Have you ever had to convince a room full of 15-year-olds that poetry is cool? Or that, with your help, they’ll be able to understand it? Or maybe (if the planets align just so) that they’ll like it? If so, then you know all too well the poetry sales pitch every ELA teacher has had to make to those skeptical, unforgiving disbelievers.
Fortunately, videos of poets reading their works have become increasingly available online. What videos do that the printed word cannot is lift poems off the textbook page and literally bring them to life on the screen. There’s nothing like seeing and hearing a poet present his or her own works, and witnessing the reaction of the audience. But finding videos that are appropriate for use in a middle or high school classroom is another story. Some videos are dull and monotonous; some are, indeed, interesting, but are too racy or contain saucy language teachers won’t be able to justify. Some are far too long, and some have audio that’s at such a low volume that it’s nearly impossible to hear what the poet is saying.
To make it easy for you to show some cool poetry videos in your classroom and save you tons of time, I’ve sifted through hours and hours of video and put together this eclectic collection of poets reading their poems. The best news is that all of them are appropriate for high school and college classrooms, while many are appropriate for middle school. None are too long, some are enhanced with a bit of music, some contain spoken word performances, and some have bonus videos or articles to supplement them. The audio is fine in all but one, but I included a separate audio file for that poem. Additionally, I’ve included the length of the video, a summary of its contents, the levels it is best suited for, teaching notes, and a link to the poem text if it is available.
This collection features these amazing poems:
- “Revenge” by Taha Muhammad Ali
- “Litany” by Billy Collins
- “Ode To The Selfie” by Olivia Gatwood and Megan Falley
- “Self-Portrait,” “Cotton Candy,” and “Special Orders” by Edward Hirsch
- “Blurred Vision” by Mahogany L. Browne with her daughter, Amari Tims
- “Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100” by Martin Espada
- “B (If I should have a daughter)” and “Hiroshima” by Sarah Kay
- “Part of Eve’s Discussion” and “The Moment” by Marie Howe
- “The Other Village” by Thomas Lux
- “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton
1. “Revenge” by Taha Muhammad Ali
Video Link: https://youtu.be/mrDLT5Ae-VY Length: 6:22
Summary: Read first in Arabic by the author and then translated by Peter Cole. The poem details the revenge the poet would take if he encountered the person who killed his father. It’s one of the most moving poems I’ve ever heard – and I was fortunate to hear it in person at the 2006 Dodge Poetry Festival. (No, I can’t see myself in the audience, but I know that one of those blonde heads belongs to me!)
Best For: Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: Ask students to listen to the sound of the language of the poem as Ali reads it since they won’t likely be able to understand its words until they hear the translation.
Poem Text: https://davidjbauman.com/2013/08/20/revenge-by-taha-muhammad-ali/
BONUS: Weekly Poem: Remembering Taha Muhammad Ali by PBS Newshour
Video Link: https://youtu.be/SJkoj-gDWEI Length: 3:21
Summary: This PBS report is a remembrance of Taha Muhammad Ali who passed away in October 2011.
Best For: Middle School High School College
Teaching Notes: Ask students to discover one surprising or interesting element in the video. Additional information about Mr. Ali is available here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/taha-muhammad-ali#poet
2. “Litany” by Billy Collins
Video Link: https://youtu.be/56Iq3PbSWZY Length: 4:10
Summary: Mr. Collins explains the basis for this poem: He steals the first two lines from “a poem that seems to fail” poem and then writes a new poem from it. The poem is humorous since it contains a list of ideas that can be seen as both compliments and insults.
Best For: Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: You may wish to discuss the title of the poem before starting the video. The word “litany” is defined as a repetitive prayer used in religious services in which one part is expressed by the religious leader and then a response is given by the congregants. Additionally, the word has a negative connotation and often refers to a list of complaints made to others. In this poem, the speaker begins with a compliment, but then, begins insulting his love with small slights that grow ever larger. The speaker also manages to compliment him/herself.
Poem Text: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/litany/
BONUS: 3-year-old recites poem, “Litany” by Billy Collins
Video Link: https://youtu.be/uVu4Me_n91Y Length: 1:59
Summary: This is an adorable video of a three-year-old reciting “Litany”.
Best For: Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: If you challenge your students to memorize the poem, you can show them this video as motivation.
3. “Ode To The Selfie” by Olivia Gatwood and Megan Falley (Speak Like a Girl)
Video Link: https://youtu.be/iKrJzJEC0kU Length: 1:46
Summary: This poem performance by spoken word poet team Olivia Gatwood and Megan Falley is humorous yet uplifting to girls, especially those who take selfies. It’s one of their few poem performances that does not contain “spicy” language.
Best For:Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: What makes this poem unique is that the two young women poets share their poem together, speaking together at times or alternating. The poem contains current cultural references, and may be a jumping off point for a discussion about selfies, girls’ self esteem, and narcissism.
4. “Self-Portrait,” “Cotton Candy,” and “Special Orders” by Edward Hirsch
Video Link: https://youtu.be/UkYR8ZC1crE Length: 3:48
Summary: Three short poems by Edward Hirsch. “Self-Portrait” describes the conflicting feelings students and all people have about themselves and their lives; “Cotton Candy” is an imagist poem that describes a moment in time that wasn’t so sweet, but ended up being bittersweet instead; “Special Orders” is an authentic and nostalgic look back at Hirsch’s father and the grief he feels over his loss.
Best For: Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: Ask students to think of a conflict or internal argument they have with themselves in preparation for “Self-Portrait.” Before “Cotton Candy” and “Special Orders”, ask students to think of someone special in their lives that they would memorialize in a poem if they were to write one.
Poem Texts:
“Self-Portrait”: http://www.edwardhirsch.com/poetry/self-portrait/
“Cotton Candy”: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/cotton-candy
“Special Orders”: http://www.edwardhirsch.com/poetry/special-orders/
BONUS: How to Read a Poem
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMAt0ixlM8c Length: 4:01
Summary: Hirsch explains the unique collaboration between the poet, the poem, and the reader and uses the metaphor of a message in a bottle washed ashore to explain that connection.
Best For: Middle School (? May be over their heads.) | High School | College
Teaching Notes: Pause after the first question to discuss the metaphor; pause at the end to discuss the connection between poet and reader. What poems have caused you to feel a connection to its poet?
5. “Blurred Vision” by Mahogany L. Browne with her daughter, Amari Tims
Video Link: https://youtu.be/otgmddkatHk Length: 4:21
Summary: This poem showcases the effects of mean girl Leelee on the speaker’s young and sensitive heart. It is prefaced by Amari Tims’ delicate singing of a bit of Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird” which she continues to hum throughout the reading, adding a sweet and delicate musical backdrop to the poem.
Best For: High School | College Note: Contains the word: “ass” at 3:06.
Teaching Notes: Ask your students: “What effect does the music have on your understanding of the poem? What songs would you pair with your favorite poem and why?”
BONUS: “Litany” by Mahogany L. Browne, text and audio: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/litany-1
6. “Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100” by Martin Espada
Video Link: https://youtu.be/H3anIr7vAIQ Length: 4:23
Summary: This poem celebrates the 43 union employees at the exclusive Windows on the World restaurant who lost their lives on 9/11. Espada’s deep-throated delivery, enhanced with snippets of song, makes this a powerful poem.
Best For: Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: The whole title of the poem is this: “Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100. for the 43 members of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 100, working at the Windows on the World restaurant, who lost their lives in the attack on the World Trade Center. This Wikipedia entry provides some background information on Windows on the World. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_on_the_World
Poem Text: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/alabanza-praise-local-100
7. “B”, “If I should have a daughter …”, and “Hiroshima” by Sarah Kay
Video Link: https://youtu.be/0snNB1yS3IE Length: 18:28 for the complete video – 2 poems and a Ted Talk.
Timing breakdown: Poem: “B” 0 – 3:58; Kay describes her journey from 14-year-old girl to spoken word poet: 3:59 – 14:16; at 14:17, she begins the introduction to her last poem, “Hiroshima”, that starts at 15:09.
Summary: This Ted Talk begins with the poem “B” and then leads into a The delivery of this sentimental, empowering, poem is its strength. The ideas and images flow in a stream-of-consciousness fashion that will likely appeal to teens whose thoughts often flow in the same way.
Best For: Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: Before sharing, ask students to think about what important messages they would share with a future daughter–if they were to have one.
TED Talk Transcript: https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter/transcript?language=en
8. “Part of Eve’s Discussion” and “The Moment” by Marie Howe
Video Link: https://youtu.be/8e_SCrhQ_68 Length: 2:51
Summary: Two poems about moments. What’s interesting is that both poems convince or allow the listeners to focus intently on two different types of moments, something that we so infrequently do, due to our busy lives.
Best For: High School | College
Teaching Notes: Ask students to describe how busy they or how hectic their lives are in one or two sentences. Share, then listen. How do these poems cause the reader to slow, pause, and stop to focus on one moment?
Poem Text:
“Part of Eve’s Discussion”: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/part-eves-discussion
“The Moment”: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/moment-0
9. “The People of the Other Village” by Thomas Lux
Video Link: https://youtu.be/WIr1e5UMc9g Length: 2:30
Summary: Unfortunately, there have always been times when a poem about one group, people, or country in our world hating and acting violently upon another group, people, or country seems relevant. This poem uses interesting images and subtle humor to portray how two villages cause tit-for-tat harm to each other.
Best For: Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: Ask students to name two countries, groups, villages, or other entities that are at war with each other. Can they name some horrific act that one has perpetrated upon the other? Note#2: The audio for this video is quite soft. I have searched and searched for a better one, and if one ever surfaces, I’ll be sure to add the link. Here is a link to a clear audio with a bit of an introduction by Mr. Lux.
Poem Text: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/48485
Bonus: Q&A/Thomas Lux; If Poetry Is Puzzling, Who Is to Blame? by Donna Greene, 1998
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/04/nyregion/q-a-thomas-lux-if-poetry-is-puzzling-who-is-to-blame.html
Summary: This article is not a video or audio, but is an interview with Thomas Lux in which he explains that difficult, obscure writing is not the intention of poetry, and if poems are too difficult to be understood, then, perhaps, the poet is at fault. Your students (and you) might second that opinion.
Best For: High School | College
10.”won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton
Video Link: https://youtu.be/XM7q_DUk5wU Length: 1:24
Summary: A poem of perseverance for a woman who says that she had “no model”, this short poem is inspired and inspirational.
Best For: Middle School | High School | College
Teaching Notes: Ask students to think about what seems to want to harm them or challenge them on a regular basis before playing this poem. You may also ask them to consider the symbolism of the poem title and body being written in all lower case letters.
Poem Text: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/wont-you-celebrate-me
I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing them with you. If you know of any other videos of poets sharing their works that would be appropriate for the secondary level, please let me know in the comments below or email me at msaylor.secondarystrategies@gmail.com. I’m always looking for more to share with my students and my fellow teachers.
Which video did you like the best? Which one(s) do you plan to use with your students?
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