Poetry Books

[MinivanMom]

Does anyone have poetry book suggestions for a 7th grader who loves poetry and is quite talented at writing poetry herself? She has completed the first 3 MCT poetry books (Music of the Hemispheres, Building Poems, & World of Poetry), writes poetry for fun, and reads quite a bit of poetry on her own.

 

I'm just not sure where to go from here. More instruction with MCT or something else? Just reading poetry for inspiration? I think she's at a point where she needs a bit more direction in terms of choosing poetry or poets to read, and I don't really have the knowledge or experience to direct her. Any ideas?

 

 

[Kalmia]

Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook

http://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Handbook-Mary-Oliver/dp/0156724006/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458331748&sr=1-1&keywords=mary+oliver+a+poetry+handbook

 

Mary Oliver's Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse

http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Dance-Handbook-Writing-Metrical/dp/039585086X/ref=pd_bxgy_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1KW5RAGQMZ9FWNGKJJJC

 

 

[Junie]

You might want to take a look at the series called Poetry Rocks!  Each book covers the work of about 10 poets and includes biographical information as well as explaining poetic devices used in the poems.

[basketcase]

For poetry writing: I really like How to Write Poetry by Paul Janeczko. It's just a little Scholastic guide, but it's written to the student and is perfect for middle schoolers.

 

You can't go wrong with Mary Oliver, listed above. She has a collection of her dog poems out now that's great for kids, if you want to read some of her work before committing to one of her writing texts.

 

One other option is Writing Poems by Boisseau - use an old edition if you want it cheaper. It's the standard textbook for college poetry workshops for good reason. Because it's intended for the college market, there might be content concerns for a young student.

 

There are great poetry writing MOOCs through the University of Iowa. Some of their courses are for YA, some for all ages.

 

For reading poetry, all poetry writing books will give her a lot to read and a starting point for poets to seek out. Naomi Shihab Nye has some collections of modern poetry that are excellent. Poems for Girls includes her poems that are particularly suited to teenagers, and What Have I Lost? is a collection for teenagers that she edited.

[Bambam]

For poetry writing, my oldest really enjoyed this book - http://www.amazon.com/The-Roar-Other-Side-Student/dp/1885767668