HHS English Department Welcomes Aja Monet

The English Department at Harrison High School was pleased to welcome the award-winning Spoken Word Artist Aja Monet.  Ms. Monet, a modern poet specializing in performance art, was a guest of the ninth grade English classes where she, in conjunction with the ninth grade teachers, collaborated with students to focus on writing poetically about important and relevant issues.  The students focused on the essential question, “How does poetry free an artist to express perspective on personal experiences, community, and societal issues?”

“It is powerful to interact with poets in real time to see poetry as something alive, as a form of self expression within everyone’s reach,” said Marina Moran, Director of English Language Arts for the Harrison Central School District.  “Slam poetry is especially effective because it helps students feel heard and empowered about issues that are personal and about which they care deeply.  For this reason, it is also a great tool to build empathy.”

Ms. Monet spent the week at Harrison High School working with students in the conventional setting of the classroom, demonstrating how pauses in speech, modulations in tone and volume could convey multiple meanings to the written word.  Raised in an urban enclave in Brooklyn, Ms. Monet was interested in having the HHS students explore their feelings and observations on their suburban surroundings.

 “Putting yourself out there in front of people, where you don’t know how they will receive you is always scary,” she told the students as they were writing their own Slam Poetry.  “Poetry is more about your imagination - seeing meanings in things around you.”

She also hosted Lunch and Learn seminars with nearly twenty students each lunch period throughout the day.  Students would grab their lunch and their original works and share ideas and express frustrations, doubts and enthusiasm in a collaborative environment.

“We are truly grateful to have such an esteemed writer, poet, and guest in our classes,” said Leah Moore, HHS ninth grade teacher.  “The students pushed themselves to emulate a variety of writing styles and capture their own passions in poetry.  They were inspired by her writing, her performances, and her career as a poet.  As a ninth grade team, we were impressed with the creativity the students demonstrated in their own writing.”

Ms. Monet, who holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and a MFA in Creative Writing from the School of Art Institute in Chicago, is one of the most accomplished and respected poets within the Spoken Word community. She was a member of the first youth team from New York City to win the Brave New Voices Youth National Poetry slam.  At the age of 19, she was the youngest individual and first woman to win the legendary Nuyorican Poets Café grand champion title.  Ms. Monet has also served as a youth mentor and poetry slam coach for Urban Word NYC, working with at-risk youth in the inner-city of New York.