Every summer, the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching, a unique and innovative program for teachers, takes place in the barn at the farm in Franconia, New Hampshire, where Robert Frost and his family lived from 1915 through 1920. This year, as part of its commitment to New Jersey Poetry Out Loud, CavanKerry Press will be sending Holly Smith, whose student was the runner-up in the state finals, to this conference. In another posting I’ll talk to Holly but first here’s my conversation with Dawn Potter, who has stepped into the directorship of the conference.
-Teresa Carson
TERESA CARSON
Give us a brief history of the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching (CPT).
DAWN POTTER
The Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching was founded more than a decade ago by poet Baron Wormser. As a visiting writer in the schools, he had become increasingly aware of, among other things, the loneliness of teachers. They had few chances to share ideas across grade levels, few chances to meet working poets. Yet they were striving to keep the art of poetry alive in their classrooms. This conference, he hoped, would be a way to link together what he called “these conductors on poetry’s Underground Railroad.”
TERESA CARSON
When did you first become part of the conference?
DAWN POTTER
About six years ago, Baron invited me to join that summer’s conference faculty as its resident poet/teacher. At the end of the session, he and then executive director Jim Schley offered me a long-term position as the newly created associate director. Since then, I have worked alongside Baron; and, with his retirement, I have stepped into the directorship. It’s daunting to be here, given Baron’s long association with the program, but I am determined to carry on his great work and maintain the spirit of inspiration and collegiality that he has created.
TERESA CARSON
What are the objectives of the CPT?
DAWN POTTER
Our goal is to give teachers the skills and confidence to make poetry a central element of their language-arts classroom. So often poetry is ghettoized in the schools: crushed into a brief unit or taught only as cramming material for standardized tests. But in truth it is an economical source for teaching nearly every single language-arts standard, and it is a perfect vehicle for meeting current Common Core requirements across the curriculum.
TERESA CARSON
What is the target audience for the CPT?
DAWN POTTER
Our teachers come from every grade level and school environment imaginable. We have K-12 teachers, community-college teachers, and Ivy League professors. We have teachers from island schools and inner-city schools, from poor rural schools and elite prep schools. The wonderful collegiality that develops among these teachers is one of the great joys of the conference.
TERESA CARSON
What makes the Conference on Poetry and Teaching different from other poetry-related conferences?
DAWN POTTER
We teach as poets, not as literary critics–which is to say, we show teachers that direct interaction with the language itself can be the root of deep intellectual and creative growth while it also improves test scores and writing competence.
TERESA CARSON
Are specific instructional strategies taught at the CPT?
DAWN POTTER
During the course of the conference, every participant shares a poetry lesson that he or she has taught in the classroom. Combined with the faculty presentations, these lessons allow teachers to amass a broad variety of classroom approaches to poetry.
TERESA CARSON
Can teachers receive professional and/or graduate credits for attending the CPT?
DAWN POTTER
Every teacher receives professional development credits (CEUs) for attending the conference. In addition, they have the opportunity to take the conference for graduate credit.
TERESA CARSON
What do past participants say about the conference?
DAWN POTTER
Consistently, they tell us that the conference was “life changing,” that it was “the best professional development class [they’ve] ever taken.” As a faculty member, I have to agree: the conference has changed, and continues to change, my life as both a teacher and a human being. Every year I am amazed at the environment of intellectual rigor and sheer open-hearted goodness that develops among our disparate group. It never ceases to be a gift and a miracle to me personally.
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