Listen to the following poets read their poems and identify the approaches they use to pull you into their worlds:

Matthew Dickman, “Slow Dance”

Bob Hicok, “Calling him back after layoff”

Li Young Lee, “The Gift”

Shara McCullum, “Psalm for Kingston”

Naomi Shihab Nye, “One Boy Told Me”

Sharon Olds, “I Go Back to May, 1937”

If we look at the characteristics that mark good readers, we frequently find these traits:

1. Confidence
2. A voice loud enough to hear
3. A slow to moderate pace
4. Heightened inflection, cadence, and intonation
5. Eyes lifted from the page

 

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