The Hatred of Poetry


Book Description

"The novelist and poet Ben Lerner argues that our hatred of poetry is ultimately a sign of its nagging relevance"--







A Poetry Collection by someone who hates poetry collections


Book Description

It is a contemporary poetry collection with little respect to classical forms - but not as chaotic as some other modern poetry. The topics range from hopes and dreams over coffee and chickens to other people's expectations. There are also some poems that are heavily influenced by New Zealand and Maori.




The Hatred of Poetry


Book Description

No art has been denounced as often as poetry. It's even bemoaned by poets: "I, too, dislike it," wrote Marianne Moore. "Many more people agree they hate poetry," Ben Lerner writes, "than can agree what poetry is. I, too, dislike it and have largely organized my life around it and do not experience that as a contradiction because poetry and the hatred of poetry are inextricable in ways it is my purpose to explore." In this inventive and lucid essay, Lerner takes the hatred of poetry as the starting point of his defense of the art. He examines poetry's greatest haters (beginning with Plato's famous claim that an ideal city had no place for poets, who would only corrupt and mislead the young) and both its greatest and worst practitioners, providing inspired close readings of Keats, Dickinson, McGonagall, Whitman, and others. Throughout, he attempts to explain the noble failure at the heart of every truly great and truly horrible poem: the impulse to launch the experience of an individual into a timeless communal existence. In The Hatred of Poetry, Lerner has crafted an entertaining, personal, and entirely original examination of a vocation no less essential for being impossible.




I Don't Like Poetry


Book Description

Shortlisted for the Laugh Out Loud Awards - the UK's only prize for funny children's books A brilliant collection of poems by an exciting young poet, this book is perfect, whether you like poetry or not! 'When you read this book, the windows will burp and the grass will turn blue. That's how magic these poems are.' Michael Rosen Packed full of silly, funny, or downright hilarious poems (with a few serious ones mixed in) this brilliant collection from exciting young poet, Joshua Seigal is perfect for fans of Michael Rosen and anyone else who needs a giggle. If you like poetry, you'll like this book. And if you don't like poetry you'll LOVE it! With poems on every topic from the power of books to the joys of fried chicken, this collection is a fabulous mix of Joshua Seigal's subversive humour and insight into the world of children. With hilarious doodle style illustrations by Chris Piascik, if you don't like poetry after reading this, there's probably something wrong with you! Book band: Grey - Ideal for Age 8 - 9




Love That Dog


Book Description

The Newbery Medal-winning author of Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech, brings readers a story with enormous heart. Love That Dog shows how one boy named Jack finds his voice with the help of a teacher, a pencil, some yellow paper, and of course, a dog. Written as a series of free-verse poems from Jack's point of view, this novel is perfect for kids and teachers, too. Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments—and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns that he does have something to say. "I guess it does look like a poem when you see it typed up like that."




The Worst Poetry Book Ever


Book Description

This book will leave you in silence. Whether it be from tears of laughter or from a single recurring thought: "WTF did I just read?", The Worst Poetry Book Ever, is quite literally the worst poetry book ever. I hope you like it! Or hate it!




The Discovery of Poetry


Book Description

Beginning with basic terminology and techniques, Mayes shows how focusing on one aspect of a poem can help you to better understand, appreciate, and enjoy the reading and writing experience.




Hate That Cat


Book Description

Return to Miss Stretchberry's class with Jack, the reluctant poet, who over the course of a year encounters new and challenging things like metaphors, alliterations, onomatopoeia, and one mean fat black cat! The Newbery Medal-winning author of Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech, introduced Jack in Love That Dog, a New York Times bestseller. Both Love That Dog and Hate That Cat are approachable, funny, warm-hearted introductions to poetry told from the point of view of a very real kid wrestling with school assignments. These books are fast reads that will be welcomed by middle graders as they too wonder how poetry and schoolwork connect with their interests and how to uncover their true voices. In Hate That Cat, Jack is only trying to save that fat black cat stuck in the tree by his bus stop—but the cat scratches him instead! At school Miss Stretchberry begins teaching new poems, everything from William Carlos Williams to Valerie Worth to T.S. Eliot. As the year progresses, Jack gradually learns to love that cat and finds new ways to express himself.




I'm Just No Good at Rhyming


Book Description

The instant New York Times bestseller featured on NPR's Weekend Edition with Scott Simon! B. J. Novak (bestselling author of The Book With No Pictures) described this groundbreaking poetry collection as "Smart and sweet, wild and wicked, brilliantly funny--it's everything a book for kids should be." Lauded by critics as a worthy heir to such greats as Silverstein, Seuss, Nash and Lear, Harris's hilarious debut molds wit and wordplay, nonsense and oxymoron, and visual and verbal sleight-of-hand in masterful ways that make you look at the world in a whole new wonderfully upside-down way. With enthusiastic endorsements from bestselling luminaries such as Lemony Snicket, Judith Viorst, Andrea Beaty, and many others, this entirely unique collection offers a surprise around every corner. Adding to the fun: Lane Smith, bestselling creator of beloved hits like It's a Book and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, has spectacularly illustrated this extraordinary collection with nearly one hundred pieces of appropriately absurd art. It's a mischievous match made in heaven! "Ridiculous, nonsensical, peculiar, outrageous, possibly deranged--and utterly, totally, absolutely delicious. Read it! Immediately!" --Judith Viorst, bestselling author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day