Rosenberg, Liz, ed. (1996). The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 144pp.

Grade Range: 10-12

Genre: poetry

Summary and Critique

The Invisible Ladder, edited by Liz Rosenberg, is a collection of poems written and compiled especially for young readers. The subject matter and audience for the poems are as diverse as the authors. Some serious topics covered by the poems are childhood, love, and relationships, while other subjects range from a centipede to a nose. Galway Kinnell describes the delectable moment of eating a blackberry, Marvin Bell composed an ode to Emily Dickinson, and Kyoko Mori questions the logic of math. The verses, which include poetry from the editor herself, are written by a diverse selection of over forty authors, and the book features photographs of authors both from when they were young and as adults. Another nice aspect is that the authors comment on their experiences with poetry, allowing the readers to understand the authors'motivation to write poetry.

The Invisible Ladder could be used in conjunction with other poetry anthologies, short stories, movie clips, songs, and other resources in order to create and complete several thematic units.

Awards

Books of Distinction, Hungry Mind Review, l997

Claudia Lewis Poetry Prize, l997

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends/Enemies

Generations

Challenges and Triumphs

Nature

Love, Sex, and Romance

Animals

Editor Information

Liz Rosenberg is a professor at the State University of New York in Binghamton. She writes poetry, fiction and non-fictional titles. In addition to editing and compiling anthologies, Rosenberg illustrates young adult books.

For more information on Liz Rosenberg:

http://english.binghamton.edu/faculty/lros/ Information regarding Rosenberg's writings, accomplishments, and contact information.

http://english.binghamton.edu/faculty/cvitas/CVRosenberg.htm Liz Rosenberg résumé.

Media Connections

Movies

Poetry in Motion (1982) Documents various Post-Modern American poets reading and performing their poetry.

Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) Three daughters experience the trials and tribulations of being young adults while living with their father, a retired chef. Regardless of their daily crises, Sunday dinners bring the family together and help them realize what is truly important in life.

Dead Poets Society (1989) Teenagers at a private school learn about life, friendship, and literature from each other and from a passionate English teacher.

Tortilla Soup (2001) Three sisters and their father search for love and happiness while living and dining together in Los Angeles.

Stand By Me (1986) An author reflects on the experience (seeing a dead body) that forced him and his three young adolescent friends to mature.

Big (1988) A preteen wishes to be big, only to wake up the next morning with the body of an adult man but with his same twelve-year old mind.

Online Resources

http://www.poems.com/ This site presents a new poem every day!

http://www.lovepoemsandquotes.com/ A collection of poems on love and friendship.

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/85 Offers ideas for teaching poetry.

http://thegalleriesatmoore.org/poetry/ Posts poetry written by teenagers.

http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/cycle.html Extensive and in-depth lesson on the process of writing poetry.

http://www.highschoolhub.org/hub/teenpoetry.cfm The High School Hub offers a variety of academic tips for students, from how to avoid plagiarism, to practice vocabulary quizzes, to interesting science facts.

Related Texts

Rosenberg, Liz, ed. (2001). Roots & Flowers: Poets and Poems on Family. New York: Henry Holt. 244pp. An anthology featuring poems about family.

Franco, Betsy, ed. (2000). You Hear Me: Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press. 107pp. Teenage boys authored this collection of poems, with topics ranging from drugs, love, sexuality, hate, and families.

Nye, Naomi Shihab. (1992). This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World. New York: Four Winds Press. 212pp. Poems written by authors living all over the world, reflecting on many of the same issues such as nature, love, and families.

Yep, Laurence, ed. (1993). American Dragons: Twenty-Five Asian American Voices. New York: Harper Collins. 237pp. Well-known and novice Asian American authors contributed poems, short stories, and a play excerpt to this anthology.


Adoff, Arnold. (1997). I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by African Americans. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. 208pp. African American authors address a variety of themes through poetry in this revised version of Adoff's 1968 anthology of the same title.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Poetry and Music" Marvin Bell, author of "Being in Love," said,"The words of songs are a kind of poetry, and I knew lots of songs."

1) A few days in advance ask your students to bring in their favorite songs and to get a written copy of the lyrics.

2) Make enough copies of the song lyrics for every student.

3) Play the songs in class.

4) Have a volunteer read the lyrics out loud.

5) Compare the lyrics to poems in The Invisible Ladder or just compare the lyrics to poetry

(2) "Making a poem your own" Take a poem from The Invisible Ladder and add, delete, and make it your own or use it as an outline or guide to write your own poem.

(3)"Personal Experiences"

1) Since most of the poems in The Invisible Ladder are easy to relate to, have students pick a poem he or she likes.

2) Then have the student make a list of things he or she is reminded of when reading the poem

3) Next have the student pick the three topics he or she likes and extend the list

4) Finally, have the students compile a poem from the topic he or she likes

(Review written by Chokein Kiyuna and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)