Looking for ways to go beyond book reports and reading comprehension guides? Turn book characters, settings and story events into poems. We’ll study sound, rhythm, imagery and figurative language to create new poems that capture the power of a Shakespearean play or modern-day books like Omnivore’s Dilemma or Inside Out & Back Again. We’ll also discuss the process of editing and revising, as well as opportunities to enter student poetry contests and get published.
Artist Background
Michael Beadle is a poet, author and teaching artist with a passion for language, writing, and literature. His goal is to encourage, inspire, and challenge writers to express themselves so they can become more confident with writing and be lifelong learners and creative problem solvers. Since 1999, he’s taught thousands of students in poetry and creative writing workshops across the state and performed poetry at schools, libraries, churches and festivals. He’s the author of several poetry books, including What Makes a Giraffe Laugh?, Does Your Goblin Have a Problem?, and Foodtopia! His poems have appeared in various journals and anthologies including North Carolina Literary Review, Kakalak and River Heron Review. In addition to a 15-year career as a journalist, he’s worked as a high school English teacher, book reviewer, and freelance writer. Beadle has served as poet-in-residence at the NC Zoo, emcee for the NC Poetry Out Loud state finals, A+ Schools Fellow for staff development training, and student poetry contest coordinator for the NC Poetry Society.
Search Criteria
- Program Type: Workshop/Residency
- Discipline: Literary
- Grade Level: Middle
- Cultural Context: African-American, Asian, European
- Accepts bookings in Johnston County
