Perspectives on poetry : a writing workshop for deaf students

Abstract

Poetry is a beautiful manner of expression present throughout culture and history. Whether short and simple or extensive and detailed, poems are able to capture moments, feelings, and viewpoints in a way that is both satisfying to the writer and captivating for the reader. Combining my own interest and love for poetry with my career field of Deaf Education, I developed and taught a poetry-writing workshop for Deaf middle school students who attend school in a bilingual-bicultural setting. Based on student feedback and observation of the researcher, this paper evaluates how even a limited, highly concentrated exposure to free verse poetry affected the students' perspectives regarding both the reading and writing of poetry. Keywords: Deaf, Poetry, Writing Workshop.