Teen Poetry Collection
RBHS Main / Mancoff Main / Freshman Main

Introduction:

    It's the job offer of a lifetime!  KidsLife Publishing has asked you to become a special consultant for their poetry department.  The department's goal is to develop an anthology/collection of poems targeted to appeal to teens and they want your input.  What issues concern today's teenagers?  What poems reflect these issues?  It's your goal to find out...

Task:

    Collect poems for a poetry collection that speaks about and relates to teens.  You have an unlimited "budget" so you have permission to collect poems from any source-- famous poets, anonymous works, little known authors, and so forth.  The only restriction is that you must use published poetry rather than including work of your own or from your friends.  When finished, your collection should include:
 

• 10 poems that you feel would be of interest to teens.
• A FULL-PAGE explanation/introduction to your collection explaining your choices.
• A table of contents that displays some organizing structure for your collection.
• A cover page that makes your presentation attractive and creative.

Process:

Step One:  Research

    Before you can publish your collection, you need to see what poems are out there.  Almost any resources are fair game.  Use the Internet (I've put some resources below for you to search), general Web searches, books from the library, books from home.  Ask friends and family for suggestions.  You are restricted in your choices by the following:

• You must select TEN poems.
• No more than THREE poems can come from any single author, page, or book.
• All poetry should be published; no amateur poetry.
• NONE of the poems may be by you, your friends, or your family.
• All of the poems must be reasonably school appropriate.

Step Two:  Decision Making

    Now that you have some poems to look at, you need to make the final cuts and decide which 10 poems will go in your collection.  What poems would appeal to teens?  Can you come up with a couple of CATEGORIES of poems to use?  The strongest anthologies are the ones where the poems are not only individually interesting, but interconnected as well.

Step Three:    Formatting

    You'll need to retype in each poem into a word processing document.  Make sure to pay attention to font types and sizes.  Nothing is harder on the eyes than a number of different fonts and sizes-- be consistent or at least purposeful in your choices.  You may add clipart or images to individual poems if you'd like.  Adding some illustrations can lend a creative touch to your collection.  In the end your poems should:

• Be no more than one or two to a page
• Not be split between pages if you can avoid it
• Have a one paragraph INTRODUCTION for each one explaining why it would appeal to teens.
• Be formatted consistently (same font, style, size, etc.)

    Add a table of contents and an introduction to your collection.  The table of contents should reflect an organizational structure to your anthology.  Why THESE poems and why THIS order?  The introduction can be used to welcome your readers to your collection and to explain how you made your choices.  Most importantly, your introduction should reflect on and offer an answer about why poetry can have a valuable impact on a teen's life.  Remember, this is a "professional" work-- don't write it as if it is being written simply for class.

Step Five:    Packaging and Publishing

    Edit everything, add a colorful cover page and title, and print it all out!

Resources:

Eserver.org
(A smaller collection, but very classic poetry)

Representative Poetry Online
(Many classic poets and their works)

Poet's Corner
(A private user's site, but he's collected many famous poems)

Contemporary American Poetry Archive
(Lots of fresh, new American voices; newer poetry)

Bartleby's
(A collection of a few books of poems-- select an option from 'VERSE' to begin)

Poetry by Edgar Allen Poe
(Often a fan favorite; large archive of his works)

Shel Silverstein
(A small selection of Silverstein's works)

Academy of American Poets
(Takes some navigating but there's a LOT here)
 
 

Conclusion:

    Now that you have collected poetry that you feel would appeal to teens, share your choices with your classmates!  See what they have collected.  Remember, poetry is for anybody, any time, anywhere.  In this project, you have found poems that have appealed to one of the hardest audiences to please... teens.