Annotated Bibliography
Alexander-Smith, AnJeanette C. "Feeling the Rhythm of the Critically Conscious mind."The English Journal of the National Council of Teachers of English. 93(2004): 58-63. A good article that brings the Black perspective of combining poetry andrhythm for scholarship and research. It is very interesting, easy to read andunderstand.
Anderson, III, T. J. "Body and Soul." African American Review 34 (2000): 329- 347.This article discusses the African-American in performance in poetry, jazz, anddance. It covers a historical perspective which brings the reader into today'svenue of expressive arts in the Black community. The author is a professor ofAfrican-American literature and creative writing. A great article for teachers.
Baraka, Amiri. "The Amiri Baraka Issue." African American Review 37 (2003): 191-210.The article is an interview that Amiri Baraka had during that year. It is filled withtidbits of information concerning his reasons for writing specific poems. Itincludes little about his writing background.
Brennan, Sherry. "On the Sound of Water: Amiri Baraka's Black Art." African AmericanReview 37 (2003): 299-311. An article discussing sound elements in the poetrywritten by Amiri Baraka.
Feinstein, Sascha. "From `Alabama' to A Love Supreme: The evolution of the JohnColtrane poem." Southern Review 32 (1996): 315- 328. The article gives detailedinformation about the poetry found in Coltrane's jazz. It discusses how hisrhythms, lyrics, and sounds of the poetry and music were a reflection of thepolitical temperament of the time.
Frost, Robert, and Mark Richardson. ed. The Collected Prose of Robert Frost.Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007. For this title wewill only use one portion of its content, the beginning of chapter 30. It contains agreat deal of simply stated information that students can transfer into their ownlearning.
Fussell, Paul. Poetic Meter and Poetic Form. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1965. Oneof the best basic handbooks of prosody. The chapter on free-verse nicelyenumerates the ways in which, as Eliot said, free verse is not really free.
Hartman, Charles O. Introduction to Jazz Text: Voice and Improvisation in Poetry, Jazzand Song. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1991. The short introduction to Hartman'svolume on poetry and jazz speaks suggestively about the ways in which poetryworks for the ear. Later chapters go into the issue in more depth, but perhaps lessusefully for the classroom.
Hammer, Langdon. "Frank Bidart and the Tone of Contemporary Poetry." SouthwestReview 87 (2002): 7-21. This article gives teachers a base to discuss tone andgives a plethora of examples to choose for citing.
Hass, Robert. "Listening and Making." Twentieth Century Pleasures. New York: Ecco,1984. Hass's sensitive, if initially off-color, remarks on the power of rhythm are agreat teaching aid. Focuses the eye (or ear?) on the rhythmic and metrical aspectsof poetry as inseparable from the poem's "argument," in true Emersonian fashion.Ideal for creative writing courses.
Hollander, John. Rhyme's Reason. New Haven: Yale UP, 1981. A solid guide to prosodythat is also full of useful advice, often written in verse: "A rhyme is stronger whenthe final words / Seem less alike than pairs of mated birds."
Hughes, Langston. "Jazz as Communication" and "The Roots of Jazz," in The CollectedWorks of Langston Hughes, Vol. 9. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2002.Hughes's rollicking short discussions of the sound and feel of jazz. He asserts that"jazz seeps into words—spelled out words"; his poetry, of course, is the evidence..
Jackson, Jonathan David. Improvisation in African-American Vernacular Dancing.Dance Research Journal 33. (2001): 40 -53. This article talks about theexpressive arts in the Black community and how societal implications play a partin what is seen and heard. It briefly touches on the subject of spoken word.
Jones, Meta DuEwa. "Listening to What the Ear Demands: Langston Hughes and HisCritics." Callaloo 25. (2002): 1145-1175. This is a good article that covers a lotof ground in regards to Langston Hughes. The author even talks about manyHughes' works that weren't highly publicized.
Longenbach, James. "The Spokenness of Poetry," in The Resistance to Poetry. Chicago:UCP, 2004. This thoughtful essay asks "What do we want when we want a poemto have a voice?" as it examines poems by Louise Glück and Frank Bidart.Excellent for students.
Moore, John Noell. "Practicing Poetry: Teaching to Learn and Learning to Teach." TheEnglish Journal of the National Council of Teachers of English 91. (January2002): 44- 50. This was a fantastic article that details several ways to instruct yourclassroom in the art of creating and performing poetry. This article ends with apoetic cartoon, enjoy.
PA Department of Education's Academic Standards.http://www.pde.state.pa.us/stateboard_ed/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=76716&statebord_edNav=|5467|&pde_internetNav=|. Information included on this site contains aquick link to the academic standards for each subject discipline.
Peters, Erskine. "The Poetics of the Afro-American Spiritual." Black American LiteratureForum 23 (1989): 559 -578. An article that compares and contrast the practice ofthe Black preacher's sermon and poetry - its basis contains scriptural referencesthroughout the reading. A good article to read.
Pinsky, Robert. The Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide. New York: FSG, 1998. This bookattempts "to help the reader hear more of what is going on in poems" andsucceeds admirably. Chapters on accent, line, meter and speech with closeattention to individual poems.
Sands, Rosita M. "Educational Implications of Interarts Inquiry as a Tool for theAnalysis of the Black Expressive Arts." Lenox Avenue: A Journal of InterartsInquiry 5. (1999): 95-112. This is another good reference article for teachers whowant their students' work to hit the stage or on a microphone.
School District of Philadelphia. Book One. Secondary Education Movement: CoreCurriculum - Literacy. Philadelphia: School Reform Commission, 2003. Aresource book used to assist teachers in formulating lesson plans for Englishclasses in high schools. This gives a vast number of lesson ideas and teachingstrategies.
Smithsonian Global Sound. http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/index.aspx.Washington: Smithsonian Institute Museum; 2009. Accessed May 2009. Thiswebsite will open the eyes and minds of you and your students. You will need amembership to obtain more than just samples for free but the samples are worththe connection through the link. Students can also use this site to develop poetrythat uses dialect form across the globe.
Somers-Willett, Susan B. A. "Slam Poetry and the Cultural Politics of PerformingIdentity." The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 38. (2005):51-73. A good reference article of teachers who want to study spoken word in theclassroom or on the stage as an afterschool activity. I liked this article a lot.
Wallenstein, Barry. "JazzPoetry/Jazz-Poetry/"JazzPoetry"???" African American Review27, (1993): 665-671. A research article that is fun and witty. A must read forteachers who teach poetry, specifically spoken word.
Weiss, Jen. Brave New Voices: The Youth Speaks Guide to Teaching Spoken-wordPoetry. An easy to read text, which contains strategies for teachers of poetrywishing to include spoken word into their classroom settings and their lessons.
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