Dream Weaver

By Larissa Lytwyn

Nationally acclaimed poet and actress Joanna Featherstone recently celebrated African American poetry with her original one-woman show, “Hold Fast to Dreams,” at Newtown Middle School.

The performance was part of Newtown Middle School’s ongoing PTA-organized Cultural Arts series.

Potentially verse-phobic students learned that poetry is simply “about feelings,” explained Ms Featherstone. “There is no such thing as a bad poem,” she said. “Maybe it might need some help with the spelling, or the structure, but the poem itself is just your feelings on paper. It’s already there.”

Students learned about various stylistic techniques, such as call/response. “Have you ever heard of the phrase, ‘You’ve got the right one, baby?’ Let’s see who knows the response to that,” said Ms Featherstone.

A student recalled the early 90s jingle instantly: “Uh-Huh!”

“Wonderful!” the poet whooped. “This is a fantastic group.”

The performer of that famous jingle was Ray Charles, Ms Featherstone said. “Now, he’s been doing that [call/response] in his music for a long time before Pepsi did,” she chuckled.

To make poetry seem more accessible, Ms Featherstone often wove lessons about verse structure with examples of pop culture, such as the Pepsi slogan.

She used similar techniques when introducing students to four legendary African American poets: Phillis Wheatley, Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Weldon Johnson, and Langston Hughes.

Using a student volunteer, Ms Featherstone recited a poem by Ms Wheatley, the first black woman to have a volume of poetry published. The 18th Century poet had been brought to America on a slave ship and sold in a market “not unlike supermarkets,” said Ms Featherstone.

Ms Featherstone asked students how they thought Ms Wheatley felt about being sold “like an animal” at a Boston slave market.

“Scared!” one student declared. Other words used to describe Ms Wheatley at this pivotal point in her life were lonely, abandoned, humiliated, and angry.

“Now, how many of you have felt this way at some point in your life?” Ms Featherstone asked. Virtually all the hands in the room were raised.

In this way, Ms Featherstone made the tribulations of Ms Wheatley more relevant for the 21st Century group of students. This sense of relevancy resounded throughout Ms Featherstone’s performance, proof that poetry is less about intellect and more about the heart.

Joanna Featherstone is part of Theatre Works USA, a New York City-based musical theater organization. For more information, visit www.theatreworksusa.org.