Poetry Friday--Poetry Through the Ages

Do you know about the Poetry Through the Ages website? I stumbled upon it and was pleasantly surprised by what's available-- explanations of poetic forms, a history of poetry, information on "how to read" a poem, and a list of recommended books. It is worth spending a little time here, especially with National Poetry Month on the horizon. An overview states,

Poetry Through the Ages is one of several exhibits in the WebExhibits online museum, all of which promote discovery through multidisciplinary approaches that support all learning styles. WebExhibits is a public service of the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA).

If you teach, this site has scads of information for you to use in your classroom.

The section of recommended books also lists websites, but several of the links don't work, and, the list is missing the Poetry Foundation site! The Poetry Foundation is the poetry website I consult most often--it's my favorite!

Poetry Through the Ages appears to be pushing something called "nodes," and a particular tool called Spicy Nodes. I don't understand the benefit of having information in bubbles, but it must have something to do with people who are visual learners. I find it cluttered and distracting.

All in all, though, I'm impressed by the information that is presented, and hope to spend more time delving into forms, something my poetry education, which stressed the study of themes, is lacking.

This week head over to TeachingBooks.net for the Poetry Friday Round-Up.