Farnsworth House Poems and Collages

In Respsonse to The Kidnapped Prince

As part of our immigration unit, Farnsworth House studied forced immigration and read theg book The Kidnapped Prince, The Life of Olaudah Equiano. This book is the autobiaography of an African Prince who was captured and sold into slavery in the eighteenth century. It was originally published in 1788. It was adapted by Ann Cameron for younger audiences in 1995. Through this book students learned about the cruelties of slavery and how one man was able to rise above an unjust and heartless situation, gain his freedom and work towards gaining the freedom of other enslaved people.

Once we finished reading and discussing the book, children made poems and collages to express their experiences. The collages are of torn paper. The poems were based on selected excerpts from the book put into the form of found poetry (selecting words and phrases already in print and then rearranging them into a poem) in combination with their own words. This project reflects the students' own personal reactions and feelings towards this book.

View our poems and collages: