I AM WRITING A POEM ABOUT...

The process of writing poetry can be looked at as a chicken-or-egg problem: Which comes first, the images or the words? Inspired by a magnetic-word poetry set, Livingston (Cricket Never Does, p. 642, etc.) explains in an introduction how she launched students in her master class in poetry on a fascinating study of how disparate words could be connected in coherent, artful ways. This delightful collection features works by Alice Schertle, Janet Wong, and Tony Johnston, among others; each student was given one wordthen three, then sixthat had to be included in a poem. The possibilities are endless, as shown in the diverse styles and range of the pieces: Some are brilliant and touching, others are humorous, some are silly. It's not a book for browsersthe poems are most revealing when read togetherbut is a teaching tool, by students, to use with and inspire other students. (index) (Poetry. 10+)