Dialogue > Article > Stay Tuned

It’s 8:10 p.m. on a Thursday in the Student Centre at the University of Guelph. Crooked reggae beats resound from the dimmed on-air studio where Nicky Dread continues his 27-year run as CFRU DJ. Fifty minutes, then it’s our turn.

Students crowd the narrow hallway outside the studio, putting finishing touches on their week-long preparations. Some search the impressive library of music CDs, while others preview songs from the shelves of new releases; several browse poetry anthologies or rehearse poems or articles they will give voice to at the mic. A few lounge on the couch or the floor, chatting, sharing iPod earphones, laughing. A student producer reviews the show’s script, from the 9 p.m. opening theme song and introduction to the 10 p.m. switchover to the BBC news.
When Nicky passes the studio to us, the creative energy in the air becomes creative expression on-air: We’re live on CFRU radio with another exciting episode of The Poem Repair Shop, an hour-long weekly literary showcase for aspiring writers.

PRS features poetry, prose and editorial readings, interviews, writing how-tos and an events calendar, punctuated by eclectic selections of indie music. In its three-year history, PRS has been the springboard for a 1920s Canadian history mockumentary, a live radio comedy production, two student CD launches and several all-female broadcasts focusing on women’s issues. But the best part? All aspects of the show’s production are student-led.

The concept for PRS came from my Writer’s Craft classes. I’d succeeded in getting student essays published on CBC Radio’s First Person Singular. Not only were students paid for their writing and narration, but they also received voice coaching from CBC producer Karen Levine—and got to sit in Shelagh Rogers’ chair at CBC studios in Toronto to record their essays.

When the CBC discontinued First Person Singular, I looked for ways to continue this rich experience for writing students, and open up radio broadcasting to others. We renamed the essays I-Openers and conducted our own voice coaching and recording. As a creative consultant to What If: Canada’s Creativity Magazine for Teens, I saw the radio show as a natural extension of the magazine with its mandate to give voice to young writers.
The Poem Repair Shop began in the summer of 2004 when I approached CFRU with a proposal to engage students in literary spoken-word programming. The station quickly approved the concept.

For the first six months, we prerecorded 30-minute shows for a 7 a.m. Monday timeslot, a less than optimal time for getting students into the studio, but a great time to reach parents and students listening in on the way to school. When CFRU’s spoken-word co-ordinator offered us a live, hour-long timeslot, I was both excited and daunted. Could we handle the board, three CD decks, three microphones, two turntables, a main computer and laptops, mp3 players and create innovative radio with continuity? Could we produce enough content to fill all those shows? It turns out that we can, and do, week after week.

The Poem Repair Shop is a highlight of my week and one of my most rewarding teaching experiences. What makes the show such a vibrant and inspirational extension of my English classroom? It has much to do with the immersive authenticity of the learning.

Authentic setting The radio studio is off-site and “out of timetable,” outside the regular school-day schedule. It is also year-round—many of the best-attended shows are during the summer, when students can participate without homework looming. Students come as themselves, out of uniform. Students eager to move on to post-secondary schools find the university setting exciting. Younger students (as young as Grade 5) come with their parents—sometimes we’ve even coaxed parents on-air, too!

Authentic tasks PRS places great value on student writing, performance and technical execution. Nothing about live radio is artificial: When the red light comes on, we are on-air, broadcasting to Guelph and the surrounding communities. The show has international reach via webstream and shows are archived automatically in downloadable mp3s. The show’s reality is exhilarating and brings out the best in the students. The diverse roles of the production team play to a wide array of personalities, from on-air extroverts to quieter broadcast technicians to bohemian music producers. Poems read at the microphone are imbued with more passion and energy.

We have interviewed Jane Urquhart and Nino Ricci about their latest novels. Some weeks I have not even entered the on-air studio, leaving control of the show in the hands of senior student co-producers. Parents appreciate the creative expressiveness the show elicits from their children. The show provides exposure to the value and entertainment of music, poetry and literature and to possible future broadcasting, multimedia and journalism careers.

Planned and spontaneous risk taking PRS encourages risk taking, with room for error. We have pressed buttons and encountered heart-stopping silence. (We’re getting good at troubleshooting.) Once, the station chastised us for playing mainstream music. (CFRU staff conducted a workshop on the Canadian indie music scene for students interested in the musical aspects of the show.) We’ve mispronounced words and phrases, and laughed in inappropriate places. (Gaffes aren’t life-threatening.) The creativity in the room resides in part in the comfort levels of the students.

Inclusive and inviting A standing, open invitation to St. John’s-Kilmarnock middle school and high school students has seen more than 150 students contribute to the show’s production over the years. We build in flexibility so students who drop in can participate. First-timers are inclined to hang back and exercise the option to watch, but more often than not, they are eager to take a microphone by the end of their first evening. The show prides itself on its accessibility. One of our most reliable readers and contributors over the past two years is a young man who has mild Tourette’s; my own son, who has autism, read a poignant poem on-air.

In seeking authentic writing opportunities for my students, I have learned that young voices are in demand, and that youth will respond imaginatively to real challenges. The next step for The Poem Repair Shop is to encourage more high schools to get involved and to attract even more aspiring writers, and on-air personalities ... operating technicians ... music and program producers …