The relationship between the individual voice and the culture of English is defined in terms of an analogy that, within the general song of any bird species, each individual has its own particular version. This analogy is explored through the songs of several children and further claims are made about the poetic interactions between children and the world. Such interactions are described in a triangular relationship between subject (child), object (world) and words. The poetic act, however, is considered incomplete without the child' s visionary potential. Two writing projects are described to advance these claims. The argument moves to the child's relationship with the culture. Literature is seen as comprising of 'secondary' or 'other' worlds, which must be entered via enactive routes by the children as individuals or communities of readers and artists. Such enactions, or aesthetic outworkings, create 'tertiary worlds' and examples are provided in the descriptions of several works and a project. Differences between oral and written composition are discussed in relation to Homer, other rhapsodisers and children in schools, followed by a discussion about the ways meaning is concentrated in written words and the nature of poetic invention. The educational implications of the differences between oral and written literature are argued and supported by descriptions of two contrasting projects. Shakespeare is presented as providing enrichment for the development of children as singers, so long as they engage their sensibilities as artists with the plays and the language of the plays. A pedagogy for teachers is developed through the stages of preparation, presentation and the deployment of the arts as expressive media. English from Ages 5 to 16 is rejected and a plea is made for approaches to English as described here. A vision of every child actively belonging to the physical world and the greater culture concludes the thesis.