This blog was written by Jennifer Hiller (@thejenhiller), a high school teacher at Arbor View High School in Las Vegas, NV.
I have only been on Twitter for six months, but I have been overwhelmed by the support and inspiration from fellow English teachers in that short time! Earlier this month, I posted a request for poems to post on a school bulletin board celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Within hours, my simple crowdsourcing post generated a wealth of replies from the #NCTEvillage to help me with my task. Then, in less than 24 hours, I had more than enough material to cover my bulletin board and lots of reading and exploring to do, thanks to the generosity of fellow teachers.
Here are some of the wonderful suggestions that came my way:
@GraceHilsmier recommended the lovely “Words are Birds” by Francisco Alarcon and Margarita Engle’s “Drum Dream Girl.”
Next, I was introduced to “I Am Offering this Poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca thanks to @sandymonzonSD.
“Lines Breaking,” a beautiful José B. González poem about family, isolation, and separation, was suggested by @bookiemonster00.
@MelAlterSmith of #TeachLivingPoets directed me to a blog post with a list of contemporary suggestions of “10 Latinx Poets Everyone Should Know About” which included a host of talented writers like Elizabeth Acevedo and Sandra Cisneros.
@SJteaches directed me to Juan Felipe Herrera and Rigoberto Gonzales.
@1stsentence told me about Washington state’s poet laureate, Claudia Castro Luna.
Many poets on Twitter were recommended by @JoelRGarza, including @Vanessaid, @AnaliciaSotelo, and @DTomasMartinez.
@djvorreyer also lead me to some poets on Twitter such as @RosebudBenOni, @lizitamsith, @NatalieGDiaz, and @aracelisxgirmay.
Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “My Father in the Navy” was @anaturaldrift’s contribution to my request.
Several replies also suggested Pat Mora, Gary Soto, and Pablo Neruda. What would you add to this list?
Here is the bulletin board that was created! The SOL (The Student Organization of Latinos) made the display with the materials given to them by Jennifer Hiller.