What poems do you poets think are the best to memorize?

[Prawn]

Hi!

I have found myself with a half hour in the car with my kids every day going to and from school. I have decided to spend this time teaching them poems.

What poems would you recommend? I would prefer well-known poems.

So far, I have



Tree
The Owl and the Pussycat
Barbara Fritche
Ozymandias
The Road Not Taken
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
The Raven
The Tyger
A Dream Deferred

Charge of the Light Brigade
Jabberwocky
What others might be good?
Thanks,
Prawn

[Billytwice]

3 classics for you:

'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes
'Cargoes' by John Masefield
'The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God' by J Milton Hayes

I love hearing these read out loud...

edit,

I just thought of another, Kipling's 'Tommy' (The Queen's Uniform) which seems as if it could have been written yesterday perhaps?

[Prawn]

These three are great. The Highwayman reminds me of that song that begins

"There were three tall Gypsies at the old hall door,
big and brave and bold-io"

Cargoes will be good for my six year old.

The green eyed god reminds me of Abdul Abulbul Amir. It has a great sense of adventure.

Thanks again
P

[Greenify13]

You could always do audiobooks. Not saying that you are bad at memorizing, I have no way of knowing this, but it may be better if you did something like this with audiobooks. There are so many options, poetry, stories (religious, action/adventure, myths/legends/fairytales, comdedy...) educational ones (science, geography, nature and so on).
Kids Audio Books (http://www.audiobookscorner.com/list.aspx?catID=101), of course there are many other sites and such, but I don't know their ages and so it's just a jumping point...
Another idea, if you don't mind...You can do a book audio in the morning, and poetry in the afternoon. The first can be fun and a "get the day going" type and the last can be something to ponder. For example, do poetry in the afternoon with the goal of them to think about it and then everyone can talk about it during dinner. Or have them draw or write something that the poem makes them feel or think...It may help the learning process and make it more enjoyable.

[veinglory]

When I worked as a cleaner I memorised Shakespearean sonnets. They have great structure and it occassionally lets you fake having a classical education ;)

[Prawn]

@ greenify
They have done lots of audiobooks already, and we are already used to doing poetry. The kids really like the ones we have memorized so far.

@ veinglory
I thought of Sonnets and I think instead I will do some of the more famous speeches, like "Friends, Romans," and "What light through yonder window breaks" and "Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace.."

[Ken]

... Kemp Owen <--- A ballad. Particularly good for kids!

Ain't no poet myself. Just like to read the stuff, shameful as that is.

[Prawn]

... Kemp Owen <--- A ballad. Particularly good for kids!

Ain't no poet myself. Just like to read the stuff, shameful as that is.

Which one? It looks like there are two, or is that one long one?

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch034.htm

[Priene]

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Possum%27s_Book_of_Practical_Cats) by TS Eliot:

Macavity, Macavity, there's no-one like Macavity
There never was a cat of such deceitfulness and suavity
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare
And whatever time the deed took place - MACAVITY WASN'T THERE

[Ken]

Which one? It looks like there are two, or is that one long one?

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch034.htm

... the first one of the two. Neat site!
ps The original Robin Hood in ballad form is really cool too.
Part of it from the site: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch119.htm

[Shadow_Ferret]

In college, I had the following memorized:
Helen by Christopher Marlowe
Shall I Compare Thee by Shakespeare
His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell
Vital Spark of Heavenly Flame by Alexander Pope
A Poison Tree by William Blake
When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be by John Keats
Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickenson
Leda and the Swan by William Butler Yeats
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron

Despite that, I still didn't get the chicks. :D

[Steppe]

I realize this is a personal take on your question but one i've thought about, especially early in life.

I don't memorize poems. My reasons are that I feel i want the poem to be new and fresh every time I come back to it.
A memorized poem takes a lot of that away for me. It has the same feel every time I repeat it.
It's the same reason i don't memorize prose. I can come back and read a book many times over the years and always it seems new.
Same thing with a poem.

[Prawn]

@ Priene (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/member.php?u=17169)
Macavity is fun! Which other cat poem would you recommend? (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/member.php?u=17169)

@ shadow ferret

Great list!
I like all of your poems, but I am going to avoid the poems about love (Helen, His Coy Mistress, when I fears, leda (so sexy), she walks in beauty ) and death (vital spark) because of the age of my kids, so no "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" or "I heard a fly buzz when i died." My kids would think poems about love were gross! eeeeew!

Posion Tree is good, but I already have another one by Blake. I will save that one for later.


@ Steppe

I feel like reading a poem is visiting it, but memorizing a poem is owning it. I prefer owning a few to visiting many. Just my opinion.

[JRH]

There's only one that I can remember as being specifically memorized., "Butte" by Berton Brayley, but there are dozens that I've memorized in part over the years, mainly because I've read them so often, such as "Tommy" by Rudyard Kipling, many of Frost's shorter poems, like "Fire and Ice", "Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening", and "The Road Not Taken", as well as parts of Eliot's Prufrock, Sandburg's "Chicago, Poe's "The Raven" and assorted others.

Just introduce them to the Poems you consider the best, the memorization will take care of itself to the extent the Poems appeal.

JRH

[Chris P]

Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner if the car trip is REALLY long.

You have my favs in your list already: Ozymandias, Charge of the Light Brigade, and Snowy Evening.

Of course the kids will love Shel Silverstein. In all honesty, you will inspire them more if you choose poems you like and simply let your passion for them show. The time you spend with them will mean more than the content of the poems.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Oh. I skimmed your OP and didn't realize it was for your children.

Jabberwocky


"The Walrus and the Carpenter (http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/walrus.html)" is a great one for kids, too. I remember having to memorize that in the 2nd or 3rd grade.

And how about:
Dried Apple Pies (http://dotyranch.com/Documents/Poems.htm)
The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven (http://www.bartleby.com/248/1656.html)

[Prawn]

Thanks again for the suggestions!

I just reread Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner and it is really long. The length doesn't bother me since we already did The Raven, but Rhyme has themes I don't like about sin and death.

The Walrus is good, but I already have Jabberwocky by the same author.

My kids have Where the Sidewalk Ends already and love it. I was looking for more classic poems to do in the car.

[RobJ]

You could try This Be The Verse, by Philip Larkin. If you like.

[Prawn]

You could try This Be The Verse, by Philip Larkin. If you like.

In a few years, I might. But my kid is 6, so not quite yet.
P

[CDSinex]

somewhere i have never travelled by e e cummings

The Mending Wall by Robert Frost

My Legacy (http://poemhunter.com/poem/my-legacy-9/) by Ryokan Taigu

Waga Uta (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181405) (My Songs) -Yosano Akiko

The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

[Cassie88]

Dr. Seuss

[WendyNYC]

The Children's Hour by H D Longfellow

[Alvah]

Sea Fever by Masefield

The Lanyard by Billy Collins

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

The Creation by James Weldon Johnson

[poetinahat]

First, what a great idea of yours, Prawn.

Now then:

You could try This Be The Verse, by Philip Larkin. If you like.
Yes, oh yes! (well, yeah, maybe when they're older; Anne Clark recorded this about twenty years ago)

A couple of really, really good kids' poetry books:

Poetry Speaks to Children - an anthology of poems that kids might enjoy, including (from memory) William Blake, Robert Frost, Ogden Nash, Rita Dove, Billy Collins and many others. Comes with a CD of the poems being read, many of them by the original poets. Most are pretty short; all are great fun.

It's Raining Pigs and Noodles, by Jack Prelutsky -- very amusing poems, very well written and funny for kids and adults.

[Steam&Ink]

:nothing

[Magdalen]

<snip>It's Raining Pigs and Noodles, by Jack Prelutsky -- very amusing poems, very well written and funny for kids and adults.

Yes, many giggles from Prelutsky poems. As for classic poetry I would suggest Kubla Khan by Coleridge.

[frimble3]

They might be too young for Robert Service, but 'The Shooting of Dan McGrew' is very memorable. "A bunch of the boys were whooping it up, at the Malemute Saloon". I think you've got a great idea. And I agree with you about 'owning' a poem. I was taught Robert Frost's 'Woods on a Snowy Evening' in elementary school, and it's with me still, and inspired me to learn chunks of Kipling. Memorization gives you thoughts to hang on to, when words desert you.
How about 'In the bazaars of Hyderabad' by Sarojini Naidu?

[Priene]

@ Priene (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/member.php?u=17169)
Macavity is fun! Which other cat poem would you recommend? (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/member.php?u=17169)



Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat:

In the middle of the night he is always fresh and bright;
Every now and then he has a cup of tea
With perhaps a drop of Scotch while he's keeping on the watch,
Only stopping here and there to catch a flea.

[Prawn]

Many more great suggestions!

Some of them, like Prufrock and Chicago (whose first two lines are about whores and murder) might not be the best for my daughters.

The Children's Hour is a good one, thanks, Wendy!

@ Alvah, The Lanyard/those winter sundays are both so poignant! I hope they don't describe my relationship to my own kids.

Frimble, The shooting of Dan McGrew reminded me of another poem that was suggested here The Green Eyed Little God, which about the exploits of Mad Carew.

Thanks all for your suggestions!

[Dichroic]

Annabel Lee (one my mom used to read to me, along with several others you mention)
'Twas the Night Before Christmas, in season, if you celebrate Christmas (I still don't understand why I apparently had that one memorized before I could read, since we *didn't*)
Dr. Seuss - even better if they read it to you. He's got varying complexity - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish should be OK for even the most beginning of readers
Anything by Edward Lear
Second the recommendation of RObert Service: if you want one where nobody gets shot or dies, you can do Call of the Wild (my all-time favorite of his)
Kipling - Gunga Din and Tommy are great if you can do the accent. "If" because it's a good one to bring a kid up on anyway. All of the ones in Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Fairies - better yet, just read them the whole books.
Cuckoo Song (don't forget to tell them what the old words mean, so they can giggle at the buck farting)
Westren Wind
Eugene Field, the children's poems like The Duel (aka The GIngham Dog and the Calico Cat) and Jest 'Fore Christmas
Ogden Nash - and really go look at his stuff, because there's lots that's great, not well known, and easy to find online (like April)
William Carlos Williams, Peace on Earth

ETA: Forgot Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses.

[Dichroic]

By the way, a few years ago, a blog or two back, I created an abecedary of poets - that's the resource I used for some of my suggestions above. If anyone wants to see it, the easiest way is to go to my old blog, the poems category (http://www.riseagain.net/dichroic/archives/cat_poems.html)and scroll down. They're the entries with the fancy initial on top. Scrolling down, you'll see them in reverse order, so if you care about that start at the bottom.

[Norman D Gutter]

"Abou Ben Adhem" by Leigh Hunt
"Into My Own" by Robert Frost. One of his lesser known ones, from his first book, but definitely one that could have meaning for a young person.

NDG

[Prawn]

Eugene Field, the children's poems like The Duel

I like this one, it reminds me of

If you don't believe my lie is true
Ask the blind man, he saw it too.
Because it is a story related by a Chinese plate.

I also like Anabel Lee, but since my daughter already knows The Raven, I am trying to look for other authors.

[CDSinex]

The dual mention of Robert Service made me think of two of his more political poems, Pullman Porter (http://www.mochinet.com/poets/service/index.cgi?ListTitles=Songs%20of%20a%20Sun-Lover&Poem=56) and Ant Hill (http://www.mochinet.com/poets/service/index.cgi?ListTitles=Rhymes%20of%20a%20Roughneck&Poem=23). Another poem of his that I like is The Men That Don't Fit In (http://www.mochinet.com/poets/service/index.cgi?ListTitles=The%20Spell%20of%20the%20Yuko n%20and%20Other%20Verses&Poem=19). When I first read Ant Hill I was somewhat confused because, at that time, I didn’t realize Service died in 1958 (I was 11 at the time).


Sorry, I just read the intro carefully and now realize the thread is about poems for children. Both of my posts are off topic. Again sorry.

I read A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson to my children when they were young, and I now read them to my grand kids.. There are scores of wonderful poems, The Wind, Keepsake Mill, Windy Nights, Bed in Summer to name a few.

Again sorry.

[SirOtter]

Gotta second the nomination of Ogden Nash. When I was a kid, my dad got a collection of his animal poems for Christmas. I wore it out and had to replace it a couple of times. My favorite:

The Lord in His wisdom made the fly,
But then forgot to tell us why.

There's lots of good stuff from Edward Lear, though maybe The Dong With the Luminous Nose might get more giggles from modern kids than the respect it deserves.

Edward Gorey's gruesome limericks might appeal to the future serial killer (or writer of horror tales) riding in your back seat.

[Dichroic]

[QUOTE=CDSinex;5345090]The dual mention of Robert Service made me think of two of his more political poems, Pullman Porter (http://www.mochinet.com/poets/service/index.cgi?ListTitles=Songs%20of%20a%20Sun-Lover&Poem=56) and Ant Hill (http://www.mochinet.com/poets/service/index.cgi?ListTitles=Rhymes%20of%20a%20Roughneck&Poem=23). Another poem of his that I like is The Men That Don't Fit In (http://www.mochinet.com/poets/service/index.cgi?ListTitles=The%20Spell%20of%20the%20Yuko n%20and%20Other%20Verses&Poem=19). When I first read Ant Hill I was somewhat confused because, at that time, I didn’t realize Service died in 1958 (I was 11 at the time).

I love Service - I once even wrote a response to The Men That Don't Fit In (because I think the women in that category have had a much harder time).

[MidlifeMark]

Casey At The Bat

[Prawn]

Hey Mark!

Welcome to AW.

I really like the poem, but none of my daughters play baseball or are sporty, so that is probably not the best for them. I'll keep it for me though!

Prawn

[Billytwice]

Here's another one for you:

Night Mail by WH Auden...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmciuKsBOi0

I love the way the poet has captured the sound of a steam engine.

[kdnxdr]

I found another great thread to bump up. The reason that I wanted to get this one some more attention is that it's another great challenge if your tired of sitting at the desk but want to keep honing your poetry skills. It's MEMORIZATION!!!! What a great way to exercise (get physical & prime the pump for your next great poem!), memorize a poem and practice reciting it aloud. See, winter doesn't have to be so blah, we have POETRY!

[Uncarved]

The Spider and the Fly

particularly the version with the awesome Tim Burton-esque drawings :)

[Prawn]

Here's what they know

Harlem--Langston Hugues
Tree - Joyce Kilmer
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening- Robert Frost
The Road Less Travelled-Robert Frost
Fog- Carl Sandburg
First Fig -Edna St. Vincent Milay
The Owl and the Pussycat - Edward Lear
Jabberwocky-Lewis Carrol
Tyger Tyger - William Blake
Barbara Fritche - John Wittier
The Raven - Edgar Allen Poe
O Captain, My Captain, Walt Whitman
A Poison Tree, William Blake
Hope, Emily Dickenson
The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God, J Milton Hayes
Charge of the Light Brigade, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Mark Antony's Funeral Oration from Julius Cesar by Shakespeare
Macbeth's Tomorrow Speech by Shakespeare

That's all I can remember at the moment. Anybody got any more suggestions?

[kdnxdr]

You're children have those memorized???

Incredible!!!

Do you people have a genius gene swimming in your pool??

You need to get those rascals on You Tube!

[Prawn]

I have chosen poems that are fun to memorize, rhyme, personification, alliteration. The kids really like it. The ones the learned most recently were Hope and the two Shakespeare ones. Probably took them an hour or so, spread out over about a week. They like it, so they are motivated.

[kdnxdr]

Kudos to you, Prawn!

And, to your children. How old are they?

[Prawn]

Thanks. I really has improved their vocabulary, that's for sure. They are 6 and 8.

[Magdalen]

Miss Suzy had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell (ding ding)
Miss Suzy went to heaven, the steamboat went to
Hello operator, please give me number nine
If you disconnect me, I'll cut off your
Behind the 'frigerator, there was a piece of glass
Miss Suzy fell upon it and it cut her in the
Ask me no more questions and tell me no more lies
The boys are in the bathroom zipping up their
Flies are in the meadow, bees are in the park
Miss Suzy and her boyfriend were kissing in the
D. A. R. K. D. A. R. K. D. A. R. K. Dark
If you ever get hit with a bucket of shit,
be sure to close your eyes.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Susie

[kdnxdr]

I know this is crass but Mag made me do it............



Whistle while you work,
Hitler was a jerk.
Mousilini cut his weinie
now it will not work!



(Sorry, I did not make the effort to look up the correct spelling for the Mguy.)


Prawn, this is what I memorized at 6. Your children aren't reading this thread, right?

[Marlys]

AE Housman is very rhythmic and easy to memorize. To An Athlete Dying Young, 1887, Terrence, This Is Stupid Stuff, The Oracle, and, depending on their sense of humor, Is My Team Ploughing? are all good stuff.

[Prawn]

Miss Suzy had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell (ding ding)



They know that one already, and "one fine day in the middle of the night" and "Betty Botter bought some butter"

I will check out Houseman...

[Juvela Obi]

Ha! Found the link! Sorry I've been trying to find this site again for about a month now...

Might I suggest riddles and songs? I always found it easier to memorize riddles because I spent so much time concentrating on figuring out the answers, I ended up repeating them to myself enough that it just stuck. An example:

"A dozen royals gathered 'round
Entertained by two who clowned
Each King there had servants, ten
Though none of them were also men
The lowest servant sometimes might
Defeat the King in a fair fight
A weapon stout, A priceless jewel
The beat of life, a farmer's tool"

Other poems and riddles are easy and particularly fun to memorize because they just sound so enchanting. Try reading this one really slowly:

"Circling...circling...circling round
The sea is the sun is the sky is the ground
And the circle within and the circle unseen
Where the unknown is known and the future has been"

It's just so fun to say!

Fun little songs:

My Poor Meatball
Mama's Soup Surprise
The Fifty States That Rhyme

I memorized those in elementary school, and I still have fun quoting them sometimes!

[Prawn]

And there's Washy Ad Jeffy, the song that teaches the names of the presidents:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDqCP5kQIbo

[Juvela Obi]

And there's Washy Ad Jeffy, the song that teaches the names of the presidents

Oddly enough, that song is still too complex for me to remember. :(

[Prawn]

You have to learn it like a kid does and sing it about five thousand times.

[chuckgalle]

E. E. Cummings - please don't correct my spelling -
somewhere I have never traveled
buffalo bill's defunct
one winter afternoon

[skylarburris]

My daughter has to memorize poetry in school regularly. She is in first grade, age 7, so between the ages of your two kids. These are the poems they have memorized or will be memorizing this year:

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening - Robert Frost (yours have that one already, I see)

I've Turned Into A Carrot - Jack Pretlutsky (the kids LOVE this one, including my 4 year old)

The Swing - Robert Louis Stevenson

The Goops - Gellet Burgess

When I Heard the Learned Astronomer - Walt Whitman

I Chased a Dragon Through the Woods - Jack Pretlutsky (another favorite of the kids)

The Elf and Dormouse - Oliver Herford

The Land of Counterpane - Robert Louis Stevenson

The Naughty Soap Song - Dorothy Aldis

The Kindergarteners are memorizing "The Caterpillar Poem" by Christina G Rossetti, "Ooey Gooey" by Eswin Dante Larson, "Hearts are Like Doors" (anon) and "Mr. Nobody" (anon).

They memorize a lot of other poems to learn science facts and history facts, too. These aren't classic literary poems, per say, but they are instructional and fun. My favorite of these she's done so far is "Hatshepsut, Female Pharoah..." I'd never heard it before, but it was cute. Couldn't find the text online though.

The second graders are memorizing "Norman and Saxon" by Kipling, "Kublai Khan" by Coleridge, and "Family Dragon" by Widemer.

[Prawn]

These are great. I applaud your school for doing that.

The last four poems they have learned have been Shakespeare:

Tomorrow and tomorrow... (MacBeth)
Friends, Romans, Countrymen...(Julius Cesar)
Once more in to the breach...(Henry V)
and
To be, or not to be...(Hamlet)

P

[Ink-Stained Wretch]

Semi on-topic: most Emily Dickinson poems, those with the four-line stanzas with 8-6-8-6 syllable counts, can be sung to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme song; when I taught school and the kids were supposed to memorize "Because I Could Not Stop For Death," we started each class with a sing-along every day for a week.

So if you want your kids to add a little more Dickinson to their repertoire, that trick might work.

[Prawn]

That's pretty funny! The only Dickinson my kids know is "Hope." I'd have to teach them the Gilligan's Island them first before "Because I could not stop for death."
P

[Dandroid]

on gut...by ben johnson

[Prawn]

I like that one too! It's almost doggerel it is so short and funny.
P

[Blarg]

LOL at This Be the Verse.

Tell the truth, I was thinking of Larkin too, because his age and considered way of looking at life is so vastly different from a child's experience that were it not incomprehensible, a poem or two of his could blow their minds.

However, I think the main point of getting your kids into poetry is to ensure they get beat up by their peers when trying to share it. To that end, little beats Hamlet.

"To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished."

There are any number of opportunities during this passage, but I'd guess your kid would take a fist to the neck no later than halfway through, if that is your intent.

However, if you are simply engaging in this routine to dodge child abuse charges by having playground ragamuffins do your work for you, I'd suggest you hold your motivations rather than your poetry knowledge to the light.

[Prawn]

My kids already know that speech from Hamlet, and not just the first half.

And I don't think that knowledge if poetry is going to save my three daughters from fisticuffs, unless they learn from the Henry V speech they know, to "imitate the action of the tiger, stiffen the sinew, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard favored rage"

I do agree that Larkin's This Be The Verse would be better for getting into fights with, which is perhaps why I never had them learn it.

As for my motivations, I think you should let kids decide what they think is too hard to do. So far they like poetry, and since no one told them that it was too hard, they learn it with little problem.

Of course, they are still little kids, so they enjoy the poetry in a different way than an adult would. Their favorite line from the Hamelt you quoted comes after: "Who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life..."

Cue the fart noises and constipation jokes.

[kdnxdr]

I truly love hearing about your children and their poetry. How awesome!

You are recording their recitals for posterity, right??

[Prawn]

I should put some up on youtube. I'll put a link here if I do.
P

[skylarburris]

However, if you are simply engaging in this routine to dodge child abuse charges by having playground ragamuffins do your work for you, I'd suggest you hold your motivations rather than your poetry knowledge to the light.

Well, maybe he's already taught his kids this Alexander Pope retort in couplets:

"Sir, I agree with your general rule
That every poet is a fool,
But you yourself may serve to show it
That every fool is not a poet."

[kdnxdr]

I should put some up on youtube. I'll put a link here if I do.
P


That would be cool.

[Teena]

A few I memorized in my younger days--

The Landlord's Tale: Paul Revere's Ride - Longfellow
Hiawatha - Longfellow
In Flanders Fields - John McCrae
This is the House that Jack Built - I'm not even sure I know who wrote it.


my personal favorite for recitation you already have on the list, The Highwayman. Love the way that one feels in the mouth.

What a wonderful way to make your children's literary education enjoyable. Bravo.

[kdnxdr]

I think it is so awesome that this thread has received over 1,700 hits.....how cool is that?

[JohnL]

I think it's great that you're teaching all these poems to your children! And memorizing them yourself, no less -- well done! Plenty of great suggestions up here already, might I add

The Cataract of Lodore by Robert Southey
Nosty Fright by May Swenson

They're both so full of sound and would probably be fun to recite

[Prawn]

I think it's great that you're teaching all these poems to your children! And memorizing them yourself, no less -- well done! Plenty of great suggestions up here already, might I add

The Cataract of Lodore by Robert Southey
Nosty Fright by May Swenson

They're both so full of sound and would probably be fun to recite

Fun! Nosty Fright is full of spoonerism! It reminds me of Jabberwocky, which my kids know. The Cataract is interesting because it is a story told to children in the poem, so it is a poem of a story that is a poem.

P

[JohnL]

Cool, yes, they both seem like they're full of fun and rhyme that kids might enjoy.

so it is a poem of a story that is a poem. and some people thought Inception was an original concept!

[Prawn]

My kids are still digging the poetry. We have added a few more. Annabel Lee by Poe, Song of the Wandering Angeus by Yates, some more Shakespeare. I put a few vids on Youtube if you are interested in checking them out.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYqINqybBgM)

Macbeth William Shakespeare, 'Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TayN3SwVRX8) for some reason, she thought this one was pretty funny.

King Henry V by William Shakespeare 'Once more unto the breach' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnLvB-FPKHo)

Hamlet, William Shakespeare, 'To be or not to be' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffY-HOiGMbw)

[SinK]

My favourite poems (after 'The Hollow Men' which doesn't quite fit the bill) are Poe's 'Conquerer Worm' (perhaps a little bleak although if your doing MacBeth and Hamlet...) and 'Alone' (not that bleak despite the title) the latter being an excellent length for memorising. Also, 'If...' by Rudyard Kipling is the gold standard of that class of poems that one should be able to rattle off from memory.

[Prawn]

Those are good suggestions. They know 'The Raven' and 'Annabel Lee' by Poe, which I think express better the sentiment of loss than 'Alone'. They know 'Elephant's Child' by Kipling. 'If' would be good as well.

[Perks]

The Tale of Custard the Dragon, by Ogden Nash

http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~keith/poems/Custard.html

[Prawn]

I like that poem, and the first few poems we memorized were children's poems (Owl and the Pussy Cat, Jabberwocky, Betty Botter, One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night), but then I realized they could memorize adult poems just as readily, so I switched to more grown-up fare.

[William Haskins]

time to introduce them to bukowski, methinks.

[Prawn]

Which would you recommend?

[William Haskins]

http://authorscoop.com/2008/09/12/midnight-poetry-so-you-want-to-be-a-writer/

[Prawn]

I really like it, but my children aren't writers, and they don't have women in their beds. A strong poem though. Any other suggestions?

[William Haskins]

it was a joke, as that was about as tame as bukowski gets.

humor aside, i've got nothing. i see poetry as largely a subversive exercise, so it's not a worthwhile conversation to engage in with parents who might not feel the same as i do.

i'll leave you this as a peace offering, though:

This Be The Verse
(Philip Larkin)

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

[Prawn]

This be the verse was already suggested earlier in the thread. It surely is a propos.

[William Haskins]

my mistake.

actually, i appreciate the fact that they've responded well enough to blake to have learned more than just "the tyger."

there's always "the fly":

Little fly,
Thy summer’s play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing,
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life
And strength and breath,
And the want
Of thought is death,

Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live,
Or if I die.

[Prawn]

I thought of Dickenson's "I heard a fly buzzed when I died" but went instead with "Hope is the thing with feathers." Short and sweet.

[Blarg]

Wallace Stevens has many poems about the primacy of the imagination in constructing the worlds we live in which are quite beautiful and straightforward enough for children. Particularly his many poems about Florida, which was an angel of his imagination and where a lot of his joy and simple, though so artfully stated, awe can be found.

His Collected Poems has tons of great stuff in it. Some of it perfect for short recitals.

[Blarg]

it was a joke, as that was about as tame as bukowski gets.

humor aside, i've got nothing. i see poetry as largely a subversive exercise, so it's not a worthwhile conversation to engage in with parents who might not feel the same as i do.

i'll leave you this as a peace offering, though:

This Be The Verse
(Philip Larkin)

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

Larkin is easily one of my favorite poets, and this one of the easiest poems to love him for. I've had it memorized, on and off anyway, for a long time now.

I'm the type who would probably read this poem to kids, even my own, so if you see me spouting poetry around yours, pull them all quickly indoors.

[Prawn]

Yes, there are many poems I think my 6 year old should learn before "They fuck you up," although I might teach them this as teen-agers.

Wallace Stevens has many poems
Any suggestions for which poems are his best?

[Chris P]

At six, "Windows is shutting down (http://www.clivejames.com/poetry/james/windows)" by Clive James might be beyond her, but one to save for later.

[Prawn]

That's is clever! Especially if you are a Mac person.

[Blarg]

Yes, there are many poems I think my 6 year old should learn before "They fuck you up," although I might teach them this as teen-agers.


Any suggestions for which poems are his best?

In this vein, to be relatively easily explained to kids, short, reference to the creative power of imagination or its necessity in life, etc:

A Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock
A Rabbit as King of the Ghosts
The Plot Against the Giant
Metaphors of a Magnifico (one of my favorites)
The House was Quiet and the World was Calm
Nomad Exquisite
Poem Written at Morning (green were the curls upon that head!)

... and others about Florida that I can't find right now, gotta go.

[lastlittlebird]

"Rain" by Hone Tuwhare.

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hone-tuwhare-s-rain/

[Prawn]

That's lovely! Thanks.