such as “violence motivated by religious sectarian, cruelty as play [and] voyeurism.”

Mr Keylock brings what he studies in Southern’s graduate program to the classroom at NHS. For the past five years, he and English teacher Cari Strand have coached a poetry slam through UpWords Poetry. Poetry slams began grassroots-style as informal performances. More recently, nonprofit organizations, such as UpWords Poetry, have sponsored structured competitions, with local winners advancing to state and eventually national championships.

Whatever the structure, a slam requires recitation of original poetry composed by the speaker. They focus on poetry as oral language, relevant to everyday life. They especially oppose the myth of poetry as a highbrow pursuit reserved for academics and other elitists.

Mr Keylock describes UpWords Poetry as “huge” at NHS, and loves how it encourages students to find their own voices. He runs the program for juniors, because he believes it fosters skills students should master before graduation. “Kids have used it to get real political,” he said. “It’s a great medium for teenagers to have a voice.”

The content of the original poem, and the student’s delivery, or performance, weigh equally in the contest’s scoring. He said that last year, the slam drew about an audience of 150 to the final rounds in the school lecture hall.

This year, Mr Keylock will also be introducing another poetry program into the high school curriculum. Like UpWords Poetry, Poetry Out Loud focuses on poetry as oral language enjoyed in public, as opposed to text consumed in private. But unlike UpWords Poetry, Poetry Out Loud consists of a “bank” of four hundred poems, from which students chose three to recite in front of a panel of judges. They are therefore graded on performance alone.

NHS sophomores, juniors, and seniors of all academic levels will participate in Poetry Loud beginning after the winter break. Mr Keylock said that while both Poetry Out Loud and UpWords Poetry teach students public speaking skills, Poetry Out Loud leaves students less vulnerable to their audience. He hopes that students too shy to recite their own poetry will enjoy “immersing [themselves] in language,” written by others.

Like UpWords Poetry, Poetry Out Load gives students opportunities to compete at state and national levels. State winners and runners up will receive cash prizes; their schools will receive funding for their libraries. Mr Keylock explained that six NHS English teachers will participate in the program starting in January. They will require each of their students to recite in the classroom, and together select 40 students to perform before a larger audience. Then, 12 students will be chosen to perform before a public audience in the school’s auditorium.

Mr Keylock loves both programs because of the way they bring the entire student body, as well as parents and members of the community, together. “How do you create a sense of community?” he asked, explaining that the NHS student body is too large to gather in any one room at the high school.

Further, Poetry Out Loud, and UpWords Poetry fill a hole in the NHS English curriculum, which offers electives in poetry, but does not require poetry to be taught in the English classes required for graduation.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, performance-based poetry programs appeal equally to students who enjoy English classes, and those who struggle in them. Mr Keylock explained that slams and recitations require students to “inhabit the poem,” rather than explicate it. Therefore, raw intelligence does not determine the outcome of the competition. Instead, students are rewarded for genuinely engaging with the poem. He will begin both program in January.

Mr Keylock will give a reading of his poetry at Southern Connecticut State University on Wednesday, December 5, at 7:45 pm.