Poetry Speaks Who I AM

Poetry Speaks Who I Am with CD edited by Elise Paschen and Dominique Raccah

I was very happy to see this collection in the bookstore least week. Before I even opened Poetry Speaks, I knew I going to love it. This collection of poetry for middle school and high school students was put together by Sourcebooks. They also published Poetry Speaks to Children and Hip Hop Speaks to Children

In school I remember learning about a few dead White male poets. The only one I had any interest in was Edgar Allan Poe. My love of poetry comes in spite of school. Once I discovered what poetry was and its power, I've always loved it. I always got my poetry fix outside of the classroom.

In order to make a person a fan of poetry at any age, they must begin with poems that speak to them. There are 100 poems in Poetry Speaks Who I Am by a very diverse group of poets. Including Edgar Allan Poe, Nikki Grimes, Sherman Alexie, Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye, Marilyn Nelson, Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson. Take a peak at table of contents, to see all poets in this collection.

A great thing about poetry, liking or getting every poem is not a requirement. This wonderfully diverse collection of poetry gives every young reader the chance to find one poem to connect with. I've always felt, that when a person randomly opens a poetry book, it will land on a poem, they were meant to read at that moment. The odds of that happening with Poetry Speaks Who I AM is very high thanks to the many voices inside. There's even a Vampire poem

Vampire's Serenade by Dana Gioia (first and last verse)

I am the image that darkens your glass

The shadow that falls wherever you pass

I am the dream you cannot forget,

The face you remember without having met.

You've heard me inside you speak in your dreams

Sigh in the ocean, whisper in streams

I am the figure you crave and you fear.

You know what I bring. Now I am here.

It only takes one poem, one verse or sometimes an unforgettable line to have a new poetry fan for life. All of that can be found in Poetry Speaks Who I AM. This collection also comes with a CD with some of the poets reading their own work. I loved and highly recommend Poetry Speaks Who I Am, as well as the other two poetry collections published by Sourcebooks.