p*tag

Bibliography

Vardell, S. and Wong, J. 2011. p*tag. Poetrytagtime.com. Kindle edition.

Review

p*tag is a collection of poems by well-known young adult poets such as Naomi Shihab Nye, Margarita Engle, Joyce Sidman, and Paul Janeczko. The poets choose a picture from a blog and write a poem inspired by that photo. In order to connect the poems, the poet must incorporate at least three words from the previous poem. The poems vary in their subjects, but themes such as solitude, patience, and rebellion travel through several poems. Many of these poems will attract young adults such as “P.K” by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer about a girl planning her escape to New York City from her evangelical father. The concept of this book inspires poets to write authentic poems by using the language of other poets as well as photographs. It will be an interesting read for young adults.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: middle school

Before reading: Read “Beach Glass” aloud to students. Then read the poem following it “Hair” by Charles Waters.

Hair

Follicly challenged

Is something I’m not,

Please, check out all

Of this hair that I’ve got.

Rapunzel herself

Has NOTHING on me,

A whip of my hair

Could cover a sea

Of boisterous waves

Surrounding our globe—

When eating I need

The patience of Job.

If you counted my

Strands there’d be many—

But oh poor Dad,

He doesn’t have any!

Words from the previous poem by Sara Holbrook: boisterous, waves, patience

After reading: Encourage students to create a p*tag journal. Have photos for them to choose from to write a poem. They must read a poem already in the journal to get three words to incorporate into their journal. Leave the journal in the classroom all year as a piece that can be built upon.