Poetry by Young Adult Writers

Franco, B. ed. (2001).  Things I have to tell you:  Poems and writing by teenage girls.  Ill. N. Nickles.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press.  ISBN 0-7636-1035-6.

Powerful images lay ready to invade the senses in Betsy Franco’s collection of writing by teenage girls ages 14-19.  In Betsy Franco’s preface, she states that in this collection of writing, “you will find the hope, disillusionment, anger, joy, sadness, and most of all, the strength of young women today” (p. xi). 

The last poem in the book express the joy and optimism found in many of the young writers:

            I know I am strong

               both in my convictions and in myself.

            I know I am beautiful

               both inside and out.

            I know I am powerful

               and growing more so.

            I know I will do just fine.

            Laura Veuve, age 15

However many more of the poems and essays express the difficulty of becoming a young woman now.  As an adult reader – a teacher, as well as a mother of two daughters who have struggled to grow up in a world where they were not always nurtured, I found myself saddened and frightened by some of the experiences these girls shared.  Experiences with boys, drugs, suicide attempts, body image, and friendships gone awry. 

Betsy Franco’s desire was that girls who had lived through many of the difficulties growing up could share  with others their struggles, their successes, their frustrations, and their joys so that they could help each other cope. The photos by Nina Nickles do a beautiful job of reflecting the everyday lives of teenage girls.  

The poems in this book may not be choices I would make in read-alouds to my classes, but they are a valuable resource for students who are growing up in a time and a place where it can be hard becoming a woman.  The writings will hopefully empower young women to become who they know they can become.

Franco has a matching book for boys You Hear Me?  Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys that includes

70 writings by 50 young men. 

Teachers and media specialists may want to be prepared to defend these choices being on their library shelves.  The topics and the language are raw and uncensored.  The potential exists for parental challenge.  However, this is how teens are feeling and the writings reflect their concerns.  I believe that teens deserve access to the thoughts of those who are like they are.  Together, young men and women can help each other navigate the turbulent waters of adolescence. 

Paul B. Janeczko

Janeczko, P. B. ed. (2005).  A kick in the head.  Ill. C. Raschka.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press. ISBN 0-7636-0662-6.

On the flap of the dust jacket is this acrostic poem which describes the contents of the book perfectly:

            P lease

            O pen this book for something

            E xtraordinary.

            T wenty-nine poetic forms await you

I nside these pages.  How many

C an you master?

            F rom sonnets to double dactyls,

            O des to limericks –

            R aschka and Janeczko (and a frisky mule)

            M ake learning the rules of poetry

            S o much fun!

And that is exactly what this book is – a book of 29 poetic forms, defined and demonstrated by poems from numerous famous poets.  The forms include well-known forms such as couplet, haiku, cinquains, and limericks to lesser known types of poems such as Persona, Aubade, Pantoum, and Villanelle.  Poets include classic poets such as Ogden Nash and Shakespeare as well as contemporary children’s poets such as Kristine O’Connell, X. J. Kennedy, J. Patrick Lewis, Gary Soto and Alice Schertle.

So readers will find pages that name the poetic form in the corner, the poem in the middle of the page, and the definition at the bottom in smaller print similar to this:

Senryu

         First day, new school year,

         backpack harbors a fossil . . .

         last June’s cheese sandwich.

         Kristine O’Connell George

           

                       A senryu follows the same pattern as a haiku –

                               three lines of 5-7-5 syllables – but it is about

                               human nature rather than about the natural world

                               around us.

Gathered by anthologist and poet Paul Janeczko, the poems are follow the rules of the form, but are accessible to young readers who will enjoy the topics and the watercolor, ink and torn paper illustrations.  Older readers will enjoy the clear definitions of the poetic form on each page which will encourage them to analyze the poems for their adherence to (or departure from) the form’s rules.  The older readers will also appreciate the small drawings accompanying the name of each form which cleverly illustrates something about the definition.  Creating their own poetry book of forms will be a natural next step for many writers.  This would be a fun project in a writing workshop environment. 

There is a “Notes on the Forms”  section at the back with further information about each form.  This book has become part of my high school classroom library and joins the collection for my poetry-sharing with my creative writing students.  Language Arts teachers of all ages of students will find this volume to be a wonderful addition to their poetry collection.  

E-Book Poetry

Vardell, S. and Wong, J.  (2011).  Poetry Tag.  Ill. R. Arnold.  E-book by PoetryTagTime.com.  ASIN B004ULVK1I.

It’s recess, or after school (or in the store or in church – any place with a long expanse of hallway or large, open space seems to suffice), and Corbyn, my six-year-old is instantly trying to start a game of Tag.  He steals up on one of his friends and with a (hopefully) gentle jab says, “Tag.  You’re It!” and off he runs.  Tag seems to be an irresistible game for younger children. 

Capitalizing on this perennially favorite game, Poetry Tag plays tag with famous children’s poets, making the poetry a game which is fast-paced and fun.  One at a time, the poets write a poem and then tag the next poet who is then IT.  The poem from the newly tagged poet had to connect in some way to the poem from the poet who tagged him or her.  The rules for the participating poets were simple:

1. share an unpublished poem within one day of being tagged
2. make the poems accessible to children ages 0-8
3. keep the lines of their poems short so that e-readers would not break the lines where unintended
4. explain how their poem connects to the previous poem

This e-book of poetry is so inventive, clever, and fun to read.  While the audience is technically 0-8, this book of poetry is fun for all ages, from young children to teens to adults.  The poetry is all excellent – 30 simple yet amazing poem.  However, reading each poem and seeing how each poet connects to the previous poems is in itself an amazing treat.  Some of the tags are poetry themselves for a delightful double-dose of poetry that day.

For example, Alice Schertle writes a Cinquain about wanting shade from the summer sun called “Sunquain” and then tags the next poet:

            Message to Lee Bennett Hopkins:

            Hi, Lee, you’re recruited,

            You’re summoned, caught, bagged.

            Greetings from Alice,

            Start writing.  You’re tagged.

Then Hopkins connects to Schertle’s poem by wondering what flowers might feel in a thunder storm as opposed to the sun.

            Summer Fear

            by Lee Bennett Hopkins

            Roses cower

            behind

            fence posts–

            Pansies

            crouch

            in a window box–

            Sunflowers cling

to the

back of a yew–

            The are

            afraid

            of

            thunder,

            too.

The Hopkins goes on to tag Betsy Franco, because “Franco-ly you’re so much fun.” 

My grandson enjoyed sitting with my iPad, which has the Kindle app, and reading through the poems.  The artwork is simple, yet wonderful.  Rich Arnold has captured the essence of each poem in colorful, graphic art.  But I would love to use this format to challenge my high school students to use other’s poetry as inspiration for their own poems.  The idea is to start the game with a discussion of the rules and then give them time in our writing workshop to draft poems.  Taking volunteers who are willing to turn in their drafts for possible use the next day, I can randomly select a poem, make sure it follows the rules, and use it the next day at the opening of the workshop.  Students then go to their writing with the challenge to write a poem that connects to the previous poem, turn in their drafts if they are willing to share one, and the game proceeds.  While it would not be a true “tag” since the previous poet does not select the next poet, the students nevertheless are able to try using others’ writing as inspiration for simple, short poems. And the pressure is non-existent as the poets are able to choose whether they want to turn in a poem each day or not.

The idea for the e-book came from Vardell’s blog from the year before in which she started the game.  The poets played tag through the month of April which is National Poetry Month.  She repeated the game the next year, and three e-books have been the result of the game.  Extremely affordable to download at $2.99 each, the three volumes contain poetry by the biggest names in children’s and young adult poetry.  If I could recommend a single Kindle download, it would be any (all!) of these three volumes.  Poems in your pocket are a wonderful thing to have! 

And remember, if you don’t have an actual Kindle, you don’t need one.  Download the Kindle app onto your smart phone, tablet, and/or computer.  I have access to my Kindle library on all three of my devices without owning a Kindle.

I not only suggest you purchase all three collections by Vardell and Wong, but that you check out Vardell’s blog, especially April of 2010 and 2011 when she played tag both of those years during National Poetry Month. 

A link to April 1, 2010 to get the ball rolling.

http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-tag-j-patrick-lewis-is-it.html

The home page for Poetry Tag Time

http://poetrytagtime.com/Poetry_Tag_Time/Welcome.html

Let’s play tag!  Some of the most fun I've had with poetry!