116 Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol. 42, No. 2, 2019 CREELY • ‘Poetry is dying’: Creating a (re)new(ed) pedagogical vision for teaching poetry ‘Poetry is dying’: Creating a (re)new(ed) pedagogical vision for teaching poetry Edwin Creely Monash University ABSTRACT This conceptual article explores the experiential basis of poetry and its deep connections to human engagement with the world and with others. This exploration is presented as a foundation for developing an alternate pedagogical framework for effective poetry teaching in the context of literacy programs and practices in schools, and the traditions of literature teaching. The writing of the article emerges out of evidence that poetry teaching is experiencing somewhat of a decline or at least a lack of emphasis in the classroom and in the curriculum. This decline may be due, in part, to a current focus on more functional notions of literacy in schools, as opposed to creative, performative or personal forms of writing. Or, it may be due to perceptions that poetry is dull and elitist. I contend that an experiential basis to poetry teaching has the potential for positive reception by students and may promote a deeper and more sustained understanding of poetry and poetic language. Using a phenomenological approach, the article eclectically investigates the experiential core of engaging with poetry, with examples for analysis drawn from the poetry of T.S. Eliot. The aim of this analysis is to provide a theoretical foundation for an innovative pedagogical framework for teaching poetry. This framework or approach to poetry teaching is built on four principles: 1. Modelling of reading, writing and performing poetry by educators; 2. Integrating poetry across disciplines and more centrally in the curriculum; 3. Re-centring poetry in regard to where and how students read, write and perform poetry (including third spaces); and 4. Challenging traditional notions of what constitutes poetry and proposing instead a more radical and disruptive pedagogy for bringing poetry to the classroom. These four principles are designed to promote greater participation and ownership by students in reading, writing about, producing and sharing poetry with others. The four principles are conceived as part of a model for a new poetry pedagogy, and this model is designed to be usable for both policy frameworks and for literacy practices in the classroom. In an article in The Conversation, Laura Apol (2017) wrote the following about what she claims is an emerging interest by young people in performance poetry: The most exciting development in the world of poetry for young people is in the arena of performance. There is a widespread renewed interest in spoken poetry for and by young people. Its growth is signalled by the emergence of hip-hop, rap, poetry slams and spoken- word poetry events. The roots of poetry are in speaking and listening. Poetry events for young people once again allow students to perform for an audience those poems they have committed to memory and learned ‘by heart.’ This idea of learning ‘by heart’ and experiencing the joy of poetry took me back many years to a Year 12 Literature class and to a weekend where I brought scones, jam and cream for my students, and we all sat around a table eating, laughing, reading and performing poetry, and feasting on the words of T.S. Eliot in prepa- ration for the literature exam. If Laura Apol is right about the potential of young people to engage with poetry, then what needs to be done in classrooms to create a more effective pedagogical approach to the teaching of poetry, one that generates strong engage- ment and promotes enjoyment?