Walt Whitman must be smiling. His beloved
Brooklyn, the borough that inspired his greatest work, is finally
giving poets the recognition they need.
Borough President Marty Markowitz is launching "Brooklyn
Poetry Outreach," a monthly poetry reading series at the
Park Slope Barnes & Noble, 267 Seventh Ave. at Sixth Street.
The reading will feature an adult poet selected by Brooklyn Poet
Laureate Ken Siegelman followed by an open mic and finally a
young poet chosen by Siegelman.
Siegelman is inviting students from elementary through high school
to submit their best work to him. The selected young poet’s parents,
relatives and friends, as well as community leaders and the public
are invited to attend the readings, during which the youngster
will be awarded a certificate of recognition from the borough
president. [All winning poems will appear on the borough president’s
Web site at www.brooklyn-usa/index2.html, along with the poet
laureate’s poem of the month.]
The program is really the brainchild of Siegelman, who was appointed
poet laureate on Jan. 24, 2002.
"The position of poet laureate was left open to whatever
ideas the poet laureate had," Siegelman told GO Brooklyn.
"I expanded it to include the reading series to make poetry
a more inclusive vehicle for all Brooklynites."
Siegelman believes the position should not be merely an honorary
one to advance the career of the poet.
"There are many different poetry groups in Brooklyn, but
they are localized and don’t meet each other," he said.
"I thought it would be a good idea to bring together all
these groups in a prestigious place – Barnes & Noble – a
beautiful, beautiful location. This will be a tremendous incentive
that has not existed before for both professional and amateur
poets."
Siegelman, who will be 57 in February, taught social studies
for 34 years, 32 of them at Abraham Lincoln High School in Coney
Island. While he was teaching, Siegelman came up with the interesting
innovation of using poetry to teach social studies to his students,
many of who were learning English as a second language.
"Language was the only thing that stood in their way,"
said Siegelman. "So I used my poetry to bridge the language
gap."
At first teachers and publishers were skeptical.
Siegelman said they asked, "What could a social studies
teacher know about poetry?"
He showed them that poetry could personalize the subject and
induce critical thinking.
"In two of my books, ’Urbania’ and ’American Imprints,’
for each poem I created a brief synopsis of the social and political
context with which the poem was written and three or four critical
thinking questions, which forced the reader to question what
the poet was actually saying," he said.
Despite the initial skepticism, "When it took off, it was
extremely successful," said Siegelman.
Today, Siegelman is the author of nine books of poetry, three
of which have been distributed by Teacher’s Discovery, Discovery
Enterprises and the Gifted Education Press, as well as being
featured in Education Update. And three of his books have been
purchased by the Rockefeller Library at Brown University.
One of Siegelman’s favorite subjects is the neighborhoods of
Brooklyn in all of their glorious diversity. In "Gerritsen
Beach" he writes, "Green cut-out Shamrocks/Still triad
many of the front windows, clustering/At Easter/Much the way
some outside Christmas lights/Always seem to linger well into
mid-February." In "Bensonhurst," Siegelman gives
Brooklynites heroic grandeur: "It was the fathers;/Grandfathers/And
all their sons/Conceived in parked Buicks with the passion/Of
hot blooded Romeos who never read/Shakespeare/Or heard of the
Renaissance "
The poetry series will begin on Jan. 29 with poet-singer Marion
Palm reading. Palm, who lives in Sunset Park with her son and
their two cats, is the daughter of Swedish immigrants. Her work
is archived in the Oral History collection at the National Museum
of Naturalization and Immigration on Ellis Island, where she
is recorded reading a poem about her grandmother Theresia coming
to America with her son, Sven.
Palm is the author of six chapbooks. Her poetry speaks to the
condition of recent immigrants: separation from family, striving
to fit in, expectations and disappointments of those who must
negotiate between two languages and two different cultures.
After working with Markowitz on this project, Siegelman believes
he and the borough president have something in common.
"All his life Marty aspired to be borough president,"
says Siegelman. "And all my life I’ve wanted to be poet
laureate."
Now Siegelman is proud to be part of the borough president’s
plan to "provide morale and a revitalized sense for Brooklyn
and to reach out to Brooklyn’s rich heritage."
"Brooklyn Poetry Outreach,"
a monthly poetry reading series hosted by Brooklyn Poet Laureate
Ken Siegelman at the Park Slope Barnes & Noble, 267 Seventh
Ave. at Sixth Street, begins Jan. 29 at 6:30 pm with poet-singer
Marion Palm. Open mic signup begins at 6 pm. For more information,
call (718) 832-9066.
Poems will be judged by their artful use of poetic devices, sensitivity
to social issues and the inventiveness of their personal search.
Send entries to Ken Siegelman, 2225 W. Fifth St., Brooklyn, NY
11223.
