Customer Reviews

Poetry Everywhere: Teaching Poetry Writing in School and in the Community

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Although I am a student of creative writing, I found this book a great help. It is indespensible for beginning writers and teachers of beginners. The book provides both detailed instruction and examples from famed poets to first graders. The authors show the practicality of the exercises by sharing personal teaching experience and even give alternatives for different skill levels. By teaching how creativity can work within a given form, they help students to eliminate the sterility often found in beginners' poems. For those who want to write poetry but don't know where to begin, Collom and Noethe not only give you the tools, but show you how to use them.

In her preface, Sheryle Noethe writes that the genesis of "Poetry Everywhere" was the year she spent as a resident poet in Salmon, Idaho, visiting school "in an effort to make creative writing full of opportunity." This mission was synonymous with mine when I entered the DC public school system two years ago to lead poetry workshops for inner city middle school children. I had little teaching experience and embarked on my journey with only my enthusiasm and my copy of "Poetry Everywhere." Luckily, these two things were all I needed to launch a successful series of classes. "Poetry Everywhere" turned out to be a phenomenal resource, a stew of delicious ideas meant to inspire-but not to instruct. This is not a manual for lazy teachers. There are no pages to be photocopied and filled with blank lines for students to "finish the story" or "imagine a very bad day and describe." Instead, as co-author Jack Collom writes, "This is a how-to book. It is also a big many-gated entrance to pleasure and excitement in learning . . . The writing exercises in this book allow for the possibility of poetry." In this sense, the book is entirely honest in its assessment of itself. It does not ensure success in the classroom, but it does provide creative teachers willing to put in a little extra effort an elaborate list of writing exercises. These include everything from acrostics to pantoums to William Carlos Williams imitations. In my experience these exercises are great launching pads, but in order for them to resonate with students both willing and hesitant to write, a teacher must be able to expand on the suggested courses of actions. For instance, as the book itself suggests, most children like to brainstorm in a group before they sit down to write. Also it is invaluable for them to see their work in print, or at least on the board, and also to have the opportunity to share what they write in an open and positive environment.
Although it seems the authors have tried all these exercises with age groups varying from first graders to high schoolers, I found that it is important to assess for oneself which activities are age appropriate for whom. Still, the examples given in each chapter of actual poems written by students are great to read out loud to the class. This way, students can be inspired by the potential of each exercise. Also, I found it encourages students to see their teacher trying the exercises along with them. And teachers, don't worry. Most of the activities are fun and sometimes challenging even for adults. Fortunately, once teachers have run the gamut of these exercises "Poetry Everywhere" provides supplementary chapters on enlivening standard English instruction, activities for more advanced students, revision, and inventing more exercises.
In the past two years I have read through a variety of books claiming to be manuals for the teaching of creative writing to children. But in essence these types of curriculums should be organic to the classroom, and "Poetry Everywhere" seems to be the only book out there that truly understands this idea. Nowadays, as creativity is is increasing squashed by the restrictions of hardened syllabi, I can only hope that teachers everywhere will realize the importance of doing exactly what this book recommends, encouraging students to discover not only that it's fun to write poems but also that the art of writing is central to the process of learning in general.

This book is a Poetry 101: A-Z for the novice teacher, or one like me wanting to incorporate poetry into my art classroom. This book is structured so that whatever you are looking for you will be able to find it easily. Though an easy read, this book fully engaged and inspired me to go forth into unchartered territory. There are NUMEROUS poetic styles to fit into just about any teacher's curriculum at ANY grade level. The ideas and exercises that the authors suggest to get you going are simple but extremely effective. The exercises work as a springboard to which you use your creativity to jump from and expand. I benefited from this book professionally as well as personally and my students (basically the entire student population) took to it from the first day of introduction. Many of them got so into it that they would write at home and bring what they had done in the next day to my class, eventhough they didn't do their "homework" for their homeroom teacher. Poetry has struck a chord in my students and that wouldn't have been possible without the Poetry Everywhere book to inspire me and get me majorly enthusiastic about the subject. I highly recommend this book for any teacher wanting to inject something new yet so beneficial into their daily routine.

I own many books for teachers of writers and this book is simply one of the best and easiest to use in the classroom. So, so, so many ideas for writing activities that it's hard to convey how useful this book is. I think it is also a great handbook for writers of all kinds to use when they need a writing exercise to jumpstart creativity or squash writer's block. Teachers of all grades, in all subjects--not just language arts--could and should have this book in their hands. Love it.

Poetry Everywhere is a great book to use inside the classroom at all levels. The book provides examples of student poetry and instructions to adapt poetry to your own classroom.

"Poetry Everywhere" by Jack Collom and Sheryl Noethe, offers insights into poetry in terms of the various forms, how to teach poetry, and examples of childrens work is provided for each form. I am a pre-service teacher and used this book in a writing workshop I headed for second graders (seven-year-olds). The essays at the end range from how to revise, to writing quickies that can be utilized to get the class started and thinking. This is a wonderful resource for anyone working with children and can be used not only for the writing lessons, but for any subject. Quickies are great and my students loved them! They were very creative and new. Get this book!