FIGURE IN THE CARPET

As a teacher and community educator who began performing as a storyteller and publishing poetry in my senior years, what I love about Elders-Probe-the-Arts (ELDPRO) is uncovering hidden talent in children and elders.

What propelled me to develop poetry and storytelling for multi-generations was being humiliated as a child when others laughed at my sixth-grade poem. I wanted to free children and seniors to express their imagination. Poetry is the natural language of youth. Seniors still tell me how they came to a course to listen, but were surprised when they wrote poems, expressing their joy and sadness in a way that validated who they are. I am delighted to provide an opportunity for generations to discover the thrill of connecting to one another through words.

To enhance communication among generations through the arts, focused on storytelling and poetry, we incorporated as a non-profit 501(c) (3) in 2001, assisted by the Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts. We have since offered two storytelling programs in conjunction with St. Louis Earth Day. The first year featured Diann Bank, Gladys Coggswell, and other Jewish- and African-American elderstory tellers; the second year highlighted the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

For three years, with the St. Louis Poetry Center (SLPC), we have co-sponsored intergenerational poetry writing. Last year at Covenant House Senior Residence, we offered Connecting Hearts through English and Russian Poetry. Russian-born Americans, steeped in Russian poetry, sparkled in animated conversation with younger American-born poets. Arkady wrote his first poem in English, which ended, "The years run away / And fingers become darkness."

Third-grader, Chrisean (right),
shares a find with Lavonnda and Margaret, a senior mentor,
before collaborating on a poem in Mitchell School Gardens.

Photo by Karen Mondale.

In Elders-Probe-the-Arts, each generation affirms another by sharing skills and caring. No child or elder can ever get too much praise. Youths seem to gain as much from an elder with dementia or with limited literacy, who might dictate poems to them, as they do from an elder with whom they collaboratively write a poem.

With SLPC, we’ve sponsored varied programs at Mitchell School in North City. Initially, we exchanged poetry with seniors at nearby Hylton Point Apartments, led by Martha Talburt, a poet and visual artist, Constance Levy, a children's poet and teacher, and myself. Levy taught third-graders. The next year Wendy Surrinksy taught photography and poetry with Mitchell fourth-graders. The children photographed their elders. The program included one third-grader who ended her poem with "I felt like a red and blue balloon in the sky." Her teacher puffed with pride.

This fall, Mitchell third-graders joined with Tower Grover Manor Residents in South City for a cross-cultural, intergenerational experience. This program, Poetry and Gardens, assists youth in both language and science skills. Lynn Rubright, an arts and curriculum expert, works in concert with Levy to spark students’ senses and imagination through story and movement. Sylvia Duncan, a poet and storyteller, stimulates senior and youth poetry in joint sessions in garden settings. Edyth Ezidore, a specialist at Mitchell, says, "I love the program because the children love it. It's like magic. It's almost as great as the Cardinals' winning the Pennant last night."

Third-grader Antionette hugs Margaret,

who holds a bulb to replant.

Photo by Marilyn Probe.

What thrills me about Poetry and Gardens is the child whose natural rhythm tumbles words on to paper, the same way their energy plunges into the earth as they plant bulbs with seniors. Nothing seems to stop them from noticing, wanting to find the right words, creating surprising similes, or jumping up to take their photos with their poem. This fall the students wrote these lines:

When a seed comes out of its shell it’s like a bird cracking out of his egg — Chris

Water looks like a silver train — Wrice

Millo, as he leaned into the lily pond at the Botanical Gardens, wrote the following:

We invite you to participate in our Poetry and Gardens series, starting next April. Nationally-recognized nature poet Pattiann Rogers and rap poet and storyteller Bobby Norfolk will perform environmental works. They will be matched with elder and younger poets from Tower Grove Manor and Mitchell School on Saturday, April 9, from 11 am to 3 pm at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Rogers will teach a writing seminar on Friday night, April 8. Poet Susan Grigsby will teach poetry after school through myths and art in Mitchell Gardens, a program open to youth and senior mentors. Except for the seminar, the programs are free. We are also seeking an English-major volunteer to observe and write about our program. For information contact poet@Elders-Probe-the-Arts.org or (314) 991-1529.

Elders-Probe-the-Arts has the magic of a winner, as there is unity in multiplicity. Currently, in addition to the sponsoring organizations, the program is made possible with financial assistance from the Missouri Arts Council (a state agency), Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Botanical Gardens, and O’Connell’s Pub. The Missouri Arts Council Poetry and Gardens Arts in Curriculum funding is supported entirely by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Marilyn Probe is a storyteller and educator and serves as president of Elders-Probe-the-Arts.