Creating a Poetry Anthology

An anthology is a collection of selected literary works. So, when creating a poetry anthology you
are basically making a collection of poems you have selected. Your anthology needs to tell
something about yourself-who you are, what you want in life, what you think. It should not be a
bunch of poems haphazardly selected, or a motley group of poems. You should have a reason for
selecting your poems.

To help you keep on a path, your anthology needs to have a theme—coming of age. Each of your
poems needs to somehow be related to the coming of age theme.

Your anthology needs to have at least eight poems.

Four of your eight poems need to be written and created by you.

Each poem needs to include at least 2 poetic devices, and in your anthology each of the poetic
devices needs to be present at least once. Highlight and label them on the poem.
 Metaphor
 Simile
 Personification
 Allusion
 Rhyme
 Alliteration
 Assonance
 Onomatopoeia

For each poem you need to include an image that represents the theme of the poem. This can be original
artwork or something you find online (clip art, pictures, images of works of art).

For each poem you need to write a 1-2 paragraph explanation / reflection of your poem selection. In your
reflection, you should explain (1) why you chose this poem, (2) what it means to you, (3) which literary
devices are used, and (4) how it fits into the coming of age theme.

Your anthology needs to have a cover and back, just like a book. Your cover needs to be artistically
made, aesthetically pleasing and creative.

Your anthology needs an introduction. Your introduction will inform readers about you the poet, your
motivations for selecting the poems, and what message you are trying to get across to readers. You could
also use the poem you created on page 193 in your poetry booklet (you will want to rewrite it to be sure it
reflects who you are as both a writer and an analyzer of poetry).

Your anthology needs a table of contents. Simply state the order in which your anthology is laid out.
Your anthology should be laid out—cover, table of contents, introduction, poems/reflections/art, and back
cover.

This is a project to be taken seriously. If you want the mood of your anthology to be funny that is fine, but
the humor needs to be tasteful and thoughtful. Ridiculous poems with ridiculous pictures that do not make
sense are not welcome. Each poem needs to be thoughtful, meaningful, and have a point or message.
Anthology Requirements:
 Front and back cover created by you

 Table of contents

 Introduction

 8 poems 4 originally created by you

 Four Original Poems
 Need to have different voices
 Need to have different themes
 Four Found/Selected Poems
 Need to have different voices
 Need to have different themes

 Each Poem Needs

o 2 poetic devices (be sure to HIGHLIGHT and LABEL them)
o An original piece of artwork
o A typed reflection

 All poetic devices need to be present at least once.

o Metaphor Simile
o Personification Allusion
o Rhyme Alliteration
o Assonance Onomatopoeia

Timeline
 Step 1 - Select / create poems
 Poems need to be selected, typed, or copied and pasted to a word document, and saved.

 Step 2 - Introduction and reflections

o Need to be typed and saved by the end of the class.
o May begin working on cover and artwork

 Step 3 - Finish Anthology

o Finish artwork
o Put together anthology

 Step 4 – Submit Work

o Share your Google doc with your teacher, OR
o Print and staple final anthology and turn in to your class period’s tray

 Due Friday, May 10 at the end of the day

Grading

The entire anthology is worth 100 points

 Poems.....................................................................................20
 Artwork..................................................................................10
 Reflections.............................................................................20
 Introduction............................................................................10
 Theme....................................................................................20
 Thoughtfulness and Meaning.................................................10
 Neatness / Creativity..............................................................10