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Poet-in-Residence Visits Ranney

Poet and writer Lois Harrod, Ranney’s Poet-in-Residence, was back on campus last week, doing workshops with English classes in the Upper and Middle schools.
 
Harrod, a three-time recipient of New Jersey Council on the Arts fellowship, gives Ranney students the advantage of reading and hearing poetry, while giving them the chance to interact with and ask questions of a real poet. Her goal is to expose the students to more poetry, specifically contemporary poetry.
 
An example of a workshop she did with AP Writing involved reading poems that she wrote about the heart from different point of views, since the class is studying speaker, point of view and genre. She always gives the class a prompt afterwards for an assignment of their own with some in-class writing time.
 
“Poems surprise us,” said Lois. “I have the students listen for and underline phrases they like for interesting and fresh language rather than clichés.”
 
Another workshop she did was called, “Truth and Lies.” She had students write down several truths and lies and read one aloud to the class without revealing whether it is real. She then reads a poem that she wrote that is based on a combination of some things that actually happened and some things she made up.
 
“Fiction is a way of telling the truth,” said Lois. “The point is to help students to find the right metaphor to express the truth.”
 
Lois works at several private schools in the area, teaches college courses for 50+ as part of the Evergreen Forum in Princeton, and is a TCNJ creative writing teacher. But she cherishes her time at Ranney.
 
“I really enjoy the students at Ranney,” said Lois. “They are sweet, well-behaved, lively and cooperative. Every class has its own personality.”
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.