In this residency, students will learn creative approaches and techniques for brainstorming, writing and editing poems. Starting with word games, students will explore word-mixing as a way to create new and original ideas. Next, students will learn how to compose their own poems by studying the techniques in sample poems from anthologies, contemporary poets, and my own original work. Each day of the residency, students will learn new techniques for how to compose their own poems using stanzas, line breaks, careful word choices, imagery, rhyme, alliteration and other devices. After composing original free verse and rhyming poems, students will learn how to edit and revise their work and get information about how to share their poetry in a public way—presenting it to classmates, submitting to contests, and showcasing poems in their school.

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 Beasts of Eden. His poems have appeared in various journals and anthologies including Broad River 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, magazine editor 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, student poetry contest coordinator for the NC Poetry Society, and visiting instructor at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, NC.

Search Criteria

• Program Type: Workshop/Residency
• Discipline: Literary
• Grade Level: Elementary
• Cultural Context: African, Asian, Native American
• Accepts bookings in Johnston County