Poetry Books

What is Poetry: Conversations with the American Avant-Garde By Daniel Kane 185 pp. Grades: high school, university $18.95 paperback Over a four-year period, Daniel Kane interviewed many of America’s most interesting and daring contemporary poets about their work. What Is Poetry features twelve of the liveliest of these dialogues, accompanied by an in-depth introduction to…

Structure & Surprise: Engaging Poetic Turns By Michael Theune 243 pp. Grades: high school, university $19.95 paperback Structure & Surprise: Engaging Poetic Turns offers a road map for analyzing poetry through examination of poems’ structures, rather than their forms or genres. Michael Theune’s breakthrough concept encourages students, teachers, and writers to use structure as a tool…

A Slow Flash of Light: An Anthology of Poems about Poetry Compiled by Jack Collom eBook edition You might think that an anthology of poems about poetry could not be fascinating—until you read this one. A Slow Flash of Light was assembled by poet-teacher Jack Collom, who over a 25-year period gave his students surprising…

Poetry Everywhere: Teaching Poetry Writing in School and in the Community By Jack Collom & Sheryl Noethe revised second edition 329 pp. Grades: all ages $19.95 paperback The dazzling new edition of this “tremendously valuable resource” (Kliatt) contains 65 writing exercises and more than 400 example poems. It also discusses how to integrate poetry writing into…

Poetry Comics: An Animated Anthology By Dave Morice 117 pp. Grades: all ages $17.95 paperback Dave Morice’s Poetry Comics offers literary mavens and students alike a look at the canon in a new and hilarious light. This anthology brings together such classics as Shakespeare’s sonnets, Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” and Emily Dickinson’s “Poem 303” with…

Our Difficult Sunlight: A Guide to Poetry, Literacy, Social Justice in Classroom & Community by Georgia A. Popoff and Quraysh Ali Lansana Grades: all ages $19.95 paperback Our Difficult Sunlight: A Guide to Poetry, Literacy, & Social Justice in Classroom & Community was nominated for the 2012 NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work-Instructional.…

Moving Windows: Evaluating the Poetry Children Write By Jack Collom 179 pp. Grades: all ages $14.95 paperback How do you assess such a personal art as poetry? Basing his discussion on the best poems he has collected from his students over the years, Jack Collom provides a poet’s view of what makes them good. Collom’s approach…

Listener in the Snow:  The Practice and Teaching of Poetry By Mark Statman, Preface by Kenneth Koch 175 pp. Grades: kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school $15.95 paperback In Listener in the Snow, Mark Statman presents practical ideas and assignments to help students reach beyond what they’ve already been doing. His method involves what…

The List Poem: A Guide to Teaching & Writing Catalog Verse By Larry Fagin 201 pp. Grades: all ages $16.95 paperback The list poem is one of the simplest ways for beginners to approach the writing of free-verse poetry. Larry Fagin’s seminal guide defines list poetry, traces its lineage from ancient times, offers writing ideas and…

I Never Told Anybody: Teaching Poetry Writing to Old People This classic guide by the trailblazer of poetry teaching offers ideas and techniques that are useful at all age levels. Kenneth Koch has taken his “thoughtful, giving, resourceful, and patient spirit to quite elderly and often infirm men and women… A poignant and dramatic victory.”—New York…