Supplemental Reading List
Brooks, Cleanth and Robert Penn Warren. Understanding Poetry. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1961.
This book offers an in-depth guide to reading and understanding poems, including many examples and exercises.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn Brooks Reading Her Poetry CD. Caedmon, 2006.
This CD is scheduled for release in January, 2006, and can be pre-ordered through Amazon.com. If your students enjoyed the Brooks poem in this unit, they may be even more inspired by hearing her read her poems.
Perrine, Laurence. Structure, Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry, Third Edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1969.
This book gives a thorough explanation of the elements of poetry, divided clearly into chapters by topic, and includes numerous examples and exercises.
Pinsky, Robert. The Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998.
Pinsky examines the subtleties of poetic sound, using interesting, clearly explained examples. Not set up to be a reference volume, this is a short book that you can sit down and read at least a chapter at a time.
Rukeyser, Muriel. The Life of Poetry. Paris Press, 1996.
Rukeyser presents a convincing argument for why we need poetry, and why poets need to be active voices within the larger world. This is a book about her poetic beliefs, not a book of poems.
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