Kyra Spence ’14 Spends a Week with George School

Kyra Spence is a poet and 2014 graduate of George School. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a BA from Barnard College. She teaches creative writing and English literature. Her recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Pine Hills Review, Anacapa Review, Bodega Magazine, DIAGRAM, Bennington Review, and elsewhere.

This week, I had the pleasure of working with Shantel’s ninth grade English class and Melaina’s twelfth grade Writer’s Focus English class. Working with George School’s teachers and students this week was a beautiful way to feel community and connection around poetry. Shantel, Melaina, and all the teachers in the English department showed me such warmth and generosity.

We read and discussed poems and did generative poetry exercises. Students also performed and workshopped their own work. We explored adolescence, memory, and dreams. I was very moved by students’ curious and incisive approaches to poetry, and by the focus and imagination in the writing they shared.

I was also able to join Zahra and many wonderful student writers in an Argo meeting, where we discussed the joys and difficulties of writing. It was so special to hear these students’ hopes and concerns and to witness their thoughtful editorial process. It was an honor to return to George School, and spend the week reading, discussing, and writing poems with this excellent community.