NATIONAL POETRY MONTH (Cont.)

As a final tribute to National Poetry Month, why not try writing a poem. Although most books and websites seem to be aimed at children, adults can use the advice, too.

Poetry can be written in many different forms, usually defined by the number of lines, or the number of syllables in the lines, or the rhyme scheme (if any at all), etc. Examples can be found at Shadow Poetry. More "exotic forms can be found at Winning Writers. Some of the forms include Concrete Poetry, limericks (especially by Edward Lear, and haiku.

Some fun sites to help write your own poems include Instant Muse Poetry Generator (a random first line is generated to start you off)and Magnetic Poetry (you can sample some of their refrigerator magnet kits online). Another helpful site lists links to
online rhyming dictionaries. Practical advice can be found also at Poetry Magic, The English Room: 30 Days of Poetry, Poetry 4 Kids, and Writing Haiku. "Workshops" with poets like Karla Kuskin and Jack Prelutsky can be found on Scholatic's Writing with Writers project. Some sites with links to more poetry and poetry how-to's are The Electric Eclectic and Project 37: Poetry.

Song lyrics are often another popular form of "poetry". "Song Lyricist explains the differences. Help in writing lyrics can be found at Guitar Nine and How to Write a Song.

Some related books available at the Elk Grove Library:
Song Writing for Dummies by Jim Peterik, et al (782.4216 PET)
You Can Write Poetry by Jeff Mock (808.1 MOC)
The Modern Rhyming Dictionary: How to Write Lyrics... by Gene Lees (423.1 LEE
How to Read and Write Poems by Margaret Ryan (J 808.1 RYA
Poem Making: Ways to Begin Writing Poetry by Myra Cohn Livingston (J 808.1 LIV)
Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out by Ralph Fletcher (J 808.1 FLE)
Poetry from A to Z: A Guide for Young Writers selected by Paul B. Janeszko (J 808.1 POE)
Seeing the Blue Between: Advice and Inspiration for Young Poets compiled by Paul B. Janeszko (811.608 SEE and J 811.608 SEE)