Raymond Carver

    
     Where did Raymond Carver first become interested in writing?  Who taught the creative-writing course that inspired Carver?  Where was he educated?  When did Carver publish his first story? What was its title?  Read Carver's poem Happiness. What is the scene being explained?  Write about the happiest moment of your life.

Sara Teasdale

     At what age was Sara Teasdale well enough to go to school?  What newspaper published her first poem?  How was it received?  When and how did Teasdale die?  Read Teasdale's poem I Am Not Yours. What is the poem talking about?  Write about a time in your life when you wanted something more than anything in the world.

William Barnes

Over how many poems did William Barnes write?  How many different languages did Barnes quote from?  Where was he born?  What kind of dialect did he sometimes write in?  Read Barnes' poem, "The Broken Heart."  What is going on in the poem?  Who is broken hearted?  Write about a time where you had you're heart broken. This can either be by a relationship breaking up or a death in the family. Write how you felt and acted during that time in you're life.

Anna Akhmatova

What was Anna Akhmatova really a pen name for?  What kind of poems did she work with?  What caused much of the written record about Akhmatova to be destroyed?  Read Akhmatova's poem "I Taught Myself To Live Simply."  Write about what you do to calm yourself down. Is there a specific time or place that you hate being disturbed during?

Dylan Thomas

    Where was Dylan Thomas from?  Besides poetry, what else did Thomas write?  How old was Thomas when he wrote many of his famous poems?  How did Thomas die?  Read Thomas's poem And Death Shall Have No Domain. What kinds of things does Thomas write about death having no control over? Write about something that death cannot touch.

Pablo Neruda

     What was Pablo Neruda's original name?  What did Neruda win the Nobel Peace Prize for? What was Neruda hospitalized for?  What country was Neruda exiled from?  Read Neruda's poem Always. Whom is Neruda talking to? What is this poem about? Write about a time where you have forgiven someones past.

Gwendolyn Brooks

What famous prize did Gwendolyn Brooks win?  What state was Brooks Poet Laureate of?  Who invited her to read at the Library of Congress poetry festival in 1962?  Read Brooks' poem To Be In Love. List some of the imagery that Brooks uses to show a couple in  love. Write about what you think people in love look like.

William Carlos Williams

Where and when was William Carlos Williams born?  Besides poetry, what else did Williams do for a living? What college did Williams graduate from? When did Williams' health begin to decline?  Read Williams' poem The Red Wheelbarrow. Why is the wheelbarrow so important?  Explain something in your life that you couldn't survive without.

Ezra Pound

Where and when was Ezra Pound born?  What is he known for developing? What kind of education did Pound receive?  Read Pound's poem A Girl.  What is the poem talking about?  Is the poem acting as a metaphor for something?  Write about a time when you felt so at one with something that it felt like you were a part of it.

Langston Hughes

When and where was Langston Hughes born?  What kind of literary art form did Hughes help innovate?  What is Hughes best known for?  Read Hughes poem, Life Is Fine.  What is the narrator speaking about?  Is the narrator being sarcastic?  If so how can you tell?  Write about a day in your life when everything seemed to be going wrong. 

Maya Angelou

When and where was Maya Angelou born?  What six volumes is she best known for?  In 1971 what was she nominated for, and for what?   Read Angelou's poem, Still I Rise.  What is the narrator speaking about overcoming?  In what time period is this narrator writing in?  Write about something you have had to overcome in your life. 

William Wordsworth

Where was William Wordsworth born?  What was his first publication?  What age did Wordsworth help launch?  What does it mean to be a Poet Laureate?  Read Wordsworth's poem, I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud. What is the narrator watching?  Write about something in nature that has captivated you.

Stephen Crane

When did Stephen Crane begin writing?  What did he leave school to do?  What novel did he win international acclaim for?  What is his poem Fast rode the night talking about? Write about a time in your life when you have felt forgotten abandoned.

Dr. Suess

What is Dr. Suess's real name?  How many books has he published?  When did he begin to write?  Do you believe his poetry is only for children?  Read this small poem.  Do you agree that everyone is waiting for something?  Write about a time in your life when you were forced to wait.

Walt Whitman

What kind of a life did Walt Whitman live?  Did he have a family?  How many poems did he write in his lifetime?  Read Whitman's poem A Clear Midnight.  What is the narrator doing?  Write about your own favorite place you like to escape to when the stress of life becomes overwhelming. 

Emily Dickinson

Where did Emily Dickinson live?  What color did she where all the time?  How many of her poems were published during her life?  What is her poem There is another sky talking about?  Is there a deeper meaning?  If so, what is it?

Edgar Allan Poe

When was Edgar Allan Poe born?  How was he found when he died?  What kind of a life did he live?  What is his poem Annabel Lee about?  Write about someone in your life that means as much to you as Annabel Lee meant to the narrator. 

E. E. Cummings

What is E. E. Cummings full name?  What college did he attend?  What was his major?  Where was his first job?  Who is the poem i carry your heart with me talking to?  What is the narrator trying to say?

Shel Silverstein

Tell me how old Shel Silverstein was when he died.  How old was he when he published his first poem?  Give your opinion on his poem Where The Sidewalk Ends.  How is this poem relevant to your life?

Robert Frost

Tell me where Robert Frost was born and lived most his life.  How many poems did Robert Frost write?  Give your opinion on what you think his poem Fire and Ice is talking about.