A Poetry Pedagogy for Teachers: Reorienting Classroom Literacy Practices

Description

A Poetry Pedagogy for Teachers generates imaginative encounters with poetry and invites educators to practice a range of poetry exercises in order to inform instructional approaches to reading and writing. Guided by pedagogical principles prompted by their readings of Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," Maya Pindyck and Ruth Vinz provide critical discussion of prominent literacy practices in secondary classrooms and offer alternative approaches to encountering a text. They do this by way of experimental readings of Wallace Stevens' poem toward a set of thirteen pedagogical principles that anchor a pedagogy of poetic practices. The book also offers invitational exercises, the authors' own engagements with poetry practices, as well as student examples, visual modes of theorizing, and a gathering of relevant resources compiled by two classroom teachers. This is a book for secondary English teachers, teaching artists, English educators, college writing professors, readers and writers of poetry - both existing and aspirational - and any educator interested in poetry's capacities to pedagogically inform their subject matter and/or literacy practices.

Maya Pindyck is Assistant Professor and Director of Writing at Moore College of Art and Design, USA. Ruth Vinz is Morse Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. Diana Liu and Ashlynn Wittchow are doctoral students at Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. They contributed to the book's Resources section.

This book is the antidote to reading a textbook about how to teach poetry. You will come away from reading this book feeling refreshed, energized and ready to re-introduce poetry to not only your students, but to everyone in your life. * Ruth Aman, Lecturer of Initial teacher Education in Secondary English, Brunel University, UK * A Poetry Pedagogy for Teachers is a well-written and inspiring book. It provides creative ideas for empowering students to critically read as well as creatively wander in, write into and make meaning in the world of poetry. The book advances the field of Literature pedagogy and would be an invaluable resource for all Language Arts and Literature teachers. * Suzanne S. Choo, Associate Professor, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore * A Poetry Pedagogy for Teachers is part master class, part treasure trove. It does more than describe a set of practices; it immerses the reader in fresh ways of encountering, inhabiting, and attending to poems, while simultaneously offering ready-to-share mentor texts and prompts for writing. This is a beautiful, necessary book. * Matthew Burgess, Professor, English Department, Brooklyn College, USA * It's great to have a book about teaching poetry that goes beyond exercises and tricks. Poems are great ways of beginning conversations and they are can be used in teaching situations to enable a wide range of artistic interpretation. This book will open doors for many teachers. * Michael Rosen, Professor of Children's Literature, Goldsmiths University of London, UK *