This book shows young readers how to create concrete poems in which the text creates a shape that mimics its subject. Tips help readers choose workable topics, arrange words on the page, and make the most of white space.

"Varamo concerns a day in the life of a hapless government employee. After being paid by the ministry in counterfeit money, our unfortunate bureaucrat, Varamo, wanders around all night, then sits down and writes the most celebrated masterwork of modern Central American poetry, The Song of the Virgin Boy. What is odd is that Varamo, at fifty years old, 'hadn't previously written one sole verse, nor had it ever occurred to him to write one.'"--P. [4]...

Line poetry includes a number of forms that rely on parallel structure, repetition, and line breaks. This book gives readers useful instructions for writing a variety of list poems, including acrostics, bio poems, and riddle poems.

Contains advice, ideas, writing activities, and encouragement from a working poet for aspiring poets. Includes poems by a variety of poets from the unknown to the famous, including Langston Hughes, e.e. cummings, Eve Merriam, and more.

"Before he became an award-winning writer and poet, Brian Sonia-Wallace set up a typewriter on the street with a sign that said "Poetry Store" and discovered something surprising: all over America, people want poems"--

Ms. Hoot assigns Sophie and Biff as partners to write a poem, then encourages Sophie to open her eyes to the possibility that Biff is not as mean and scary as he seems and has some good ideas, too.