Tag Archives: Poetry

18 May 2022Creativity CornerAncestry, Birth Names, Creative Writing, Leuphana, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Names, Poems, Poetry, VignettesHenrike Kattoll

50 Minutes That Make a Name

By Johanna Gabriela Hernández Schäfer

I’m named after my grandfathers: Johann and Juan. My name is Johanna. Throughout my life, I’ve met many Johannas. At my university alone, I know nearly a dozen. It’s led to funny and to confusing situations, but it’s always been something to connect over. On their own, my names are nothing to brag about: Johanna. Gabriela. Hernández. Schäfer. Johanna and Schäfer are common names in Germany, Gabriela and Hernández are typical Peruvian names. Only together are they special. Only together are they me. But – had I been born 50 minutes earlier, my name might have been Paula (find out why at the end of the poem).

24 June 2020Creativity CornerContest Winners, Haiku, Haiku Contest, High School Students, Jennifer Kronovet, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Poetry, U.S. Consulate General Leipzig, University Students, Winning EntriesHenrike Kattoll

2020 Haiku Contest

Compiled by the U.S. Consulate General Leipzig

Just last month, the U.S. Consulate General Leipzig organized a Haiku contest for both high school and university students. The motto for this creative writing challenge was “Looking outside – Looking inside,” that is, noticing the connections between the change in season and the change in one’s internal landscape. Students were asked to put their thoughts and feelings into a Haiku consisting of three lines and 17 syllables in total.

The consulate received about 100 submissions from eight German states and places as far away as Nigeria. American poet and now also haiku contest judge, Jennifer Kronovet, selected 10 of her favorite Haikus and commented on her top three.

The blog editors congratulate all winners. Keep up the good work!

27 May 2020Teaching ToolsLeuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Poem Analysis, Poems, Poetry, Teaching, WritingHenrike Kattoll

A Changing Mindset: Teaching “A Mown Lawn” by Lydia Davis

By Sabrina Völz

Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 (10:47 a.m.)
Lydia Davis (1947- ) is a lover of language and an American writer, probably in that order. She’s best known for her minimalist writing style and works of brevity (short stories, flash fiction, and narratives made up of only a couple of lines). One of my favorite prose poems is “A Mown Lawn.” It is literally one-of‑a kind. Well, almost. I think Davis wrote two political pieces, of which “A Mown Lawn” is one. If you aren’t familiar with it, please read it, otherwise this blog might not make sense (see image below).
As some of our loyal readers might recall, my colleague Maria Moss has written several blogs on how to teach poetry, including “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost and Haikus. But I’m not like her. To be honest, I’m somewhat leery of the long faces students often make when they hear the word ‘poetry.’ Determined to give it a try, I prepared a lesson that would hopefully help my students appreciate Davis’s poem, engage with the topics, and think about language – the power of language, or should I say, the lack thereof? Anyway, here are my notes:

12:10 p.m.
Off to class. Let’s see how it goes.
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