About Middle School Poetry 180

I don’t know if Billy Collins has copyrighted the term “Poetry 180″, but since he coined the idea to help teachers bring poetry into the classroom I don’t think he’ll mind (let me know, Billy). I bought his Poetry 180 with the idea of doing a poem a day, only to find most of them too complicated, inappropriate, abstract, or demanding too much background knowledge for middle school students. I have done “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” with the kids, but that’s been a two-day lesson (worth it, but not exactly embedding poetry in what I do daily). I believe in high standards and the power of great art, but finding a reliable (and easy) source has eluded me.

So, here we are.

As to using “dead white males” and “poets with three names”, I have found that those old poems revive students who find poetry inaccessible. They get it, and I’ve found some really fascinating-in-their-simplicity ideas among the old masters. What’s old is new? I think these are what the teacher, poet, reader or student brings to them.

That said, the importance of moving under represented poets and poetry into the mix cannot be understated.  Not a sidebar, but the curriculum.  Not as “black poets” or “female poets” but as writers exploring the human condition.

I’ll add as I can, and welcome suggestions. Enjoy and share.

Update: Much has changed since I started this blog and wrote the above, including me. My early entries were public domain and old.  Or, as I liked to think, “classic”.  Meh.  As I started using more recent work, sought out more diverse voices, and have tried to seek new international poets I feel more dynamic in my teaching.  Thankfully, finding diverse voices is getting easier.

Image of young poet in blog header is Mary Barnard.