Customer Reviews

I never Told Anybody: Teaching Poetry Writing to Old People

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This book is a must for anyone working/playing with poetry and involved in introducing others to poetry. What is most astounding is Kenneth Koch's humility and honesty, and his willingness to admit mistakes made in teaching poetry to a group of old people at a nursing home. He divides the book very usefully as well. First he introduces the process from start to finish of the workshops, including some of the seniors' works. In the second half of the book, he prints the poems done by participants for each exercise first, then discusses what occurred during the session. One participant in particular is very much a poet, although he'd never written poetry before, and I fell quite in love with him. However, as the book went to press, Kenneth says, this man passed on. You will thouroughly enjoy this book. Aside from the poetry, it has alot to say about the assumptions we make about old and/or infirm people.

The simplist, profoundest stories are laid out in a delicate and spare way by Koch's nursing home students. Don't shy away because it might be sad- rejoice that Koch got these stories before they were lost. These aren't the poems people might write to impress others or even themselves- they explore the things that matter most.

If you teach anything creative- think about why you teach it. To give job skills? To meet state goals? Those are both fine reasons. But Koch is teaching in a nursing home to profoundly affect how people look at their inner landscape. Do you teach to empower and to change lives? Would you like to think that's what you do? I would read this not as a how-to but a why-to.