National Poetry Month: Introduction

April is National Poetry Month, and I was super excited to be working on a display for the store before COVID-19 happened. But…here we are. Since that display will no longer be happening, I’ve decided that I’m going to highlight some of *my* favorite poetry books here on the blog throughout the month. BUT there’s a catch. Many of my favorites are books for the younger set. See, I have my degree in Elementary Education, and there were two things I emphasized during my training and while I was in classrooms – using technology in the classrooms in new ways, and using poetry to help teach. And since I’m an equal opportunity reader (as in – I will read just about anything for just about any age group), many of these titles (though not all) will be for that Elementary Education age-range. And here’s why: I firmly believe that if we can get kids interested in poetry at a young age, before they’ve had a chance to absorb the “poetry sucks” mindset, it can open new doors to them. Being able to read and analyze poetry – even just to appreciate it – is *extremely* helpful for reading and analyzing OTHER works and texts as they get older.

So with that being said, I plan to share some of my favorite authors and books – and maybe even a little about what I did with them in my classroom. I hope you’ll tag along for the ride, because I promise you that even as adults – you will enjoy at least a few of these books. And, not all of them will be children’s poems or titles – there is at least one YA book I have firmly in mind, and of course, some classics deserve to be mentioned as well. Like I said – I’m an equal opportunity reader 😉

With that said, it seems fitting to start us off with a classic poem read aloud by a classic gentleman. A poem that will be instantly recognizable to so, so many people – many of whom will be able to name the author easily.

I present to you The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe, as read aloud by Christopher Lee.