Working with the metaphor “a poem is a message in a bottle,” BrainBoost?s English 11 class took part in a poetic action.?Taking our cue from P.E.I resident Harold Hackett, who throws about 500 bottles in the sea each year instead of using twitter or Facebook, we re-located from the classroom to the waterfront, with paper, pens and glass bottles in tow.?We each wrote a double sided note. One side addressed ‘to you’ and the other addressed ‘to me.’
Teaching the class, I wanted them to think about ‘poetry’ in terms of the Greek word Poesis which means “to make”. When you write poems or make art, you never know who might receive it. The point is to make something and (when you are ready) release it out into the world.
While we can’t tell you the secret of our bottled messages now bobbing out at sea, here are a few morsels we came up with on land.
If a poem is a journey
Take your time, think about it, listen to your
music then maybe send
someone a text
message
If a poem is a walk
Start running.
If a poem is a house
Take off your shoes & put on your pajamas
If a poem is a message in a bottle
Drink some and pass it on
– Matea Kulic & The English 11 Class