OES students launch book of poems

CNMI’s first multi-lingual book of poems complete with artistic illustrations is now out in the market which is authored by a group of 6th grade students from Oleai elementary School.

Who would have guessed that nine students out of the Public School System’s Saturday Academy program would be able to accomplish such a masterpiece? OES facilitators Kathryn Tuten-Puckett and Rory Starky did.

Since day one of the six-week long program, Ms. Puckett and Mr. Starky already recognized potential among the young artists aged 11 to 12.

“They have potential as authors. I am pleased with their enthusiasm, their creativity and imagination. While everyone else are worried about SAT9 scores, there’s proof right here that our students are learning and excelling in language and visual arts,” said Mr. Starky.

A published author herself, Ms. Puckett is very impressed by the students’ interest in writing poems and the creative arts.

“We don’t have very many Micronesian books made in the CNMI. And I believe students should be exposed to this — to taking photos, writing, painting. . .I get excited about what students can do,” Ms. Puckett said.

The book entitled “Poems of the Sea and Sky” is a 54-page material that contains short poems composed by the students themselves translated into their first languages.

The Saturday Academy group is comprised of members hailing from Asian-Pacific cultures of the CNMI, Pohnpei, American Samoa, Philippines, and Chuuk.

The book also boasts of banana print illustrations as demonstrated by local guest artist Doug Rankin.

The students admit they had a great time compiling the materials which had turned their works into one hardbound book.

“It took me five days or more to compose my poem but I enjoyed it. I was very excited we were going to be making a book,” said 12-year-old Matthew Quiatchon, one of the authors.

But coming from a family of artists, Joy Rankin confesses it doesn’t take her more than 10 minutes to compose a single poem.

“This is a hobby of mine. I just sit outside and I look at the sky and then I scribble it down into a poem,” said the young Ms. Rankin.

Other authors include Roxanne Marigmen Agbanlog, Ronnah Bunlag, Josef Deleon Guerrero, Ezra Kileleman Helgen, Juanito Rogopes Innocenti, Miles King, and Leonardo Aveina Salas.

During the course of the Saturday Academy program, students listened to poetry, reflected on island living, and created their own poems which revolved around three categories: the sky, the seashore, and the undersea.

During the brief, intensive sessions students diligently and creatively utilized numerous Language Art skills and learned new visual arts techniques.

Yesterday, the authors, their school advisors, and parents gathered at the residence of Jose and Alicia Guerrero for the book’s official launching.

A party was also held in recognition of the students’ hard work and perseverance.

Some 1,000 copies of the book have been printed for the students, parents, and school libraries.

Copies are also being sold at $8 each. Funds raised from the sale will be kept for the next student writing project of OES Young Writers Workshop under the Saturday Academy.

OES has recently been awarded a $5,000 in federal grants by the Hawaii Consortium on Arts and Culture which will be used to fund another writing project. (MM)