Name:Everypoet.com
Brief Description of the Site:
Believe it or not, Poetry lives … at this site anyway. Dedicated to the art of poetry, the site offers the opportunity to (1) read classic poems by any of some 40 poets, from Bellau to Wordsworth; (2) read contemporary poetry submitted by readers to the “PFFA†or Poetry Free For All; (3) browse a portal page that links to hundreds of poetry-related sites under headings such as “What’s New,†“What’s Cool,†“What’s Popularâ€; (4) or play with words at the “Absurdities†page which allows users to view computer-generated Haikus (one topic is President Bush) or to view poems celebrating many of the elements in the periodic table, such as Calcium (“Element, help my bones grow strong….â€) and Mercury (“How can it be? / That something beautiful / Is something harmful?â€).
How to use the site:
Once again the Web brings the world to your desktop. With simple cut and paste one can capture the text of dozens of classic poems in a Word file, print them, and make photocopies for students to analyze. The time saved typing a long poem like Frost’s “The Death of the Hired Man†makes this especially worthwhile. Another possibility is to have students select poems for a presentation or paper. Students might also enjoy the Play with Words page, especially the poems related to the table of periodic elements. High school English teachers will want to scan the contemporary poets for use with their older and more sophisticated students, but have their “Appropriateness Meter†set to high. Teachers of creative writing will appreciate the various hints and tips available via the portal page.
