Last fall, a group of remarkable students at the Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center and Bexar County’s Community Classes were taught poetry by teaching artists Jim Lavilla-Havelin and Erica Delarosa. These classes were made possible through the support of the Bexar County team, including Jessica Maupin, Joslin Rice, and Jennifer Fowler.
The workshop began with an introduction to Gwendolyn Brooks’ powerful poem, “To the Young Who Want to Die.” Lavilla-Havelin and Delarosa inspired students through the powerful words of Martín Espada, Carmen Tafolla, San Antonio Poet Laureate Eddie Vega, Etheridge Knight, and other renowned poets. These young writers were motivated to crafted their own experiences and narratives into poems.
Guest teaching artists, Chibbi Orduña and Joyous Windrider Jiménez, performed poems and shared their perspectives, which inspired students to share their voices and experiences.
Students submitted their poems for publication in an incredible anthology, “When The Storm is Over,” a testament to the creative power of these extraordinary young people. On September 12th, their anthology was launched at Poetic Republic where instructors Jim Lavilla-Havelin and Erica Delarosa read poems from the anthology along with a few of Krier residents who shared their inspiring poems.
Congratulations to all the publishers authors, we hope you all continue to write!
