Article
Other

Guernica: Tracy K. Smith: Our Best Selves Are Reserved for the Page

For Students 9th - 10th
An interview with Tracy K. Smith, the 2017 U.S. Poet Laureate, where she discusses writing a memoir, her poetry, and David Bowie. (Published June 28, 2016)
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Shel Silverstein

For Students 3rd - 8th
Biographical site about Shel Silverstein's life. You can also click on the titles of his poems to read them in full.
Activity
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Poems for Your Pocket

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
One day during National Poetry Month is dedicated to "Put a Poem in Your Pocket Day." Use this site to find poems to share with others. It includes a downloadable PDF of ideas for teachers and a collection of poems.
Article
Other

Harvard Magazine: A Conversation With Tracy K. Smith '94

For Students 9th - 10th
An interview with Tracy K. Smith, the 2017 U.S. Poet Laureate, where she talks about her memoir, Ordinary Light. (Published April 9, 2015)
eBook
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: Marianne Moore

For Students 9th - 10th
You can rely on this site for biographical and critical views of Marianne Moore (1887-1972 CE) and her work. It includes criticism of a number of poems, a photo gallery, an exhibit and a biography.
Activity
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: Edna St. Vincent Millay

For Students 9th - 10th
This outstanding resource offers literary criticism, biographical information, full text of poems, and historical context for Edna St. Vincent Millay's (1892-1950 CE) work.
Activity
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: Sterling A. Brown (1901 1989)

For Students 9th - 10th
An extensive look at the life and works of Sterling A. Brown of the Harlem Renaissance. With links to specific poems and analysis, a biography, and related topics.
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Utah Poets

For Students 9th - 10th
Poets.org provides an overview of the poets from a particular state. The overview for Utah includes information on the poet laureate, Kenneth W. Brewer. Other sections include featured poets (Judy Jordan and David Lee) and poems...
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: North Dakota Poets

For Students 9th - 10th
Poets.org provides an overview of the poets from a particular state. The overview for North Dakota includes information on featured poets and poems specifically about North Dakota.
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: W. D. Snodgrass

For Students 9th - 10th
Poets.org provides a brief biographical overview of W. D. Snodgrass including information on his life and links to selected poems. A column of links to additional reading information on Snodgrass is also provided.
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: James Merrill

For Students 9th - 10th
Poets.org provides a brief biographical overview of James Merrill including information on his life and links to selected poems. A column of links to additional reading information on Merrill is also provided.
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Anne Waldman

For Students 9th - 10th
Poets.org provides a brief biographical overview of Anne Waldman including information on her life and links to selected poems. A column of links to additional reading information on Waldman is also provided.
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Elizabeth Bishop

For Students 9th - 10th
Poets.org provides a brief biographical overview of Elizabeth Bishop including information on her life and links to selected poems. A column of links to additional reading information on Bishop is also provided.
Website
Other

Loc: American Life in Poetry

For Students 9th - 10th
Each week, Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006, creates a column on contemporary American poetry for newspapers and online publications. His columns include a brief introduction or reflection, followed by the text of a poem....
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Rhythms in Poetry: Claude Mc Kay

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a succinct biography of Claude McKay, infamous Harlem Renaissance poet who expressed the need for the African American community in America to speak out against racism. See "Claude McKay Activities" for related materials.
Website
PBS

Pbs: American Masters: The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg

For Teachers 11th - 12th
This site contains biographical content drawn from the American Masters Series DVD entitled The Life And Times of Allen Ginsberg. The person featured,Allen Ginsberg, was one of the first "beat" poets. His counterculture experimentation...
Website
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poets: Louise Erdrich

For Students 9th - 10th
This useful collection of information about Louise Erdrich and her work includes biographical details, an online short story, an extensive bibliography and excerpts from interviews.
eBook
University of Michigan

American Verse Project: Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For Students 9th - 10th
The American Verse Project provides this full text version of Longfellow's famous poem, "Song of Hiawatha.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: W. E. B. Du Bois

For Students 9th - 10th
W. E. B. DuBois is featured here for his writings which advocated human rights for all, but particularly for African Americans in the early twentieth century. Click "W. E. B. DuBois Activities" for related materials.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Two Views, Making of African American Identity: V. 2

For Students 9th - 10th
Two poems that explore the struggles of African Americans in the early-twentieth century. Links to both poems by Fenton Johnson are provided, and illustrate the struggles experienced as black man in white America in the 1910s
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: Postmodernism: The Confessional Poets

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson focuses on the Confessional Poets: Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and Robert Lowell, who all suffered from depression which is reflected in their poems. It gives short bios of each poet and provides a link to one poem from each:...
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: American Romanticism

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This lesson is an introduction to a unit on American Romanticism, from about 1800 to 1850. It defines the types of writing of the period and the power of poetry including the Fireside Poets: Longfellow, Bryant, Whittier, Lowell, and...
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: The Harlem Renaissance: Countee Cullen

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson focuses on Countee Cullen, a Harlem Renaissance poet who based his works on Romantic poets and downplayed racism. It features links to three of his poems: "From the Dark Tower," "The Loss of Love," and "Saturday's Child." It...
eBook
University of Michigan

American Verse Project: Fifty Years & Other Poems

For Students 9th - 10th
Searchable index of poet James Weldon Johnson's collection of poems, "Fifty Years & Other Poems," originally published in 1917.

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