Well Known Writers

This book, a collection of poems by adolescents and adults, is designed to offer teachers a supplement to the standard middle school and high school literature anthologies. Divided into 11 themed sections, the collection mixes more than 100 poems by students in grades 5 to 12 with more than 40 pieces by adults, including well-known writers such as William Stafford, Nikki Giovanni, Gary Soto, and Sandra Cisneros, as well as classroom teachers whose work has been published in "English Journal." The book's themes range widely--from family relations to peer pressure, from school life to social issues, and from love to hopes for the future--in poems that are sometimes playful, sometimes deeply felt, sometimes provocative, and always of high interest to students. Each section in the book begins with an introduction in which the editors offer reminiscences centered on the theme and suggest ways to cluster the poems with both traditional and young adult literature. The collection offers teachers an accessible resource for planning classroom activities, promoting discussion, and engaging students in thinking about how poetry can be meaningful in their lives. Appended are book resources for using/teaching poetry; an annotated list of recent "English Journal" and "Voices from the Middle" articles on using/teaching poetry; recommended Web sites on poetry in the classroom; and a list of adolescent poets' hometowns, schools, and teachers.