Most of all the following books were used in doing research in writing this unit. They are good reference and classroom books for both the teacher and the students. Books especially relevant for students are marked with an asterisk (*).
*Angelou, Maya.
Maya Angelou: Poems
. New York: Bantam Books, 1986. A complete collection of all of Angelou’s poems for students to become familiar with. These poems can be used for inspiration and modeling, and to help students unlock their feelings.
Bennett, Robert, Andrew J. Porter, Jr. and Henry L. Terrie, Jr.
American Literature
. Lexington, MA: Ginn and Co., 1981. Very good selection of contemporary poetry.
Boynton, Robert and Maynard Mack.
Introduction to the Poem
. New York: Hayden Book Co., 1969.
Ciardi, John and Miller Williams.
How Does a Poem Mean?
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2nd edition, 1975.
*Dillard, Annie.
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
. New York: Harper and Row, 1974. This is a journal of Dillard’s explorations over one year in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia. A good model for students to try to imitate.
*Donnelly, Susan.
Eve Names the Animals
. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1985. An inspiring poetry book. The 1984 Morse Poetry Prize winner provides inspiration for students to write their own poetry.
Dunning, Stephen.
Teaching Literature to Adolescents
. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1966. This book is very valuable in discussing poetic techniques and commenting on various poems.
Guth, Hans P. and Patricia Strandness Shnider
. Our World Today
. Massachusetts: D.C. Heath Co., 1981. This book contains a good selection of poetry for this unit.
Hook, J.N.
The Teaching of High School English
. New York: Ronal Press Co., 1965, 3rd edition.
Koch, Kenneth and Kate Farrell.
Sleeping on the wing
. New York: Vintage Books, 1982. A valuable book that contains comments on many poems and then readers are inspired to write their own poetry.
Norton, James H. and Francis Gretton.
Writing Incredibly Short Plays, Poems, Stories
. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972.
*Oliver, Mary.
American Primitive
. Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1983. Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, this book provides a professional’s poetry for modeling inspiration.
*Rico, Gabriele Lusser.
Writing the Natural Way
. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc., 1983. A most valuable book designed to inspire writers to use both hemispheres of the brain to achieve “natural writing.” Rico describes and explains the “brainstorming process of clustering” as an effective approach to writing.
*Rilke, Rainer Marie.
Letters to a Young Poet
. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1954.
*Scholes, Robert.
Elements of Poetry
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969. A valuable book for discussing poetic techniques and commenting on various poems.
*Swenson, May.
Half Sun Half Sleep
:
New Poems
. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1967. A professional poet’s book of wonderful poems for modeling inspiration.
Wallace, Robert.
Writing Poems
. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 2nd edition, 1987. This book contains some stimulating techniques to help students write poetry.
*Walker, Alice.
Good Night, Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning
. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979. A book of poetry by the Pulitzer Prize-Winning author, for students to use for modeling inspiration.
*Williams, Miller.
Contemporary Poetry in America
. New York: Random House, 1973. An anthology of poetry from “poets born in the twentieth century and who earned their full reputation after the beginning of World War II.”
