Edwin L. Miller

Poetry and Freedom

This unit is a variation and extension of Kenneth Koch’s works on teaching young children how to write poetry using models. The Koch system is adapted for use with adolescents who find inspiration rather than direct imitation in the models they read. The narrative stresses that the relationship between the student poem and its model can be seen as a vitally generative one—one which good poetry curricula should study to promote. The unit is filled with examples of how students use a model (which is presented in the text) as a launching point for their own creative efforts. Models are discussed both in terms of what they say to students and how they may be presented in the classroom.