About Remember Poems

     Hi! I'm Sheila. A few years ago, while teaching English to high school seniors, I had this crazy idea. Every spring, before graduation, I  had my students write memory books. They wrote about friends, family, childhood, food, sports, challenges, celebrations, and so much more. These books were so heartwarming and beautiful that moms and grandmas alike cried (happy tears) reading them. It was my favorite assignment of the year! At the same time, my mom was very ill after a devastating stroke. She wasn't able to tell me the stories and memories I longed to hear. I wished she could have written a memory book, like my high school seniors did.

And so, it occurred to me that there were other "seniors" who could create these memory books as well--senior citizens! So, with nothing but an idea in mind, I started volunteering at a local senior living apartment, and Remember Poems was born. Since then, my dear poets, collectively, have written more than a thousand poems that tell the stories of their lives.

Each Remember Poem is an assignment that makes writing easy. With instructions, questions to trigger memories, and an example poem, every senior citizen becomes a poet, creating a lasting collection of memories in written form. Whether they've written before, or not at all, seniors become confident writers telling their memories in the form of short poems.

Remember Poems is an absolute joy to share. I hope you'll give it a try today.