Poetry is the oldest and most varied art we have: if anyone tells you there is one correct method for composing a poem, ...

“Poetry is not a scary thing,” she says. “If it’s something that (Swift) reads and leans into, I’m hopeful that other people will take it as an opportunity to do the same and not be ...

Reading the Poem: Silently read the poem “ When the Burning Begins ” by Patricia Smith. What do you notice about the poem?

Understanding the subject of a poem The first thing you should do when given a poem is read its title carefully. The title should give you some ideas of the poem’s subject, tone, or genre.

Tell all those who will listen and the rest: For the sake of the future, do what is best. A person who writes a poem is called a poet. Poets do lots of things to make their poems nice to read and ...

Read the poem aloud again for a second time. What do they think the poem is about? How do they know? Underline words or phrases in the text that help them to work out the meaning of the poem.