Poetry

 NewsHour Poetry Series Whether you are a fan of poems, or if you just want to know more about poetry, this is a resource worth exploring. This innovative web page begins with a collection of clickable illustrations. Click among these pictures to learn about poetry's enduring appeal, to read poems by teens, and to listen to narrations of favorite poems by young people. If you are an aspiring poet, but aren't sure where to start, scroll down to learn about poetry's rules, tools, and form. Also, if you wish to share your own works, you can do so by clicking on the "submit your poem" link.
 * READ POETRY and DISCOVER POETS **

The Internet Poetry Archive The Internet Poetry Archive web site makes available selected poems from a number of contemporary poets. The archive entry for each poet comprises audio clips of the poet reading several poems, the poet's comments on the works, a photograph, texts of the poems, a critical biography of the poet prepared by a scholar familiar with the poet's work, and a short bibliography. Poems are presented in their original languages, as well as in English translation.

Library of Congress The Poetry Pages from The Library of Congress are a great place to look around for poems and poetry information. Read a feature about the current Poet Laureate and look up past laureates. A schedule shares upcoming poetry events. Two webcast series about the art of poetry can be watched from your computer. Check the site every day to read the poem of the day! Related poetry sites at The Library of Congress are listed. The current collection highlight is about the works of poet Walt Whitman.

Mexican Poetry This web site has a list of Mexican poetry for you to explore by their titles. Ballad of Mexico City, Aztec Poem, Lost Warrior, and Which Flag are just a few of the titles. They are written mostly in English and some have both English and Spanish versions. There is a link to other Indigenous People's literature also.

Poetry Aloud Poetry is not meant to be something you read quietly to yourself, it is something to share and to hear out loud. Here, if you have RealAudio, you can hear the author of the book Old Elm Speaks read several seasonal poems from her book. In one poem it is spring and Old Elm's leaf buds are just popping, in others his helicopter seeds are twirling, and in others still his leaves are free or many colored.

Cosmic Poetry Part of NASA's New Millennium Program was to hold a poetry contest, with the topic of the poems being outer space, of course. Here at The Space Place you can read four of the entries: "Propulsion", the winner from the 'child aged 6-12' category, "Show Me", the winner from the adult category, and runner's up "Moonlight: A Poem for Two Voices" and "Dancing Planet."

Poetry Archives Have you ever read the poem "Two Months" by Rudyard Kipling? Read the poem at this web site. The months discussed are June and September. The form of the poem and the words used in writing it make the poem easy to interpret and understand. Links at this web site include classic poets, random poems, top poems, and top authors. This poem is found under the heading of classic poets. There is also a FAQ page and discussion forums available to the reader.

Children's Poetry Archive Have fun learning about some of your favorite poets and meeting some new ones when you visit the web site created by the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and a recording producer. These two people had a great idea: they asked poets to record themselves reading their own poems, and then gathered these recordings on a web site especially for children. Search for a poem by the name of the poem, the name of the poet, the type of poetic form, such as haiku or riddles, or by themes, such as family, humor, and feelings.

Poetry.org As the largest organization in the United States dedicated to the art of poetry, The Academy of American Poets is responsible for many respected national contests, readings, and scholarship programs, as well as educational programs on the high school and college levels. At the Academy's official Web site, you can search for specific poets and specific poems, listen to audio clips of poetry readings, and find out about upcoming poetry events in your area and around the country.

Cat Poems To a true cat lover, the popular pet is thought to be graceful and elegant, worthy of our admiration and respect. This site is sponsored by Pawprints and Purrs, Inc, whose motto is "Education: The key to awareness." There are several samples of cat poetry on this site, including "From a Heroine," "Cats are Wonderful Friends," and "Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat," among others. There are also links at the bottom of the page to four other cat poetry pages, as well as a table of contents.

Chinese Poems A collection of Chinese poems contains some poetry from the Tang Dynasty. The fourteen featured poets are listed in alphabetical order. Next to the names are the years the poets lived and brief descriptions of their poetry. When you access a poet's page you will find a brief biography and additional information about the poem's translations. Following this information are the titles of the poems that you can choose to read. Each poem can be found on its own page.

Jack Prelutsky When he was in grade school, Jack Prelutsky hated poetry, thinking of it much like liver on his dinner plate. Find out what changed his mind. Discover how he turned his talent for drawing imaginary animals and playing with words into a career as a poet. For thirty years, he has been turning children into poetry lovers with his silly, scary, and imaginative poems. Read about some of his well-known books, like It's Raining Pigs and Noodles or A Pizza the Size of the Sun.

Robert Frost At this web site you will find links to the pages about Robert Frost that are available at "Modern American Poetry" web site. There are many of his poems available here. Find a link to "A Robert Frost Exhibit" where you will find pictures of some of the houses he lived in and photographs of him at various stages in his life. There are many pages of commentary on his poems here. You will also find a list of his poems, prose, and plays here.

Friendship Poems Upon arrival at this site, the reader may select to view individual poems, which are numbered one through nine. The reader may also elect to "view the collection" which links to a single poem. Friendship poems are presented one poem to a page. The reader must navigate to the next poem in the collection by clicking the "next poem" button. The site does provide a "previous poem" button that permits the reader to return to the previous poem


 * TYPES OF POETRY **

Factmonster - Poetry Investigate the difference between heroic and Christian poetry in Anglo-Saxon literature. While heroic poetry is based on the pagan myths of Germanic culture, Christian poetry provided poetic narratives about Biblical stories and themes. Beowulf is one of the best-known epic poems and weaves together a pagan story with Christian themes. Other poetry followed its themes of a happy past, a precarious present, and courageous characters. Caedmon and Cynewulf provide key examples of early Anglo-Saxon Christian poetry. Explore the typical verse form and stylistic features.

The Poetry Archive Experience the joy of poetry when you visit The Poetry Archive's unique web site. You'll find a comprehensive collection of poems and, as an added treat, you can hear many of the poems performed by the poets who wrote them. Search for a particular poem by the poet's last name or by the poem's title, or browse poems by theme or by form, such as haiku, limericks, and sonnets. If you're uncertain about a particular term used in poetry, stop by the glossary where you'll discover the term's definition, hear it pronounced, find examples of its usage, and more.

Poetry Calendar Did you know that a proem is an introduction to a poem? Learn this fact, and much more, at this web site. According to the web site, the work, "The Months in Metaphor" is a poetry calendar of literary themes and activities. Read about November being a turkey, a bird appetite and June as a Dad, a secret comrade. There is also another poem found at this web site devoted to the theme of April as a puddle. Links provide access to other poems and literary themes found at this web site.

Is It a Limerick? A silly, rhyming verse with five lines is a type of poetry known as a limerick. This site describes the rhythm pattern in a limerick, and also explains the rhyming scheme. You will see how a limerick tells a story. Play the limerick game where you read the lines and decide if they make up a limerick or not. Change the lines until they make up a limerick. You will have the opportunity to write your own limericks, and the chance to learn some history about this type of poetry.

Elements of Poetry Are you uncertain about the difference between an allegory and a metaphor? If you would like to better understandthese and other elements of poetry, visit the web site created by Bedford/St. Martin's, a publisher of college textbooks. Simply click on one of the fifteen terms and a definition of the term will appear, most including an example. Each term also has a writing exercise to help reinforce its meaning and provides space for you to type your thoughts, analyses, and changes. You can save your writings to your own online notebook, which you can send via email.


 * CREATE YOUR OWN **

Poetry Splatter Celebrate April, National Poetry Month, by creating poetry of your own. Reading is Fundamental created a web site to help kids have fun writing poems. You don't even need a pencil and paper, just a computer. Click on the word Splat to show words to choose from for your poem. Make sure the color around the word you choose matches the color of the blank in your poem. Some of the words will help you make very creative and funny poems. Poems are separated into groups for ages 3 5, 6 8, 9 11, and 12 14.

Giggle Poetry Simply click and read any number of silly poems written for and by kids. Visit the Giggle Poetry Home Page for more information on poetry contests for children in grades 2-6. Plus, the Poetry Helpers give complete explanations of how to write a limerick and a Newfangled Yankee Doodle poem. Colorful animated graphics assist even primary grade students in navigating throughout this site.

Lyric Poems Welcome to Fern's Poetry Club, where you can learn what a poem is and how to write one. Read and write poetry including narrative poems, lyric poems, limericks, haikus, free verse, and cinquain. Lyric poems express feelings or moods. Song lyrics are the words to songs, so you have probably enjoyed many lyric poems. Read one by Buster about all the things he loves to eat. Whether you want to use poetry to express your feelings, write a song, tell a story, or make others laugh; you can learn more here.

Poetry4Kids Come visit the site that says it has the funniest children?s poetry on the web! Read the poems of published poet Kenn Nesbitt. Are you a poet as well as a poetry fan? You can publish your poems and enter poetry-writing contests. Are you having trouble finding the rights words for a poem? Use a free online rhyming dictionary. Improve your writing skills with online poetry lessons. Play some fun poetry games and find related web sites. The Children's Haiku Garden The Children's Haiku Garden is a collection of haiku poetry written by children from around the world, accompanied with vibrant illustrations for each haiku. Students are encouraged to create their own haikus with illustrations that can be added to the collection, as well as complete illustrations for haiku verses that currently do not have any.

Poetry Writing Find out why Karla Kuskin thinks poetry is fun. She will help you learn to write descriptive poems to express your ideas. She will also teach you about the revision process. Try beginning with a silly description of yourself, after reading her example. Brainstorm ideas describing pictures in your mind or anything that interests you or that you are familiar with. Express them in words in short lines, creating a rhythm as you express the main idea, but don't worry about rhyme. What makes your subject special? Think about how it could be better, or turn it into a song.

Riddle Poems Follow five steps and you will be on your way to writing a riddle poem. This interactive tutorial will teach you to begin with the answer first when writing your riddle poem. Next you will brainstorm words that both remind you of and are opposite of the answer. Find out why using the thesaurus will be helpful as you write. You will get help with writing a draft. Read a sample poem and then try one of your own riddle poems. Audio instructions are an option as you use the tutorial.

Online Rhyming Dictionary If you are writing a poem or song and having difficulty finding a word to rhyme with another word, your visit to an online rhyming dictionary could be time well spent. Simply type in the word you wish to rhyme to and click the Rhyme button. You can choose from five different types of rhymes: End Rhymes, Last Syllable Rhymes, Double Rhymes, Beginning Rhymes, and First Syllable Rhymes, all of which are explained. This simple tool could help rescue you from the dreaded condition known as "writer's block."