Annotated Bibliography Example: Culture and Poetry

Axelrod, Steven Gould, Camille Roman, and Thomas Travisano, Eds. The New Anthology of American Poetry: Postmodernisms 1950-present. Rutgers University Press, 2012.

Axelrod et al., (2012) in the book explain that new trends in poetry are somewhat different from the way individuals used to view culture and poetry. The authors assert that while in the past poetry paid attention to society and its various aspects, the new anthology being taken up considers culture as the main aspect of society. Moreover, this book discusses how culture can be incorporated in poetry and the relevance of incorporating culture in aspects that represent poetry. The book thus seems to agree with the notion being held by current artists that culture is the main theme in current poetry and its representation, especially in America.

Henderson, Stephen. "Understanding the New Black Poetry: Black Speech and Black Music as Poetic References." (1973).

Henderson in his book observes that music that pays attention to the African-American can be used as a reference for poetry. Henderson asserts that black music and famous black speech is full of reliable content. He explains that blacks have a strong cultural attachment to their poetry and what better way to understand their culture than listening to the music they have a preference for. He agree with the notion held by many critics that African-American are very selective especially when it comes to poetry that appreciates their culture.

Rosaen, Cheryl L. "Preparing Teachers for Diverse Classrooms: Creating Public and Private Spaces to Explore Culture through Poetry Writing." Teachers College Record105.8 (2003): 1437-85.

Rosaen in her article argues that the modern society is characterized by individuals from different cultural backgrounds. For a teacher to be able to effectively teach pupils on poetry relating to different cultures, Rosaen explains that the teacher needs to be familiar with diverse students. Rosaen asserts that the current classrooms are so diverse and the need to incorporate culture in learnt poetry is now a necessity. As a result, Rosaen feels that teaching poetry in writing should thus be an all-inclusive process for the benefit of the different cultured students and learners.

Von Hallberg, Robert. American poetry and culture, 1945-1980. Harvard University Press, 1985.

Von Hallberg in his book agrees with the sentiments held by Axelrod et al., (2012). Von Hallberg observes that American poetry is diversifying and changing and the center-stage where the change is notable is in culture. In this book, the author takes issue with changing demographics in relation to different cultures identifying with specific poetry. Thus the new form of portraying poetry is such that, it is thematic and identifies with many if not all cultures. All in all, Von Hallberg is of the opinion that people are trying to be culturally aware of their surroundings; as a result, this serves as the driving factor for the changing poetic themes relating to culture in America.