How can we make the art of writing relevant and exciting for students?
Educators have been solving this problem through imaginative programs focusing on art at the National Gallery of Victoria. Two recent highlights, described below, demonstrate the power of art to ‘switch’ students onto the joy of writing.
In this annual program, students in Years 10 and 11 write poetry at the NGV under the expert guidance of professional poet Bonny Cassidy, Melbourne University Graduate School of Education lecturer, Helen Kent and NGV Educators.
The Bar, 1954 by John Brack fired the students’ imaginations this year, stimulating a range of intriguing and perceptive responses such as the poem below.
The Bailey Barracks
Tall and bright the flowers stand:
defiant of the smoke clouds,
drowning in an ocean of liquor.
As I borrow smoke from the lungs of my companions
My drunk mind figures,
Maybe the flowers deserve better.
The bar is an island
surrounded by endless suits;
Brown—no, Johnson—talks sales.
“Another brew, sweetheart.”
She stands tall and bright
her eyes watering
as she provides salvation from a tap;
a mother, a shepherd, her gaunt face weathers.
And as I borrow smoke from the lungs of my companions,
my drunk mind figures,
maybe she deserves better.
Freddie, Year 10