Responding to evidence of a steep decline in the reading of poetry, this article advocates a set of broad principles for poetry teaching that address the aesthetic function and materiality of poetry, and argues for a dialectic relationship in the poetry classroom between thoughtful analysis and interpretive freedom.

This essay argues that presence—the condition of being fully present in the classroom to students and to oneself—is an essential element in good teaching. The essay identifies major obstacles to presence and explores means of achieving it.

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