Bathgate School pupils poets and they know it

Dunedin poet Jocelind Dunford  helped Bathgate Park School  budding poets (from left) Zakk Marsh ...
Dunedin poet Jocelind Dunford helped Bathgate Park School budding poets (from left) Zakk Marsh (12), Rupert Lublow-Catty (5) and Riley Paterson (10) come up with poems. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Young poets at Dunedin's Bathgate Park School celebrated National Poetry Day by reciting verse on everything from elephants to their annoying brothers.

In the month before National Poetry Day yesterday, Dunedin poet Jocelind Dunford visited the school's classes to teach pupils about poetry.

The fruits of her labour were on display yesterday, with pupils reciting some of the best work at a special assembly.

Rupert Lublow-Catty said he was not nervous about reading his poem about elephants in front of the whole school.

He had enjoyed writing about elephants, which he thought were ''cool''.

''My favourite thing about them [is] 'cause they can suck up water with their trunk and give themselves a shower.

''They have the power to give themselves their own shower,'' the young poet said.

The absurdist poem of Riley Paterson- who has three brothers - explored much more difficult questions, including ''Why do we die?'' and ''Why are my brothers annoying?''.

Her answers to those questions respectively were ''because I ate a fly'' and ''because they're boys and that's what they're like''.

Ms Dunford said she was ''blown away'' by the quality of the poems, especially those of the younger pupils.

''I didn't know you could write with 5-year-olds,'' she said.

vaughan.elder@odt.co.nz

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