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Usborne Quicklinks
Quicklinks for internet-linked books
Click on the links to visit the recommended websites. To read many of the poems recommended in this book, scroll down to "More poems to read".
Websites to visit
Top tips on writing poems
Poet Jerome Martin, author of "Write your own poems", reveals his top tips on how to write fantastic poems.
Listen to a poem about writing poetry
Go for a walk and create a collage poem
Helpful advice on how to get started
Poets share writing tips
Help with writing about "place" or how to edit your poem.
Websites to visit
Watch a cartoon poetry lesson
Learn about four poetic techniques - similes, imagery, onomotopoeia and personification.
More examples of poems and poetic techniques
Explore the menus for poems and video readings by poets.
Helpful tips on to how to write a haiku
Browse a rhyming dictionary
Tick the box next to "Rhyming", type in a word and click on "Go".
Click on the links to read – or listen to - many of the poems in the "More to read" boxes in Write Your Own Poems.
Websites to visit
“I Started Early – Took my Dog" by Emily Dickinson
Click on the red play button next to the title to hear the poem.
Watch an animation of Emily Dickinson's poem
Websites to visit
“A young lady of Lynn” by Anonymous
“How awkward when playing with glue” by Constance Levy
Websites to visit
“Abecedary” by Tom Disch
Click on the right arrow to continue.
“Alphabet Poem” by Edward Lear
Websites to visit
“Christmas Tree” by James Merrill
“Swan and Shadow” by John Hollander
Websites to visit
“Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Click on the red play button next to the title to hear the poem.
Websites to visit
Websites to visit
“Fifth Grade Autobiography” by Rita Dove
“A Girl Named Jack” by Jacqueline Woodson
Websites to visit
“Mummy of a Lady Named Jemutesonekh” by Thomas James
“Crusoe in England” by Elizabeth Bishop
Websites to visit
“Sleeping in the Forest” by Mary Oliver
“the earth is a living thing” by Lucille Clifton
“Plea to the Wind” by Alice Oswald
“Blackberrying” by Sylvia Plath
Websites to visit
“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden
Websites to visit
“To the Light of September” by W. S. Merwin
“Ode to my Socks” by Pablo Neruda
“To the Rain” by Ursula K. Le Guin
Websites to visit
“The Kraken” by Alfred Lord Tennyson
“Cedar Waxwings Unmasked” by Jane Yolen
Websites to visit
“Fountains of Aix” by May Swenson
“An Arundel Tomb” by Philip Larkin
“Why I Am Not a Painter” by Frank O’Hara
Websites to visit
“Directions to My Imaginary Childhood” by Nick Carbó
“Five Directions to My House” by Juan Felipe Herrera
Websites to visit
“Beowulf” by Anonymous
Read an extract from "Beowulf" translated by the poet Seamus Heaney.
“Omeros” by Derek Walcott
Read chapters from the poem.
Websites to visit
“Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll
Read by Michael Rosen.
“The Jumblies” by Edward Lear
Read by Michael Rosen.
Websites to visit
“Po’ Boy Blues” by Langston Hughes
“Riverbank Blues” by Sterling A. Brown
Johnny Cash sings “The Banks of the Ohio”
(By Anonymous)
Bob Dylan sings “Barbara Allen”
(By Anonymous)
“Levee Camp Blues” by Son House
“I Ain’t Superstitious” by Howlin’ Wolf
Websites to visit
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens
“I Was Sleeping Where the Black Oaks Move” by Louise Erdrich
“Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich
Click on the audio icon next to the title to hear the poem.
“What My House Would Be Like If It Were A Person” by Denise Levertov
Click on the red play button next to the title to hear the poem.
Children, make sure you follow these three simple rules when using the internet:
For more tips, see Internet safety for children.
Adults - we recommend that children are supervised while on the internet. The content of a website may change at any time and Usborne Publishing is not responsible for content on sites other than its own.
For more on internet safety, see Internet advice for adults.
Websites with interactive content may not work on your tablet or smartphone, but you can view them on a computer. Find out more…
Write your own...
Write your own poems
Whether you want to dash off a limerick, ponder a sonnet or plot an epic poem, this write-in activity book is here to help. Each page is bursting with tips and inspiration for writing all kinds of poems – and inventing brand new styles too. With links to websites where you can listen to many of the poems in this book, and find more helpful writing tips.
Websites do occasionally experience problems. If a link isn't working we recommend leaving it a while and trying again. If the site is still down the following day please report the problem using our contact form. We will fix the problem as soon as possible, or find an alternative link.
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