Annotated Student Resources
Alexander, Elizabeth. The Poetry Foundation. Chicago: www.poetryfoundation.org.2009. This site can be used to listen to a plethora of recorded and printed poems,poets, and interviews with poets. The featured interview highlights ProfessorAlexander's discussion about Obama prior to her Inaugural poetic reading forPresident Obama. Accessed July 14, 2009.
Amiri Baraka. Dir. and prod. Lewis MacAdams and John Dorr. Videocassette. Lannan
Foundation, 1991. Amiri Baraka, poet, playwright, novelist, and essayist, readsfrom Boptrees and unpublished work to a college coffeehouse style audience. Heis interviewed by Lewis MacAdams. This is an excellent video chronicle forshowing students poetic delivery.
Art Sanctuary. "Do the Knowledge: A Standards-Based Hip-Hop Learning Guide."www.artsanctuary.org. Philadelphia: 2006. Accessed March 2009. This is a greattool for both teachers and students to use in the class. Additionally, teachers canarrange for author/poet visits to the classroom and schedule trips to libraries inconjunction with the organization functions.
Borders Open Door Poetry. www.bordersmedia.com/odp/. Accessed. January 2009. Ihave had this link saved on my browser for two years. It is a wonderful resourcefor students. They can watch and listen to poets read, perform and embody theirwritten work. Student may even be inclined to participate in the poetry contestentries.
Burt, Stephen. "Original Gangsta." www.poetryfoundation.org. Chicago: 2009. AccessedMay 15, 2009. An amusing essay connecting the catastrophic put-downs ofAlexander Pope with the rivalries and insults of contemporary hip-hop.Students will enjoy the correlation of the creative times.
Dictionary.com LLC. www.dictionary.com. 2009. Accessed 6/20/2009. The bestreference dictionary online yet. It is easily accessible and offers a variety ofdefinitions for almost every word I ever searched. It is a multi-source dictionarysearch service and it's free.
Furious Flower I: Conversations with African American Poets. Ex. Prod. Joanne Gabbin.Prod. Judith McCray. California Newsreel, VHS; 1998. A four-part video serieshighlighting poetry performances and interviews. This is a wonderful collectionconsider purchasing the items for lifetime use. This series is now available forpurchase in DVD format, titled Furious Flower II. This is a must own item forteachers of African-American literature.
Holt, Rinehart and Winston. African American Literature. Austin: Harcourt Brace & Co.,1998. This is a textbook anthology of African-American writings from Africa tothe present. It offers a rich array of works for student use.
Hoye, Jacob and Karolyn Ali. ed. Tupac: Resurrection 1971-1996. New York: Atria,2003. A book complied by his mother Afeni Shakur, the writing of Tupac arebrought to life. Some pages are penned in his own handwriting. Lots of hispoems,rhymes, photos and other creative writings are found in this wonderful book. Ilove this book, students will too.
Kelly Writers House, The. www.wrtiting.upenn.edu/wh/highlights/audiences.php. 2009.Philadelphia: Accessed July 2009. This site offers itself as a great resource forpodcasts of poetry readings by poets. Also, teacher can arrange for trips toparticipate in poetry readings and open mic venues on the campus of Universityof Pennsylvania. This will add to students knowing they have access to such aplace.
Lancashire, Ian. ed. Representative Poetry Online. http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/display,The Web Development Group. University of Toronto Libraries: 2009. AccessedJuly 13, 2009. Lots of poetry found on this site as well as biographicalinformation and lives of verse analysis. It is a great site for both students andteachers.
Makwana, Dinesh R. Poetic -The Dream Words of the Heart.http://www.freewebs.com/dreamwords; 2005. Accessed 7/14/09. A wonderful siteof poetry from a Caribbean Islander living in Britain who writes from the sceneryof Bermuda.
Ogg, Alex. Rap lyrics: from the Sugarhill Gang to Eminem. London: Exclusive
Distributors, Music Sales Limited, 2002. This text shows complete lyrics of anumber of rap artist and their biographies.
Rock The Pen. Painted Bride Art Center. www.paintedbride.org: Philadelphia: 2009. Aninteractive poetry workshop for middle and high school students. Facilitated andhosted by 2002 Pew Fellowship poet Trapeta Mayson, This venue is designed toprovide a forum for students to explore and expound upon issues they face in theirdaily lives using poetry.
YouTube. http://www.youtube.com. Accessed March 2009. A worldwide site that allowsonline visitors to upload, download, and/or view a plethora of videos in severalformats. It is a wonderful site. However, the School District of Philadelphia hasthe site blocked from use in the classroom. Teachers can refer to their computertech in their buildings to get methods to circumvent the block.
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