{"id":14237,"date":"2025-09-17T15:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T19:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=14237"},"modified":"2025-09-17T15:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T19:55:09","slug":"poet-encourages-renaissance-academy-students-to-write-about-comfort-foods-and-tasty-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/poet-encourages-renaissance-academy-students-to-write-about-comfort-foods-and-tasty-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Poet encourages Renaissance Academy students to write about comfort foods and tasty memories"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
From left, Bloxk Boone, Semone Hutchison, and Lylian Allen made a list of their favorite foods before writing their own food-centered poems with guidance from guest poet Remica Bingham-Risher.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Poet-author Remica Bingham-Risher, left, and English teacher Eric Burnley Jr. advised students as they wrote food-focused poems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seniors at the Renaissance Academy recently transformed their thoughts about food into poetry.<\/p>\n

Award-winning author and poet Remica Bingham-Risher visited the school to encourage student to write and to share her personal story, including her poem \u201cMarchers Headed for Washington, Baltimore,1963.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by her grandmother, the poem begins \u201cOn Sunday \u2013 the amen-scent of fresh meat, apples bearing nutmeg, collards simmered vinegar-sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFood is linked to memories,\u201d Bingham-Risher told the students.<\/p>\n

The poem, in her first book \u201cConversion\u201d published in 2007, was inspired by her grandmother, who played an important role in the historic 1963 Civil Rights march in Washington, D.C., led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.<\/p>\n

Bingham-Risher asked her how she managed to participate in the march while raising seven children and living about 30 miles away.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day for a week, I cooked and cooked for people walking to the march,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote this poem for her,\u201d Bingham-Risher said. \u201cRemember, some of the people who are ordinary live extraordinary lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students in Dr. Lois Warner and Eric Burnley Jr.\u2019s English classes read several food-focused poems and passages as part of their English unit, \u201cYour Future Path and The Art of Storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opportunity to hear firsthand from the author helped students better understand her intent and provide a unique insight into poetry writing, Dr. Warner said.<\/p>\n

The senior English class is designed to help students become better communicators and learn something about the current literary world, she added. \u201cThis visit helped students reach both goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Seniors from left, Oakley Martinez, Melany Velez and Emma Allen said they enjoyed learning about the poetry-writing process from guest author-poet Remica Bingham-Risher during her visit to the Renaissance Academy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Students became increasingly engaged as Bingham-Risher shared her life story and talked about food.<\/p>\n

She asked them to write down their favorite foods or dishes. \u201cWho prepared the food and where was it eaten?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy was it so good?\u201d \u201cDo you have any comfort foods? \u00a0\u201cDo any foods make you think about where you come from and why?<\/p>\n

Then she asked them to use their notes to create their own list poems of 10 to 20 lines, beginning with \u201cI am looking for what will fill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWrite so we can taste it!\u201d she enthusiastically advised.<\/p>\n

Some shared their poems out loud, describing comfort foods, including jerk chicken alfredo, chili, shepherd\u2019s pie, Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, soy sauce wings, macaroni and cheese, and even fried frog legs.<\/p>\n

Oakley Martinez said she likes to write poetry. She began her poem with \u201cBeef alfredo with creamy white and cheesy sauce, cooked meat seasoned simply with garlic and onion powder\u201d and included a fond memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cBanana and peanut butter sandwich for the laidback fishing trips with my old man on the lake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bingham-Risher\u2019s poem about her grandmother\u2019s role in the civil rights march was amazing, Oakley said. \u201cShe is inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Remica Bingham-Risher has written quite a few book books, including her first in 2007 titled \u201cConversion\u201d and \u201cRoom Swept Home,\u201d her most recent work of poems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Phoenix, Arizona, native has roots in the area. Both of her grandmothers lived in Norfolk before moving north. She graduated from Old Dominion University and is currently the director of Quality Enhancement Plan Initiatives.<\/p>\n

Her works include a memoir, \u201cSoul Culture: Black Poets, Books and Questions That Grew Me Up\u201d and \u201cRoom Swept Home,\u201d a collection of poems including historical and family photographs.<\/p>\n

The recently published book has received accolades and is a finalist for the Library of Virgina Book Award.<\/p>\n

Middle and high school literary coach Aleshia Dunning thanked Bingham-Risher for volunteering her time. The experience showed the importance of \u201cbring real and authentic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Director of Alternative Education Anthony Smith said providing real-life opportunities for students is essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents benefit from seeing people in our community doing great things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Author-poet Remica Bingham-Risher read her poem \u201cMarchers Headed for Washington, Baltimore, 1963\u201d to Renaissance Academy senior English students before they wrote their own food-centered poems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Renaissance Academy welcomed award-winning author-poet Remica Bingham-Risher to lead senior English students in some food-focused poetry-writing. From left, literary coach Aleshia Dunning, librarian Mary Arrington, Director of Alternative Education Anthony Smith, Bingham-Risher, English teacher Dr. Lois Warner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Senior English students wrote poetry inspired by their favorite foods during a visit to the Renaissance Academy from award-winning author-poet Remica Bingham-Risher. Several shared their poems with the group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seniors at the Renaissance Academy recently transformed their thoughts about food into poetry. Award-winning author and poet Remica Bingham-Risher visited the school to encourage student to write and to share […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":14244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14237"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14248,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14237\/revisions\/14248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}