"Dear Kenosha", A Senior Voices Project — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

"Dear Kenosha", A Senior Voices Project

Name: Amanda Feldt-Smith
Major: English
Hometown: Kenosha, WI
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Funding: Kenosha/Racine Poets Laureate Program

Name: Dana Ehrmann
Major: English and Film Studies
Hometown: West Allis, WI
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Funding: Kenosha/Racine Poets Laureate Program

Abstract

The “Dear Kenosha” Documentary and Chapbook were inspired by the Kenosha Poet Laureate Program’s “Senior Voices” Project. The Kenosha/Racine Poet Laureate Program strives to promote literacy and poetry in the community. To these ends, Jean Preston, Kenosha’s current Poet Laureate, collected from three different “senior” populations thoughts and memories about the City of Kenosha.

These populations, (Reuther Central High School seniors, Carthage College seniors, and members of the Kenosha Senior Center) were invited to express their relationships with the city through original poems and letters addressed “Dear Kenosha.” The resulting poems and letters are a revealing and touching collection. They express varied perspectives and unique voices, demonstrating similarities and differences, negatives and positives, and everything in between.

This chapbook, designed and edited by Poet Laureate Program Intern and Carthage College senior, Amanda Feldt-Smith, and the accompanying documentary, filmed and edited by Carthage College senior, Dana Ehrmann, were inspired by the initial “Senior Voices” project.

The goal of producing the documentary and the chapbook was to raise awareness of the Poet Laureate Program and its efforts to facilitate community engagement. That goal, we believe, was certainly reached; however, there were other, arguably more important results – the “Dear Kenosha” letters and poems have touched many lives, have strengthened citizens’ ties to their city, and have encouraged creative expression in Kenosha’s high school, college, and “senior” populations.

Poster file