Addonizio, Kim & Laux, Dorianne,
The Poet's Companion
. A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. WW Norton and Co. 1997 Good short descriptions of various forms, with examples and ideas for writing triggers.
Behn, Harry.
Cricket Songs: Japanese Haiku
. Harcourt, Brace and World, 1964. Accessible haiku for young readers. Beautifully illustrated.
Behn, Harry.
More Cricket Songs: Japanese Haiku
. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1971. Next edition of the above. Again beautifully illustrated.
Beilenson, Peter.
A Haiku Garland
: HPeter Pauper Press, 1968. Full of examples of Haiku in 17 syllables.
Dacey, Philip and Jauss, David.
Strong Measures
. Harper Collins 1986 One of the more complete compendiums of poetry in forms with examples of each form in use by an established poet. The books format is somewhat complex to work with.
Fine, Edith H. and Josephson, Judith P., Editors.
Nitty-Gritty Grammar
. Ten Speed Press 1998 The best grammar book for English teachers who don't know all the rules of grammar. Easily accessible and translatable for use in the classroom. Complete with syndicated comics, that are actually funny and illustrate the point.
Higginson, William J. & Harter, Penny.
The Haiku Handbook
. Kodansha America 1985 Must have. Full of Haiku examples of all kinds. Great writing triggers and classroom strategies. Excellent brief historical summaries.
Koch, Kenneth & Farrell, Kate.
Sleeping on the Wing
. Vintage 1982 A wonderful addition to any poetry teacher's libarary. Full of fabulous explanations of well known examples of various forms.
Padgett, Ron Editor.
The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms. Teachers and Writers Collaborative
, NY 1987 Must have. I wouldn't teach poetic form without it. Nearly every well known form of poetry (and a few obscure forms) are explained and exemplified in this neat, compact, well laid out, easy to work with book. Excellent brief historical summaries.
van den Heuvel, Cor.
The Haiku Anthology
. Norton 1999 Must have. Although there is some repitition of Haiku from the Haiku Handbook, in this volume, in the end van den Heuvel's anthology contains more and better examples of the form. Excellent brief historical summaries.
