How fantastic that Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 could still enjoy a visitor – in these times, a virtual visitor! Joshua Seigal, a published poet, brought us energy and enthusiasm for poetry – reading some of his own and encouraging the boys to write.
He reinforced lessons we have been learning this term about poetry not needing to rhyme; about exploring shape as well as rhythm of poetry and writing about things we are interested in.
Years 3 and 4 focused on writing about their emotions and Years 5 and 6 focused on writing imagining they were a colour. Joshua entertained us with stories and poems about dogs and even showed us his cat, Bluebell, who attended the workshop from his flat! It was brilliant to see him talking about the ‘toolkit’ he uses for poetry and to hear the love of words in both his work and his interaction with the boys.
The boys were able to ask him some excellent questions, such as: when he started writing, how long a poem took to write and who his favourite writers are. The teachers were delighted to work with him virtually. He championed reading as a way to become a great writer. It just showed that poetry needs performance to be a ‘complete’ text – it is written to be read aloud and what a privilege to see a talented writer perform his poetry.
