April is National Poetry Month, and unlike short stories, poetry is one form of literature that I, at least, have never had trouble getting teens interested in. Every April (except this one–my library is doing some construction) I try to hold at least one poetry event–an open mic, or a poetry slam–and they tend to [...]
Teen behavior in libraries includes a lot of browsing. I have two different display spaces in my small high school library. Fortunately, one of them is right in front of my desk, so I often get the chance to watch students check out the latest books (surreptitiously, lest I scare them away!). Some will just [...]
Today we feature new books by two authors well-known among teen readers. With Francesca Lia Block’s return to adult fiction we have, as Jamie says in her review, a perfect example of the New Adult category. In an Interview Magazine piece, Block was asked about the themes in this book, “In The Elementals, I explore the [...]
This poetry collection has been a labor of love for its editor, Jeffrey Coleman. In an interview on the Tavis Smiley show in April, Coleman talked about searching for poems related to the Civil Rights movement for a paper he was assigned in graduate school. The project continued from there. The full contents are available [...]
Love, an Index is Rebecca Lindenberg’s first book, and the debut volume in the recently announced McSweeney’s Poetry Series. This series of poems traces her relationship with poet Craig Arnold. Lindenberg began the book while he was still alive, in fact started working on it three years before his disappearance. But after losing him, it [...]
Today’s guest blogger is Karlan Sick. Karlan and I served together on the Alex Awards committee for four years, and Karlan was always determined to find a book of poetry for the list. She introduced me to Poets House. At least once a summer, we would meet there and spend hours reading through potential collections, [...]
Please enjoy the last of our National Poetry Month reviews, a couple days late. BISHOP, Elizabeth. Poems. 352p. Farrar. 2011. pap. $16. ISBN 978-0-374-53236-9. LC 2010038535. Adult/High School–Bishop (1911-1979) received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the National Book Award for Poetry in 1970 for her Complete [...]
Here we are , over halfway through National Poetry Month. I look forward to posting poetry reviews here regularly in the future, once or twice a month. We’ve enjoyed a good run of once a week during the month of April, with one week to go! Enjoy this playful, fun collection, quite accessible for younger [...]
This is a Words without Borders publication. Words without Borders “translates, publishes, and promotes contemporary international literature.” Every month they publish an online magazine. They also partner with publishers to release print anthologies, of which this is one. Tablet & Pen is quite a thick & heavy tome, and may appear intimidating to teen readers. But [...]
Happy National Poetry Month! I am excited to kick it off with a review of Kevin Young’s Ardency, a fascinating way to discover, explore, and contemplate the Amistad incident. Imagine what a high school student might take away from this literary treatment compared to reading a page or two in a history book. Here, layers [...]
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