Poetry in the Classroom

In anticipation of #titletalk this coming Sunday, I want to honor one of my favorite genres: poetry.

5 of my Favorite Poets

1. Ted Kooser
2. Linda Pastan
3. Billy Collins
4. Carol Ann Duffy
5. Wislawa Szymborska
   

These five poets write lovely, rich yet accessible poems students can enjoy. The first three are American, Duffy is British, and Szymborska, who recently passed away, is Polish.

4 Novels in Verse

1. Sold by Patricia McCormick
2. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
3. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
4. Requiem: Poems from the Terezin Ghetto by Paul Janeczko

3 Helpful Poetry Websites

1. I'll admit I'm somewhat cheating by leading off with Sandra Effinger's National Poetry Month page; she has amassed a wonderful collection of poetry websites and activities here. Some of my favorites pages are American Life in Poetry, Poetry 180, and Poetry Out Loud.
   
2. Poems Out Loud collects audio of contemporary poets reading their poetry aloud, including famous poets like Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Stephen Dunn, and Seamus Haney, as well as lesser-known poets like Julie Sheehan, whose "Hate Poem" never fails to crack me up.
   
3. The Journal of Mythic Arts dedicates one of its page to poems based on fairy tales, folklore, and myths. If I were still teaching 7th grade in my district, whose curriculum included timeless tales, I would definitely supplement prose with this poetry.
   

2 Guides to Poetry

1. Naming the World: A Year of Poetry and Lessons by Nancie Atwell rescued me during my first year of teaching. This strong collection of traditional, contemporary, and student-written poetry also comes with a DVD of Atwell teaching. I learned so much from her, and six years later, I still return to this book.
   
2. Poetry for Beginners by Margaret Chapman and Kathleen Welton was a serendipitous find at a Borders that was going out of business. As I flipped through this paperback, I was struck by all the lovely ink illustrations that peppered its pages. An illustrated poetry guide? I was sold! The explanations are clear, and many types of poetry are introduced. Though the first edition I purchased had some typos, the author has said a new, corrected version should be coming soon.
   

1 Poet to Follow on Twitter

1. Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, has also written a number of poetry books, including Face, his most recent. His tweets range from humorous and memoir-ish to social commentary and political. He doesn't over- or under-tweet either.