LSSL 5385: Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Poetry 

Poetry is the most neglected format of writing. This could be due to a couple of reasons. The most common reason is that people have had bad experiences with poetry, and it leaves a bad taste in their mouths. Another reason is that people are uncomfortable with the formatting, or don’t understand how to read or write poetry. 
A study done in elementary schools found out the following information about children and poetry. Kids prefer narrative poetry over other forms. This is most likely due to how relatable and contemporary most narrative poems are. Students also enjoyed being able to play with language with rhyme, rhythm and sound devices. The most popular types of poems among elementary-aged students were poems about animals, funny poems, and poems about familiar experiences. The least popular type of poem for students in this age range were free verse and haikus. 
One of the top criteria for a poem or poetry book is to consider if it is good enough for repeated readings. Does it stand the test of time? Also, as with prose, poetry shouldn’t be brought down to what is believed to be a “child’s level”. Poems should affect imagery in some way to the reader, using one or multiple senses. And can kids interact with the poem? Ways to interact with a poem include choral reading, repetition, or noises to add.

One important distinction with poetry is that it is not a genre. It is easy to fall into the trap of categorizing it that way. But it is really a format of storytelling. Novels in verse appear to become more and more common nowadays. For me, it took a while to get used to this format of storytelling. Those types of novels are quick reads that felt lacking in detail and information. Done right, however, novels in verse can have a more lasting impact on readers than a full prose novel. Kwame Alexander has helped reluctant readers all over find joy in reading with The Crossover and others. 
It wasn’t until I became an adult that poetry became more accessible to me. When I was in school, I couldn’t stand learning about poetry or writing it. I started to understand more poetry when I entered college. During my methods course at SHSU, we were required to write our own “book” based on a genre in our own format. I chose to write a contemporary novel in verse because of how uncomfortable I felt with this format. I was quite proud of the end product! 
My husband was also a victim of disliking poetry until he took a course at Lone Star College. It was a creative writing course and a requirement during the month of April was to write poetry. Now he is a fan of the greats, buying books of Walt Whitman and the like. I really think the older you are, the more you appreciate poetry because you have more life experience. 


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