Getting Familiar with Poetry: Lessons for Students

|By Gale Staff| We sometimes overlook the presence of poetry in ordinary experiences. For example, we sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and rarely recall that it was first a poem written by Francis Scott Key in the aftermath of a British assault during the War of 1812. Only after it was published in newspapers was it … Read more

The Legacy of Poet Emily Dickinson

| By Sarah Robertson | When American poet Emily Dickinson died in relative obscurity on May 15, 1886, her groundbreaking body of work stood unpublished and unrecognized. Today, Dickinson is regarded as a pivotal figure in American poetry, and her works are celebrated for their departure from literary conventions and their challenge of societal norms. … Read more

National Poetry Month: Poets through the Years

| By Carol Brennan | Poetry is nearly the oldest form of creative expression in the history of humankind, possibly second to the cave paintings of Lascaux, France, as evidence that our brains strive to explain and invent lyrical stories about the world around us. For National Poetry Month 2022, we’d like to recommend some … Read more

“The Road Not Taken”: Interpreting Frost’s Autumnal Setting

| By Sarah Robertson | Published in 1916, Robert Frost’s most popular poem, “The Road Not Taken” (Poetry for Students Volume 2 and Poetry for Students Volume 61), is conventionally understood to be a meditation on the choices we make when confronted with a fork in the road. Despite its popularity, the work is perhaps … Read more

Gale Celebrates National Poetry Month

| By Alja Kooistra | Spring is here! And with it come National Poetry Month and the daffodils:  I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils  —William Wordsworth (1804)  Why spend an entire month to celebrate poetry? In a few … Read more

Equip Students for National Poetry Month

 

Posted on March 22, 2016

By Candy Jones-Guerin

April 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of National Poetry Month.  Started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world.  Each year schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets take time in April to celebrate how poetry has shaped our world and cultures.

Let’s begin the celebration with some of these great Gale resources.

Encyclopedia of American Poetry, 2nd Edition
December 2016
Encyclopedia of American Poetry, Second Edition is an indispensable guide to American poetry with more than 1,100 entries, ranging in length from 500 to more than 3,500 words. Part of the Companion to Literature series, this updated and invaluable resource explores the various writers, works, themes, and movements of this intriguing literary genre.

Read moreEquip Students for National Poetry Month

It’s National Limerick Day! Guess how we’re celebrating

By Melissa Rayner

May 12 is National Limerick Day–as to which nation’s “national”, that’s anybody’s guess, but let’s all celebrate regardless!

A-a-a-ahem, there once was a man from Nantucket, who–Hey, wait a second. Despite their recent popularity as such, not all limericks are dirty. They can be trendy and cutting-edge like these two. [1]

Read moreIt’s National Limerick Day! Guess how we’re celebrating

Take a Deeper Dive into Langston Hughes’ Impact with LRC and LCO

Literature Resource Center (LRC) is a massive resource that includes reviews, news, topic and work overviews, biographies, multimedia, and literature criticism. While it’s a great addition to any library, and many libraries already enjoy the treasures in its content, it only contains approximately 30 percent of the most popular content in the Literature Criticism series. That means, while you’re getting a ton of great content, you’re missing the other 70 percent of Literature Criticism content.

Read moreTake a Deeper Dive into Langston Hughes’ Impact with LRC and LCO