We have some exciting news to share with you! Homeschooled poet Camille Campbell recently launched the Rising Poets Community, which aims to empower youth to awaken their inner poet. Let’s let her tell us all about it in this exclusive interview!
1. What inspired you to create the Rising Poets Community?
On January 8, 2022, I released the book Her Poems – Women Poets Who Changed the World, which both introduces children to women poets and provides poetry activities. After teachers shared that the activities in the book inspired their students to write poetry, I realized that I wanted to take a step further with my community involvement and spread the love of poetry through a nonprofit organization. By opening the Rising Poets Community (RPC), I sought to give young people a platform to share their powerful words with others. As a writer, I know it can be difficult to get your work out into the world, so, by creating this organization, I hope to inspire other aspiring poets to share their powerful words!
2. What is the mission of RPC?
Rising Poets Community’s mission is to empower youth to find their voice through poetry.
3. How is RPC different from other poetry-sharing internet and social media sites?
Aside from providing a publication opportunity, there are many prompts featured like a “Vision Board” and poetry packets that have been distributed to schools. RPC sends printed poetry programs to large high schools all around Arizona so that thousands of students in my community can write poetry. As I created the poetry prompts, I made sure to keep the teenage audience in mind. For example, some poetry prompts are based on posting on Instagram, texting, and songwriting. As a young writer myself, I created the prompts that inspired my own poetry the most! It has been wonderful to share this program with students and give them an outlet to express their emotions.
4. What has been the most challenging part of launching RPC?
It has been most challenging to encourage writers to submit their work to the publication! Despite the poetry programs reaching many people around the world, the writers can find it difficult to share their poetry because they’re afraid it isn’t good enough. As a fellow poet, I can definitely relate, which is why I created a platform to empower poets to take the leap and share their work with a supportive audience.
5. What has been the most fulfilling part of launching RPC?
It has been very fulfilling to hear powerful stories from people around the world. Every poem tells a story and is a reflection of the writer. Sometimes, I get messages from poets who are unsure of sharing their writing, so it has been very meaningful to encourage these writers and give them a platform to be heard.
6. What types of poetry programs are available through RPC?
Currently, there is a teen poetry packet in both English and Ukrainian. Recently, RPC partnered with Tutoring Without Borders, which is an organization that connects over 3000 Ukrainian students with free tutoring services from professors around the world. This collaboration has brought the poetry program to more Ukrainian students, which is particularly meaningful to me since I have family and friends who live in Ukraine. As a writer with Ukrainian heritage, I am very passionate about supporting Ukraine through both my art and writing. With the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is particularly important for young Ukrainian writers’ voices to be heard. I have had the privilege to publish poems from young Ukrainian writers who talk about their hopes and dreams in the midst of war. Here are more details about my previous Ukrainian activism: https://www.camillescampbell.com/about-2
7. What ages/grade levels is RPC for?
My picture book Her Poems is for elementary school students and the activities are part of the RPC initiative. The other poetry packet on the website is aimed at teens 13-18, but the prompts can be for any age! The beauty of poetry is its ability to transcend age, nationality, and background and connect people together through emotions. Rising Poets Community accepts submissions from all rising poets, so there isn’t an age requirement for submissions.
8. Do you plan to host any homeschool poetry clubs? After-school poetry clubs?
In the future, I hope to create in-person poetry events, partner with local nonprofits in AZ, and also do digital collaborations with other organizations. Additionally, I hope to expand the blog and continue elevating writers around the world.
9. How can poetry contribute to the mental health and well-being of young people while helping build literacy and critical thinking skills?
When I was creating the organization, I utilized research from universities that highlights the value of both poetry reading and writing. Some studies show that poetry can boost academic skills, such as reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing ability. Other studies specify how poetry can help emotional well-being and mental health of students (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33622762). Writing poetry can allow you to convey emotions bottled up inside, which can be cathartic for writers. Reading poetry can also have positive mental health benefits because readers can relate to the emotions in poems and feel less alone.
As I approach teachers and principals around the country, I share poetry research studies to emphasize the importance of poetry reading and writing in the classroom. It’s been wonderful to receive messages from teachers saying that the poetry activities have sparked more creativity and enthusiasm for writing in their students. One Kindergarten teacher was surprised at how well her students did following the poetry prompts in Her Poems and displayed the students’ lovely egg-shaped poems for Easter celebrations! I’m always amazed at all the creative ways people can use poetry!
10. Can you see poetry playing a role in social justice and community activism?
Absolutely! Poetry is such a powerful tool for change. It is invigorating to read poetry messages on protest signs and hear lines in speeches. Poetry can raise awareness, expand horizons and expose people to different perspectives. One poetry prompt in the packet I have created called “I use my voice” encourages poets to share how they use their voice and why it matters to them. I enjoy writing activist poems, particularly ones about girls-rights and protecting the environment. Everyone has an important message to convey, and poetry can be a tool to share it in an accessible way.
11. How does RPC aspire to be geographically, culturally, and racially diverse?
RPC has published poems by writers from the USA, Ukraine, India, and Morocco. We are very fortunate to have writers around the world participating in the online program and bringing RPC to their communities. With the Ukrainian poetry initiative, we have published many poems in both the English and Ukrainian language. Through your magazine RPC team hopes to reach the homeschooling community and showcase their work on our platform.
12. How can we get more boys interested in writing poems?
Our literary legacy includes the names of many amazing male poets – T.S Elliot, Pablo Neruda, and Billy Collins, to name a few. RPC poetry prompts are designed to be equally interesting for boys and girls. For example, one of our prompts makes reference to Kendrick Lamar, a popular rap artist, poet, and Pulitzer Prize winner. I think by encouraging boys to express their emotions and speak about the issues that they care about, we can remind them that poetry is for everyone!
13. Is RPC a non-profit organization?
Yes, RPC is currently a registered nonprofit in Arizona and is currently under consideration for Federal 503(c)(3) status.
14. What do you foresee for the future of RPC?
I look forward to bringing more community-based programs and poetry workshops in person, aside from continuing to publish poems on the blog and providing digital poetry programs on the website. As I go to university, I hope to introduce Rising Poets Community initiatives to the campus to continue spreading the love for poetry.
15. How do you balance your time between all of your activities?
Doing a lot of things requires the implementation of certain scheduling. I try to follow the schedule but revise it depending on what is happening. That is where being homeschooled plays a big part because it allows flexibility in time allocation. If there is a deadline on a certain project, I can put everything else aside and finish what needs to be done urgently. It can be overwhelming at times, but it’s worth the hard work. When I see that my efforts make a positive impact on others’ lives, it motivates me to continue.
16. What are some ways in which poetry lovers can get involved with RPC?
First of all, please send us your poetry and read the poetry on the website! We are always happy to have new members of the Rising Poets Community! Aside from that, we would appreciate it if you could share information about RPC with your community and bring the poetry programs from the website into your libraries/homeschool lessons/schools. Please reach out to us if you are interested in collaborating or would like to schedule a virtual writing event (such as a school or library author visit!)
Thank you, Camille, for this insightful interview! Best of luck with the Rising Poets Community!
We hope all of our readers will head over to RisingPoetsCommunity.org right now to check out the poetry activities, read the poems, and don’t forget to submit your own!
Read more about Camille Campbell here and here.
Click here to purchase Her Poems – Women Poets Who Changed the World