Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life

by Allan Wolf, Tuesday Mourning (Illustrations)

Poetry's hip, poetry's hot, and poetry's a blast with this cool, contemporary guide created in the same entertaining style as the popular In Print!


Kids instinctively love poetry--its rhythm, its rhymes, and its playful transformation of ordinary language. And these days, such cutting-edge, youthful forms as rap, hip-hop, and slams have made poetry more relevant than ever. With its fun facts, exciting writing activities, and words of encouragement from a respected professional, Immersed in Verse nurtures the nascent poet in every child. Best of all, these awe-inspiring ideas have nothing in common with blah school assignments. Instead, youngsters rearrange their favorite (or least favorite) poems; start their own poetry workshop; present “open mike night” in the basement; and record their friends reciting. Along the way, they'll open more than a few “poet's toolboxes.” They'll explore the wonderful world of words and learn about attitude, equipment, techniques (including “metaphors be with you”), different styles of verse, revising your writing, getting published, and performing. 
Allan Wolf has served as the educational director for the national touring company Poetry Alive! His books include The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems about Our Parts and New Found Land. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and three children.
A Selection of the Children's Book of the Month Club.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Writing, Childrens, Education

112 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2006

About the author

A versatile writer, Allan Wolf's picture books, poetry collections, young adult novels, and nonfiction celebrate his love of research, history, science, and poetry. He is a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, two-time winner of the North Carolina Young Adult Book Award, and recipient of New York’s Bank Street College Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry. Booklist placed Allan’s The Watch That Ends the Night, on its list of the 50 Best YA Books of All Time.

Wolf believes in the healing powers of poetry recitation and has committed to memory nearly a thousand poems.

His newest titles include: a historical novel, (Junius Leak and the Spiraling Vortex of Doom); a picture book (The Blanket Where Violet Sits); a poetry collection (The Gift of the Broken Teacup); and a graphic novel (The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur).

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A five star read for young or aspiring poets, a four star read for those of us who want to learn more about the creative process, whether young or aspiring poets, or readers wanting to understand the craft behind the poems and literature they're reading, or authors of *whatever* who want their writing to Bloom and Boom/ Explode with meaning and power.

I liked everything about the book. From the beginning, in which Wolf points out that the question is not, "Do you like poetry?" Rather, it's, "What kind of poetry do you like?" ... because everyone likes nursery rhymes, or Beatles' songs, or funny limericks, or Shel Silverstein.... To the end, with all the appendices, including a bibliography from which my to-read lists will 'Explode.'

I like the tone, sometimes wise-cracking, sometimes earnest, sometimes intimate. I like Tuesday Mourning's art and will look for more by her (?). I like the example poems.

I love the prompts. Even though I never write anything but reviews, these are so juicy I feel the need to try them out, just for the fun challenge. Here are just a few:

1 Write a poem "On Being (your age)..."
2 Write a poem from the POV of your ghost. Where or who would you haunt?
3 Focus on something really small: a drop of water falling from the faucet, a magnet on the refrigerator, the red light on your alarm clock that means it's P.M.
4. Choose a profession... make a long list verbs that are used in the job... use them to write a poem about something that has nothing to do with the job.... I might use my cooking words for a poem about walking in the woods.... This is a great way to get out of the cliche rut.

[R.K. Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not "perfect." I would have liked a little more info on the closed styles of poetry. And it did seem that most of the exercises were a little too focused on imagery poetry (which excludes a sizable portion of other poetry).

But it was also so-totally-freaking-awesome, that it more than made up for it's short-comings to whip up five stars from me.

It's fun, and exciting, and interesting, and engaging. If you know any teenagers who are interested in poetry, beginners or experienced (both will just love the read) this book is for them.

And I guess adults will love it too, but it is "technically" geared towards teenagers.

Very cool.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, light read. The author's main point is to get writer/poets to just write. Write. Write. Write. Improve, have fun, but just write. He made writing poetry accessible and fun. He doesn't turn poetry into this big epic thing; poetry is just as much about turnips and frogs as it is love and honor. There was lots of color, and a great balance of white space. I also really liked a lot the poems he chose for a his examples. I would love to have this in my classroom someday, both as a reference for me to teach poetry/poetry writing and for aspiring poets to pick up for inspiration.

[Madison Roark · Rating 5 out of 5]

• Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet’s Life written by Allan Wolf and Illustrated by Tuesday Mourning. The ISBN is 978-1-57990-628-3. Some poems in the book are A Poet’s Life, Hope, Secret Rooms, Rough, Poem, I’m Thor!, This Is Just To Say, and that is just to label to a few. This book is a collection of poems but also teaches the structure of a poem, about different types of poems, how to write you own poem, and etc. I would introduce this book in grades 2nd-5th when teaching poems and how to create them because it gives good examples of poems as well as structure tips. The activity would to pick a type of poem that they learned from the book that they want to create, and then share their poem with the class.

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A writing poetry book for children and teens that an adult can enjoy as well. Love Allan’s concept of the “bloom” that catches the poets eye, the “boom” of explosion of inspiration in the poets mind and the “secret room” of the poets heart that brings the special vision. Lots of great examples, all the basics (except not much on meters/syllables/accents) , prompts.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the enthusiasm Wolf brings, as well as his confidence that his reader will be as enthused about poetry as he is. The Bloom, boom, secret room idea is a great way to think about poetry. But I wasn't actually moved to start writing poetry, so I guess I am too old to catch the wave.

[Danielle Hammelef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book with lots of examples of different kinds of poetry and ideas on how to find poetic inspiration.

[M.A. Arana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason for the five stars is because this book is formatted in a fun and enjoyable way that makes the reading about what poetry is all about interesting. There are samples and activities that young adults and adults would find able to do.

[Christine L. Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I showed a couple of fellow writers my children's story in rhyme and they suggested I do some study in poetry. This is one of a number of books I picked up to give me a better idea of what poetry is all about.

This book is geared toward teen writers who are trying to find their writing voice or just trying to understand what poetry means. This makes the study very accessible. Not only does the book explain the myriad of styles there are in poetry, it also shows great examples of those styles.

One segment deals with the 9 Habits of a Successful Poet. This could also be written for all writers. It reminds the writer that we are all works in process just as our writing is. We need to live and write. Just like we have bad hair days; we also have bad writing days. It is just a passing problem. We still need to write daily.

My favorite poem in the book is called "Poetree" which is laid out on the page like a picture of a tree with the tops words spaced and colored in green like leaves and the remaining lines set up like a tree trunk and roots. This is an example of a "shape" poem.

The book covers gives a great overview of poetry. It also gives many writing prompts to get your thought process in gear and how to set up a writing critique group.

I am also reading the book, Yes! You can Learn How to Write Children's Books, Get Them Published and Build a Successful Writing Career. Though it is written for children's writers, it can apply to all writers. I am blogging my reaction and results. If you would like to read the results in action, here is where you can find it... http://TheWriteChris.blogspot.com

[Dreamergirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book impressed me a lot! :) Finally a book that has the same points of view as I do on writing and some of the exercises were presented as fun, rather than a chore which is how many people view writing... A great read for any young writer (mostly for poetry-junkies but could also do wonders for young adult story or novel writers). How it shows poetry is simply iresistable and I think could make even poetry-haters start writing long, deep poems, hanging on to every word. It introduces people who'd never even written poetry or have done it their whole lives, to look at it again from a different view + it contains great tips on 1)getting insparation, 2) avoiding writer's block, 3)finding your inner poet, 4)inroducing you to different types of poems: love poems, hate poems, poems with no punctuation, long poems, short poems, sad poems,... It gives you the same habit tips that I've learned such as, Write Every Day (pg.25, habit #8) and realize that poetry ain't always pretty (pg. 34, habit #6). Plus it also has many poems by proffesionals as examples throughout the book. This great, and very fun book takes you on a trip not only deep into poetry, but deep into your hopes, goels and dreams for the future :) I would recommend this beautifuly illustrated, "Immersed In Verse".

Interest level: Medium-high
Grade level: 5th-10th

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful, wonderful introduction to poetry, poetic styles, living a poetic life, and ways of writing and showing off one's poetry.
Allan Wolf is a freaking amazing poet (see "The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic" or "Zane's Trace" for proof of this statement) and he has a wonderful way of opening up the world of poetic observation to pretty much anyone, but particularly teenagers.
These types of books tend to date themselves after a few years, but the dated elements in this one are minimal (no one uses tape recorders, but we can figure out for ourselves how to record ourselves reading our poetry; this is not much of a stretch). Wolf's greatest contribution here is in the way he simplifies the idea of poetry while giving a really solid foundation of poetic styles, tools, and elements.
Great stuff! I'm planning on using a lot of what I learned here to put together my poetry project for my enrichment classes in the fall!

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about how us teenagers can write poetry. It is very well written, making sense, and making me laugh along the way. :) It covers a lot, with a beginning of 'Poetry and You'; and a second part where you take a little look at the anatomy of a poem; a third part with writing a poem, talking about details, point of view, tense, playing with structure, and revising the poems. The fourth part has some writing activities to get some ideas; and the last part has a title that is called 'Presenting Your Work'. Overall, it is very informative, and interesting. A good, inspiring read.

[Selah Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about how us teenagers can write poetry. It is very well written, making sense, and making me laugh along the way. :) It covers a lot, with a beginning of 'Poetry and You'; and a second part where you take a little look at the anatomy of a poem; a third part with writing a poem, talking about details, point of view, tense, playing with structure, and revising the poems. The fourth part has some writing activities to get some ideas; and the last part has a title that is called 'Presenting Your Work'. Overall, it is very informative, and interesting. A good, inspiring read.

[Janet Squires · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book works equally well as an introduction to poetry writing for the novice or as an inspiration for young poets grades 5-8. Wolf discusses the how and why of his own poetry as well as providing examples of work from Shakespeare to modern masters of verse. The book also includes a glossary, bibliography, and an index of the poets who are cited.

[Ams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing books for teens who love to write, especially poetry, but can be helpful in non-poetry writing.
Wolf has a great sense of humour and writes well about poetry, bringing the examples to life and giving great tips. Amazing pictures by Tuesday Mourning clinch the entire thing together.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolf provides an indispensible poetry handbook for intermediate and middle school. The book offers tips, techniques, explanations and much more for reading, writing, understanding, and enjoying poetry. It should be in every intermediate and middle school library collection!

[JoEllen Mccarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book recently and loved it. There are a variety of mini lesson ideas and suggested poems as mentor texts in each section that focus on various elements of poetry. My favorite part is the page with annotations and the "anatomy of a poem."

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tool for helping middle schoolers and teens grasp poetry writing.

[Robyn Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives informative tips to young writers. It is colorful with illustrations and encourages students to gain interest in the topic of poetry. This book contains tips and poems.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers cool illustrations and accessible tips on writing and reading poetry for teens and their teachers.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was extremely helpful (especially the writing prompts) in putting together material for a poetry workshop for pre-teens and teens.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with excellent advice and explanations. I would recommend it to adults as well.

[EJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I used this book for homeschooling and he loved it. So much better than learning poetry in school. He thinks poetry is something cool now!

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Would definitely appeal to tweens/teens.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed with tons of great ideas, this book is a must for teachers who want to turn their students on to poetry.

[W. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book to use for teaching poetry for upper elementary on up. The students love this book and literally immerse themselves in verse.

[Asenath]

A very basic guide to poetry, but it has some fun things in it.

[Elaine Bearden · Rating 5 out of 5]

activities, pointers, etc. for tweens and teens; want to get my own copy!

love this book. great "anatomy of a poem" on p. 41

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter checked this out at the library, and reccomended I read it. It is a good book for a budding poet.

[David A Townsend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly and cute.