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Poetry Minutes

recording poetry
Constance Alexander records Will Smith in the 8th grade at Paducah Middle School.

Celebrating poetry, one minute at a time

In honor of April, National Poetry Month, WKMS-FM and Murray State University’s Teacher Quality Institute have teamed up for a special project. Throughout April, WKMS will broadcast Poetry Minutes, original works by students from the region to showcase poetry written by kids in western Kentucky public schools.

This winter, MSU Faculty Scholar Constance Alexander, a professional writer, conducted poetry workshops at schools around the Calloway County Middle School, Hopkins County Middle School, Marshall County High School, Murray Elementary, Murray Middle School, Paducah Middle School and Reidland Elementary. Works of art from Picturing America, a grant program from the National Endowment for the Humanities, provided inspiration for the young poets.


Many of the poems centered around these pieces of artwork
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Ladder for Booker T. Washington (1996)
by Martin Puryear

Miles Butler, Paducah Middle (April 5)
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Justin Holt and Peggy Harben, Paducah Middle (April 6)
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Sabel Overlin, Paducah Middle (Web Exclusive)
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Yasmine Martinez, Paducah Middle (April 15)
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Derik Overstreet, Paducah Middle; Bobbi Brashear, Calloway Middle;
Marshall Co. HS
(April 28)
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House by the Railroad (1925)
by Edward Hopper

Destiny Wendling, Calloway County Middle (April 7)
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Dylan Warmack, Calloway County Middle (April 8)
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Meg Hancock, Paducah Middle (Web Exclusive)
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Molly Thompson, Paducah Middle (Web Exlusive)
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Samantha Blount, Paducah Middle (Web Exclusive)
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Reese Butler, Paducah Middle; Rebekah Marsteller, Marshall Co. HS (April 27)
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Portrait of a Boy (1890)
by John Singer Sargent

Hannah Ferrell, Reidland Elementary (April 9)
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Phoebe Shown, Murray Middle (April 12)
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Maddie Pfannerstill, Murray Middle (April 13)
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Noah Brown, Murray Middle (April 16)
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Reed York, Murray Middle (Web Exclusive)
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McKella Beddies, Murray Middle; Evelyn Hudson, Marshall Co. HS (April 29)
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Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851)
by Emanuel Leutze

Ethan Haines, Travis Griffith, Doug Reed; Marshall Co. HS (April 14)
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The Veteran in a New Field (1865)
by Winslow Homer

Allison Smith, Jessie Anderson, Chandler Foust;
Marshall Co. HS
(April 19)
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McKenna Petway, Abby Morris; Marshall Co. HS (April 23)
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Freedom of Speech, The Saturday Evening Post (1943)
by Norman Rockwell

Carolyn Lamm, Chelsy Solomon, Chandler Foust, Miranda Ballard;
Marshall Co. HS
(April 20)
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Migrant Mother (1936)
by Dorthea Lange

Samm Swinford, Amanda Henson, Austin Jones;
Marshall Co. HS
(April 21)
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View from Mount Holyoke Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm - The Oxbow (1836)
by Thomas Cole

Fallingwater (1935-1939)
by Frank Lloyd Wright

Blake Schanbacher, Kaleb Morgan, Meredith Enoch;
Calloway Middle
(April 23)
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American Flamingo (1838)
by John James Aubudon

Martin Mikulcik, Maddie Balmer; Calloway Middle (April 26)
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Autumn Landscape (1936)
by Louis Comfort Tiffany

Avery Dixon, Clara Arnold, Meredith Enoch;
Calloway Middle
(April 30)
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"duh - Duh - DUH!" ...What is that song?!

In case you were wondering, the Poetry Minutes theme song is called "Are We Not Mensch?" by Georgia based band Daddy A Go Go from their 2004 album, Mojo a Go Go. Matt, who edits all of the poems for air, says he picked the song because it was stuck in his head for months after hearing it, making him only slightly crazy, the sure sign of a great song. 'Mensch' is also Yiddish for "a person of integrity and honor." Matt found this fitting, because anyone brave enough to read their creative work for the public is truly, very mensch.

Click here to check out Daddy a Go Go's web site for more info.

Daddy a go go
Daddy A Go Go was founded by John
Boydston (the guy in the hat). He tours the country with his sons, who play in the band.

Constance AlexanderAbout Constance Alexander

Constance Alexander is Faculty Scholar/Arts & Humanities at Murray State University’s Teacher Quality Institute. Kilroy Was Here, her newest book of poems, tells stories of one Kentucky family and the impact of World War II on each family member. Her essay collection, Who Needs June Cleaver? is a compilation of works adapted from here award winning newspaper column, Main Street. Her books are available at the Murray State University Bookstore or through Amazon.com.


What is National Poetry Month?

National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets. The concept is to widen the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern. The Academy hopes to increase the visibility and availability of poetry in popular culture while acknowledging and celebrating poetry’s ability to sustain itself in the many places where it is practiced and appreciated.

Learn more about National Poetry Month on the offical website.

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