European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Hilary Appelman associated press c construction paper signs hanging in the Flint Street recreation Center in Rochester n.y., hint that this is no gentle neighbourhood Quot no smoking. No Yelling. No. Stealing. No weapons Quot. Yet half a dozen Young people on this Day Are gathered in a Small room at the Back next door to the game room absorbed in a world of imagination. To the muffled accompaniment of clattering Pool balls the group of boys ranging from baby faced eighth graders to lanky 18-year-Olds, is writing poems. At the front of the room is Ross Talarico Rochester s writer in residence a wiry 44-Ycar old in Blue jeans and a Detroit pistons sweat shirt Talarico passes out sheets of Blank paper and pencils and lists of words a weather words action words body words and idea words Quot we re going to create two or three phrases that we could slip Inlo a poem if we Ever Felt the need to Quot he says. Quot m going to show you in five minutes How you can put together an image which is an illustration of an  in a few minutes the giggles have subsided and the kids Are Busy scribbling lavish phrases. Quot fog Drifting through the heart of love Quot. Quot wind whispering into the ears of rage Quot ,.Quot broken Glass crashing against the heart of  half an hour later they have produced their first poems Quot outside i see the rain flowing Down like the fears from your eyes Quot writes Damon Glasgow a Small 13 year bid with curly Black hair carved into a Flat top. Quot inside myself i feel the pain of people dying on Days like  Talarico who has published five books of Proso and poetry began running writing programs five years ago under the auspices of the City i creation department l in returned to Rochester where he grew up in an italian City neighbourhood in the 1030s and gos because he wanted to bring Quot poetry and language and the excitement of it All Quot to the people of his Hometown he says it was difficult at first to persuade inner City kids to join a poetry workshop balance says. Quot when you walk into a Lough neighbourhood and you re a stranger and you re while and you say you want to Start a group of kids writing poems a Fiey look at you funny a sometimes it took a game of one on one basketball for the kids to accept him and give poetry a try at one recreation Center Talarico challenged anyone to could beat at Ping Pong to try the program other times he would Reserve the gym for the workshop so that kids who wanted to play basketball had to try their hand at poetry first. The results surprised even Talarico Quot they not Only tried it they got involved and about a year later it was a status Symbol to have poems up on the bulletin Boa a Quot he says. Kids who had joined just for the basketball turned into writers who sometimes did t even bother to play hoops afterwards Talarico says. Quot a a Quot when i walk into a Center now kids run up and want to know if their poems Are on the . Talarico is in his second three year contract with the City. He runs about six writing classes at a time three for senior citizens and three for Young people a including one poetry and basketball workshop. A collection of writing from the workshops called Quot Rochester voices uncommon writings from common people Quot will be used As a textbook in the Rochester Public schools next year. In his workshops Talarico tries to change the kids impression of poetry. Quot we done to write about Pussy Willows in my class a he says. Quot we Don t write about things that Aren t meaningful. I let them know they have to take a Good look around. If it s the scar on their hand that s what they have to write about if they have to step around broken Glass on the Street that s something to write  the Young writers poems Are filled with images of broken Glass gunshots and cracked pavements grim reminders of the reality of their daily lives the first poem in Rochester voices a piece called father by 18-year-old Germone Wright begins on the Corner of Seward and Jefferson i met a bum who just might be my father at least he looked Tike. The Man i once knew. Quot nobody Ever talks about missing their fathers Quot Talarico says. Quot until you read a poem like this and you realize its something they think about Alt the time. Where the hell Are their fathers a to blown away by some of these poems t be read them a Hundred times but in a still blown away. Quot its not cute stuff it s real writing real  there is a creativity a wit and humor in inner City kids that is Little appreciated Talarico says. He believes it is the product of the toughness of their lives and the adversity they Are forced to Cope with daily. When Talarico reads the poems out loud the teasing and banter Stop and everyone listens. Quot do me a favor Don t just toss these Quot he says As he passes out typed copies of the Best work from the week before. It is a constant theme in 1 his class a respect for what you have created. And suddenly As the Young writers read the poems they and their friends have written poetry stops being something that Only other people do. Quot for Many of the kids it s the first time that their own expressions Are taken seriously by anyone a Talarico says. Quot that for me is the essence of the program. I m not trying to make poets out of anyone a i m trying to make people feel better about themselves through what they feel inside and through what they re Able to  Talarico believes religiously in the Powers of poetry but he has doubts about the Long term Impact of his workshops on the lives of the youngsters who pass through them. "1 think that if there were other programs other people out there trying to encourage them in the same Way maybe it would have More of an effect Quot he says. Quot i always think that if somebody develops enough of a sensibility to write a poem and Deal genuinely with their feelings then somewhere along the line they re better off. A i Don t know if i can Hope for anything More than . Above Ross Talanco Rochester s wite rain residence assists a participant during a poetry basketball workshop above left Talarico on the basketball court with his  poetry1 it s real writing real literature Page 16 the stars and stripes monday. August 27, 1990