Topic: Poetry

Whether it is haiku, the sonnets of William Shakespeare or the lyrical truths of Maya Angelou, poetry has long been an important art form that illuminates the human experience. Today’s rappers use rhyme and vivid imagery to capture important moments in their lives. Explore the role of poets and poetry through the direct links on The Times’ Launch Point Web site:

https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint

Here are the best sites for getting your schoolwork done or for just having fun.

Level 1

Papa’s Poems: Read about the bigwig pig, the meandering salamander and many other whimsical tales in this illustrated collection of poems by A.A. “Papa” Talbert.

https://aatalbert.songbird.com/PapasPoems/

Rainforest Poetry: Learn about various forms of poetry such as haiku, acrostic and limerick. Take a nature walk through these poems about the rain forest and its inhabitants.

https://www.cwpost.liunet.edu/~edt/professional/jon.htm

Kids’ Challenge: Give your imagination muscles a workout as you try 10 fun poetry and songwriting challenges. You’ll need to come up with rhyming words and phrases, illustrate some scenes and write a sequel to the story poem, “Julie Jerond and the Polka Dot Pony.”

https://www.mbnet.mb.ca/~soberman/songpoem.htm

Level 2

Poetry Just for Kids: Read some tips for writing poetry, including why it can be good to write poems that don’t rhyme. Find out where you can publish your poems on the Web and read children’s poetry from all over the world.

https://home.earthlink.net/~froggie1/page5.html

Poet Hero: According to poet hero Mattie Stepanek, a 6-year-old black belt recipient and writer of hundreds of poems, “God’s favorite language is Not grown-ups’ language, But the Language of Children.” Find out about the lives of poets like Stepanek, Maya Angelou and Ilse Bing that have been chosen as inspirational.

https://myhero.com/hero.asp?hero=mattieStepanek

Flint Library Fun Poetry Quiz: What poet was known for being a recluse, or for always spelling his name in lower-case letters? See how much you know about various poets--their lives and their work--through this fun quiz.

https://www.flint.lib.mi.us/fpl/resources/poetry/poetryquiz/poetryquiz.html

Level 3

Poets’ Corner: This outstanding site features poems organized by topics, a daily poem with a thoughtful analysis, a gallery of poet portraits and resources, and a large collection of online works including Native American poems and various folk songs and spirituals.

https://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems/

Sonnet Central: Discover sonnets from all over the world in this well-organized, comprehensive resource. View a timeline of sonnet masters, access literary criticism and even read sonnets on sonnets.

https://members.aol.com/ericblomqu/sonnet.htm

Twentieth-Century Poetry in English: Poet and doctor William Carlos Williams often wrote poems on his prescription pads between rounds. Learn about more than 150 modern-day poets through this collection of biographies and links.

https://www.lit.kobe-u.ac.jp/~hishika/20c_poet.htm

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Olivia Silva, Debbie Iway and Anna Manring.

EXPLORER’S QUEST

What writer was known as the “Poet Laureate of Harlem”?

CLUE: See Poet Heroes

Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 50 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.

Answer to last week’s Quest: A player may run six or seven miles during the course of a soccer game.