Hello all, I grew up in Highland Park, attended the Farmhouse summer camps, Zoo Camp, graduated from the Ellis School and then attended Emerson College in Boston, where I recently cieved a BFA in Creative Writing. I'm excited to announce that this fall, I'll be teaching a course at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts entitled "Exploring Poetry" designed specifically for 13-16 year olds. The course runs from September 19th to November 7th, and will meet each Wednesday from 6 to 8 P.M. This course will provide a nurturing environment in which students may engage with language, unfettered by the perhaps daunting or self-censoring influence of older, more experienced poets (i.e. no individual "who is, like, as old as my mom" will be in class, so students may feel a bit more comfortable bringing more sensitive topics to their poetry). Students will have the opportunity to discover the possibilities of language through in-class and take-home exercises. We will read poetry by both canonized and contemporary poets, which will lead to a number of exercises exploring the basics mechanics of poetry. Other exercises will include (but are not limited to) experimentation with a variety of forms (from the traditional haiku and sonnet to Found Poetry and erasure), as well as engagement with personal influences in visual arts and music. It is my hope that through my class, individuals might latch onto both inner and exterior inspiration, and complete the class with a new-found energy, a notebook full of new poems and questions, and a deeper appreciation of what poetry is, and can be. I encourage any students or parents who are interested in learning more about the course to contact me at sophie.klahr@gmail.com. A course description and online registration are available at http://www.pittsburgharts.org/school_fall07.php