Roger, good question. Absolutely Nelson. I agree with Charlotte about Hughes. Need to think about this one (and take a look at my collection of poetry for children which is at school).

Nina, I completely agree with you about anthologies. I liked Caroline Kennedy’s A Family of Poems from a couple of years back.

David, I have often flogged the work of Kieran Egan on child_lit. He has an interesting theory of child development in which metaphor is something kids do naturally when very young and much less so as they get older. I think one of the hardest things is that hard poetry is really really hard to teach. You’ve got to really like it yourself and a lot of teachers don’t (having not been taught themselves by a teacher who liked it….so it goes,a vicious circle).

cloudscome, thanks!

Liz, kids definitely appreciate humor! I would consider works by Lewis Carroll as being both funny and challenging for many kids today. Most of Shel Silverstein’s works are pretty accessible, but Runny Babbit does take a bit of work (if is not exactly what Pinsky had in mind, I don’t think). Or even Jon Scieszka’s Science Verse of a few years back which required some context to best appreciate.

Which brings me to the other hand, which is that most adults grow out of poetry themselves and find tough (or even just serious) poems intimidating. Teachers may find the more challenging poems difficult to present as a result and that lack of exposure to the students keeps them from delving further into poetry. Without adults guiding them kids are on their own in the poetry department and so will fall into what comforts them.

I don’t know wish I’d had more of when I was a teen: lessons in poetry or philosophy.

I, too, am looking forward to the Pinskey article. I guess my one lingering question is: where is the current Children’s Poet Laureate’s voice in bringing out poetry to children?

Have fun at the Plimoth Plantation. I was there years ago.