This week, my Stage 1 and Stage 2 English Literary Studies classes have been fortunate to again experience the presence of acclaimed Adelaide poet, Geoff Goodfellow. On this occasion, each student has been able to experience some one-on-one time with Geoff, workshopping their own creative writing practice.
Individually, the Year 12’s are spending a daily allocation of time with Geoff drafting, editing and polishing a transformation of one of his poems into their own masterpiece, demonstrating their ability to ‘transfer’ his ideas and themes into a new text type. Meanwhile, the Year 11’s are each participating in two individual sessions with Geoff, to discuss their ideas, find their voice and create some original poetry.
Our students have greatly enjoyed engaging with Geoff’s remarkable poetry, which explores the diverse and relevant themes of relationships, love, drug addiction, family dynamics, loss and grief and the idea of the future being unknown. Many have also surprised themselves with what they’ve achieved in a short amount of time.
We offer our sincere thanks to Geoff Goodfellow for sharing his expertise with our students. These workshops are undertaken as an initiative to help improve the outcomes for our higher end writers.
~ Ms Caitlin Randall (English Teacher)