Writer Night

Kids! Write a Poem for The Chicken Show

The Chicken Show, part of the Spirit & Place Festival, will explore the chicken beyond a source of food and inspires you to think outside the coop. Consider chickens not only as inspiration for art and writing, but as living sculptures themselves. Michael Perry—journalist, humorist and author of the memoir “Coop: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg”—will share a reading at 8:00 p.m. The full show runs 6-10 with art and writing from Big Car, local university students, and local K-12 students. Attendees can also produce art and writing. Presented by the Kellogg Writers Series of University of Indianapolis, Big Car, and Second Story. Thursday, November 11, 2010 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM at Wheeler Arts Community Center, 1035 E. Sanders St., Indianapolis, IN 46203. See the Spirit & Place festival website for full details.

The Poem Prompt
What do you know about chickens? How do you like to eat chicken or eggs? Some chickens, called free-range chickens, live in gardens and pastures and open areas. They walk and flap, scratch and strut, squawk and cheep. But most chickens live in cages. Over 9 billion caged chickens are eaten in the United States each year, and over 75 billion eggs are produced each year. Most chickens that we eat live in small cages with a few other chickens in big barns. Most chickens that we eat never see see the outdoors or even walk around.

For his poem, write a poem from the viewpoint of a chicken as caged, free-range, or food. Be the chicken. Talk about this with your friends. Try to use a metaphor, which is a direct comparison. Another concept is personification, which is giving human traits to animals or inanimate objects. What characteristics or personality traits would you have as chickens or food? How can the you imagine yourself as a chicken? Use line breaks. not paragraphs. Ideas and metaphor is more important than narrative. Jump—or flap—between metaphors, ideas, and similes.

Submit via online submission form
The full prompt with Indiana State Language Arts Standards and 6+1 Writing Traits TheChickenShow-PoetryPrompt.doc

ByJim Walker

(0) Comments | (0) Trackbacks | Permalink Bookmark or Share