Last week, poet, musician and playwright R.B. Morris launched the Knoxville Poetry Project alongside hundreds of Knox County teachers and principals.

Morris, the City's first Poet Laureate, is passionate about the power of the written word - especially when that power is harnessed and wielded by young people.

When Morris explained the Knoxville Poetry Project initiative to the gathered educators, he offered a few examples of poems for inspiration. He included a poem by a second-grader at Belle Morris (his daughter) about James Agee Park; a poem by a fifth-grader at Northshore about his bedroom; Nikki Giovanni's "Knoxville, Tennessee," James Agee's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915," and his own "Fort Sanders."

For more details about the project, visit https://www.smore.com/7c6h8.

 
Poet Laureate R.B. Morris and Belle Morris Elementary School Principal Terry Lynn Hursey


The intent is to bring people together as a community to explore and share Knoxville's rich history. Students are invited to submit an original poem or lyrical prose about Knoxville's impact on their life.

What's your favorite place? Is your church like a second home? If you're new to the city, what was your first impression - and did that impression hold up over time?

The format is open to all kinds of poetry, and students' focus should be their impressions of Knoxville in whatever way makes sense to them. The initiative is open only to students.

Student can offer a submission to their teachers, or they can send a clearly printed hard copy to Shannon Jackson, Executive Director of Curriculum/Instruction for Knox County Schools. The deadline is the end of business on Friday, March 9. Cover sheets can be printed here: http://bit.ly/2nmJEmD. Mail submissions to Jackson at 912 S. Gay St., Suite 1421A, Knoxville, TN 37902. For more information, contact Jackson at 865-594-1114 or [email protected].