IN FINE FORM: A CONTEMPORARY LOOK AT CANADIAN FORM POETRY
Spanning a range of poets and time-periods, In Fine Form: A Contemporary Look at Form Poetry includes 180+ poems organized by their form. There are the usual suspects such as ballads, acrostic poems, haikus, and sonnets. However, there are some other forms that I had never come across before. I was also introduced to Canadian poets that were unfamiliar to me.
The editors, Kate Braid and Sandy Shreve, have done a wonderful job creating a collection that, I think, is perfect for high school ELA teachers. Each chapter of the book begins with a brief introduction of the form’s origins, a description of how the form works, as well as traditional and non-traditional examples of the form by a range of poets. There are New Brunswick poets included in this anthology as well. There are two Stanzas by Bliss Carman, an Epigram by Alden Nowlen, and a Madrigal and a Sonnet by Herménégilde Chiasson.
I could see ELA teachers using this book in a variety of ways:
- as mentor texts for any poetry form you are teaching
- as part of an author study
- to study a well-crafted essay (The introduction of the book is beautifully written)
- as part of a unit on Canadian poets
There is so much richness to be found in this book that I highly recommend you add it to your poetry shelf and use it frequently in the classroom!