School has been out for a month but T&W writers are still at work this summer in New York’s public libraries. From Coney Island, Brooklyn, to Castle Hill in the Bronx, poetry workshops based around T&W’s 2008 A POEM AS BIG AS NEW YORK CITY project are fully underway.

As a summer intern for T&W I attended two hour-long workshops led by seasoned T&W playwright and teaching artist Frank Ingrasciotta at the Dyker Library branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Upon my first visit (which was Frank’s first workshop at the library), eight participants, some of whom are part of Dyker branch's "Teen Time," silently waited as Frank wrote his name on the small easel. Blank expressions were their only response. Reaching for the book Alphabet City, Frank told the participants that today they’d be using their spatial-reasoning skills. Alphabet City is an abstract picture book that explores the alphabet by identifying individual letters found in various urban objects. For example, the profile of a wooden-horse forms the letter "A," a fire escape forms the letter "Z," or if you rotate the book, it might be a capital "N." Frank flipped through the book, asking what letters the students could spot. The group was polite and reserved, raising their hands and patiently waiting to be called on to speak. Despite their initial restraint, gasps and smiles broke the silence as the objects became more abstract, and identifying a letter more like revealing a secret. 

Frank set the book aside, certain that everyone understood the general concept. He then asked the group to create their own abstract-alphabet acrostic poems. Redirecting their gaze to the easel, Frank read aloud a list of New York City boroughs, notable places, and monuments: the Bronx, Queens, the Empire State Building, Citi Field, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens -- the list went on. Participants were asked to pick a location and write the letters vertically on a blank piece of paper. We did an example together: using the word “Bronx,” the poem began: "B" is for bike racks on the street, "R" is for...students brimmed with excitement. Not only were there no right or wrong abstractions, but they could also draw pictures that emphasized the letters within their urban objects.

Many people struggled after the first few letters, unsure what objects might make the "K" in Brooklyn or the "F" in Field, but as Frank circled the table, he offered hints such as: "You might find this letter in a playground," or "Where do people park their cars?" By the end of the class, everyone had completed their poems. One person even asked, "Can I do another one?"

At the end of the session, everyone shared their poems; some were straightforward and others a bold imaginative leap.

Upon my arrival the following week, I was pleased to see that a few of the participants had started a new abstract-alphabet poem rather than sitting idly. In New York fashion, Frank was tied up due to an accident on the Brooklyn Bridge. In the meantime, the group talked with Eileen, the librarian in charge of "Teen Time," about how they’d continue after their third, and last, session with Frank. A poetry slam and a presentation of their poems in the library were suggested by Eileen, but without much support. Then, a participant raised her hand and suggested the group teach what they had learned to other library-dwellers: a great idea! Everyone nodded in agreement.

Frank arrived. He said that today participants would be interviewing New York City landmarks. Using five questions that pertain to the five senses, participants would use personification, imagery, and imagination to take on two personas: interviewer and interviewee. This assignment came easier than last week's to most of the group, although a couple people struggled to take on the perspective of the tall Statue of Liberty, or crowded Times Square. It seemed that they were more willing to take more creative leaps with their work this week than the previous week; one student addressed Times Square as "Mr. Square," another called Madison Square Garden "Ms. Garden," casually referring to her as "Madison" by the end of the mock interview. One person asked the Museum of Natural History: "What do you feel when people enter your mouth?" eliciting the response, "I feel very sick with all those humans stepping on my tongue."  

Once again, all of the poems were read aloud before the session’s end. I watched one of the students in deep thought as his turn to share approached. His look of frustration quickly turned to excitement as his pencil left his temple and took to his page, putting the finishing touches on his poem before its completion and presentation.

The group’s sincere desire to learn from Frank and their eagerness to write was a pleasant surprise. No one at the Dyker branch said "I can't" or "I don't want to" – words you often hear during school hours. Rather, they rose to the occasion when asked to engage their imaginations. Young people need to be given opportunities to express themselves. The public library provided materials and space for the students to use, and Frank modeled and created prompts that were fun and inventive. For me, this experience was refreshing.  Not only was I impressed with the group’s willingness to explore creativity through writing, but I was inspired by the fresh and loving attitude they had toward the great city we live in. 

--Corinne Bennett

For more information on T&W's free poetry workshops in NYC's public libraries visit our webpage here.