How to use this Page

“Favorite Teachers Save Lives.” Last summer I took a course at T.C.’s Reading Institute with Kyleene Beers. She gave us a copy of her book Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise Into Practice. As I read parts of it, a section by Chris Crutcher resonated with me. Crutcher tells of a tough girl whose third [...]

I love poems written to pictures. If you're a regular reader, you know all about 15 Words or Less poems, and I've spent much of 2007 writing poetry collections for young kids, in which each poem has been written to a specific photo. 

I'm going to be writing a brief article about writing poetry in response to art. It will appear in Quercus, a free online magazine. Quercus' target audience is mainly librarians, media specialists, and teachers, though many writers subscribe, too--it's full of interesting stuff! Read a sample issue here, or sign up here.

So I'm going to write an article to help classroom teachers use art and images to add some zip to their poetry-teaching. I have a number of activities I'll be including, but I'm looking for a few more. Are you an author or illustrator who has a nifty idea for this? Or a teacher who has a successful activity to share? Or are you an educator who's used a mix of poetry with visual art and would like to share any anecdotes about how it went over? If I use your idea or story, I'll certainly credit you and can link to your website or blog, if you have one.

Elaine at Wild Rose Reader has a great post on this topic, which I've been saving. And Sara Holmes of Read Write Believe recently posted about a fascinating site with artists' interpretations of a boxer's pose. I know many more of you have terrific ideas or resources. If you're willing to share, please leave a comment or email me through my website (see sidebar). Thanks for your help!

P.S. The article will come out in Quercus in March, in advance of Poetry Month, and I hope to be able to then post it here in mid-April or so.