On Monday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 18, the students of O.P. Earle Elementary and Landrum Middle School had the pleasure of working with Poetry Alive. Poetry Alive’s performances are focused on connecting students to text. They operate using a two person team to deliver high energy and integrated performances.  They bring poetry alive by engaging students to the learning process of poetry. 

At Landrum Middle School, Poetry Alive performed for sixth grade Gifted and Talented students as well as seventh and eighth grade theatre students. Students who were incorporated into poetry performed aloud with Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. They covered multiple genres, covering poets like Poe, Dickenson, Shakespeare and some more modern poets. At O.P. Earle, Poetry Alive performed for the third and fifth grade students using adventure poems and classic poetry.

On Monday evening, students, teachers, families, and Poetry Alive were invited to the Landrum Depot for a Kessler Cultural Evening. 

Goals of this grant are to:

• Provide community outreach, establish a positive relationship in support of the arts, and to increase community and cultural awareness by encouraging participation through this project.   
• Provide STEAM based educational opportunities for the community and to enrich the lives of our local citizens through the arts.
• Enhance the knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity in arts integration through school-wide, district-wide and regional professional development.
• Make quality arts experiences available to all school-age children, during the school day, through Artists in Residence, and partnerships with local art resources.
• Creating memories through the naming event, Kessler Cultural Evening, is designed around the focus of the Artist in Residence. The historic Landrum Depot location was chosen to welcome more community involvement and to further support partnerships with Landrum businesses.

Article submitted by Dawn Mason