Bibliographic Data:
Summary: P*Tag is an anthology of poems put together by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. A group of widely renowned poets are given an image taken by Vardell, and invited to write a poem inspired by the image, utilizing three words from the previous poem.
Critical Analysis:
P*Tag, an anthology of poems boasting an impressive roster of writers, is available in digital format on most e-reader devices. It is comprised of 31 poems, by 31 authors, and has a list of rules depicted at the beginning of the book (pictured) that every poet must follow.
Marilyn Singer, well known as the creator of reverso poems, kicks off the anthology with “Time and Water”, a reverso poem inspired by Vardell’s photograph of a long pier or dock. Betsy Franco follows, and includes the words passing, time, and hands in her poem, “mismatched” as the three words she borrows from Singer’s poem. The book continues in this order; with poet forward, image, and then poem, and so on.
For some reason I was honestly not excited to take on this eBook. I think that maybe I assumed that the poems would not be the poet’s best which is silly. Even the poems I did not care for had powerful, moving lines. Amongst my favorite lines were, “cultural pregnant pause, awkward and uncomfortable, yet full of hope (which was in the artits’ forward, not even lines in the poem!)”, “shards of life that were tossed at the Lake/ and that she tossed back”, “it takes slow-walking patience to fill a pocket of untold stories”, “a whip of my hair/could cover the sea”, “behind the walls of my eyes / I wonder how you get to the future”, and I highlighted nearly fifty more lines, but you will have to get the eBook to discover them for yourself. Many of the poets spoke of the prompting poet in their forward, which was always exciting. Others spoke only of the picture’s inspiration. Some drew connections from picture to inspiration that one never would have envisioned. I was simultaneously impressed and inspired by, P*Tag, and it motivated me to buy the others in this series. However, I do think the book would have benefited from having the image appear before or with the poet’s forward, as I found myself scrolling ahead to the image, and then back to the forward.
I have included my favorite poem (spotlight), and the image that inspired it, and I cannot help but re-read it over and over again.
Connection:
Inspired by this book, I found myself writing a lesson plan for my writer's workshops in the future. I would write different words on notecards and place them in a hat, and then have the children choose three to be included in their poems. In a different hat I would have images, whether photographs or magazine clippings, and have them use the image as their setting. Basically, I would do exactly as Vardell and Wong did, but in a classroom setting.
Reviews (from Amazon):
“[T]he organizing principle of the book is neat, with each poet "tagging" the next to write a poem which in some way links to his or her own. Fun and cheap: 99¢! The poems are light and lively, and I'm glad to report that the line-breaks remain sacrosanct no matter how you mess with the font size.” --Roger Sutton, Read Roger
“[A] collection of poetry that simply: YOU. MUST. HAVE. . . . The results are spectacular. Here is an eBook worthy of classroom use with plenty of teen appeal. Plus, it is perfect for reading aloud as well.” --Teri Lesesne, The Goddess of YA Literature
“What a wonderful way for teenagers to encounter poetry; and the interactive nature of the e-book invites readers to explore each poet’s work more deeply.” --Marjorie Coughlan, Paper Tigers
“In the engaging poems of PoetryTagTime children will discover just how amazing and magical words can be. Delighted young listeners, readers and writers will surely rush to join the poets at play with words.” --Glenna Sloan, Give Them Poetry
Poets in this Anthology (copied directly from Amazon):
Jack Prelutsky (the Poetry Foundation’s first Children's Poet Laureate)
Mary Ann Hoberman (the second Children’s Poet Laureate and NCTE Poetry Award winner)
J. Patrick Lewis (our current Children’s Poet Laureate and NCTE Poetry Award winner)
X.J. Kennedy (NCTE Poetry Award winner)
Lee Bennett Hopkins (Guinness world record holder for most anthologies and NCTE Poetry Award winner)
Nikki Grimes (NCTE Poetry Award winner)
Joyce Sidman (Newbery Honor award winner)
Plus other award-winning children’s authors and popular poets:
Jane Yolen
Douglas Florian
X.J. Kennedy
Bobbi Katz
Paul B. Janeczko
Betsy Franco
Pat Mora
Helen Frost
Carole Boston Weatherford
Calef Brown
David L. Harrison
Alice Schertle
April Halprin Wayland
Leslie Bulion
Avis Harley
Joan Bransfield Graham
Julie Larios
Ann Whitford Paul
Laura Purdie Salas
Robert Weinstock
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
and Janet Wong
Spotlight Poem:
Summary: P*Tag is an anthology of poems put together by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. A group of widely renowned poets are given an image taken by Vardell, and invited to write a poem inspired by the image, utilizing three words from the previous poem.
Critical Analysis:
P*Tag, an anthology of poems boasting an impressive roster of writers, is available in digital format on most e-reader devices. It is comprised of 31 poems, by 31 authors, and has a list of rules depicted at the beginning of the book (pictured) that every poet must follow.
Marilyn Singer, well known as the creator of reverso poems, kicks off the anthology with “Time and Water”, a reverso poem inspired by Vardell’s photograph of a long pier or dock. Betsy Franco follows, and includes the words passing, time, and hands in her poem, “mismatched” as the three words she borrows from Singer’s poem. The book continues in this order; with poet forward, image, and then poem, and so on.
For some reason I was honestly not excited to take on this eBook. I think that maybe I assumed that the poems would not be the poet’s best which is silly. Even the poems I did not care for had powerful, moving lines. Amongst my favorite lines were, “cultural pregnant pause, awkward and uncomfortable, yet full of hope (which was in the artits’ forward, not even lines in the poem!)”, “shards of life that were tossed at the Lake/ and that she tossed back”, “it takes slow-walking patience to fill a pocket of untold stories”, “a whip of my hair/could cover the sea”, “behind the walls of my eyes / I wonder how you get to the future”, and I highlighted nearly fifty more lines, but you will have to get the eBook to discover them for yourself. Many of the poets spoke of the prompting poet in their forward, which was always exciting. Others spoke only of the picture’s inspiration. Some drew connections from picture to inspiration that one never would have envisioned. I was simultaneously impressed and inspired by, P*Tag, and it motivated me to buy the others in this series. However, I do think the book would have benefited from having the image appear before or with the poet’s forward, as I found myself scrolling ahead to the image, and then back to the forward.
I have included my favorite poem (spotlight), and the image that inspired it, and I cannot help but re-read it over and over again.
Connection:
Inspired by this book, I found myself writing a lesson plan for my writer's workshops in the future. I would write different words on notecards and place them in a hat, and then have the children choose three to be included in their poems. In a different hat I would have images, whether photographs or magazine clippings, and have them use the image as their setting. Basically, I would do exactly as Vardell and Wong did, but in a classroom setting.
Reviews (from Amazon):
“[T]he organizing principle of the book is neat, with each poet "tagging" the next to write a poem which in some way links to his or her own. Fun and cheap: 99¢! The poems are light and lively, and I'm glad to report that the line-breaks remain sacrosanct no matter how you mess with the font size.” --Roger Sutton, Read Roger
“[A] collection of poetry that simply: YOU. MUST. HAVE. . . . The results are spectacular. Here is an eBook worthy of classroom use with plenty of teen appeal. Plus, it is perfect for reading aloud as well.” --Teri Lesesne, The Goddess of YA Literature
“What a wonderful way for teenagers to encounter poetry; and the interactive nature of the e-book invites readers to explore each poet’s work more deeply.” --Marjorie Coughlan, Paper Tigers
“In the engaging poems of PoetryTagTime children will discover just how amazing and magical words can be. Delighted young listeners, readers and writers will surely rush to join the poets at play with words.” --Glenna Sloan, Give Them Poetry
Poets in this Anthology (copied directly from Amazon):
Jack Prelutsky (the Poetry Foundation’s first Children's Poet Laureate)
Mary Ann Hoberman (the second Children’s Poet Laureate and NCTE Poetry Award winner)
J. Patrick Lewis (our current Children’s Poet Laureate and NCTE Poetry Award winner)
X.J. Kennedy (NCTE Poetry Award winner)
Lee Bennett Hopkins (Guinness world record holder for most anthologies and NCTE Poetry Award winner)
Nikki Grimes (NCTE Poetry Award winner)
Joyce Sidman (Newbery Honor award winner)
Plus other award-winning children’s authors and popular poets:
Jane Yolen
Douglas Florian
X.J. Kennedy
Bobbi Katz
Paul B. Janeczko
Betsy Franco
Pat Mora
Helen Frost
Carole Boston Weatherford
Calef Brown
David L. Harrison
Alice Schertle
April Halprin Wayland
Leslie Bulion
Avis Harley
Joan Bransfield Graham
Julie Larios
Ann Whitford Paul
Laura Purdie Salas
Robert Weinstock
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
and Janet Wong
Spotlight Poem: