Poetry Out Loud: Interview with teacher Kathryn Henderson

At the New Jersey Poetry Out Loud state finals, which took place on March 15 in the Victoria Theater at NJ Performing Arts Center, I was sitting in front of a group that clapped and cheered loudly whenever Lawrence High School student Natasha Vargas finished reciting a poem. When Natasha was named the 2014 NJPOL champion, this group jumped out of their seats and clapped and cheered and yelled Natasha’s name. Turned out this wonderfully supportive group included some of Natasha’s fellow students and Kathryn Henderson, her teacher. At the conclusion of the event I turned around and gave, with great pleasure, more good news to the already beaming Ms. Henderson: based on Natasha’s win, she had won a scholarship, provided by CavanKerry Press, to the Conference on Poetry and Teaching at the Frost Place in Franconia, NH.

Kathryn Henderson has been a teacher for 8 years. She teaches AP Literature and a variety of English classes, grades 10-12. She is “a total Whitmaniac” who takes the time to “revisit “Song of Myself” and the rest of Leaves of Grass often.” She has “a soft spot for Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” and Wallace Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.””

Based on her choices of poets/poems alone, I’m looking forward to getting to know her better at Frost Place!  -Teresa Carson, Associate Publisher

TERESA CARSON
How did you get involved with Poetry Out Loud?

KATHRYN HENDERSON
Six years ago, I received a Poetry Out Loud email almost by accident. Somehow a POL registration message made it onto a mass email list from The College of New Jersey, and as a participant of TCNJ’s Teachers as Scholars program, I was on the email list. I read about the program and contacted my supervisor, Barbara Beers, and said, “We HAVE to do this!” She wholeheartedly agreed.

TC
How many Lawrence High School students participated in POL? Tell me a bit about the students who participated.

KH
This was our school’s fifth year of involvement in the program. It is a huge event in the school, with approximately 800 students participating in the classroom level every year. Participation is all-inclusive, and the students who make it to the school-wide competition are representative of Lawrence High School’s remarkable diversity. One of my favorite moments actually happened during our first year in the program. At the school competition, the girl who finished in fourth place had emigrated from Poland a year ago and was just learning to speak English. Her poise and elocution were remarkable, especially for what was essentially a brand new language for her.

TC
What value is added to your students’ experience of poetry by participating in POL?

KH
I credit the POL program almost entirely for the students’ new-found love of poetry. The program dismantles a lot of assumptions and apprehension that students tend to have about poetry. They realize that poetry is accessible, personal, and powerful. While many of the students gravitate towards contemporary poetry, the program has also enriched their relationship with the classics — particularly the Romantic and Harlem Renaissance poets.

TC
What value is added to your experience of teaching poetry?

KH
I tell kids that the POL classroom, grade-level, and school competitions are my “real Christmas.” It is such a treat to see students excited about poetry, and so supportive of each other. Lawrence kids are by nature quite compassionate and nonjudgmental, but I’m still always impressed by how much the students rally around each other at every level of the competition. The faculty — across every subject area — is also highly invested in the program. So for me, POL has transformed poetry from a private experience to a communal event, and it has made poetry instruction not just a cerebral exercise, but an emotional one.

TC
How did you help Natasha prepare for the competition at the school/regional/state level?

KH
Natasha is very talented when it comes to the spoken and written word, but she is also a humble and diligent student who is always trying to improve herself. So, at the school level, she didn’t need much assistance from me! She knew that she wanted to challenge herself with difficult poems that would require some intensive reading. I helped her create phrasing in what is essentially a “grammarless” poem (Jack Collum’s “Ecology”), and we discussed some of the more cryptic ideas in the poem. We followed a similar pattern with “Thoughtless Cruelty” and, later, “A Locked House”. I believe that having thorough, thoughtful discussions about literature is the best vehicle for learning, so that is chiefly what we did. However, these have been Natasha’s poems from start to finish: she searched for them, she visualized them, and she internalized them. Her participation in the program is exemplary of what good poetry does: it makes the students read more deeply and more critically.

TC
What were the highlights of your POL experience at the regional competition and at the state finals?

KH
Watching the impressive talent at both levels of the competition is absolutely inspiring. Natasha noted the same thing. Everybody — competitors, teachers, students, parents, program coordinators — derive such evident enjoyment from the experience. I also love that such nice venues open their doors to the program. Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ is turning into a regular destination, and it’s a delight every year. And, as far as the competitions providing a role model for the students, I have two words: Lamont Dixon.

TC
What advice or thoughts would you offer teachers who want to get their students involved in POL?

KH
The goal at Lawrence High has been to make Poetry Out Loud a yearly cultural phenomenon for the entire school. That vision has been fulfilled because of the passionate student and teacher “buy-in”. For the students, all you need to do is expose them to the poetry database and videos on the website, and they’ll be hooked. For the teachers, invite colleagues to help judge some classroom competitions, and they’ll be hooked. The talent and dedication of the students are the real driving force behind the program; the kids will make it a success.

TC
Based on Natasha’s success at the state finals, you were awarded the scholarship to the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching. How do you feel about winning this scholarship?

KH
It is an honor and privilege, and I’m so excited to be attending! I didn’t know that this prize was being offered, so it was yet another bright moment in an already great day.