{"id":24724,"date":"2024-11-21T11:58:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T18:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/sunflower-theatre-to-host-eighth-grade-poetry-performance\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:59:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:59:33","slug":"sunflower-theatre-to-host-eighth-grade-poetry-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/sunflower-theatre-to-host-eighth-grade-poetry-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunflower Theatre to host eighth grade poetry performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The Sunflower Theatre and KSJD Radio headquarters and Main and Market streets.<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Fifteen eighth grade students and some teachers from Cortez Middle School will present their poetry Dec. 10 at the Sunflower Theatre.<\/p>\n

Local poet Lisa C. Taylor might also read poetry, said English teacher Lissa Lycan.<\/p>\n

The reading, 5:30 p.m. at 8 E. Main St., is free.<\/p>\n

According to Lycan, the eighth graders in her and Forrest Kohere\u2019s classes completed a poetry portfolio and performed them for classmates. Teachers selected students for the theater performance based on their \u201cexemplary\u201d portfolios.<\/p>\n

In October, Taylor helped the students work on their poems.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe worked to introduce them to a variety of poems and helped them to understand the ways that poetry can be powerful,\u201d Lycan said. \u201cShe provided students with prompts, and they practiced writing poems on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning poetry is standard from the Colorado Department of Education, and Lycan said poetry can help students reflect on their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of our students in this community have already been faced with a staggering number of challenges. In this unit, I worked with students to see that the power of poetry (and all forms of art) lies in their ability to take an experience and put it through what we have dubbed the \u2018art machine.\u2019 \u2026 \u201cThis is where they take a step back and see how an experience has changed them, how they\u2019ve grown and who they are now. If they succeed at putting an experience through the art machine, they can create something powerful; not only a beautiful piece of art, but something that is healing, both for themselves and for their audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lycan said that as the students shared their poetry, students provided encouragement, and acknowledged one another for \u201cbravery in telling true and sometimes painful stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lycan said students don\u2019t stop after completing their portfolio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey continue writing poetry for themselves long after this unit is over \u2026 and if I\u2019m very, very lucky, they continue to share it with me, too,\u201d Lycan said.<\/p>\n

Lycan can be reached at llycan@cortez.k12.co.us<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One poem, written by eighth grader MJ Yoder, details the emotions she went through after experiencing the loss of her mom. The poem is called \u201cMelody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMelody\u201d by MJ Yoder<\/h4>\n

In a matter of momentsit hit me like a stone,I had reached a cliff,I had fell off the edgeOne moment \u2026 just one moment. StopIn a matter of seconds,this event became the worstpossibly most significantchange in my life. In a matter of daysI struck changefaster than it takes a musician to forget their melody. One beat. Three beats. Two beats \u2026Stop. In a matter of weeksI found a person I admired,for reasons I didn\u2019t knowAlthough the pest I was,I knewthey didn\u2019t feel the same. I still tease on late night callswe laughwe snickeroh how time has changedus both. In a matter of monthsI shoved people awayAs if they were wrappers of candyonce enjoyed by a bratty little kid. One down. Three gone. Two more. Stop. In a matter of a year. I came to realizeThose events only strengthened my existence. Just like tragic events strengthen an artist\u2019s skill. It proves their worth. In a matter of a decade. I hope to think of this moment,ponder the amount of falls I would have taken if I didn\u2019t drown first. One dive. Three drops. Two breaths \u2026 (inhale)\u2026 Stop 15951337<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This<\/em> story was updated to correct Lisa Taylor\u2019s name to Lisa C. Taylor and Lyssa Lican to Lissa Lican. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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