April 2026 - Margin Notes

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FROM RESEARCH TO THE CLASSROOM: POEM OF THE DAY

“’Every day do something that won’t compute’: Student perceptions of a daily poetry practice” by Megan Davis (The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 2023)

“Grounded in the central question, what happens to student perceptions of poetry when class begins each day with a poem?, this study wonders about the student experience on the other end of a teacher’s (my own) attempt to diverge from a sterilized literary atmosphere seemingly antithetical to enjoyment or appreciation…As a granular and personal look at student experiences with a daily poetry ritual, this study aims to invite its readers to consider the ways in which more expansive and regular encounters with poetry might be a worthwhile possibility for the literacy classroom.”

Summary

In this article, Megan Davis describes how her experiences with a daily poetry ritual as a high school student led her to adopt a poem of the day (POTD) practice as an ELA teacher. When she became a doctoral student at Columbia University, Davis decided to revisit the practice as a researcher:

Simply, I wanted to know how this poetry practice differed from traditional, analytical approaches to poetry and what it meant—if anything—for my students. I was curious how students experienced what I presumed was a significant lacuna of response-based pedagogies within contemporary secondary English Language Arts classrooms, fettered by the kind of literary engagement endemic to and aggrandized by the mechanized, impersonal environment of high-stakes testing and standardization. Was tasking students with doing something other than analysis with a poem as counter-cultural as I thought it would be? What is the effect of daily exposure to poetry in this way? Was it powerful? Did they just zone out?

Davis’ research into POTD as a pedagogical practice includes a literature review, interviews with three former students, and considerations for classroom practice.

Her review of research revealed specific disconnects related to poetry instruction. First, teachers believe that poetry holds an important place in ELA instruction but often do not feel they have adequate knowledge and skill to teach it. Second, teachers’ expressions of personal enjoyment of poetry contrasts with their avoidance or dislike of it in the classroom. Third, teachers express student engagement with and enjoyment of poetry as their goal for instruction, yet they feel this is often overshadowed by traditional poetry practices such as writing detailed analyses.

To explore the impact of a daily poetry ritual, Davis conducted two interviews with three former students. The first round of interviews focused on their experiences with POTD and poetry perceptions throughout their K-12 education. The second round inquired about the participants’ “present-tense poetry engagement” to ascertain the lasting effects of POTD. Davis compiled the qualitative data from the interviews into three categories: history and prior perceptions of poetry, poem of the day, and current poetry perceptions.

Takeaways For the Classroom

The interviews revealed “pervasive misconceptions about poetry: that it is a teacher’s vehicle to teach literary devices, that it is old and boring, that it must rhyme, that it is for highly uncomfortable levels of self-disclosure, and that is rigid and restrictive insomuch that it impedes creative freedom.” These misconceptions were shaped by the participants’ school encounters with poetry prior to POTD.
After POTD, all three participants described a “pattern of rewriting their prior judgements as a result or repeated aesthetic transactions with poetry: poetry is not as weird, inflexible, dull, emotional, scary, gimmicky, or nonacademic as they had once thought.”
In every interview, participants remarked that, because of POTD, they found poems they could relate to. Offering a wide range of poetry in terms of form, poet, era, topic, theme, and style is “a way to provide a host of landing points.”
Participants’ stories revealed the “potential a non-analytic reading practice has to reshape student perceptions of poetry, reorient them to freedom of expression in poetic language, and invite them into new ways of seeing and engaging in their lives with heightened poetic awareness.”

Conclusion

“Though reading students a poem each day to start class will not solve all resistance to poetry, I am convinced that it opens up an invitation for authentic, wide-ranging, and consistent experiences with poetry for student and teacher. Students are not often afforded the opportunity to enjoy a piece of literature, to spend time with it as human beings, before they are asked to do something ‘school’ with it.”

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POETRY MAGAZINE ON SORA

Apr

“Every sport, every little industry requires its own corner, its own voice, that it may find its friends, greet them, welcome them.”
— Harriet Monroe, founding editor of Poetry (1912)

As part of our April Poetry Month series, we’re highlighting Poetry magazine, available through our free to borrow digital collection on SORA.

There is something nice about a magazine like Poetry. It does not ask for a huge time commitment, and it does not need to be read in order. You can open an issue, read one poem, and still find something worth sitting with.

Founded in 1912, Poetry has been introducing readers to poems and poets for more than a century. Over the years, it has published many of the most recognizable voices in literature while continuing to make space for new and emerging writers. That means each issue offers a mix of voices, styles, and perspectives, and there is always the chance you will come across something unexpected.

That feels especially fitting to celebrate during Poetry Month, a time to celebrate writing that helps us notice, reflect, question, and feel a little more deeply.

“We want the magazine to question even as it provides respite, to be a space where every kind of poetry can be read, heard, and received with the curiosity and wonder it deserves.”
— Adrian Matejka, editor of Poetry magazine

You can find Poetry on SORA as part of our free digital collection.

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CRAFT STUDIO: THERE IS A RECIPE FOR GETTING OVER SOMEONE

Apr

What I Was Reading:

In her poem “There Is a Recipe for Getting Over Someone,” Josie Balka uses the familiar and drawn-out style of an online recipe to show how messy healing from heartbreak can be. We have all been there when we are scrolling past a long personal story just to find the actual instructions. However, Balka proves the story part isn’t just filler because it is the hard work of making sense of your feelings. By turning abstract grief into ingredients, she shows that moving on isn’t just about waiting. It is a deliberate process of mixing the heavy parts of your past until they turn into something new

There is a recipe for getting over someone
It’s long-winded
And lacks simplicity
And there’s always a bunch of preamble before you get to
the good part
The kind that has you saying to yourself
“Why is this so long? Just tell me what I need to do”
And once you get past the part you don’t care for
Or want to know about
Or have any interest in understanding
You get your list of ingredients and instructions
And this recipe is tedious
Lengthy
Difficult
Salty
And will be worth the effort in the end . . . it should be, anyway
It starts with a cup of denial
A fistful of sadness
A few tablespoons of anger
A piece of you that you don’t get to have back
And you have to let that marinate for a while or it just won’t turn
out properly
Once you think that’s finished
Add a pinch of regret—not too much, though, and only if you want
It’s more of a preference
A bit of confusion, to taste
And a surprising amount of realization that you’re actually going
to be okay
More than you’d ever think to add, actually

What I Notice the Writer Doing:

The writer uses the format of a recipe to structure the poem.
Instead of starting right away with ingredients, the poem begins with an introduction.
The speaker talks directly to the reader, making the poem feel personal and relatable.
Feelings like denial, sadness, anger, and confusion are treated as ingredients, helping readers picture emotions as something real and measurable.
The language moves back and forth between practical and emotional, blending instructions with reflection.
The ending allows room for growth rather than offering a neat or perfect conclusion.

Possibilities for Writers:

Write a recipe poem
Try using a familiar format (like a recipe, instructions, a checklist, or rules) to write about a personal or emotional experience, or revise a personal narrative piece by borrowing the structure of a nonfiction text.
Begin a piece with explanation or buildup before getting to the main idea.
Turn feelings into physical objects or ingredients to help readers understand them.
Write directly to the reader to create connection.
Let a piece end with reflection instead of a clear solution.

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I HOPE YOU REMEMBER BY JOSIE BALKA

Apr

I Hope You Remember: Poems on Loving, Longing, and Living is the debut collection from Canadian poet Josie Balka. Balka gained a following as a viral TikTok poet, originally sharing her work through videos recorded in her guest room closet in Calgary. You can find her TikTok here and a post of her talking about this book here.

The collection is divided into three sections: loving, longing, and living. Each piece explores experiences that feel both deeply personal and universally shared. Balka writes about body image, nostalgia, friendship, family, and the evolving relationship one has with oneself over time. With an easy-to-read style, she captures the vulnerability of growing up and the quiet reflections that come with looking back on earlier versions of ourselves.

A trending TikTok sound includes the viral line: “I’ve never seen anyone at a public pool with a memorable enough body, good or bad, that I think about it ever again.” It went wide on social media because it captures a common insecurity and puts it in perspective. It’s a clear reminder that most people aren’t scrutinizing us, which is part of why her work feels so grounding and relatable. Watch this video here.

Her writing feels personal and direct, like a diary entry or a message from a friend who knows what you need to hear. The collection reflects on the realities of growing up and looking back at the moments that shaped you. This is a great option for your bookshelf and one that you can dip in and out of as you need!

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CRAFT STUDIO: OCTOPUS MOON

Apr

What I Was Reading:

In Octopus Moon by Bobbie Pyron, Pearl summarizes her friendship with Rosie by naming all the ways Rosie knows her so well. She includes small, ordinary details, as well as fears and long-held dreams for the future, that she has shared with Rosie. Each line adds to a sense of closeness and trust. But at the very end of the passage, there is a shift. Pearl reveals that there is something significant that Rosie does not know. In just a few lines, the writer shows how a person can feel deeply known, and trust someone so much, and still be fearful of revealing something new about themselves.

Rosie
knows everything about me.
My favorite colors
and books
and TV shows
and songs.
She knows
I’m terrified of trampolines
and Ferris wheels.
She knows
I want to be a marine biologist
more than anything.

But Rosie does not know
about Dr. Jill

What I Notice the Writer Doing:

The writer uses short lines and white space so each detail stands on its own.
Small, specific details help us understand Pearl without explanation.
Instead of listing information in one sentence, the writer lets the details unfold slowly, one line at a time.
The repetition of “She knows” creates a sense of rhythm and reinforces how close Rosie and Pearl are.
As the passage ends, the writer breaks from the pattern she has established.
The final sentence names what Rosie does not know, standing in contrast to everything that comes before it.
By placing this line on its own and saving it for the end, the writer allows the truth to land with impact.

Possibilities for Writers:

Experiment with listing details across several short lines instead of combining them into a single sentence.
Try repeating a phrase to build rhythm and show closeness or familiarity.
Use specific, everyday details to reveal character.
Consider saving an important or difficult truth for the end of a piece.
Play with line breaks and white space to guide the reader’s attention.
Write about something many people know about you and then explore something they don’t.

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OCTOPUS MOON BY BOBBIE PYRON

Apr

I tear my eyes from my sweet dog
and look up at the sliver of moon,
barely there.
“I like it better when it’s full,” I say.

Laurel looks at me, her dark eyebrows scrunched up.
“But the moon is always full”

I blink. “It is?”
She points
at the moon.
“The moon is lit by the sun.
The dark part is just a shadow.”

“It’s always full?” I ask again.
“Yes, Pearl. The moon
is always full.”

Bobbie Pyron’s Octopus Moon is a beautiful and deeply needed novel in verse about a ten-year-old girl named Pearl as she begins to experience childhood depression. Pearl is thoughtful, sensitive, and deeply empathetic to all, especially the ocean and its creatures. But as fifth grade begins, life starts to feel heavier in ways she cannot fully explain. Things that once felt manageable, like friendships, school, and everyday life, begin to shift under the weight of something she does not yet have the words for.

I would recommend this book to any reader who wants to better understand what depression can look like in childhood. Its emotional honesty feels especially powerful because, as Pyron explains in her author’s note, Octopus Moon is the book she needed when she was young, before there were enough stories or language to help children understand what they were experiencing.

One of the most moving parts of the novel is Pearl’s relationship with her dog, who loves every version of her without question. That steady, unconditional love becomes a quiet but powerful thread throughout the story, reminding readers that Pearl is still herself even when depression makes her feel otherwise. The novel also shows the importance of support systems. Some of Pearl’s friends and family understand what she is going through right away, while others only begin to show up for her after doing some learning of their own about mental illness and realizing that depression is not something a person can simply “wish away.”

Because it is written in verse, Octopus Moon allows Pearl’s emotions to surface in a way that feels both gentle and deeply affecting. The language is accessible, but it never oversimplifies what Pearl is going through. In the end, Octopus Moon reminds us that, like the moon, a person can be shadowed and still remain whole.

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TRY THIS TOMORROW: USING MULTIPLE READS TO MAKE SENSE OF A COMPLEX POEM

Apr

Maggie Smith’s “The Before Picture”

I was reading Maggie Smith’s new poem “The Before Picture” and noticed how much thinking it demands from the reader. The topic of time/progress/the future is familiar, especially for students preparing for life after high school, but the poem does not explain itself easily. That makes it a complex text for teaching how multiple reads build understanding.

Students should not feel pressure to understand any poem right away. Each read adds another layer. This post models one way to structure purposeful rereads of any complex poem. While I use “The Before Picture” to show what this can look like in practice, the instructional moves are meant to be adaptable to any poem where meaning unfolds over time.

Below is one way to structure purposeful reads, each with a clear instructional focus.

Read 1: Gist Through One Word

Focus: What does this seem to be about so far?

Mini-lesson:
Read the poem aloud. Say something like, I’m not sure what this means yet, so I am trying to pay attention to the words that keep coming up in my mind. One word that keeps coming to mind is “time.” Circle or highlight the word time in the poem and underline a few related words such as before, future, now. Write the word at the top of the page.

Student work (partners or small groups):
Students reread and talk. Each group chooses one word that captures what the poem seems to be about or how it feels (time, change, anxiety, progress, stuck).
They write that word at the top of the poem and lightly mark lines that connect to it.

Emphasize that different words are expected.

Read 2: Imagery and Metaphor Linked to a Word

Focus: How the poet develops one idea

Mini-lesson (teacher models):
Choose one word from Read 1 (for example, time). Assign it a color (blue). Model highlighting imagery or metaphors connected to that word, such as time “dragging…like meat” or the future as “bait.” Add a short margin note with ideas on what those images suggest. Write multiple ideas to show that you don’t have the one right answer, just thoughts worth noting.

Student work:
Each group chooses a different word from Read 1 (for example, anxiety or hesitation) and a different color.
They highlight images or metaphors that support that word and annotate what those images suggest or what feelings they present.

Read 3: Structure and Craft

Focus: How the poem’s structure supports meaning

Mini-lesson (teacher models):
Teach briefly that poets use repetition, line breaks, and pacing intentionally. Model noticing repetition of now or refresh and annotate how it feels repetitive or cyclical, connecting it back to time.

Student work:
Students return to the poem and underline repeated words or phrases, mark short lines or breaks that feel abrupt or dragging and annotate whether these choices may be relevant to their word.

Read 4: Putting It Together

Focus: What the poem seems to be saying overall

Mini-lesson (teacher models):
Model looking across annotations and naming a possible meaning, using phrases like This makes me think the poet is suggesting… Refer directly to imagery and structure without polishing it into a paragraph.

Student work:
Students add final annotations answering:
– what the poem suggests about progress or the future
– why the speaker might prefer the “before”
– what the ending suggests about living in the present

Read 5: Reader Response

Focus: Moving from thinking to writing

Mini-lesson (teacher models):
Write a short paragraph connecting the poem to your own experience with time or change. Think aloud about choosing evidence from annotations and shaping an idea. You may agree with the speaker’s thoughts or disagree from your own experience.

Student work:
Students use the model to write a paragraph explaining how the poem may connect to teenagers and how they feel about growing up, moving on, facing the future, or whatever message connects to their chosen word.

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POETRY PRESCRIPTION CHOSEN BY DEBORAH ALMA

Apr

Poetry Prescription is a series of curated around one of eight themes: joy, becoming, calm, comfort, inspiration, words for love, first aid, and wild remedy. The series is brought to us by The Poetry Pharmacy.

Every collection welcomes its readers with the same greeting: “Life is lived with feeling—and these poems will bring you reassurance.” These “carefully curated prescriptions in verse” offer a wide variety of poetic voices, styles, forms, and eras for readers to explore slowly in small doses or consume all at once.

In the introduction to First Aid, Alma writes

These poems acknowledge that the world is often complicated, confusing and frightening but they work their particular magic and will inspire resilience and hope. You will find though-provoking poems that help readers process emotions, and words that celebrate joy and the beauty of everyday life, while poems of connection explore love and human empathy. This book serves as a kind of literary medicine, offering comfort, support, and perspective.

Not only would any (or all) of these collections be a terrific resource for educators looking for poems to infuse into their classrooms, but they would also be lovely additions to the classroom library. I can also imagine using them as mentor texts for students to curate their own collections of poetry prescriptions around a theme, complete with an introduction modeled on the ones written by Deborah Alam.

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