Poems can inspire and make us think about what it means to be a member of the human race. By just spending a few minutes reading a poem each day, new worlds can be revealed.
--Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate
Poetry is an important aspect of your life, whether you realize it or not. The lyrics to the music you listen to, the noises of children at play, the sounds of nature…they are all poetry waiting to be discovered. In this assignment, you will be reflecting on your FAVORITE poems. Whether they are by Shel Silverstein, Tupac Shakur, or an anonymous author from the internet, this collection of poems will personally mean something to each of you.
REQUIREMENTS FOR POETRY ANTHOLOGY
- All anthologies must be in book form—either in a three ring binder or pasted into an empty journal
- All anthologies must have a title—Poetry Anthology or My Poems or My Anthology are NOT ACCEPTABLE titles! BE CREATIVE! The title should be a reflection of your collection, not just something arbitrary slapped on at the last minute. Put some thought into it and be able to defend it as a title.
- Table of contents—listing titles of poems, poets and page numbers. Be sure to include your essays in the table of contents
- Introduction—a one page essay (minimum), which may be written in first person, explaining what poetry (in general) means to you (what you like and dislike about poetry), explaining the title of your book, and why you have chosen the poems that are in the anthology. You might also want to think about how to order the poems in the anthology and discuss the ordering of the poems in your introduction (ie love poems together, friendship poems together, etc.) MUST BE TYPED AND DOUBLE SPACED.
- 10 poems by 10 different great American Poets. These poets should either be anthologized in your literature book or have held the position of US Poet Laureate (see list provided).
- 10 poems by any poet…could be Shel Silverstein, could be your best friend. However, they must be 10 poems by 10 DIFFERENT poets.
- 5 poems composed by you…over the past year and during next week, I will be asking you to try to write different styles of poetry in class. You may use these poems or any other poems you have written in the past to fulfill this requirement.
- Creativity—it is not enough to just print out the poems and stuff them into a folder. Take some time, make this a book you are proud of—you will be graded on your creativity.
- You must choose one poem from your anthology to share with the class. Your oral interpretation of your poem needs to be memorized, and be prepared to explain why you chose it as your very favorite poem. There is no length requirement for this.
- Song lyrics are NOT poems for the purposes of this assignment. You may include them, but they will not count toward the 25 required poems.
American Poets
From this list of poets, choose 10 of your favorite poems to complete #5.
Poets Anthologized in your literature book
Anne Bradstreet
Edward Taylor
Phillis Wheatley
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Robert Frost
Edgar Lee Masters
T.S. Eliot
Randall Jarrell
Walt Whitman
Claude McKay
Arna Bontemps
Countee Cullen
Robert Hayden
Elizabeth Bishop
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
William Cullen Bryant
Billy Collins
Emily Dickinson
Ezra Pound
William Carlos Williams
H.D.
e.e. cummings
Wallace Stevens
Archibald MacLeish
Marianne Moore
Carl Sandburg
Langston Hughes
Lucille Clifton
Colleen McElroy
Sylvia Plath
Anne Sexton
Theodore Roethke
Gwendolyn Brooks
Denise Levertov
Yusef Komunyakaa
Naomi Shihab Nye
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Edgar Allan Poe
Edward Arlington Robinson
W.H. Auden
William Stafford
Li-Young Lee
Martin Espada
Stanley Kunitz
US Poet Laureates
Joseph AuslanderWilliam J. SmithBilly Collins
Allen TateWilliam StaffordTed Kooser
Robert Penn WarrenJosephine JacobsonLouise Gluck
Louise BoganDaniel HoffmanDonald Hall
Karl ShapiroStanley KunitzStephen Spender
Robert LowellRobert Hayden James Dickey
Leonie AdamsWilliam MeredithRobert Pinsky
Elizabeth BishopMaxine KuminRobert Haas
Conrad AikenAnthony Hecht
William Carlos WilliamsRobert Fitzgerald
Randall JarrellGwendolyn Brooks
Robert FrostRichard Wilbur
Richard EberhartMark Strand
Louis UntermeyerJoseph Brodsky
Howard NemerovMona Van Duyn
Reed WhittemoreRita Dove
Poetry Anthology Grading Rubric
Name:______grade______/70
PLEASE INCLUDE THIS PAGE RIGHT AFTER THE TITLE PAGE OF YOUR ANTHOLOGY.
Keep in mind that you will not receive any credit for an item listed below if you do not follow the directions for that item. If you have questions about the requirements, ask before the last minute.
____/3title page
____/7table of contents—lists poem title, poet, and page number it can be found on
____/20introduction to anthology (essay on what poetry means to you)—typed, double spaced, minimum of three paragraphs.
____/10 includes 10 poems by 10 different American Poets (either from your literature book or from the list of US Poet Laureates; each poem should be followed by the name of the website (and web address) where you found the poem or the title of the book in which you found the poem.
____/10 includes 10 poems by 10 different poets; each poem should be followed by the name of the website (and web address) where you found the poem or the title of the book in which you found the poem.
____/10includes 5 poems by you
____/10 creativity
You will get your graded Poetry Anthology back at the end of your exam.