On Monday, August 12, educators from Henry County Public Schools gathered with acclaimed spoken word poet Regie Cabico for a professional development poetry workshop. With support from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, Piedmont Arts hosted this annual event for the third time.
Working with all of HCPS’ secondary English teachers, Cabico imparted the crucial message that words have power. Engaging with spoken word poetry and creative writing empowers students to express themselves, gain confidence in public speaking, and creates a classroom culture rooted in creativity and feeling comfortable to speak. During the workshop, he led the teachers through the creation of their own spoken word poetry pieces and gave them an opportunity at the end to perform their poems aloud.
Cabico is a spoken word pioneer. He won The Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam and later took top prizes in three National Poetry Slams. He has been featured in numerous publications, anthologies, and on television. His work as a poet and theatre artist are widely celebrated and have received numerous awards and accolades.
His work with the teachers will be followed up by a week of in-person poetry workshops with all of the 5th to 8th grade classrooms.
