Poetry is a powerful method of educating, Newbery Medal winner Kwame Alexander told an audience at Evanston Township High School on Friday, but one that is often underappreciated.

“It’s a way for us to understand the world and our place in it,” said Alexander, a children’s writer and poet.

Roughly 50 people attended Alexander’s talk at ETHS on Friday hosted by the Family Action Network, a group dedicated to bringing educational and inspirational programming to the North Shore. After a brief introduction from FAN executive director Lonnie Stonitsch, Alexander took to the stage to discuss his works and emphasize what poetry means to him.

In a reversal of the typical speaker format, Alexander started by taking audience questions, which he answered by sharing some of his own poems and personal experiences. Alexander spoke about his trip to a prison, recounting his worry about whether he could connect with the inmates.

He was told the inmates would most likely be uninterested in him and to “just duck” if a fight broke out. But when Alexander arrived at the prison, he walked into the room, stood on a chair facing the inmates and began to recite one of his own poems.

“I screamed at the top of my lungs,” Alexander said.

He recited “In My Closet, On The Top Shelf, Is A Silver Box,” a poem he wrote that tells a tragic story of two people through objects in a box. Alexander said after finishing his recitation, the room stood completely silent until a single inmate said, “Yo, that’s poetry?”

Alexander said reciting the poem allowed him to earn the attention of the inmates. He said this moment led him to realize poetry was more than its stylistic value: It has the potential to bring people together.

“I found that poetry sort of had a way to get to people in a very immediate way, in a way that other forms of literature and language could not,” Alexander said.

He then told the story of how after meeting his wife, Alexander wrote her a poem a day for an entire year before proposing to her.

He said compared to other mediums, poetry is a more effective way of communicating with people on a personal level.

“(Poetry) works. It’s so concise. It’s so riveting,” Alexander said. “Poetry can transform your life.”

The power of this message was echoed by audience members, who said they appreciated Alexander’s approach to presenting in a way that allowed them to think about the role poets play in society.

“I had not thought that much about poetry, but now I am inspired to read my children poetry,” said Trish Andrew, a parent who attended the event.

Stonitsch said FAN brought in Alexander as a featured speaker at the recommendation of a local sixth grade teacher who emailed FAN describing the importance of Alexander’s work to her and her students.

Alexander’s next book, “Rebound” — a prequel to his Newbery winner “The Crossover” — is scheduled for release in approximately a year and a half.

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