Peace and poetry guide new program at Saratoga Springs, Indigenous schools | Article Repost
Article by Katherine Kiessling, Times Union
"For more than 60 years, poet Joseph Bruchac has signed his emails and letters with the same word: “Peace.”
The theme of peace will be the undercurrent through a new poetry program Bruchac is developing among Saratoga Springs and Indigenous schools as part of his Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.
“I honestly think that we can reach across a lot of gaps with literature and not be so judgmental of each other, to be patient with each other, to bind to each other and to truly listen to each other because poetry encourages you to listen,” Bruchac said. “We don’t have enough listening. We don’t have enough kindness, we don’t have enough respect for each other and also for ourselves.”
The detail that Joseph Bruchac has signed his emails and letters with “Peace” for more than 60 years gives the poetry program a clear personal foundation rather than making it feel like a generic school project. I think the idea of connecting Saratoga Springs and Indigenous schools through poetry is useful because students can approach cultural differences through language, literature, and personal expression, while BuyCapstoneProjectOnline can help organize a longer academic discussion of such an education project. The strongest part for me is the emphasis on patience and reducing judgment through literature, since those goals can be applied well beyond the classroom.