The following books are great for teaching the craft of poetry and encouraging young writers to draw on their own experiences and lives when writing poems.
Behn, Robin and Chase Twichell. The Practice of Poetry.
Collom, Jack. and Sheryl Noethe. Poetry Everywhere.
Fox, John. Poetic Medicine.
Fox, John. Finding What You Didn’t Lose.
Holbrook, Sara. Walking the Boundaries of Change: Poems of Transition.
Housden, Roger. Ten Poems to Change Your Life.
Kearney, Meg. An Unkindness of Ravens.
Kowit, Steve. In the Palm of Your Hand.
Rosenberg, Liz and Deena November, ed. Just Hope It’s Lethal.
Tannenbaum, Judith. Jump Write In: Creative Writing Exercises for Diverse Communities, Grades 6-12.
Vecchione, Patrice, ed. Truth and Lies.
Vecchione, Patrice, ed. Revenge and Forgiveness.
Willis, Meredith Sue. Personal Fiction Writing.
Wooldridge, Susan. Goldsmith. Poemcrazy.
Poetry Written By Youth
The following are poetry collections which have been written by teen poets.
Franco, Betsy. You Hear Me? Poems and Writing By Teenage Boys.
Writerscorps. Paint Me Like I Am.
Writerscorps. City of One: Young Writers Speak to the World.
Writerscorps. What It Took For Me To Get Here.
Brave New Voices. CD Produced by HBO—This is a video which showcases the teen poets who competed in the Brave New Voices Poetry Slam.
There is also a Teaching Guide for Brave New Voices.
There is also a Teaching Guide for Brave New Voices.
