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Urban Youth Summer Poetry Camps |
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The 2009 Summer Poetry Camps
Woodland Pattern's Urban Youth Literary Arts Program offered two Summer Poetry Camps on June 22nd-26th and June 29th-July 3rd. Over forty Milwaukee youth participated in camp this year. The camps were taught by Milwaukee writer/teachers, Nikki Janzen, Nicholas Ravnikar, Dan Vaughn, Charlesetta Thompson, and Dasha Kelly. The students also were able to work with local artists Petra Press - visual art; Milwaukee Public Theater; Peggy Hong - yoga; Jacqueline Lalley - yoga; One Drum - hand drumming; and Della Wells - visual art, in order to enhance their writing and performance skills.
In addition, each day the students went on a field trip to places such as The Milwaukee Art Museum, The Audubon Nature Center, The Milwaukee Ballet, The Repertory Theater, The Grohmann Museum, The Milwaukee Public Museum and The Milwaukee Conservatory of Music to inspire further writing. At the end of each camp the students gave a reading in Woodland Pattern's gallery to family and friends. Each student received an anthology of their classmates' work, and received books from the Woodland Pattern shelves.
The funders of these camps include, The Department of Public Instruction, The Milwaukee Public School Foundation Partnership for the Arts, The Helen Bader Foundation, The Community Development Grants Administration and The Faye McBeath Foundation.
If you would like a copy of either of the camp anthologies please contact the Education Coordinator at
Some Poems from Camp 1
What is the past?
In the frame I see shame.
I see a dark haunting unwelcomed past.
But then I realized something,
There is no such thing as past,
Since it's always there with us.
No matter where we go,
Past will always exist within us
And haunt us to death and beyond
Forever and ever after all eternity.
Keji
Mine
I can't compare me to you
My legs are not yours.
Champagne
Life
Life is like a lessons that you
can teach others.
Don't take it for granted.
There are people like me who are tired
of everyday life's problems, who
think of suicide.
Live life to the fullest
and talk all your problems
out instead of letting them all ball up and think like
me, suicide is the answer.
Morgan
Some Poems from Camp 2
Warrior
Strong I fight, I stand
To protect my king.
Anything.
A warrior I am,
Strike fear through many men.
Here I am.
To kill just as my father taught me.
To win just as he lectured.
To bring victory.
And my name be remembered
Forever.
Mariedys
Lotus Flower
Blooming and growing
This flower sits still in the river
Waiting to be held, kept, admired.
It holds beauty inside, outside
blooming and growing
Samantha
Can u tell me what I am?
Can u tell me what I am?
Have you seen life through my eyes?
Felt the bitter defeat from life and forced
to live until your heart decides
to stop healing?
You don't taste the sour grapes,
you can only smell them,
but I ate them, I ate them and live. They didn't kill me,
they only made me stronger,
now I can survive things much worse than death.
I can't be tortured only soothed,
can't really break a bone, only physically break it,
I can't be killed
But I can be hurt.
Relmu
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