What Is Poetry?

A detailed and very personal guide to reading and writing poetry by one of the country’s leading children’s poets.

Over many years as a working poet, Michael Rosen has thought a great deal about what poems are, what they can do and the pleasure that comes from writing and reading poetry. In this invaluable handbook, he shares this knowledge and experience in book form for the very first time. Starting with a detailed analysis of a number of classic poems, he offers a real “writer’s guide” to writing and performing poems, as well as a wealth of technical information and tips. He then takes a fascinating look at a selection of his own poems and explains how and why he wrote them. Complete with an appendix of poets and useful websites, and beautifully illustrated by award-winning artist Jill Calder, this is the only guide to poetry children and teachers will ever need.

About the Author

Michael Rosen is one of the country's most popular writers for children. His titles for Walker include We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Little Rabbit Foo Foo, Michael Rosen's Sad Book, This Is Our House, Bananas In My Ears, Tiny Little Fly, Dear Mother Goose and Dear Fairy Godmother, What's So Special About Shakespeare and What's So Special About Dickens, The Bus Is for Us and A Great Big Cuddle. He has written and edited many collections of poems for children and adults, and his readings and performances are always sold out. Michael is also a distinguished critic and academic, and Professor of Children's Literature at Goldsmiths University of London. In 1997 he received the Eleanor Farjeon Award for Services to Children's Literature, and was the Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009. Michael lives in North London.

About the Illustrator

Jill Calder has been working as an illustrator since 1993, blending traditional and digital image-making methods as seamlessly as possible to create her award-winning illustrations and lettering. Besides Walker, and among many others, her clients include the Guardian, The New Yorker, the British Museum, Penguin Random House and Kellogg's. She lives in the beautiful fishing village of Cellardyke, Scotland.