LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dr. Paul Cummins is making a powerful case for the relevance of poetry (and how to teach it) with his latest book. In Voice & Verse: Joys and How-To’s of Teaching, Reading and Writing Poetry, Cummins lovingly shares practical and accessible advice and perspective on how best to share the art of reading and creating poetry with students, including explorations of the tremendous benefits poetry brings and how teachers, parents and poets of all ages can impart the joys of the art with the next generation.
Cummins believes that poetry is an art form worth fighting for, and the best way to keep it alive is by teaching it in meaningful and lasting ways to a new generation.
Practicing what he preaches, Cummins’ Collected Poems, an assortment of his own finest and most beautiful poems, will be published by Griffith Moon early next year, demonstrating that Cummins is not only a supporter and educator of verse, but also a genuine, inspiring poet himself.
Cummins received his bachelor of arts from Stanford, his MAT from Harvard, and his doctorate from the USC. In 1971, he co-founded Crossroads School in Santa Monica and built it into one of Los Angeles’s most successful educational institutions and a national model for innovative, independent schools. In 1995, Cummins stepped down as Headmaster of Crossroads and formed New Visions Foundation (now Coalition for Engaged Education) to offer opportunities for Engaged Education to all youth. The first venture was New Roads School, a diverse, K-12 independent school in Santa Monica that has a deep commitment to social justice. Since 2016, Cummins has helped co-create two new progressive schools: Pine Ridge Girls School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota; and Tree Academy in Los Angeles. Both schools serve grades 6-12 and are diverse, providing substantial financial aid.
Cummins has published several books on education, including Proceed With Passion: Engaging Students in Meaningful Education (2004), Two Americas, Two Educations: Funding Quality Schools for all Students (2007) and Confessions of a Headmaster: My Pursuit of Joy and Justice in Education (2015). His book of essays, Why Poetry? Reflections on Poetry, Writing and Culture, was published in 2009, in addition to two volumes of his own poetry and two children's books.
His latest book, Voice & Verse: Joys and How-To’s of Teaching, Reading and Writing Poetry is now available via Amazon.com, and The Collected Poems of Paul F. Cummins will be published in early 2019.
Media: For review copies of Voice & Verse or to arrange interviews with Dr. Cummins, please contact Paul Williams, paul@MediaLineCommunications.com, 310/569-0023.