Poems As Puzzles: A Pair of Poets Study - Grade 8
The work in this study focuses on sets of poems by two American poets: Kay Ryan, the United States Poet Laureate from 2008-2010, and Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), one of America’s great poets. Ryan’s work has often been compared to Dickinson’s. The poet and critic Dana Gioia, for example, in his essay “Discovering Kay Ryan” deems Dickinson the genius loci of Ryan’s poetry and asserts that Ryan, like Dickinson, is a “theorist of human conduct.” Unlike Ryan, Dickinson lived a reclusive life and saw only a handful of her poems published during her lifetime.
Table of Contents
Text Audio
Writing Tasks
Title: S-5: Kay Ryan: Pieces of a Larger Puzzle
Session 5
Title: S-10: Strange Things in Emily Dickinson’s Poems
Session 10
Title: S-12: Writing Like Emily Dickinson
Session 12
Title: S-16: Emily Dickinson: Pieces of a Larger Puzzle
Session 16
Charts for Discussion
Title: S-3: “So Different” Recombinant Rhyme Examples
Session 3
Title: S-4: Poetic Devices in Kay Ryan’s Poetry
Session 4
Title: S-10: Poetic Devices in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry
Session 10
Forms and Graphic Organizers
Title: S-6: Criteria for a Good Discussion
Session 6