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.