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Show Layton High students taught poetry by expert By DONETA GATHERUM LAYTON Poet Lorraine Fer-ra Fer-ra sat on a stool in the Layton High School Little Theater reading poetry. poet-ry. Her audience was a mix of preppies, pre-ppies, rockers, jocks, cowboys, conventional students and teachers. Rarely would you find any high school student seated, after school, listening to poetry, without extra credit or other incentives. Perhaps Ms. Ferra's selection of poetry can explain why the audience audi-ence came to listen. This was student stu-dent poetry, developed in the English En-glish classes at Layton High with Ms. Ferra as a professional aide and resource and the students as the poets. Layton High has participated in a special Art in Education program sponsored by the Utah Arts Council Coun-cil for the past four years . A professional profes-sional writer, like Lorraine Ferra, comes to the school and works with the English students. Ms. Ferra Fer-ra was assigned to four classes over a three week period. She also worked with eight other classes. This was her fourth year at Layton High School. According to Mrs. Lois Cook, chairman of the English Department, Depart-ment, the results are good. Students Stu-dents relate well to Ms. Ferra, a dynamic enthusiastic source of motivating energy. Many of the English teachers participated by writing original poetry along with their students. The student poems Ms. Ferra read didn't follow simple rhyme patterns. Most were blank or free verse. The subject matter, selected by students, was serious. Some of the poems were melancholy, intense in-tense and searching. Other students stu-dents used a humorous phrase to discuss a serious subject "My life is a can of Spam A lot of different fillers from everywhere making me one thing me." Literary devices like alliteration and symbolism conveyed feelings most young people experience "My life is a .22 with no safety latch." Other talented teenage poets painted verbal pictures "The Dancer Dan-cer peak the developing leap. Dancing silk of my imagination." At the conclusion of the last poem, the audience didn't bolt immediately im-mediately for the door. Most stayed to ask Ms. Ferra questions. "Did you like my title?" "How could I change the wording in this line?" "Will you come back to Layton High next year?" The students gained rewards in learning to express their feelings in poetry. Hearing their work read with feeling by a professional stimulates sti-mulates them to write again and again. |