When you hear the word art, what do you think of? Maybe you think of a specific painting, or drawing, or even an artist. However, there are many other things that fall under art. This three letter word can be many different things, things you might have not even thought about yet. For Park High School junior, Danica Rodgers, art can be found every day in her fifth period poetry class.
Park High requires four credits of English courses, which means most students are taking at least one of these classes per semester. Beyond the required English courses, Park High has a wide variety of options to fill the requirement. One of these options is poetry, a class taught by English teacher, Kelly Dick. In this class, students are taught different poetry styles and pushed to find inspiration in everyday objects.
Rodgers has always been someone who loves art. “Ever since I was little, I loved art, I loved drawing, I loved making stuff. I’m kind of like a master of all trades, to be honest,” commented Rodgers. For her, poetry is not just another English class, it is an art.
Her love of art is something that inspires her poems. From paintings to postcards, she has found her voice in these images. In her poem “Old Faithful,” she depicts an image while also voicing a struggle in today’s society. In another one of her poems, “Phillies,” she said she was inspired by the painting “Nighthawks” by Edward Hopper.
While writing these poems is a requirement for Rodgers, her creativity goes beyond the assignment.