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Poet in Residence holds workshop with MHS students

Seventeen Marshalltown High School students spent Friday morning working with actor, poet, teacher and spoken word artist Yvette Zarod Hermann as part of a guest “Poet in Residence” program sponsored by the Iowa Arts Council.

Hermann is an Iowa- certified Master Educator of English and an Iowa Arts Council Rostered Teaching Artist. During her workshop, Hermann focused on the power of the spoken word and oral interpretation of poetry. Students worked together and individually to perform various poems and discussed each performance, looking for evidence of understanding.

The poems selected for use in the workshop are part of the Poetry Out Loud program. MHS will hold its qualifying Poetry Out Loud competition Tuesday, Dec. 18. Susan Fritzell, MHS extended learning program teacher, said she hopes the workshop with Hermann would encourage students to take part in the contest.

MHS has a history of success in the Poetry Out Loud contest. Last spring Gwen Morrison was Iowa’s Poetry Out Loud champion and competed at the national contest in Washington, D.C.