Thresea Tighe
of St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
November 4, 2004
Lines of poetry tie generations together in older people's project
"Sometimes the baddest child is the one who catches on to poetry."
Marilyn Probe, President, Elders-Probe-the-Arts
Four third-grade boys whirled around Dot Beismann, 76, at the rim of the lily pools in front of the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden recently. The boys vied for her attention spouting bits of poetry, which she wrote down.
The boys were as excited as if Beismann were giving away computer games. Beismann was so engrossed in the boys and poetry that she was oblivious to the day's chill and mist.
"Lilies are soft. Lilies are boss. Lilies are fun for frogs to sit on," shouted Acie Green, 8.
Cortez Nobles, 9, jumped in. "Lilies are cool while they are swimming in a pool."
All around the basin of the Climatron similar groups of senior citizens worked with similarly engrossed groups of third-graders from Mitchell Elementary School in north St. Louis.
The workshop planned by Marilyn Probe, president of Elders-Probe-the-Arts, was working. Friendships were being formed across the generations, and the young and the old were learning about gardens and poetry.
Beismann, a retired teacher, had written a poem too, a poem designed to make the boys laugh.
Her poem read: I enjoy seeing trees full of leaves blowing in the breeze even though I have to sneeze.
The purpose of Elders-Probe-the-Arts is to foster communication among elders and youth through the arts.
Probe lives in Creve Coeur. She is a poet, a storyteller and a teacher. She holds a doctorate in intergenerational programming. This project, called a Poetry and Gardens Workshop, is one of her favorites.
"Sometimes the baddest child is the one who catches on to poetry," she said, "because it gives them a way to express their imagination and their feelings in creative and positive ways.
"So many seniors who think they have no creative skills discover that they can write a poem that is appreciated by others," Probe said.
The workshop is free and was open to anyone 55 or older. Probe and her group placed more than 400 fliers about it in area libraries. Before they came to the Missouri Botanical Garden on Oct. 20, elders met for poetry writing sessions at the Tower Grove Manor, an independent retirement community, across from Tower Grove Park. Some 15 elders from throughout the metropolitan area signed on for the workshop.
The children -- 35 students -- came from Mitchell Elementary School in St. Louis. The children have a garden at their school, and through the program poets came to their school to teach them to appreciate poetry and write poetry of their own.
Sessions and field trips began in early October and included planting 100 bulbs in the children's garden and watching worms. The youngsters and the elders will also participate in a grand performance of poetry about gardens in April at the Botanical Garden.
Elders-Probe-the-Arts and the St. Louis Poetry Center sponsored the Poetry and Gardens Workshop. The Missouri Arts Council, the Botanical Garden, the Regional Arts Commission, Tower Grove Manor, Mitchell Elementary School and O'Connell's Pub supported it financially.
On the visit to the Botanical Garden Oct. 20, volunteer Margaret Janku, 78, a retired librarian from St. Ann, walked hand in hand with Antionette Beckley and Shani Redding, both 8. The girls were full of praise for their new friend. They spelled out Janku's virtues.
"She's helpful. She's playful. She's nice," said Antionette. "And she taught me not to put bulbs in upside down."
Shani said, "She loves to talk about plants, and I love to talk about plants."
Janku said the sessions with the children had yielded an unexpected gift. "The children are bright and interested in what we are doing, and the teachers are quite good, which gives me hope," she said.
Copyright (c) 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE S. CORDLE (1) Photo - Sylvia Duncan (right) of the group Elders-Probe-the-Arts walks through the Missouri Botanical Garden with Mitchell Elementary School students Reniesha Williams (left) and Terriauna St. John (center) as they look for a spot to write poetry.