Poetry Across Borders at Bodine High School

During Poetry Across Borders, artists from Intercultural Journeys worked with students from Bodine High School.

Syrian hip-hop artist Omar Offendum performed and shared some of his own work, as well as led students through discussions on hip hop as a global art form, challenges of being Muslim in the United States, and comparative realities between the United States and cities in the Middle East. Former Poet Laureate of Philadelphia Yolanda Wisher also shared her work, and, using color swatches as a prompt, unlocked and sparked highly descriptive writing about sense, memory, the future, and emotion. Musician Alex Shaw completed the residency by engaging students in focused listening exercises and discussion around perception, sound, and imagery.

The residency culminated in an audio recording project, and several of the tracks from the residency are shared below.