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The Pain Tree
This is a book of original poetry by and for teens. Dramatic, plaintive, despairing, and hopeful, this unusual collection has been gathered together by artists Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd and dramatically illustrated with stunning paintings. The illustrators searched Web sites and sought the help of the editors of REACT and SEVENTEEN magazines to find poems by teenagers. When they had selected twenty-five poems, Mark illustrated the boys' poems, while Esther illustrated those written by girls.
- GenresPoetryYoung Adult
64 pages, Hardcover
First published March 27, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 14, 2016
The stuff we all wrote secretly in our journals back in our teen days. Angstful emotions as important as the happy ones when you're a teen. When you're on the crux of adulthood and shaking your head at its weirdness and your teen stuckness. Great accompanying artwork. A 2000 book that looks as fresh as something published in 2016.
April 30, 2015
Recently, I have just completed reading the book, “The Pain Tree: and Other Teenage Angst-Ridden Poetry”, which is collected and illustrated by Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd. This book is basically a book of poems that have been written by teens. Judging by the title, one could assume that this book would be about the pain that teenagers go through and the whole idea of the title being “The Pain Tree” is really cool in my opinion because it’s like all of these different poems that have been written can be symbolic as branches that were all put together onto one tree that is ultimately composed of pain. All of the poetry in this book somehow ties back to one another because each teenager is going through something different that affects them in different ways, and when all of their personal experiences are put together into this one book, it creates one feeling. Pain is not necessarily a bad thing, which is what most people think when they hear the word pain. Pain can also be seen in a positive light because pain makes you feel. When reading this, I was able to feel because some of the poems really got to me. As an example, the one actually titled “The Pain Tree” by sixteen year old Mark Todd himself, starts off with so much emotion that it almost makes the reader feel bad. He talks about feeling the pain and about how much it hurts, yet when you reach the ending of the poem he elaborates on the point that if you are not feeling the pain, you’re actually missing out because that means you aren’t feeling anything at all. According to Todd, the pain is wonderful. When reading the last part, I can understand where Todd is coming from because it’s better to feel pain than to feel nothing at all. This way, you can make sure that you’re still here, still human, still capable of making changes and taking control of your life. If you can feel pain, it means eventually, you’ll be able to feel something else besides pain, like happiness, and that thought is what makes the pain bearable. I would recommend this book to anyone, but I would specifically recommend it to teenagers because this book is composed of poems written by them.
May 1, 2009
Our school librarian had put this on display on top of the shelves in the library in honor of National Poetry Month. I was immediately attracted to it and could tell that this would have some relevant poems to share with my 8th grade students.
UPDATE
After having read them, I feel so LUCKY to have found them! There are some EXCELLENT poems in here! I particularly recommend "The Ice Cream Vendors" (about the cycle of poverty), "Maggot Memories" (about someone who is not successful in our society and feels it won't get much better), "Waste of Time" (about a relationship going nowhere as one partner is cold & distant), "Zombies" (about so-called "friends" seemingly out for your "blood"), "The Hand" (self-centeredness, pride), and by far the best poem (my new favorite poem of all time), "Following Directions"; a 14-year-old captured the essence of what is wrong with public schools and their adoption of standardization and how its cost has been creative thought and originality.
It's appeal to students? SCORE! In one of my classes, a few students were finished early with their poetry analysis work, so I told them that they can choose a poetry book from which to read for the remainder of the class period. I handed this book to one of my male students who definitely thought poetry was uncool, and he sighed when I placed it in his hands. Get this.....after class, he stayed behind until the other students were out the door, and he nonchalantly asked if he could borrow it until tomorrow or Monday..."These poems really do have some good points, actually," he said.
One point for poetry! One point for reading! YES! That's all I can say. These are the moments I live for.
UPDATE
After having read them, I feel so LUCKY to have found them! There are some EXCELLENT poems in here! I particularly recommend "The Ice Cream Vendors" (about the cycle of poverty), "Maggot Memories" (about someone who is not successful in our society and feels it won't get much better), "Waste of Time" (about a relationship going nowhere as one partner is cold & distant), "Zombies" (about so-called "friends" seemingly out for your "blood"), "The Hand" (self-centeredness, pride), and by far the best poem (my new favorite poem of all time), "Following Directions"; a 14-year-old captured the essence of what is wrong with public schools and their adoption of standardization and how its cost has been creative thought and originality.
It's appeal to students? SCORE! In one of my classes, a few students were finished early with their poetry analysis work, so I told them that they can choose a poetry book from which to read for the remainder of the class period. I handed this book to one of my male students who definitely thought poetry was uncool, and he sighed when I placed it in his hands. Get this.....after class, he stayed behind until the other students were out the door, and he nonchalantly asked if he could borrow it until tomorrow or Monday..."These poems really do have some good points, actually," he said.
One point for poetry! One point for reading! YES! That's all I can say. These are the moments I live for.
May 29, 2009
This book is a poem for teens , alot of them are deep , and alot of them are confusing , but theres always a message and u have to get it in the end . In My opinion the auther made some of the poems rhym & some of them didnt , but they all came out pretty good!
January 13, 2018
A fairly short and easy read. This book of teen poetry, dealing with, as the book terms it, "angst." In reality most of these poems deal with very serious issues, from teens struggling to understand their place in the world, teens facing or trying to understand prejudice, or teens simply trying to be true to their own selves. Overall this was a great collection, very well done! The art pairs well with it.
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July 6, 2010I found a couple poems in this book that I may use when teaching poetry but so many contained language and content that isn't appropriate for middle school that it isn't something I could leave on my book shelf...
September 29, 2015
It is a great compilation of poems, full of feeling and passion just the way a teenager could do it. They're not only about love but they go over a lot of different topics and worries. Their sincerity makes you feel their concerns as yours and empathize.
November 21, 2015
I read this book a couple of years ago and it really inspired me. My favorite poem in here is the Pain Tree because I could really relate to it. I actually went and got a tattoo of pieces of the poem over my cuts. This is definitely worth reading.
March 16, 2010
Great poets make great art. This collection of poems are very inspiring.
October 14, 2011
its an interesting yet gruesome book of poetry
December 12, 2011
i really liked this book because it just shows how kids get treated and how they feel worthless. very good book
July 20, 2015
This was so surprisingly delightful.
July 25, 2015
The book is very relatable and unique in its own way. It's nice to be reassured that you are not alone in whatever it is you're going through in life. I like it a lot.
January 14, 2018
Poetry written by teenagers. It was easy to read and very interesting.
December 15, 2024
I started in on this thinking it must be a sort of companion to Teen Angst: A Celebration of Really Bad Poetry. So you can imagine the creeping sense of horror as I read the introduction, found that the tone was ... off, somehow, and realized the editors take teen angst poetry very seriously indeed. I don't think I somehow missed a subtle tone of irony.
Tortured rhymes? Bring 'em on!
Squirm-inducing metaphors? They're here.
Echoes of William Topaz McGonagall? Yes!
A keen sense of the overdramatic?
That last one was by a 15-year-old; boldface in original.
If you like this sort of thing, you'll swoon at the paintings accompanying the poems.
It's not like I want to make light of anyone's traumatic childhood. I just hope some of the authors eventually discovered prose, although one of them -- a professor of English, no less, when this book was published -- notes "how little my poetry has changed" in the interim. I also hope the writer of "Maggot Memories" found a niche in death metal.
But credit where it's due for the poem entitled "I." It goes, in its entirety:
Perfect as is, no notes.
* One unit of love, apparently
Tortured rhymes? Bring 'em on!
Sick is my mother / So why does no one bother? The idiot father / Contemptuously would rather / Give out orders through his nose / Than slightest decency give to the matter.
Squirm-inducing metaphors? They're here.
Your passionate beauty / Your sweet perfume / Were all blessed upon you / In your mother's womb / The devil's own anger / Clenched in fists of rage / Was sealed within / Your immortal cage.
Echoes of William Topaz McGonagall? Yes!
I look for love / for warmth / of some sort. / So far, / -- I've found nothing, / I'm sorry to report.
A keen sense of the overdramatic?
Yet you're eternally happy / For you still have one* / I'll wander in misery / For I'll always have none."
That last one was by a 15-year-old; boldface in original.
If you like this sort of thing, you'll swoon at the paintings accompanying the poems.
It's not like I want to make light of anyone's traumatic childhood. I just hope some of the authors eventually discovered prose, although one of them -- a professor of English, no less, when this book was published -- notes "how little my poetry has changed" in the interim. I also hope the writer of "Maggot Memories" found a niche in death metal.
But credit where it's due for the poem entitled "I." It goes, in its entirety:
I'm too ________ to die.
(please fill in the blank).
Perfect as is, no notes.
* One unit of love, apparently
May 17, 2023
It brought me back to the feels I had when my emotions were all over the place and so raw!
June 20, 2023
Some of these free-verse poems would make great models for teaching figurative language.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews