AustLit

'Michael Rosen and Jen Webb met in London on 21 June 2011 to talk about the relationship between poetry and knowing. Michael's poetry is written for young readers, and his understanding of what he is doing, and why, and with what underlying ontological and axiological premises, is explicated in this discussion. Central to the conversation is Michael's perspective on how poetry can be put to work as a generative and genuinely educative domain for school children. Whether we invite them to write poems, read poems or discuss poems, Michael shows, we can use approaches, attitudes and techniques that open up a space in which young people can find their lives, their experiences and their thoughts validated. This can be a way to intervene in the established ways of understanding individuals and groups, in schools and in society more generally, and to open up new ways of knowing. We began the conversation with a brief tangent on technology and mythology, motivated by the Livescribe Smartpen being used - a product put out by the Echo group.' (Editor's abstract)