Poetry Analysis: Sustaining Flawless Lines of Reasoning with the Yarn Trick

Unfairly branded the “Dead Genre,” poetry nevertheless trips up not only a number of students, but teachers as well.

Due to its elusive and slippery nature, it is often difficult to ascertain an author’s intent, let alone their overarching meaning.

Couple this with the tall task of writing a cogent essay – one can anticipate a classroom of confuddled learners.

During our time together, we will not only explore how to construct deep reads of poetry, but we will also cobble together an entire essay while pulling the strings of a versatile heuristic known as the Yarn Trick.

This adapted approach helps students sustain tight lines of reasoning while writing with flair, complexity, and the requisite voice, rhythm, and flow to impress any reader.

In preparation for our evening together, please familiarize yourself with two poems:

“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy

“The Black Snake” by Mary Oliver

Facilitator: Kristian Kuhn

Kristian began his writing instructor career at Brown University where he earned an M.A.T. in English and Education.

Working with both undergraduate and graduate students, he became known for his expertise in building student writers from the ground up – first mastering the fundamentals of composition, then aiding students to establish clear lines of reasoning across the expository modes with voice, rhythm, and flow.

During his time at Brown, Kristian also worked in the undergraduate admissions office reading and critiquing college application essays. In this role, he found himself saying “yay” and “nay” to prospective candidates based on the quality of their writing. This experience lent to Kristian’s ability to help college applicants write compelling and memorable application essays that are sure to impress college admissions boards.

Upon graduating from Brown, Kristian launched his career as a secondary ELA teacher in Upstate New York – a place he has called home for the last twenty years.

Early in his career, the professional community dubbed Kristian the “Bob Ross of Composition.”

He quickly realized that there is a seismic difference between “assigning” written work and explicitly “teaching” it.

To teach writing, Kristian “paints” with his students through modeling and close reading exemplars. Over the course of his career, he has developed a set of heuristics that demystify the writing process in ways that are easily accessible and readily comprehensible.

In addition to having completed his graduate work at Brown University, Kristian earned a third graduate degree in Literacy Education from St. John Fisher College. During his studies, he developed a vast repertoire of strategies to help struggling and emerging readers and writers actualize their full potential.

Throughout his twenty years of classroom experience, Kristian has helped countless LD (learning different/learning disabled) students flourish and take off as readers, writers, thinkers, and college applicants.

Kristian also trains teachers in his writing techniques and modalities. At present, he is a lead instructor for The National Writing Project where he facilitates teacher training programs. And in fall of 2023, Kristian was a lead presenter at the National Council of Teachers of English conference in Anaheim, California.  Further, Kristian is at present a lead-teacher for Princeton Tutoring.

Kristian is also an accomplished writer who has authored six collections of poetry and two textbooks – Teaching Teachers How to Teach Writing and What If We Taught Composition Like Bob Ross Teaches Painting? You can also find him hosting a popular YouTube channel (What If We Taught Composition Like Bob Ross Teaches Painting?) and a highly popular Facebook group, Teachers Making Better Writers