WSIL-TV 3 ABC

Top Stories

Last updated 11:43 am CT September 02, 2010.

E-mail Story Print Story

A Lesson in Poetry

Herrin- A professional poet and public speaker was the center of attention at Herrin Elementary. Brod Bagert is a poet from New Orleans who's unconventional style is appealing to kids, and helping them understand that poetry is more than just words on a page.

Bagert says that kids "discover that poetry is in them, its their feelings, its their emotions, and they enjoy it, they don't think the poem, they feel the poem and they experience it and it happens to them."

Bagert's interactive style includes lots of movement and back and forth banter. Herrin Elementary Principal Mike Horn says this is why Bagert is so popular and easily relates to the students. "He had them eating out of the palm of his hand, they were really excited. It was alot of fun to watch the kids get that enthusiastic about it.

Bagert's poems are written at a grade school level and from the point of view of a grade schooler. This style appeals to 5th grader Brenna Howerton. "I could really relate to some of those poems. I mean he really got us into it by having us do the actions, and he was so funny. I loved it."

Every time Bagert has the chance to speak to children about poetry, he says his ultimate goal is to increase the love of rhyme and rune.
"We want them to have poems they've picked because they like them themselves, according to their own judgement and taste, the same way they picked the sports they want to play and the movies they want to go to and the music they want to hear, so I want them to become poetry lovers, simple."

If you would like to read some of Brod Bagert's poems, check out his website at brodbagert.com.

By: Clint Misselhorn
cmisselhorn@wsiltv.com

<< Back to Previous Page