An acclaimed poet and writer, Georgia Heard is the author of Writing Toward Home: Tales and Lessons to Find
Your Way (Heinemann, 1995), For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry (Heinemann, 1989), and Creatures
of Earth, Sea, and Sky, a book of poetry for young children. She has also published numerous essays on poetry and
writing, and her poems have appeared in a variety of literary journals. She speaks to thousands of people every
year at conferences throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, and also travels extensively as a writing
consultant and poet-in-residence for schools and universities.
Heinemann has also produced The Words of True Poems (1998), an audiotape on which Heard reads a selection of her
favorite poems, prefacing each poem with a brief introductory comment on its uses in the classroom.
Review
"Intelligent, respectful, and beautifully written, this book bypasses lesson plans and gimmicks and gets
to the heart of what writing poetry is all about . . ."
--The Writing Teacher
Heinemann Publishing Web Site, May, 2001
Summary
For the Good of the Earth and Sun is for teachers at all levels, especially for those teachers who feel anxious
about introducing poetry to students.
Georgia Heard offers a method of teaching poetry that respects the intelligence of students and teachers and that
can build upon their basic originality. She explores poetry from the inside as it is: a powerful and necessary
way of looking at the world, and one of mankind's most durable inventions.
Her book provides detailed, organized information so that teachers themselves can begin to enjoy and feel knowledgeable
about poetry, and, from there, pass those feelings on to their students. The author's text is supplemented by examples
of students' work in original and draft form.
