Twelve Great Poems: Spring

SUMMARY
The author launches Twelve Great Poems, a new series of free poetry anthologies. The first volume celebrates Spring. The collection contains selected poems in the public domain. The value of an old chestnut is explored.


Spring into Poetry!

Today, I launch a new series: Twelve Great Poems. The first collection is a celebration of  Spring. 

You can find all the poems in the Pages section of this blog. Or if you would like a free mini book in .pdf format for use in  the classroom, you can download it at lcommons.org. Join the lcommons community and look for the resource under the group "Integrating the Learning Commons." The mini book also lists great poetry websites on the back.

Overview

So what is Twelve Great Poems?

I envision TGP as  a series of short thematic anthologies organized for enjoyment, from public domain sources. This means that the poems in each volume are free, classic, and old! For all that, I have chosen twelve poems in each collection that either I have personally used in the classroom or ones that I think will work through oral reading, gentle study, and comparison with each other.

Students and teachers may need a bit of convincing that these older poems are approachable. So the following words (here in blue) are found in the introduction to each collection.

Some people call such works “old chestnuts, “ This metaphor could mean several “poetic” things:

• they fell from the tree quite a while ago
• they are hard to crack, that is, understand
• they are often left on the ground in favour of newer fruit

Ah, but a chestnut is best after it has fallen! Just put a string through its centre and you can play with it for hours. Perhaps some folks have to work at the language and form a bit but others have found lasting pleasure in reading these old chestnuts.

The times in which these poems were written are different than ours. Some ideas, images, rhythms, and rhymes might strike you as old-fashioned. However, be patient with them. Discuss them among friends — with a light touch. Memorize a line or two. Above all, read them out loud with honest thought and feeling. By doing so, you will find why these poems have brought pleasure and insight over the years.

These poems should be cherished, not because they are free, classic, and old but because they are good poems.  Perhaps in your hands they can seed new poetry and poetic appreciation.

Note: Please write a comment and let me know if this series will prove useful to you.