MODULE 6: RESPONDING TO POETRY

SERIOUS POETRY

This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Heard, Georgia, ed. 2002. THIS PLACE I KNOW: POEMS OF COMFORT. Ill. by eighteen renowned picture book artists. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 0763619248

2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Georgia Heard compiled this collection after 9/11 by request from a superintendent of public schools in Manhattan. The request was for poems of comfort and solace that could be read to students who lived through the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Each poem is written by a well-known poet and is illustrated by an accomplished picture book artist. The poems are written by some late great poets like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, as well as contemporary poets like Eloise Greenfield and Karla Kuskin. At the end of the collection is a "About the Illustrators," section where either a short biography is provided, or in some cases, a description by the illustrator of his or her experience working with the poem and how their own memories of 9/11 informed their work.

I selected this book because after reading Georgia Heard's book this this class, I have grown to trust that she is a writer of great depth and wisdom, and I knew that she would choose poems that could touch and possibly heal many a wounded soul. In her introduction she explains, "I tried to choose poems that touch upon our feelings of fear and loss, remind us that we are not alone in despair, and assure us that dreams can be born even from tragedy."

Most of the illustrations are, like the poems, have a child-like sweetness and warmth; particularly Holly Meade and Hiro Nakata's paintings. As much as I admire Peter Sis's work, I don't think his illustration on the cover represents the tone and sweetness of the content of the entire book. Chris Raschka's watercolor of the harbor with the city's skyline in the backdrop would have been more fitting.

3. POEM & CONNECTIONS

The poems take the reader on a journey through the tragedy by acknowledging the pain in the first poem, by Eloise Greenfield entitled, " This Place," offering comfort and reassurance in Georgia Heard's poem, "Lullaby," and ending in many poems about hope and the power of love to heal. Walt Whitman's words could have been written for the event, the last two lines are profoundly appropriate: "A great city is that which has the greatest men and women,/If it be a few ragged huts it is still the greatest city in the whole/world."

These poems would work really well for exercises in self-exploration facilitated by questions that encourage the children to experience the poems on a personal level.

For example, the poem "Stars" by Deborah Chandra could be read by the teacher: "I like the way they looked down from the sky/And didn't seem to mind the way I cried./ And didn't say, "Now wipe away those tears,"/Or, "Tell us, tell us what's the matter here!"/But shining through the dark they calmly stayed,/And gently held me in their quiet way..."

The children can be asked facilitating questions like: "Have you ever felt comforted by being outside in nature?"or, "Does this remind you of anything you know about?" or, "When you're sad, what makes you feel better?"

JANECZKO COLLECTION

Worlds Afire

1. BIBLIOGRPAHY

Janeczko. Paul. 2004. WORLDS AFIRE. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763634001.

2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Paul Janeczko's poems are fictional eye-witness accounts of a true event that happened on July 6, 1944 in Hartford Connecticut. Organized in three sections in which we experience the anticipation and excitement of the Circus coming to town, the horrendous fire that consumes 167 people, and finally the survivors and witnesses trying to recount and make sense of what happened. There is an amazing range of emotions portrayed in this brief account, that allows for a very complete and intense experience as a reader. Students new to poetry will have a world opened to them after reading this book, and will beg for more. What a great opportunity to introduce more poems that can tell a compelling story with simple but beautiful and powerful language like Keesha's House,by Helen Frost, Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse, Learning to Swim, by Ann Warren Turner, and novels by Sonya Sones.

3. POEM & CONNECTIONS

Each poem's title is the narrator's name and occupation. In the poem, "Dr. Rose Beekman, Fire Expert, we get a sense of the power and force of the fire: "Surprised?/Oh, I'm sure/they were surprised that the fire spread so fast,/a runaway train./Roared like one, too./How fast did it spread?/Let me put it this way:/some didn't have time/to scream for help/before flames shot up/the side of the tent/like a dragon roaring to life./

Older students can select a historical event and tell the story in verse; at the very least they will come away with a greater appreciation for this poetic form and the artistry that goes into creating it.

POETRY BY KIDS

Soft Hay will Catch You: Poems by Young People

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lyne, Sandford, ed. SOFT HAY WILL CATCH YOU: POEMS BY YOUNG PEOPLE. Ill. by Julie Monks. New York: Simon & Schuster.

ISBN: 0689834608.

2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this collection of poems by children ages eight to eighteen, the reader experiences a profound connection that children make between the physical world and their inner world. Like Georgia Heard, Sandford Lyne is a poet, writer and a gifted teacher/facilitator of the process of teaching children to write. Like Heard, he went to the students, in his case, a town in Kentucky near his own childhood home, to facilitate a week long poetry writing workshop. The book's title and wonderful cover art by Julie Monk, entice the reader to open it! The poems are written in free verse and are divided into six sections with titles like: The Inward Fire: Poems about the search for self; or The World of Dew: Poems About the Soul's Journey and the Circle of Life. These are not exactly light-hearted poems, but Lyne has accomplished an amazing feat in his work with these children. In the introduction to the collection, Lyne explains his how his own relationship to poetry has helped him to understand and appreciate his students exploration of poetry: "But I had learned a long time ago to look beneath the surface of things and to believe i the treasures and lessons hidden in each life, to believe in the history of each smile and tear. As a poet myself, I knew that my own world of images and metaphors was grown in the deep topsoil and in the seed experiences of my childhood..."

3. POEM & CONNECTIONS

This poem, entitled "Sad" is written by a 6th grade student and it gives voice to the thoughts of many children from broken homes: "I'm sad/ when I see/children with their grandparents./I'm sad when I see/kids with two parents,/not one./I'm sad/when I see/what I've missed." This is a profound feeling that I'm sure many kids couldn't even access. It brings to mind something Katherine Patterson once said about the purpose she hopes her writing fulfills and that is offering a place for children to lay their burdens down.

Students can select one or two to share with a small group, and then create their own in the style or tone from the section of their choosing.

MODULE 5: POETRY PERFORMANCE

Performance Poetry

Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nelson, Marilyn. 2009. SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST ALL-GIRL SWING BAND IN THE WORLD. Ill. by Jerry Pickney. New York: Dial Books. ISBN: 9780803731875.

2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this original collection of poems, Marilyn Nelson informs the reader of a sixteen piece all girl multicultural big band that was formed in the 1930's, and which performed through the 1940's. The girls were from the Piney Woods Country Life school in Mississippi, and they were truly a multicultural group with a Chinese saxophonist, a Hawaiian trumpeter, a Mexican Clarinet player and many African American musicians. We don't learn the story from the perspective of these amazing musicians however, instead we hear it from the instruments they played. The first stanza of the first poem reveals the setting, which is a pawnshop, after closing time. Nina De La Cruz's tenor sax begins the story. Each poem's title is the name of a popular swing standard. Nelson uses anapestic and dactylic meters which are meters found commonly found in songs. The poems don't always rhyme, and when they do it is not in the traditional way. But like the music of the era, the poems tell the story with a compelling swing. The story is about the musicians, the music, and the times,and the poems relate the essence of all of that in an artful and powerful way. Jerry Pinkney's watercolors and collages, reflect the story of the band as well as the story of the times; from the War to the internment camps, to the Great Depression. He explains in the Artist's Notes found at the back of the book, that the story has many layers and so it was appropriate to use a layering technique in the artwork. So he layers musical scores, newspaper clippings and road maps to create his version of the story.

The Author's and Artist's notes would serve readers better if they were placed at the beginning of the book instead of at the end. Readers would be more likely to stay with the poems if they get an explanation of the point of view and some background about the social, economic and politcal climate.

3. POEM & CONNECTIONS

This book could be used for a lesson in history, music, gender studies, race studies, art, socioeconomics,-the possibilites are endless. In the poem "Black and Tan Fantasy," based on Duke Ellington's composition, students will understand that the music served a very important purpose in the time of war. The civilians, the wives, children, parents and other family members of soldiers were experiencing the hardships of war as well:

"It was solace, then, that swing music gave those crowds?/You and your sweethearts were really "soldiers of music,"/living like a tumbleweed, bathless and underpaid,/To uplift the nation's fallen morale with acoustics?"

Hopkins Poetry Award

Button UP! Wrinkled Rhymes

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schertle, Alice. 2009. BUTTON UP! WRINKLED RHYMES. Ill. by Petra Mathers. New York: Harcourt Children's Books. ISBN: 97801520505504.

2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Here is a collection of poems written from the perspective of various articles of clothing! In this clever collection of 15 poems, we hear from Emily's Undies, Rick's Wool Sweater, and Bob's Bicycle Helmet, to name a few! Emily is an adorable mouse who is drawn staring up at a an assortment of her underware hanging from a clothesline. Rick is an ostrich decked out in a turtle neck! The watercolor illustrations are a perfect match for the text because they are as whimsical and as charming as the poems. The rhyming poems read like chants when read aloud. Toddlers and preschoolers will be drawn to the action packed illustrations, and elementary students will find these poems both silly and enchanting.

3. POEM & CONNECTIONS

My favorite poem in this collection is "Bob's Bicycle Helmet." The picture shows Bob, a dog, riding his bike on a grassy hill with a lovely cherry tree which is losing its blossoms to the wind. Bob's wearing a bright red helmet and is doing a wheelie down the hill.

"Bob's on his bike/and I'm on Bob/I'm Bob's helmet./I'm on the job./ Bob burns rubber./Bob climbs hills./Bob does wheelies./Bob takes spills."

Children could pick their favorite article of clothing and use their name to write their own poems from the point of view of their clothes. And how fun it would be to illustrate it!

FREE CHOICE

My Dog May Be A Genius

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Prelutsky, Jack. 2008. MY DOG MAY BE A GENIUS. Ill. by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 9780066238623.

2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this collection of over a hundred poems, Prelutsky and Stevenson collaborate to create another hilarious collection of poems and drawings that will appeal to both kids and adults. There are concrete poems, poems about animals and eccentric characters, food poems, school poems, poems about fears. In other words, there is something for everyone in this collection. The drawings compliment the text, and at times are part of the concrete poems. Prelutsky's poems are always readable his sarcasm is an example of his commitment not to talk down to children. It lends a sophistication that is captivating to the older reader. Yet, there are plenty of poems that won't go over the heads of younger readers. In the back of the book, readers will find and Index to titles as well as an Index to first lines. This collection seems to be giving a nod to Dahl and Blake with its irreverence and gumption.

3. POEM & CONNECTIONS

Prelutsky's poems can be a wonderful way to introduce new vocabulary to students and challenge them to use the words in fun and interesting ways. For example, in the poem, "My Current Situation," the narrator in the first stanza, offers up several words that will challenge kids to guess their meaning: "My current situation/is ostensibly unique./Alarming things are happening to alter my physique./I'm growing hooves, I have a tail,/my neck now sports a mane,/and I can hardly wait to graze/upon a grassy plain."