Reflection on REFLECT AND WRITE

As a teacher of writing, I am keenly aware of how difficult it can be to get some students to take the great leap of faith that allows them to let go of their inhibitions and write freely and creatively. Sometimes it seems that no matter how many prompts I come up with, it just isn't enough to break down some walls. And that is why I love the new anthology Reflect and Write from Prufrock Press, a paperback and CD collection of 300 poems and photographs, and other goodies that is designed with the writing student in mind. Authors/editors Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy sought to put together an anthology in the style of Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle, and they have succeeded and gone far beyond the original by adding elements such as keywords, quotations and writing prompts to the poems and photos that comprised the original work. Further, they have reached directly into schools themselves for contributors, with several of the poems and photographs coming from high school students and teachers, an even greater connection to the intended audience.

Full disclosure: I'm in the book. I have four poems among the 136 in the anthology. But though that fact natuarally biases me, it does not change the fact that this is the most unique collection of writing for student writers in many years. It should become a staple in every classroom in the country.

REFLECT AND WRITE