Megan Skelly, Creative Writer
Originally from Maryland, Megan Skelly is an emerging poet, yogi and aspiring teaching artist who has called the Bronx home since 2013. She recently received her B.A. in English Literature from St. John’s University, where she served on the Executive Board of the Food 4 Thought Poetry Club and worked as a Writing Consultant at the university’s Institute for Writing Studies. Currently, she is in the midst of the Teaching Artist Training & Internship Program (TATIP) through Community-Word Project, and looking forward to completing her yoga teacher training this summer. Through participating in volunteer writing workshops with the homeless and other diverse populations, Megan deeply believes in the therapeutic power of creative writing to transform trauma through reflective release and self-expression. In the future, she hopes to fuse her three passions, combining poetry, yoga and compassionate community work into holistic healing workshops for mind, body and spirit.
TATIP Work
“My art form is creative writing, with a specific focus on poetry and spoken word. I am currently enrolled in the New / Beginning Level of TATIP’s program. Thus far, I have completed 34 of the required seminar hours, and 10 weeks of my in-school internship residency. My residency takes place in a first-grade classroom at P.S. 316 in Brooklyn, where I am mentored by the incredibly talented Max Albee and Katie Issel-Pitre. In composing my own co-teaching residency path, I partnered with the creative genius Marlie Decopain, a visual artist and graphic designer.”
“This sounds terribly cliché, but nearly every moment that I have spent in this program has been memorable for me. If I had to choose, I would narrow it down to the very first seminar, where last October a group of strangers gathered in a conference room in lower Manhattan. I was so nervous at the beginning; I had no idea what I was getting myself into or what to expect! Slowly, as the first few hours passed and we did a variety of activities about uncovering the “creative elements” that make up our artistic processes, I realized that for one of the first times in my life, I finally felt home. Already, this band of artists from all different backgrounds, boroughs and creative mediums had shared so much of their spirits, starting even then to form a community. Looking at the colorful creative maps hung around the room at the day’s end, I was reminded of how much we all have in common. In a society where artists are undervalued and often discouraged from following their dreams, it was so inspiring to discover that there are other people like myself who wish to change the world by believing in their own magic and passing that capability on to others. They have reminded me to believe in mine too.”
Find out more about Megan here:
Check out here blogs at Community-Word Project, “Follow the Leader”, “Fish Out of Water”, “How Does Your Garden Grow?” & Scaffolding: A Teaching Artist’s Labor of Love about her TATIP residency experience.
Check out Megan’s Lesson Plan she presented with her TATIP partner, Marlie Decopain.
Interested in TATIP? Find out more about our 2015-16 Program!
See more of our 2014-15 Graduates in the 2015 TATIP Anthology!
