SCHOLASTIC CANADA LAUNCHES NEW RUBICON SERIES GRAPHIC POETRY
Thursday, February 12, 2009
TORONTO - Scholastic Canada today launched the new Rubicon series Graphic Poetry to rave reviews at the annual Reading for the Love of It conference in Toronto. The new line of graphic novels uses vivid illustrations to help students access and visualize the poetry of some of the world’s most celebrated poets.
The conference – Canada’s largest annual reading conference – was the ideal setting to introduce the new series to the educational community, where everyone among the record crowds had one thing in common – a love for literacy. Rubicon Publishing, a leader in the creation of graphic novels for education, forged a unique combination of striking artwork in a popular graphic novel format, with the work of such renowned poets as Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood and Joni Mitchell.
“We selected poems that are studied in classrooms across Canada and the U.S.” said Maggie Goh, President and Publisher of Rubicon. “We hope – with the excitement that the graphic novel format can bring – that this series will turn many students on to poetry, and help them see how engaging great poems can really be.”
Graphic Poetry is the latest example of how the wildly popular graphic novel format is being used to help enhance the learning experience in schools. In addition to the striking artwork, each book highlights a specific poetic device, such as meter, personification and imagery, creating an accessible means for students to experience poetry and a unique way for teachers to introduce an often dreaded genre to their students.