by TeachThought Staff
It can be difficult to get most teens to show a natural interest in or appreciation for poetry.
You are reading: Young adult poetry books
And in fact, as soon as I wrote that, I realized that the same could be said for the majority of the population, unfortunately. however, poetry has so much potential for expression, from allowing the opportunity to be curious and playful with rhythm, meaning and metaphor to articulating complicated emotions and perspectives, making it the ideal medium for life full of anguish and of adventures of most young adults. the challenge is to make the introduction to the prose in a way that sticks.
The key to getting teens excited about poetry, or anything for that matter, is to make it about them. developmentally, this is a time in their lives when they are exploring who they are and their place in the world more consciously than ever before and gravitate toward what resonates with their own experiences and allows them to explore and express that in new and interesting. ways.
Incorporating music and lyrics into prose lessons is an excellent method of engaging students, as they are already familiar with and appreciate popular culture. Akala’s Ted Talk includes a game called “Hip-Hop or Shakespeare” that involves guessing whether a line was written by a rapper or Shakespeare, which is more challenging than you might think and a great way to engage teens.
So, in line with our “Happy Books to Read,” here are 25 of the best poetry books for teens.
25 of the best poetry books for teens
It’s also important to choose poetry that relates to where students are in life or what matters to them. the following is a list of poetry books appreciated by young adult audiences.
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1. The Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. eliot: eliot’s famous collection of nonsense verse about cats, the inspiration for andrew lloyd webber’s musical cats. This edition features pen and ink Edward Gorey jokes throughout.
2. Write Me As I Am by WritersCorp: Paint Me As I Am is a collection of poems written by teens who have participated in writing programs run by a national nonprofit organization called WritersCorps. to read the words of these young people is to listen to the diverse voices of adolescents everywhere.
3. Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits: A 15-year-old girl named Jessie expresses typical — and not-so-typical — teenage concerns in this unique and hilarious collection of poems. Her musings on trying new makeup and hairstyles, playing volleyball and cello, and dealing with her annoying little brother are never dull or predictable.
Who else do you know who designs their own clothes and writes poetry for their cat? Jessie is a girl with strong opinions and she is not shy about sharing them. Ella’s funny and sarcastic version of Ella’s high school life is revealed through concrete poetry: words, ideas, types, and designs that combine to create images and patterns.
4. how to eat a poem from american poetry & Literacy Project: Focusing on popular verse from the 19th century to the present, this anthology invites young readers to sample compelling poems that will nourish their minds and spirits.
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Selected as much for their popularity as their literary quality, seventy charming poems cover a wide range of subjects: poetry, books, words and imagination; the beauty of the natural world; travel, adventures, sports and games; love, friendship, sadness, hope and other emotions.
5. bilbo’s last song by j.r.r. Tolkien: Bilbo’s Last Song is considered by many to be Tolkien’s epilogue to his classic work The Lord of the Rings. As Bilbo Baggins embarks on his final journey to the Eternal Lands, he must say goodbye to Middle-earth. Poignant and lyrical, the song is both a longing to embark on his last journey and a tender farewell to friends left behind.
6. david elliott bull: just like lin-manuel miranda did in hamilton, new york times bestselling author david elliott turns a classic on its head in form and approach, updating the timeless tale of theseus and the minotaur for a new generation. bull, a gruff, rambunctious and darkly comic young adult who retells in verse, will have readers reassess one of mythology’s most infamous monsters.
7. Poetry Speaks of Who I Am by Elise Paschen and Dominique Raccah: Poetry Speaks of Who I Am is filled with over 100 remarkable poems about you, who you are, and who you are becoming. dive in-find the poem you love, the one that makes you mad, the one that makes you laugh, the one that takes your breath away, and become a part of the poetry speaks who i am by adding your own inside the book.
8. Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita Engle: In this poetic memoir, which won the Pura Belpré Author Award, was a YALSA Nonfiction Finalist, and was named a Walter Dean Myers Award recipient, acclaimed author Margarita Engle tells how he grew up as a child of two cultures during the cold war.
9. Nikki Grimes’ Bronx Masquerade: Using the structure of a poetry contest, Nikki Grimes’ award-winning novel is a powerful exploration of the self, an homage to spoken word poetry, and an intriguing look at the lives of eighteen urban teenagers.
10. seeing the blue between by paul janeczko: how do you write poetry? It is a question with as many answers as there are poets. now, in this unprecedented volume, thirty-two internationally renowned poets offer words of wisdom and inspiring examples of their own work for emerging poets around the world.
11. laughing out loud, flight by juan felipe herrera: from usa. poet laureate juan felipe herrera, here are poignant poems that read like music. Herrera, winner of the Pura Belpré Award for this book, writes in both Spanish and English about joy and laughter and, sometimes, the confusion of growing up in a topsy-turvy and upside-down world, between two cultures, two homes.
12. Tupac Shakur’s The Rose That Grew From Concrete: This deeply personal collection of poetry is a mirror of the legendary artist’s enigmatic world and his many contradictions. These seventy-two poems, written in his own handwriting since he was nineteen, encompass his spirit, his energy, and his last message of hope from him.
13. Cinnamon girl: letters found inside a cereal box by juan felipe herrera: from u.s. From Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera comes the story of a teenager’s emotional journey in the days after 9/11, and a personal look at the culture of Loisaida, Manhattan’s lower east side. This emotional and moving novel won the Americas Award and is written in a unique and captivating style.
14. Cuba’s Slave Poet: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle: Born in the house of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years with a woman who made him call her mama, despite that he had a mother of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but also expose his appalling cruelty.
15. I Just Hope It’s Lethal: Poems of Sadness, Madness, and Joy by Liz Rosenberg: The teenage years are a time filled with sadness, madness, joy, and all the mess in between. but between moments of despair and confusion often come moments of great clarity and insight, when you might think, like the poet rumi, “he who is calm and sensible is mad!”
It is moments like these that have inspired the poignant, honest, and passionate poems found in I Only Hope It’s Lethal: Poems of Sadness, Madness, and Joy. This collection includes poems by Charles Bukowski, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, T. yes eliot, edgar allen poe, w. b. yeats, dorothy parker, jane kenyon, and many more, including teen writers and emerging poets.
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16. It’s Time You Let Me In: 25 Poets Under 25 by Naomi Shihab Nye – This spirited collection of young contemporary writers is rooted in the strong and emotional details of family, friendship, childhood memories, school, dislocation, war and more; interestingly, there is hardly any talk of sex or romance. the single lines are passionate, ironic, irreverent and eloquent about the meaning found in the scenarios of daily life.
17. Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming: Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway there. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like growing up black in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the civil rights movement. Poignant and powerful, each poem is accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a girl’s soul as she searches for her place in the world.
18. bee: short prose & poems by naomi shihab nye: in eighty-two poems and paragraphs, naomi shihab nye alights on the essentials of our time—our loved ones, our thick air, our wars, our memories, our planet—and leaves us feeling curiously sweeter and deeply calm.
19. Things I’ve Been Feeling Lately by Alicia Cook: Structured like an old-school mix tape, Things I’ve Been Feeling Lately is Alicia Cook’s lyrical message to anyone who has dealt with addiction. the “side a” touches on all aspects of the human condition: life, death, love, trauma, and growth. “side b” contains haunting remixes of those poems.
20. Kathi Appelt’s Classroom Poems: Seasoned poet and teacher Kathi Appelt has written a wonderful collection of poems for young adult readers, accompanied by fascinating accounts of how and why the poems came to be, along with writing exercises to inspire learners. readers to create their own poems. poetry.
21. David Levithan’s Realm of Possibility: This collection of David Levithan’s linked poems will introduce you to a world of unforgettable and emotionally resonant voices. step into the realm of possibility and meet a guy whose girlfriend has a crush on holden caulfield; a girl who loves the boy who wears all black; a boy with the perfect body; and a girl who writes love songs for a girl he can’t have.
22. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse: Written in sparse first-person poems and free verse, this gripping tale is the compelling tale of Billie Jo’s struggle to survive during the depression years.
23. The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle: Opposing slavery in Cuba in the nineteenth century was dangerous. the most daring abolitionists were poets who veiled his work with metaphors. Of these, the most daring was Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, nicknamed Tula.
In her own passionate and accessible verse, Engle evokes the voice of this book-loving feminist and abolitionist who bravely resisted an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen and was finally brave enough to fight back. against injustice.
24. My True Name by Pat Mora: Intertwined with Mexican phrases and cultural symbols, these powerful selections, representing more than 15 years of work, address bicultural life and the meaning of family. Mora speaks a lot from an adult perspective, but her poems deal with universal experiences: the pleasures of eating pizza and mango, and the cultural significance of both; the harrowing experience of witnessing poverty. mixed in are personal poems that ask the vital question, “where am I from?” more directly.
25. The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices of Allan Wolf’s Titanic: Millionaire John Jacob Astor hopes to bring home his pregnant teenage girlfriend with a minimum of media fuss. A beautiful Lebanese refugee, on her way to her family in Florida, discovers her first inklings of love. and an ancient iceberg slides south, anticipating their fateful encounter.
The voices in this extraordinary recreation of the titanic disaster span classes and seasons, from Margaret (“Unsinkable Molly”) Brown to the captain who went down with his ship; from the watcher and cordless men to a boy in search of dragons and a gamer in search of marks. Slipping telegraphs, funeral home reports, and other records, poet Allan Wolf offers an intimate and impressive glimpse into the lives behind the tragedy, told with clear compassion and staggering emotional power.
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25 of the best poetry books for teens
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