Poetry tour to promote resilience among students

The importance of self-worth, self-esteem and personal resilience will be the focus of a two-week poetry tour of Jamaican schools, beginning today.

The ninth staging of the Jamaica Poets Nomadic College and School Tour will run until November 13, using poetry and creative expression to engage young people, particularly high school students, on issues affecting their personal development.

This year's theme, 'Reaching Out with Resilience', builds on last year's outreach to schools in parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa, as organisers seek to help students cope with the emotional and psychological effects of adversity.

The initiative was also engaged by the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information for an online workshop with guidance counsellors on addressing trauma affecting students and families.

The tour will be officially launched at 6 p.m. today at the Dennis Scott Studio Theatre at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

Author and law lecturer Dr Natalie Corthesy will deliver the guest address, while educator and storyteller Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks will host the launch.

The programme will feature presentations by members of the touring group, led by its founder, international dub poet Malachi Smith, as well as students from Edith Dalton James High School.

Organisers say the initiative has also helped to enhance curriculum delivery in Literatures in English through the use of poetry as an educational tool.

As part of efforts to strengthen students' creative writing abilities, the tour will include a workshop in collaboration with the University of the West Indies' Department of Literatures in English at the Mona campus.

The workshop, scheduled for November 12, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., will be led by Professor Opal Palmer-Adisa in Room 04 of the Humanities and Education Old Arts Block.

Through its combination of motivational engagement and literary development, the annual initiative seeks to encourage young people to recognise their value, develop their voices and build the resilience needed to navigate life's challenges.

editorial@gleanerjm.com