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Last week I collaborated with artist Marla Kristicevich on a workshop for teachers designed around poetry and art collage. The workshop was part of the Arts in Education professional development series held at the Acadiana Center for the Arts.
After I presented about finding elements of poetry in my poem “I am a Beckoning Brown Bayou,” Marla shared how she had taken words from 3 different poems from my book Bayou Song, and circled words that represented an element of art. She then created a magazine collage to reflect those words and images. While Marla’s complete presentation was in a PowerPoint slide show, the part that touched me were the amazing and beautiful collages she had created from my words.
Marla’s collage from interpreting the poem There is Always.
We had 12 dedicated teachers attend, and they enjoyed the time to sit and create with materials from magazines, painted paper, and other scraps. The collages were varied and lent new meaning to the poems we worked with.
Then I led the teachers in writing their own poem by gathering new words from their own collages and selecting a form to use. My hope is these teachers will take what they learned, their joy of playing with words and art, and bring it into their classrooms, but more than that, my poet’s heart was touched by the way my poems from Bayou Song led to more poems.
Collage from “There is Always” by Cissy Whipp.
Cissy’s Poem
Dance/Nature Triptych
I.
My dance is in the way
the leaves calmly curl and crinkle
under my feet.II.
My dance is in the water
rippling, rising, rushing
around my ankles.III.
My dance is in the place
between land and water –
the muddy, mysterious marsh.
Finding the poem inside.
Kay chose the I Am form to use when her collage revealed things about herself.
Kay’s collage from the poem There is Always.
Hands Up High
Kay Couvillon
I am fiery red in summer beach walks,
I become lavender peaceful
with restorative yoga.
I hold my
hands up high
to the lights of
love, trust, dance, and
cold beer.
I am an
E. Broussard eagle
in awe of the
bald eagle’s nest.
I sway in the
wind of the leaves after
hibernating when I feel like
torn cardboard.
I love red, pink, and scented
geraniums in clay pots from
Mother Earth.
Reflections on the Teche 
I love this! How I wish I could have been one of the teachers there! The poems and art are amazing!
I am intrigued with this process of poetry, collage and then back to poetry. It seems so simple yet profound. Must try! Any other tips for making this happen?
It really is this simple. I think it helped that we shared in the poem experience before we sat down to the collage and then came back to writing our own. The process of focusing in on the art lead to deep and meaningful poems.
Thank you! Might be a slice for me too!
Wow! What an amazing workshop. Fabulous word play and beautiful collages. Wish I could come to a workshop like this.
Oh, I can’t wait to do this! And will use your book. It is a wonderful idea. A springboard and then a waterfall….free flowing, refreshing, free.
I will share ..eventually…..what I find, create. I bet this would be great with kids, too.
Beautiful, sensitive and textural art and poems, thanks for sharing them Margaret!
You do the coolest things! I want to be in your class.
I love this example of words-to-image and image-to-words. It really is fluid. I’m going to try this!
What a wonderful interplay between words and art. The work you share here is really rich. Again, I am inspired to try this in my class.
Your kids would love this!
I love the complete process that your participants were able to experience. Starting with collage response to poetry I’m sure really encouraged them to be brave and try their own hand writing their own poems! Do you think that was a helpful aspect to the workshop?
Absolutely! It also established an atmosphere of safety and creativity.
What a beautiful workshop you led! Lucky participants!
What a fantastic opportunity that your participants had. I loved learning about this process! And I continue to be in awe for all of the beautiful and smart work you are doing! Bravo!