Angelou, Maya.
Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie
. New York: Bantam Books, 1969.
Poems of wisdom and humor expressing life’s experiences.
Brooks, Cleanth.
Understanding Poetry
. New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston, Inc., 1960.
All the important aspects of poetry are explained here.
Brooks, Gwendolyn et al.
Make a Joyful Sound
. New York: Checker Board Press, 1991.
Written by several African American poets, this book is informative and enjoyable to teach from.
Dove, Rita.
Grace Notes Poems
. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1989. A collection of political, lyrical and personal poems written with vivid passion.
Gilfoy, Stoltz, Peggy.
Patterns of Life
. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art 1987.
This book tells of the West African textiles and reflects the personal, societal, religious and political aspects of African life.
Hughes, Langston.
Selected Poems of Langston Hughes
. New York: Vintage Classics-Vintage Books. A Division of Random House, Inc., 1987. A classical collection of poems by an African-American master of American verse.
Hugo, Richard.
The Triggering Town
. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1979. This book comes in the form of lectures and essays about poetry. It is geared toward teachers.
Hugo, Richard.
The Lady in Kicking Horse Reservoir
. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1979.
Poems written for adults while Hugo lived in Montana. (The poems are appropriate for upper schl.)
Rico, Lusser, Gabriele.
Writing the Natural Way
. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc., (Distributed by Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1983). This book makes writing easy and fun for all writers. The natural technique begins with clustering—a brainstorming process which places main ideas and important details in an organized fashion.
Myers, Jack.
The Longman Dictionary of Poetic Terms
. New York: Longman, 1989.
This is a dictionary which gives pertinent poetic terms—needed to fully understand poetry.
