Feature: WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?...NOT POETS!

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?...NOT POETS!

Poetry can be anything the writer wants it to be. Don't get stuck thinking about Shakespeare or Wordsworth. To be a poet, the only thing you have to do is decide that what you want to say or write is poetry. Think about live poetry slams or The Beats who did poems in the shape of mushroom clouds and faces. National Poetry Month was initiated in 1996 to make people aware that there is more to poetry than pentameter this and rhyme scheme that. According to Lycos, there are over 300,000 poetry websites. I know they aren't all rhyming moon with June.

On the teen front, nearly every website, be it a chat or community or personal page has somewhere to show off writings and poetry. For example, every day thousands of teens log on to the web community that is PlanetKiki.com. Seventy-five percent of Planet Kiki's content is created by its members from around the globe. Their writings run the gamut of styles and forms, but a lot of the most real works are poems. The best of these have been compiled in one new, rad volume, ANGST!: TEEN VERSES FROM THE EDGE.

ANGST!: Teen Verses From the Edge!
Edited by Karen Tom
Workman Publishing Company
Young Adult
ISBN: 0761123830
140 pages

ANGST! is all about the everyday horrors and triumphs of life that go along with being a teen. Poems such as "Why Would He Want You?" and "Better Without Me" get right to the heart of it. These fiery poets don't hold back --- they get down and dirty writing about the struggles in love, feeling alienated, bonding with friends, even the awkwardness of not dressing cool. They aren't afraid to dish and whine and moan and cry; they understand that sometimes just writing it down can make things feel better.

Still dubious about committing your thoughts to paper? ANGST! is here to help you tap into your inner genius. The book has an entire section called "Poetry 101." Here you will find many of the terms and styles of poetry defined, such as elegy, dissonance, and sibilance. Don't worry if that sounds confusing --- examples of poems in ANGST! go with each of the listings so you can fully understand. ANGST! also contains workbook type questions about things you like or hate or never really think about, so you have no excuse for not writing.

Still in need of some inspiration? Check out the following books:

	THE BRIMSTONE JOURNALS by Ronald Koertge, et al Candlewick Press ISBN: 0763613029

	TEEN.COM BOOK OF POETRY, Volume 1 edited by Missy Rekos Teen.com ISBN: 0967354005

	I WOULDN'T THANK YOU FOR A VALENTINE: Poems for Young Feminists edited by Carol Ann Duffy Henry Holt (Paper) ISBN: 0805055452

	MORE SPICE THAN SUGAR: Poems About Feisty Females edited by Lillian Morrison Houghton Mifflin Co (Juv) ISBN: 0618068929

	WORDS WITH WINGS: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art edited by Belinda Rochelle HarperCollins Children's Books ISBN: 0060293632

	TRUTH AND LIES: An Anthology of Poems edited by Patrice Vecchione Henry Holt ISBN: 0805064796