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Poetry center hosts event aimed at development of open-access curriculum
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he Furious Flower Poetry Center hosted more than 20 scholars and poets at JMU in June to create a nationwide curriculum for incorporating Black poetry into classrooms of all ages and levels. Participants were placed into groups based on the academic level for which the materials were intended, such as high school, undergraduate, graduate and community education. The educators collaborated on the creation of educational materials like unit plans, exercises, course projects, and more, and drew on resources from the center’s archive, housed in JMU Libraries’ Special Collections, as well as Furious Flower’s published anthologies of poetry. Funded by a $50,000 Equity in Verse grant from the Poetry Foundation, the open-access curriculum, “Opening the World of Black Poetry: A Furious Flower Syllabus,” will be distributed to educators nationwide free of charge. — Megan M. Medeiros (’17, ’21M)
(L-R): Furious Flower Advisory Board members Dana A. Williams and Shauna Morgan, and poet educator Adrienne Danyelle Oliver
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Reaching across the aisle
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Sen. Tim Kaine emphasizes the importance of finding common ground
ames Madison did not initially believe “We should always do more than we do,” he the Constitution needed the Bill of said, “but we do live in a world where conflict, Rights. But he ended up changing his frankly, is more interesting than cooperation.” mind because he was open to dialogue, Kaine stressed the importance of citizens U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said during a stop at asking questions. “There is something everyone JMU on Sept. 22 as part of a new lecture series, can do that can really help us,” he said. “If you Common Good in the Commonwealth. interact with anyone in office, if you develop Sponsored by the James Madison Center the habit of asking — no matter your politics for Civic Engagement, the series explores — ‘Tell me something you are working on with ways in which JMU students and the Har- someone on the other side of the aisle,’ it can risonburg community can work together to be a game-changer. And when you do, it may find similar interests and new approaches to make us more intentional about understanding solving problems. what folks want to hear.” “I have really Kaine and JMU PresiLater in the event, Leia strong opinions Surovell, a fourth-year dent Jonathan R. Alger participated in the inaugural Anthropology major and about virtually “fireside chat” in the Festival everything, but a Democracy Fellow at the Ballroom. Madison Center, asked if I am a good lis- Kaine about freedom of K a ine ha s ser ved a s tener, it can give expression in the classroom mayor of Richmond, Virginia; lieutenant governor me perspective.” and the importance of open and governor of Virginia; dialogue. — TIM KAINE, U.S. senator and a state senator. “The cool thing about He fielded questions on a wide range of top- open dialogue is we all have the ability to change ics, from civic engagement to international our mind,” Kaine said. “I have really strong affairs. To begin the Q&A session, Kaine was opinions about virtually everything, but if I am a asked whether mutual understanding is pos- good listener, it can give me perspective because sible in politics. I didn’t live that life.” “There are plenty of areas where we can, The next installment of the Common and do, find common ground,” he said, citing Good in the Commonwealth series will take bipartisan legislation he sponsored in 2013 to place Nov. 30 in the Festival Ballroom. fund pediatric cancer research. — Jane McConville S E N . K A I N E A N D FU R I O U S FLOW E R PH OTO G R A PH S BY ST E V E A D E RTO N ( ’ 1 9)