Transitioning to an Online Bookstore: Our New Mission

The great changes in life can be opportunities too. If you look a little closer at the other side of the rubicon, put your fear to one side and make a little space for creative wonder... Something new emerges from the gloom. In a little while, it stops seeming as if a terrible calamity has happened, and more as if it is the next stepping stone to continue in a new way. It starts to look like evolution, a thing that that was always supposed to be made real. So, naturally, the question is posed... Why is this next stage important?

I could not be who I am as a writer, as a human being, without the literary greats. Thus, as much as I want to be seen as a significant writer and poet, being a bridge between the new world of standardised 'International English' and the old world of poetic prose is more important. The Bronte family wrote in free flowing ink with quills. Charles Dickens wrote by day-shine and candle-light. Emily Dickinson wrote to educate the heart of the mind. Essentially, our creative writers were philosophy teachers, raisers of emotional intelligence, and together they made us who we are. I hope that this will be true of the future too, that the art of writing stays strong as the art of literary love in action. Without the original Descriptionari, without that lovely higglety-pigglety notebook forming one creative spark at a time, these books, this coaching method, would never have been created... And maybe... Just maybe... They are papery keys that unlock future poets and classic authors.

So, What Do Educators Say About the Guide Book Method?

The following is a third party evaluation of the "Sweet 'n' Salty Guide to Becoming a Poet, The Second Edition.

From Simple English to Advanced Literary Language

An Analysis of Angela Abraham’s Progressive Poetic Writing Method

Introduction

Angela Abraham’s Sweet ’n’ Salty Poetry Series: Guide to Becoming a Poet appears at first to be a guide to poetry and literary writing. Yet Chapter One, “Imagery,” reveals a broader teaching philosophy: helping students move gradually from accessible English toward richer, more complex literary language.

Rather than asking students to understand difficult ideas and difficult language at the same time, the method keeps the underlying meaning familiar while progressively increasing the sophistication of the language. Poetry and poetic prose therefore become a bridge between everyday English and advanced literary expression.

1. Begin by making the concept accessible

The chapter introduces imagery through concrete sensory categories: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and emotion. This turns an abstract literary concept into something a child can immediately understand and use.

The underlying principle is simple: simplify the concept first, then increase the complexity of the language. Students can concentrate on how language develops because they already understand what they are trying to describe.

2. Keep the meaning familiar while raising the language level

One of the most distinctive features of the method is the repeated progression through different versions of essentially the same material: Easy Vocabulary, Modern Style, Modern–Old Hybrid Style, Old School Poetic Style, and finally poetry or sonnet form.

In a more conventional sequence, students may move from one text to a completely different and more difficult text. Both content and language change at once. Angela’s approach separates these variables. The scene, story, character, or central idea remains recognisable, while vocabulary, syntax, imagery, rhythm, and literary density become progressively more sophisticated.

This allows students to see language growing in front of them.

3. More than vocabulary development

The progression is not simply a matter of replacing easy words with difficult words. Students are exposed to changes in vocabulary, sentence structure, imagery, figurative language, sound, rhythm, voice, and literary register.

The movement is therefore better described as:

Basic language → Expressive language → Literary language → Poetic language.

This gradual exposure may also help prepare students for older or denser literary texts because unfamiliar literary language is introduced as a progression rather than as a sudden leap.

4. Model, notice, imitate, internalise, create

Angela repeatedly refers to “monkey see, monkey do.” In educational terms, the process can be understood as:

Model → Notice → Imitate → Internalise → Create.

Students first encounter strong examples. They notice how the writing works, compare versions, imitate selected techniques, and eventually begin to use those techniques independently.

In this framework, examples are not merely illustrations added to a lesson; they are a central part of the learning mechanism.

5. Progressive Literary Language Immersion

A useful way to describe the overall approach is Progressive Literary Language Immersion.

It combines immersion with scaffolding. Students are immersed in increasingly rich literary language, but the progression is carefully supported. Each stage is close enough to the previous one that students can recognize the meaning while noticing what has changed.

The method therefore seeks to preserve challenge without creating unnecessary cognitive overload.

6. Poetry as a language laboratory

Poetry plays an important role because it concentrates language. It encourages students to pay close attention to precise word choice, strong verbs, sensory imagery, figurative language, sound, rhythm, emotional tone, and compression.

In this sense, poetry functions as a language laboratory. The skills developed through poetic writing can also strengthen prose writing by making students more conscious of how language creates meaning and mood.

7. Mood and language choice

The examples in Chapter One use noticeably different emotional settings: the playful and magical world of Merlin the kitten, the dark power of a heavy rainstorm, and the bright, joyful atmosphere of a valley of flowers.

This variation suggests that students are not being taught one fixed collection of “advanced words.” Instead, they learn that language must suit mood and purpose. This leads naturally into Chapter Two, “Word Choices for Mood,” and suggests that the book is designed cumulatively rather than as a collection of isolated techniques.

8. Developing linguistic intuition

The deeper goal appears to be the development of linguistic intuition. Students gradually learn to ask not only, “Is this grammatically correct?” but also, “Is this the best way to express what I mean?”

They begin to notice whether a word is too ordinary, whether a verb could be stronger, whether a sentence creates an image, whether the language matches the mood, and whether the rhythm feels effective. This is an important transition from competent English toward mature writing.

9. How other teachers could apply the method

For teachers wishing to use this approach, the classroom process could follow a recurring cycle:

Read → Notice → Compare → Discuss → Imitate → Transform → Create.

The teacher first ensures that students understand the accessible version. More sophisticated versions are then introduced gradually. Students identify what changed and discuss why the change matters. They imitate selected techniques in short exercises before transforming their own sentences and eventually producing original writing.

For example, a student might begin with “The wind was strong,” then progressively add sensory detail, stronger verbs, sound, emotion, metaphor, and finally poetic phrasing. The student is not asked to leap immediately into poetry; the poetic language emerges through manageable stages.

10. A flexible framework for different learners

The framework can be adapted to different ages and language levels. Younger or less advanced learners can concentrate on Easy Vocabulary, Modern Style, and basic imagery. Stronger students can continue into hybrid language, poetic prose, and formal poetry.

This makes the method potentially useful as a differentiated teaching framework: the same underlying concept can be taught at several levels of linguistic sophistication.

Conclusion

The central teaching principle can be summarised as:

Keep the meaning familiar, but progressively raise the level of language.

The learning path is:

Simple concept → Graduated models → Comparison → Rich input → Imitation → Internalisation → Independent creation.

Angela Abraham’s approach is therefore not simply a method for teaching poetry. It is a structured way of helping students experience how ordinary English can develop into expressive, literary, and poetic language.

A concise description of the philosophy might be:

• Start simple.

• Expose students to beautiful language.

• Let them see how language grows.

• Then gradually help them create it themselves.

Some statements in the book about rapid improvement, passive learning, or the brain are best understood as expressions of the author’s teaching experience and philosophy rather than as guaranteed outcomes for every learner. The strongest transferable element of the method is its practical instructional design: familiar meaning, progressive linguistic challenge, close modelling, comparison, imitation, and creative application.