Poetry

1. Poetry Liz Coman LIB 732 Fall 2012

2. Notes • Book covers are depicted in slides immediately preceding the poems. • The artwork placed on the slide next to the poem is the artwork that appears with the poem in the book. • Each slide has hidden information. In order to see all the information, the presentation must be viewed as a slide show. • The books used in the presentation were unknown and selected on the basis of the appealing covers. Apparently when it comes to books with collections of poems, one can judge a book by its cover. Each book provides excellent poems for pleasure and pondering.

3. Title: We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart Author: Walter Dean Myers Illustrator: Christopher Myers Reading level: Ages 8 and up Publisher: HarperCollins (May 3, 2011) Dewey Decimal: J811.54 MYE

4. Poems Tell Stories/Contain Ideas The initial poem in Walter Dean Myers’ and Chris Myers’ book is a story told from the point of view of a Native American. It is fitting that this is the first poem as the Lakota were part of the first nations; they were Americans long before the Europeans arrived. Although one Lakota tribe member tells the story, the reader understands he speaks for all. In the poem, the narrator tells of his reverence for nature and of his love for family. He uses a soaring eagle to point out the varied cultures of the native Americans. The poem/story concludes with a beautiful image that emphasizes the deep and profound sense of community shared by the members of the tribe. Before There was America Before the ships came Their white sails ablaze against the clear blue sky My Lakota heart pounded the rhythms Of this sacred land The warm spirit of the sun burned in my bosom As my sons raced the wind As my father sat in a curl of legend As my grandmother stitched the giving earth To the distant sky A golden eagle, his wings spread like the Great Spirit’s open arms Flew over my people and the Comanche and the Iroquois Its shadow passed Navajo and Hopi It soared and soared While sitting in the warm circle of my village I dreamed.

5. Poems Incorporate Figurative Language Before There was America Before the ships came Their white sails ablaze against the clear blue sky My Lakota heart pounded the rhythms Of this sacred land The warm spirit of the sun burned in my bosom As my sons raced the wind As my father sat in a curl of legend As my grandmother stitched the giving earth To the distant sky A golden eagle, his wings spread like the Great Spirit’s open arms Flew over my people and the Comanche and the Iroquois Its shadow passed Navajo and Hopi It soared and soared While sitting in the warm circle of my village I dreamed. Myers’ use of active, strong verbs (ablaze, pounded, burned) provides emphasis for readers. These verbs, in tandem with the images and metaphors contained in the poem, effectively illustrate the narrator’s sense of oneness with nature and his commitment to the tribe. The parallel structure that begins each metaphor of the family section of the poem provides a cadence that leads readers into each evocative line. Sons race the wind, father sits in a “curl of legend” and grandmother stitches earthly nature to heavenly sky. This redolent language connects the reader to the poem with a haunting emotional response.

6. Title: Jazz A B Z: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits Author: Wynton Marsalis Illustrator: Paul Rogers Publisher: Candlewick (September 11, 2007) Reading Level: Grade 4 and up Dewey Decimal: J811.6 MAR

7. Poetic DevicesSound Patterns—Alliteration and End Rhyme Count Basie “Count Basie” is the “B” in this ABC book. Marsalis, himself a jazz musician, creates an upbeat cadence using alliteration and end rhyme. The rhythm created by the stressed and unstressed syllables helps to create meaning for the readers. We get a deeper sense of the beat of the jazz music. Basie’s jazz is not of the smooth, mellow variety; it is sharp, crisp, with a swing to it. Pairing the combination of alliteration, rhythm and rhyme with some musical slang (“bone man” for piano player, “burnished bells” for the brass section) results in a satisfying tone poem for readers of all ages, while providing a sense of wonder with all the “B” words. Bouncin’ with my baby to Basie’s Big Time Band, Bouncin’ with my baby to Basie’s Big Time Band, Rhythm is their business, but the blues is their brand. Baked beans and barbecue and a big brown bass below, Baked beans and barbecue and a big brown bass below, Best be back behind the beat when Basie’s band begins to blow. Sweets and Buck and Snooky Young and a bone man named Al Grey, Sweets and Buck and Snooky Young and a bone man named Al Grey, Burnished bells boast and blare that Basie’s come to play. Hey Count Basie! Basie what you got to say? Hey Count Basie! Basie what you got to say? Bouncin’ with my baby, ‘bout to swing the blues away.

8. Title: Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art Editor: Belinda Rochelle Illustrator: various African-American artists Reading level: Ages 8 and up Publisher: Amistad (December 26, 2000) Dewey Decimal: J811.008 WOR

9. Figurative Language–ExtendedMetaphor Georgia Douglas Johnson uses the metaphor of a frightened bird living in self-imposed confinement. Readers understand the metaphor. Emotinal paralysis due to fear of the unknown can cause someone to choose a limiting life. The narrator says she lives in the “narrowest nest” with “wings pressing close . . .” Yet, the call of the horizon and environs beyond becomes overwhelming, so much so, that she throbs with a “burning desire” to explore the world. Finally, despite the fear, the frightened bird leaves, soaring into her new life to reach her true potential. The extended metaphor helps readers understand Johnson’s message that until we go outside of our comfort zone, we cannot grow. Landscape with Rainbows by Robert Scott Duncanson Landscape with Rainbows by Robert Scott Duncanson But I sighted the distant horizon Where the sky line encircled the sea And I throbbed with a burning desire To travel this immensity. Your World by Georgia Douglas Johnson Your world is as big as you make it. I know, for I used to abide In the narrowest nest in a corner, My wings pressing close to my side. I battered the cordons around me And cradled my wings on the breeze Then soared to the uttermost reaches With rapture, with power, with ease!

10. “There is a skeleton in the Mattatuck Museum in Connecticut. It has been in the town for over 200 years. In 1996, community members decided to find out what they could about it. Historians discovered that the bones were those of a slave named Fortune, who was owned by a local doctor. After Fortune’s death, the doctor rendered* the bones. Marilyn Nelson wrote The Manumission Requiem to commemorate Fortune’s life.” (Cover Notes) *Rendering is a process by which the tissue is boiled away from the bones. Title: Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem Author: Marilyn Nelson Illustrator: Various African-American artists Reading level: Ages 11 and up Publisher: Font Street (November 1, 2004) Dewey Decimal: J811.54 NEL

11. Poetry has Emotional Intensity Luken’s says, “The successful poem is an intense emotional experience” (274). “Dinah’s Lament” is an excellent example. Through the use of dialect, readers hear Dinah’s voice. Through the use of imagery, readers see the skeleton; they imagine the stench of “boiling human broth.” With the haunting diction (especially in the third stanza) we feel Dinah’s loss and despair. Her situation is one worthy of lamentation. When reading this poem for the first time, initial understanding causes a sense of incredulity. Readers go back to reread. Surely there’s been a misunderstanding. Surely no one would be as insensitive as Miss Lydia? There must be a mistake. The situation is too horrific. But there is not a misunderstanding nor a misreading. And it’s then, with the dawning realization of Dinah’s circumstances, that the emotional intensity begins. Dinah’s Lament Miss Lydia doesn’t clean the Doctor room. She say she can’t go in that room; she scared. She make me take the dust bag and the broom. And clean around my husband hanging there. Since she seen Fortune head in that big pot Miss Lydia say that room make her feel ill, Sick with the thought of boiling human broth. I wonder how she think it make me feel? To dust the hands that used to stroke my breast; to dust the arms what hold me when I cried; to dust where his soft lips were, and his chest what curved its warm against my back at night. Through every season, sun-up to star light, I heft, scrub, knead: one black woman alone, except for my children. The world so white, nobody know my pain, but Fortune bones.

12. Works Cited Marsalis, Wynton. Jazz A B Z: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits. Somerville: Candlewick, 2007. Print. Myers, Walter Dean. We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart. New York: Harper Collins, 2011. Print. Nelson, Marilyn. Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem. Honesdale: Font Street, 2004. Print. Rochelle, Belinda. Words with Wings: A Treasury of African American Poetry and Art. New York: Amistad, 2000. Print.