MOST OF US first encounter poetry while still in the crib in the form of classic nursery rhymes; our childhood years are filled with jump rope ditties, schoolyard chants, and silly limericks. Unfortunately, this innate love of verse is often lost by the time we become teenagers. Many young adults regard poetry as something only to be studied and analyzed for English class.
These selections highlight poetry that will especially appeal to teenagers—both in and out of the classroom. They include standard works by writers such as Robert Frost and Langston Hughes, as well as unusual recent books that document the life of George Washington Carver and the streets of Harlem. These books pair poems on similar topics by male and female authors, provide multicultural perspectives, and present poems in graphic formats. They use diverse poetic forms—rhyming, free verse, blank verse, concrete poetry—and cover an amazing range of subjects. Because the novel in free verse has become a favorite of young adult writers over the last decade, several fine examples—such as Virginia Euwer Wolff's Make Lemonade and Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust —have been included.
Young adults who think of poetry as something relegated to dusty textbooks may be surprised by the fresh insights, emotional impact, and pure entertainment found in many of these titles.
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Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States
12–14 • Holt • 1994 • 160 pp.
Some of the poets represented in this volume were born in Argentina, Guatemala, and Venezuela but now live in the United States. Others are second- and third-generation Americans of Cuban, Mexican, and Bolivian descent. All celebrate their heritage in this collection of poems about the Latino experience in the United States. Pablo Medina describes the life of a young immigrant in New York City. Abelardo B. Delgado contrasts Mexican and American perspectives on the Day of the Dead. Sandra Cisneros extols the joy of pig roasts and hot dogs. Each poem is presented in both English and Spanish except for a handful that blend the two. Frequently studied in multicultural poetry units and in English as a Second Language classes, this book was followed in 2005 by Red Hot Salsa: Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States.
CATHERINE CLINTON, EDITOR STEPHEN ALCORN, ILLUSTRATOR
I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry
12–14 • Houghton Mifflin • 1998 • 112 pp.
Lucy Terry was the first known African-American poet. Her 1746 verse, "Bars Fight," was passed down orally for generations before being published in 1855; now it forms the cornerstone of this historical survey. Presented chronologically, each entry contains a brief biography, a few words about the author's skills, goals, and influence, and an example of his or her work. The volume includes, among others, Phillis Wheatley's last poem, "Liberty and Peace"; selections by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, and Countee Cullen; Gwendolyn Brooks's tributes to Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X; and entries by the contemporary poets Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Rita Dove. Most, though not all, explore racial identity and experience in a volume that serves as a solid introduction to African-American poetry.
Love That Dog
12–14 • Harper • 2001 • 105 pp.
People often argue about which book written by the highly versatile author Sharon Creech they like the most—her Newbery Medal–winning Walk Two Moons, The Wanderer, Absolutely Normal Chaos, or Heartbeat. But her slim love letter to teachers, poetry, and poets— Love That Dog —may well prove her most enduring title. In a free verse journal chronicling a school year, Jack at first insists that poetry belongs to girls. But his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, gradually engages his interest and gets him to develop his own poem. As his journal entries get longer and longer, Jack tackles complex works. William Carlos Williams, William Blake, Robert Frost, and particularly Walter Dean Myers convince Jack that poetry can be appreciated by boys as well as girls. When Myers himself visits the class, Jack develops a severe case of hero worship.
With a title inspired by the Walter Dean Myers poem "Love That Boy" and its obvious appeal for a classroom unit, Love That Dog has made its way into the hearts of its readers and has convinced many a young person to give poetry a chance.
HELEN FROST
Keesha's House
12–14 • Farrar, Straus • 2003 • 128 pp.
PRINTZ HONOR
Seven troubled adolescents end up at Keesha's house, which offers shelter, safety, and comfort. Stephie and Jason are about to become parents; Carmen's drinking problem has taken her to juvenile detention; Harris has been thrown out of his house because he is gay; Katie has been abused by her stepfather; Dortay is negotiating the foster care system. Keesha, determined to support herself and go to school, has brought them all together. Some teens simply pass through the house; others form a family. Although all of these themes have been explored many times in fiction for the young, Helen Frost makes her characters and their lives vibrant by her use of sestinas and sonnets to convey their thoughts: "All my questions are like wind-tossed / papers in the street."
Touching on the issues of race and class, this spare and eloquent novel has been performed onstage. Most frequently, it appears on poetry reading lists; taking poetic forms most often associated with romantic writings, Frost has given them new life and vitality in this original, thought-provoking novel.
ROBERT FROST, AUTHOR THOMAS W. NASON, ILLUSTRATOR
You Come Too: Favorite Poems for Readers of All Ages
14–18 • Holt • 1959 • 112 pp.
One of the twentieth century's most beloved and respected poets, Robert Frost won the Pulitzer Prize four times for his verse. This sampling includes some of his greatest triumphs, including "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," "The Death of the Hired Man," and "The Road Not Taken." Because his poems frequently focus on birch trees, fireflies, and farm life, many view Frost as a folksy nature poet—and his work can certainly be enjoyed on that level. But repeated readings reveal layers of meaning just below each homespun surface, as Frost explores such weighty themes as mortality, alienation, and heartbreak. He is also a stylist of the highest order, using not just standard rhyme patterns but frequently blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) in poems such as "Mending Wall." This volume provides a brief, accessible introduction to Frost's work.
JAN GREENBERG, EDITOR
Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art
12–14 • Abrams • 2001 • 80 pp.
PRINTZ HONOR
Jan Greenberg—a novelist who, with Sandra Jordan, has also written excellent biographies of the artists Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, and Vincent Van Gogh—combines her love of art and literature in a volume that pairs works of modern American art with new poems by over forty contemporary writers. The poets themselves selected the works they wanted to write about, resulting in a dazzling array of artistic formats (including paintings, photographs, and sculpture) and poetic styles (from sonnets to free verse.) Nancy Willard writes about a pair of carousel horses captured in a photograph by Eric Lindbloom. David Harrison's "It's Me!" assumes the voice of Marilyn Monroe, represented multiple times in Andy Warhol's famous silkscreen. Jane Yolen tackles Grant Wood's "American Gothic." The artwork is well reproduced and the poems are fresh and engaging in a book that inspires readers to put words to their own favorite art.
KAREN HESSE
Out of the Dust
12–14 • Scholastic • 1997 • 227 pp.
NEWBERY MEDAL
Set in the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma in the 1930s, Out of the Dust concentrates on fourteen-year-old Billie Jo. When her mother dies in a tragic accident, Billie Jo's and her father's lives are changed forever. In a text marked by rhythm, even music, every word and every line break have been selected with care—from the opening sentence to the final lines: "And I stretch my fingers over the keys, / and I play."
For this book, Karen Hesse conducted extensive research in newspapers of the period, careful observing the daily weather reports. As she wrote, her narrative evolved. In the original manuscript, Billie Jo wrote poetry and played the piano, but those talents seemed inconsistent with her training and life. Because Hesse wanted to show a child who experienced a simple life, she decided that free verse would be the ideal form to convey the sparseness.
Many authors have the ability to create books quite popular with young people; some can write complex books not always accessible to the young. A few, like Hesse, combine exceptional quality with great appeal. She tackles subjects of significance in her books and does not hesitate to examine them honestly. In Out of the Dust, the heat, the dust, the longing, the anguish, the pain of living, and the healing from tragedy have all been presented in spare, haunting verse.
Selected Poems of Langston Hughes
14–18 • Knopf • 1959 • 320 pp.
An iconic figure of the Harlem Renaissance—the cultural explosion of African-American art, literature, and music in 1920s New York—Langston Hughes continues to be read and enjoyed in the twenty-first century. This compilation of his work, selected by Hughes himself, draws verse from seven volumes as well as several that never appeared in book form. Some, such as "The Weary Blues," are "jazz poems"—originally written to be accompanied by music at Harlem nightclubs. There are religious poems, spiritual meditations, and gospel shouts. A group of seriocomic, first-person poems explains how feisty Madam Alberta K. Johnson survives the Depression. Many of the entries, including the much-anthologized "I, Too" and "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," celebrate the poet's heritage. This stylistically diverse and emotionally powerful collection demonstrates why Hughes is considered one of America's great poets.
PAUL B. JANECZKO, SELECTOR
The Place My Words Are Looking For: What Poets Say About and Through Their Work
12–14 • Bradbury • 1990 • 133 pp.
This volume contains poems by some major names in children's and young adult books, including Eve Merriam, Jack Prelutsky, Nancy Willard, Karla Kuskin, and X. J. Kennedy. Written in both rhymed and free verse, the poems—some whimsical, some serious, some laugh-out-loud funny—concern kid-friendly topics such as skate-boarding, soda pop, and surviving sixth grade. What makes the collection especially appealing is that most of the entries are followed by author's notes; they explain why the creators write poetry, reveal what inspired a particular piece, or offer advice to readers and aspiring young poets.
PAUL B. JANECZKO, SELECTOR CHRIS RASCHKA, ILLUSTRATOR
A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems
12–14 • Candlewick • 2001 • 48 pp.
A treat for both the ear and the eye, this unusual, highly browsable volume contains thirty concrete poems—verses whose typography, spacing, and graphic arrangement add an extra layer of meaning and enjoyment to the words on the page. The lines in Roger McGough's "A Weak Poem" trail feebly toward the bottom of the book. Sylvia Cassedy visibly demonstrates the importance of not stepping out of line in "Queue." Words shuttle across a double-page spread in Monica Kulling's "Tennis Anyone?" Other poems follow the trajectory of a pigeon's flight and a sled's downhill slide, while others mimic the shapes of Popsicles, dandelions, and giraffes. Chris Raschka's splashy color illustrations add to the appeal of this volume; it may even inspire readers to create their own concrete poems.
GARRISON KEILLOR, EDITOR
Good Poems
14–18 • Viking • 2002 • 504 pp.
This aptly titled volume gathers nearly three hundred poems under such far-flung categories as "Day's Work," "Sons and Daughters," "Failure," and "Snow." The breadth of material is amazing, ranging from Shakespearean sonnets to classics from Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost to new poems by contemporary, still largely unknown writers. The subject matter, themes, and poetic styles are diverse, but these accessible poems all share compelling language and a narrative line or emotional impact that lingers in the memory. Readers of every age and sophistication will discover literary gold here, but Good Poems may be especially prized by young adult readers as a favorite volume of verse to be studied and underlined, memorized, quoted aloud, and shared with friends as it gets carried from high school classroom to college dorm to a permanent place on the family bookshelf.
Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices
12–14 • Holiday House • 2004 • 88 pp.
Walter Dean Myers, who grew up in Harlem, reaches back to his youth with a collection of first-person poems that represent various citizens from that vibrant New York neighborhood in the late 1940s. Each of the poems—untitled, but identified by the name of the speaker, along with his or her age and occupation—is based on someone the author personally knew, or knew about, as he was growing up. Framed by the memories of an eighty-seven-year-old retired singer, the book also introduces the local undertaker, several veterans, a newsstand dealer, a numbers runner, a party girl, and a handful of high school and college students. The mostly free verse poems reveal the dreams, disappointments, and daily experiences of these well-defined yet prototypal characters in a collection that brings an entire community to life in verse.
MARILYN NELSON
Carver: A Life in Poems
12–14 • Front Street • 2001 • 103 pp.
NEWBERY HONOR/NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
In a collage of fifty-nine free verse poems, George Washington Carver emerges as a private, scholarly man of great personal faith and social purpose. A child of enslaved parents who was raised by a white couple, Carver became a chemist and devoted his life to the betterment of black Americans. That journey has been told in poems from the various points of view of those he encountered along the way. But the emotion, the heart and soul of Carver and those around him, distinguish these verses:
It was 1915, the year
of trenches and poison gas
when Booker T. Washington
rushed home from New Haven
to die in his own bed.
For the first days after the funeral
Carver sat and rocked, sat
and rocked. For months
he could not teach,
would not go into the lab.
.... He had seen Washington and Carver together
winning back the birthright of the disinherited.
This is how a dream dies.
Someone who had always written poetry for adults, Marilyn Nelson believed she was creating another volume for them. But Stephen Roxburgh, her editor, thought this collection would work well with an adolescent audience and designed the book accordingly, adding photographs to enhance the poetry. The resulting slim volume, winner of numerous awards, combines free verse and biography in a totally satisfying and unprecedented manner, ideal for reading aloud and discussing.
NAOMI SHIHAB NYE AND PAUL B. JANECZKO, EDITORS
I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You: Her Poems and His Poems Collected in Pairs
12–14 • Simon & Schuster • 1996 • 261 pp.
In an intriguing format, Naomi Nye and Paul Janeczko pair similarly themed poems by male and female writers. These dual entries explore topics ranging from first kisses and marriage to apples and tomatoes, reflecting the similarities and differences between the way each sex perceives and experiences the subject. Sophisticated and occasionally enigmatic, the poems are written in a variety of styles—with nearly two hundred entries, there is sure to be something for every taste. Refreshingly, a number of unknown and undiscovered poets are represented, and the contributors' notes, in which the poets describe how gender has influenced their work, will fuel classroom discussion and debate.
NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East
12–14 • Greenwillow • 2002 • 142 pp.
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
The daughter of an American mother and a Palestinian father, Naomi Shihab Nye was born and raised in the United States, but she has celebrated her Middle Eastern heritage in fiction, autobiographical essays, and poetry. These sixty poems, collected here for the first time, help fill a void in young adult literature as they describe the warm details of Middle Eastern family life, which endure despite the region's political divisions, and recount the conflicted experiences of Arab Americans growing up in the United States. Published within a year of the September 11 terrorist attacks—an event acknowledged in the author's introduction and the volume's first poem—the book makes a poignant plea for peace and healing.
MARY OLIVER
New and Selected Poems: Volume One
14–18 • Beacon • 1992 • 272 pp.
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
New and Selected Poems: Volume Two
14–18 • Beacon • 2005 • 178 pp.
The titles of the individual poems evoke pastoral images: "Lonely, White Fields," "Hummingbird Pauses at the Trumpet Vine," "The Lilies Break Open Over the Dark Water," "Skunk Cabbage." America's preeminent nature poet presents dozens of minutely observed free and blank verse poems that offer fresh, often startling images of crows and kookaburras, poppies and peonies, spring azures, late summer roses, and the first snows of winter while asking the reader to consider life, mortality, and the human experience in the natural world. Mary Oliver has won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for her poetry, and these volumes—which also include a few entries about her youth ("Spring in the Classroom") and the lives of assorted grandparents, aunts, and uncles—demonstrate her mastery of the form. After reading these thoughtful and penetrating poems, readers may find themselves looking at the natural world with a newfound sense of wonder.
The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers
12–14 • Holt • 1996 • 144 pp.
Despite being Pulitzer Prize winners, poets such as Rita Dove, Galway Kinnell, Carolyn Kizer, and Maxine Kumin are generally unknown to teenagers. This volume helps rectify the situation by introducing forty modern American poets to young adults. Arranged alphabetically, each entry is accompanied by two photographs—one showing the poet as a child, the other as an adult—and includes a first-person statement about how the writer came to discover poetry as a young person. Each poet is represented by one to five selections of sophisticated yet generally accessible free verse poems on subjects ranging from eating blackberries to loneliness and death. A final "Ways to Use This Book" suggests how young people can better appreciate poetry through memorization and recitation, by writing "answering poems" to published verses, and finding inspiration in the specific subjects, themes, and formats used by the poems in this volume.
CYNTHIA RYLANT, AUTHOR WALKER EVANS, PHOTOGRAPHER
Something Permanent
12–14 • Harcourt • 1994 • 64 pp.
Walker Evans's stunning black-and-white photographs inspire over two dozen poems that poignantly capture moments of both despair and hopefulness during the Depression. Cynthia Rylant's stark free verse uses a minimum of words to explore entire life stories: a rural boy acquires a sense of self-esteem when he is asked to pose for a photographer; a pair of empty shoes helps a grieving family through their sadness; a young man's job at a filling station first inspires jealousy, then compassion, among his rivals. Though the book concerns a long-gone era, the mesmerizing quality of the stark photographs and plainspoken poems will strike a visceral chord with today's young adults.
New Found Land
12–14 • Candlewick • 2004 • 501 pp.
In a blank verse epic, Allan Wolf presents the Lewis and Clark expedition through fourteen alternating narrators. Although the expected participants have been given their due—the two men and Sacagawea—Lewis's dog, a Newfoundland named Seaman (who says his true name is Oolum), serves as the narrator and sets the stage for some of the key events on the journey.
Successfully combining historic research with a compelling narrative form, the author has written a challenging and unique book. It expands the possibilities of the free verse novel, demonstrating how history and poetry can be successfully intertwined.
VIRGINIA EUWER WOLFF
Make Lemonade
12–14 • Holt • 1993 • 200 pp.
True Believer
12–14 • Atheneum • 2001 • 264 pp.
PRINTZ HONOR/NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
In Make Lemonade, an inner-city fourteen-year-old girl, LaVaughn, desperately wants a ticket out of her housing project, so she agrees to baby-sit for the two children of a seventeen-year-old unwed mother, Jolly. Ultimately Jolly loses her factory job. But LaVaughn prods Jolly to return to school, where she can save herself and her children—make lemonade from the lemons of her life. In True Believer, LaVaughn, now fifteen, once again narrates a story in blank verse, but this time it is her own. "Me and Myrtle & Annie, / we all want to save our bodies for our right husband / when he comes along." Annie and Myrtle join "Cross Your Legs for Jesus," but LaVaughn begins her own solo journey toward faith. Along the way, this attractive protagonist falls in love, finds a vocation, and continues to work toward college.
Because of Virginia Euwer Wolff's brilliant use of blank verse, readers move along, totally in sync with LaVaughn; they laugh, cry, celebrate, and worry with her. Because the author, deliberately, never identifies the ethnicity of the characters, some have assumed LaVaughn to be white; others, black; still others, Asian. Consequently these two volumes have as many different interpretations as they have readers, again a testament to their subtlety and craft.