THE MAGIC POETRY BUS PROJECT
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Golden State laureate launches
Magic Poetry Bus Project
Visit the Magic Poetry Bus Project website
California poet laureate Carol Muske-Dukes with KCET’s Saul González
Watch or listen to KCET’s SoCal story editor Saul González interview Carol Muske-Dukes on her Magic Poetry Bus Project.
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Carol Muske-Dukes
© Laurie Lambrecht
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Other books by Carol Muske-Dukes
The California poet laureate’s public calendar
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Not resting on her laurels, poet has plans to popularize form | Karen Lindell | Ventura North County Star | April 20, 2009
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in concert with Carol Muske- Dukes | Broad Stage, Santa Monica | April 23, 2009 at 7 pm
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Dear Friends,
I’ve recently been appointed Poet Laureate of California and I am charged by the Governor to develop a statewide project , which I’m delighted to announce is now “revving up” –
The project, which is called The Magic Poetry Bus, will be rolling soon!
Aboard the actual “bus” — which we hope to drive out of the garage very soon – will be poets, actors, playwrights and a film-maker, who will travel to public schools, elementary and secondary, and also to juvenile halls, throughout the state of California. Often with a film crew, these creative artists will teach workshops, writing exercises, and have fun with games and riddles.
We’ll also be filming young performing poets and one-on-one and “pop-ups” to be posted on the Mission Imagination Virtual Bus (or website), which will serve as a fuel-ready fun imaginative guide to teaching creative writing and the creative arts.
This manual is an ongoing, constantly “up-dateable” resource for teachers and students — featuring:
* Digital features of poets and actors reading a poem or talking about poetry
* Videos of students learning to write poems or plays in a workshop setting
* Creative writing “exercises”
* Poetry in performance
* Animation
* Games
* Maybe even a “Science & Poetry” feature!
This website will be a “virtual” bus tour of the poetic imagination — with Inspiration Points, Bus Stops, Fast and Slowdown Lanes — inviting teachers and students to grab a seat, and check out the Bus Driver’s Manual of “how to’s,” making the entry into imaginative writing unthreatening and inviting. The format will be dynamic: constantly updated with ideas and feedback from participating kid and grown-up poets, and students of the arts. We will feature an instant-publishing component — a Big Yellow Sign parking space — where participants can “post” their poems, stories, or plays when they are ready to “publish.”
Our board includes former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky, actor John Lithgow, playwright Christopher Durang, author and performance artist Sandra Tsing Loh, singer/songwriter Paul Simon, and many others. We will also be working with other creative arts individuals at organizations like the Get Lit Players, whose teen-age members offer performances in schools, combining classical traditional poetry and performance art; “826”, the immensely successful storefront “kids writing” project founded by Dave Eggers (California, New York, Chicago) and others. Our Arts Advisory Staff includes Stephanie Carrie of The Actors’ Gang, Ali-Reza Nusrat, cinematographer, Diana Arterian and John Muske, arts support specialists and Stewart Grace, web design.
Hop on The Magic Poetry Bus for a tour of the creative imagination — we hope that you’ll stay aboard and even take a magic turn of your own!
Yours,
Carol Muske-Dukes,
Poet Laureate, State of California
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