When I was younger, I used to write a lot - short stories, songs and poems. Much of it was embarrassingly mushy love stuff, but some of it was decent; I even won a county-wide poetry contest in elementary school. I remember the poem to this day. "I See Mother Nature is Pleased" was all about the seasons changing and the beauty of the environment; I even drew pictures to accompany each stanza.
I'd almost forgotten about that poem until just this past weekend, when I had the amazing opportunity to attend a preliminary competition of Louder Than a Bomb (LTAB). This youth poetry slam is put on each year by Young Chicago Authors, the group who also contributes to our weekend Science as Metaphor series of blogs. In LTAB, students compete as individuals and on teams, performing their original poetry in front of their parents, friends and fellow poets.
I went down to Columbia College this Saturday to watch the Eco-Slam team from Chicago Botanic Garden's Fairchild Challenge perform, and it was AWESOME! The group's poetry focuses on nature and the environment in really unique ways. It was exciting to see the students perform their individual pieces, as well as the brand-new group piece they put together in just a few weeks. Check out the video below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHZwYhhJI9Q&eurl=http://sciencechicagoblog.com/page/2/
Since I started college and got more deeply into studying science, I stopped writing almost completely. But last weekend got me re-engergized about poetry, and I even pulled out my journal last night! The Eco-Slam team and the weekly Science as Metaphor writers have been a great reminder that we don't have to be passionate about science or art, but that the two disciplines can, and do, intersect in many interesting ways.
Congratulations to the whole team - you all were wonderful! For more of their videos, check out the Fairchild Challenge YouTube Channel.
-Rabiah
Author's Note: Sources:
http://www.youngchicagoauthors.org/
http://www.chicagobotanic.org/fairchildchallenge/index.php
Editor's Note: For more blogs from Dr. Rabiah, visit Science Chicago's website at: http://www.sciencechicagoblog.com
