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Opportunity: Summer Poetry Teachers Institute from The Poetry Foundation

Summer Poetry Teachers Institute

July 10-14, 2017

The Poetry Foundation will be hosting its third annual Summer Poetry Teachers Institute in Chicago, July 10-14, 2017. The week will include seminars and workshops with some of today’s most compelling poets. Also, participants will study and discuss poetry with renowned poetry practitioners and expert teachers to develop lesson plans to bring back to their classrooms. Teachers will receive 30 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) for completing the Institute, and tuition will be paid by the Poetry Foundation.

The Institute encourages conversations among teachers about past successes, challenges, and insights in bringing poetry to students in their various communities. The Institute offers participants a fresh, energizing approach to reading poems, invaluable materials for teaching, and new ways to invigorate their instructional habits and practices. The central idea is that the experience of the poem should precede analysis.

The Poetry Foundation invites teachers across K-12 grade levels and community college instructors to apply. The Institute seeks a range of participants: new and experienced teachers, those who enjoy teaching poetry, and those who have shied away from it. To apply, please fill out and submit this Google Form. Spots are limited and the deadline for applying online is March 31st. We strongly encourage applying early.

The Poetry Foundation believes that poetry is broad and inclusive; there is a place for everyone in poetry. And yet poetry is mysterious and open, so teaching poetry is uncertain and no one has the answers. A poem can be something you can carry with you and experience again and again in different ways. We believe teachers can instill a passion for poetry as they find multiple entry points for different students.

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.

For more information, to apply, and to read the frequently asked questions, please click HERE.