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Denver -- Dozens of the nearly 250 Denver Public Schools students featured in a newly published poetry book called The Place Where Poetry Begins read aloud their work at Tuesday night’s poetry reception at the Denver Public Library.

Watch: Video of a few students reading their poems aloud

The anthology of poems is authored by DPS elementary students from Kindergarten through fifth-grade, including students from every neighborhood in Denver. There are about two dozen poems in Spanish, with English translations.

This anthology is a unique artifact that presents the DPS literacy program in a new light. The poems are not only heart-felt, they are interesting, nuanced, and accomplished. Dozens of the young authors read their poems to the public and autographed each other’s books.

About The Place Where Poetry Begins
The book features a Reader’s Guide, identifying poetic styles (such as personification, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia) and forms (such as acrostic, cinquain, haiku, limerick) used by student authors in the anthology.

The poetry book also has two color covers and almost 200 interior illustrations, also all by DPS elementary students. The anthology was edited by DPS fourth-grade classroom teacher Steve Replogle with the assistance of student volunteers from East High School and Denver School of the Arts, working with submissions from dedicated teachers across the city.

These poems are from Colorado's most diverse metropolitan school district, but the strongest impressions are universal. The poems demonstrate how all children love games and tricks, whether they are Kindergartners or fifth-graders. They show us that all children laugh about the same silly jokes and cry about the same kinds of problems, no matter their heritage or background. The poems show us that all children love their homes, no matter what part of Denver they are from.

The book will be on sale soon at The Tattered Cover Bookstore and The Bookies. For further information, please visit http://poetry.dpsk12.org or contact steve_replogle@dpsk12.org. 

 If you have a story about a Denver Public School or student, e-mail us at Goodnews@dpsk12.org. Please include a photo with your story. Photos of students require a signed media consent form, which you can fax to 720.423.3611. (Spanish version within same document.)