Poems for Healing from Trista Mateer
Powerful Poetry to Celebrate Pride Month
Poetry for Relationships, Growing Up, and Coping with Stress
GBTQ community is celebrating Pride Month and Trista Mateer's powerful book of poems is a great read for those who want to relate to others as they grapple with their sexuality. Trista is bi-sexual and each poem relates to her experiences in coming out and how she has grown personally. Each poem has a definite theme for relationships, growing up, and coping with stress as one seeks to identify oneself and their place in the world. Her poems are short and lyrical. The original artwork from Jess Cruickshank is of special interest.
She writes from the heart and each poem has a title that sparks interest in reading what she has to say in each special poem. A few titles of interest in her collection are "The Big Bang Theory", "Will It Burn Like Light", and "Will the Whole World Change if We Touch". Each poem sparks ideas for serious thought. Teens who are not part of the LGBTQ community will find these poems thought-provoking in dealing with a friend who has come out to them. Poetry such as these from Mateer can spark great conversations between friends who have gay relationships.
When the Stars Wrote Back is recommended for ages 14+ . It has an ISBN of 9780593172674.
Bring When the Stars Wrote Back to the Classroom for Creative and Thought-Provoking Activities
Trista Mateer's When the Stars Wrote Back is a collection of poetry that teachers who teach English/Language Arts for ages 14+ will want to add to their classroom library. Both gay and straight teens are grappling with their sexuality in today's society and poetry for healing, growing up, and coping with the multitude of issues that come with sexuality are good reading to spark conversation. Teachers will find these poems to be tools for assigning creative writing projects. Poetry is a great tool for expressing feelings. Trista writes from the heart with each short poem.
*Choose a "Poem for the Day" from Trista's collection. Read aloud in class or pair students to read to each other during the day.
*Encourage students to express their feelings about their relationship with a freind who is a member of the LGBTQ community. Allow students to express both negative and positive experiences.
*Assign a creative writing experience for students to choose a favorite poem from the collection. Why do they like this particular poem? What are their ideas for what the poem says to them about growing up? What does their favorite poem say to them about relationships or coping with an issue?
*Engage students in a discussion of the issues that members of the LGBTQ community face in today's society. How do these poems address some of the issues? Which poems in Trista's collection stand out to address an issue that she has grappled with?
*Assign a research project for students to read about laws that protect members of the LGBTQ community. What are their feelings about the protections that these laws provide? Which poems in Trista's collection are related to some of the legal protections for the community?
*Create art projects to celebrate Pride Month. Why do we use the rainbow to celebrate Pride Month?
*Assign a creative writing/art project for student to choose their favorite poem from Trista's collection and illustrate the poem with drawings.
*Engage students in a discussion of the title of Trista's poetry collection. Why do students think that she chose stars for the cover? Can each student shine like the stars as they grapple with their sexuality and their place in the LGBTQ community?
*Does the community in which students live celebrate Pride Month? How is the month celebrated in their community? Do they participate with a friend from the LGBTQ community?
*Assign a research project for students to learn about legal cases that have been fought by the LGBTQ community. What are the legal outcomes from some of these cases.
*Assign a creative writing project for students to write their own poem about relationships and growing up. They do not have to be a member of the LGBTQ community to express their feelings in a poem about growing up in our society now.
