African American Poetry

Smith, Hope Anita. 2008. Keeping the Night Watch. Ill. by E.B. Lewis. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN: 978-0-8050-7202-0

Book Review:

Keeping the Night Watch, by Hope Anita Smith, is the sequel to the award winning poetry book The Way a Door Closes, in which the father of an African American family loses his job and leaves the home, rocking the foundation of those left behind.  In this sequel, the father returns home, and the poetry expresses the struggle the various family members undergo to accept him back, especially the narrator, a 13 year old boy named C.J.  The emotions of the poems at first are deep and dark, expressing C.J.’s anger at his father, his feelings of betrayal and inability to trust the new family structure.  As time passes, and the careful overtures of the father assimilate, C.J. finally starts to express hope, and if not total forgiveness, at least a willingness to try.

The book is divided into two sections, Fall and Spring, denoting the changes of the seasons in time, but also reflecting the connotative, symbolic meaning of the cold negative emotions of anger and betrayal in the Fall and the warmer emotions of hope, redemption and forgiveness in the Spring.

The vivid watercolor illustrations by E.B. Lewis are a tremendous asset to the book, giving distinct faces to the family members (Grandmomma, Momma, Daddy, and siblings, Byron and Zuri), and giving the reader a wonderful visual experience to coincide with the text.

The poetry in the book is mainly free verse, but is filled with imagery and figurative language, such as the metaphor and simile used in the poem, “Family Cooking Instructions.” In this poem the author describes the family’s careful interactions with each other, saying “their conversation is sweet./Their words are light and airy/like a just-baked cake.”  C.J. describes himself as a knife cutting into the cake, and recognizes that “we are not done in the middle./We need to bake a little longer.”

Smith uses a number of other metaphors in her poems, such as when C.J. describes himself in “If You Can’t Stand the Heat” as “a pot with a lid on” saying, “I keep all my mad inside./I just let it stew;” and describing the reaction to Daddy’s return as an earthquake in “Blueprint”: “When the quake hit/it hit hard/shook us to our core/...emotions were strewn about/...and now the aftershocks are keeping us all on alert.” But, we glimpse redemption in “Blueprint” as well, when C.J. says at the end, “I know this:/the original floor plan for our family is sound./In spite of everything/our foundation is firm./Our house is still standing.”

One of the most poignant poems, also filled with figurative language, clearly expresses the anger and distance C.J. feels, yet also contains the hope of reconciliation.  In “Mountain Climbing,” C.J. describes the relationship with his father as a chasm that cannot be crossed, but ends by saying, “I hope, one day/that my snowy mountain of anger will be/so weighed down with Daddy’s apology/I will be overwhelmed/by an avalanche of forgiveness.”

Sharing the Poetry:

Keeping the Night Watch is filled with many poems that could be used in a poetry unit discussing the author’s voice, figurative language, symbolism and tone. 

Selected Poem:

The author also uses a unique poem, called an Abecedarian, in “Zuri’s ABCs” wherein the first line begins with an “A,” the next with a “B,” and so on through “Z.” This is a challenging poem to write, but Smith does so with apparent ease, reflecting the voice of young Zuri, and her hope for her family as she writes a card to them all in the abecedarian format:

          All of the family got one,

          Byron, Mama, Daddy, Grandmomma, and me.  Our names

          Carefully penned in Crayola Candy Apple Red.

          Daddy cried the hardest, and that’s to be

          Expected.

          Fathers, who leave, keep paying even when they come back.

          Grandmomma sits sagelike,

          Holding the letter to her chest,

          Imitating the Virgin Mary, as if the Baby were

          Jesus,

          King of Kings.

          “Lord, have

          Mercy” were the only words she spoke.  The letter said:

          Now that Daddy’s back, let’s not be scared,

          Okay?

Parents are good when there are two.

Quiet houses are

Really

Scary.

Time to love each other again.

Until forever.  And that means a

Very long time.

With

XXXs and OOOs

Yours,

Zuri

Having students try their hand at an Abecedarian expressing forgiveness would be a challenging activity for a class, but would also be something different to try rather than traditional poetic structures.  Examples of other Abecedarians could be provided from a website, and some of the forgiveness poems from Joyce Sidman’s This is Just to Say could also be incorporated into the lesson.

References

Books in Print. n.d. Keeping the Night Watch, by Hope Anita Smith. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|17695387|8968914&mc=USA

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. n.d. Keeping the Night Watch, by Hope Anita Smith. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:4529/index.php/jbookdetail/jqbookdetail?page=1&pos=3&isbn=9780805072020

School Poetry

George, Kristine O’Connell. 2002. Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems. Ill. by Debbie Tilley. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 0-618-15250-4

Book Review:

Kristine O’Connell George's delightful collection of school poems about the trials and tribulations of a young girl’s first year of middle school reflects all the myriad emotions experienced by adolescents as they “swim upstream” that first year. The author takes the reader on a journey from the first day of school to the last, and the range of experiences in between those days.  The poems are short, and reflect a variety of styles: rhyming, verse, haiku and even an acrostic which keep the reader’s interest. Topics include first day anxiety, locker combination confusion, old and new friends, locker room lack of privacy, homework, gossip, first crush, test stress and the fear of finding a place to sit in the lunchroom:  “Where do I sit?/All my friends/from last year/have changed;/my world is/fractured/lopsided/rearranged.”  The narrator expresses the common anxiety of middle school students: “Where do I fit?/Nothing is clear./Can already tell/this will be/a jigsaw year.”

As the poems unfold, the student progresses from making no noise at all on her flute to participating in a concert; from feeling friendless to renewing an old friendship; from worrying about grades to receiving an”A” on a project without parental help; and we watch our narrator as she becomes less anxious, more self-confident and finishes her year feeling as though she is “shining/from the inside out.” At the awards assembly, she awards herself “First Place/&/Most Improved/in/Everything/That Matters to Me.”

The illustrations by Debbie Tilley are black and white, cartoonish and somewhat young for the age group, but are filled with small details that a discerning eye will enjoy and appreciate.  The poems are placed on the pages in a variety of ways, providing textural interest.

There are no access features, such as a table of contents or index, making the collection appear more like a verse novel, and the author has done a good job of creating poems that flow one into another in describing the events of a student’s first year of middle school.  The poems caused me to reflect on the emotions of those adolescent days so long ago, and the ones my 7^th grade son has been experiencing during his own middle school journey.

Sharing the Poetry:

Middle school can be filled with more bad days than good at times in terms of all the issues children this age are experiencing.  The poem “So Much Better Than I Expected,” about a “perfect” day could be used in conjunction with the picture book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst to prompt a discussion about dealing with stressful days.  The students could share their own “perfect” and “very bad” days, and try writing a poem reflecting those topics.

Selected Poem:

So Much Better Than I Expected by Kristine O’Connell George

Today

          enough hot water for a shower

          a better grade than I expected

          a certain someone noticed me

          peanut butter and pickles for lunch

          social studies report postponed (whew!)

          I finally won a tennis match

          6-0  6-4

          macaroni and cheese for dinner

          no homework

          six phone calls

          five e-mails

          one snail mail

          a great library book for later

a perfect, straight-set, levitate-off-the-planet day.

References

Books in Print. n.d. Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems, by Katherine O’Connell George. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|10931417|7597567&mc=USA#

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. n.d. Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems, by Katherine O’Connell George. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:4529/index.php/jbookdetail/jqbookdetail?page=1&pos=0&isbn=9780618152506

Hopkin's Collection

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. 2008. America at War. Ill. By Stephen Alcorn. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 978-4169-1832-5.

Book Review:

Lee Bennett Hopkins has combined works of famous poets, such as Walt Whitman, e.e. cummings and Carl Sandburg, with over 30 new works especially commissioned for the book, to provide the reader with a series of poems that resonate with the powerful emotions evoked by the experiences of various American wars. 

Divided into eight sections, Hopkins' collection includes poems that describe the various aspects of the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and the Iraq War, which was still ongoing at the book’s publication.  Each section is introduced by poignant quote from a leader, military or political.  Some of the poems have a strong rhythm with rhymes and repetitive lines, such as “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae (“In Flanders fields the poppies blow/Between the crosses row on row”), but most of the poems are in a narrative, verse format, or are vignettes that describe the emotional impact felt by those who have experienced war, either as a participant or a family member. One of the most moving of the latter type, about a soldier on leave far from his family at Christmas time, is “Once More” by Hopkins: “Outside the church/I wait./Wait for someone/anyone/to invite me/for a longing/Christmas dinner./No one does.”  Reading it made me want to investigate inviting a soldier to my next holiday dinner.

Most of the poems appear on a single ivory page with accompanying watercolor illustrations by Stephen Acorn.  The illustrations add visual interest to the text, with subtle colors and figures that meander across the pages and include complimentary themes that enhance the poems themselves. The access features in the book include a table of contents, by war, an introduction, and indices of authors, titles and first lines.

In his introduction, Lee Bennett Hopkins states that the book is not about war, but is about the poetry of war, and he has compiled a rich collection of poems that evoke the thoughts and strong emotions that are precipitated by the tragedies of war.  From the battle cry of “Battle of Bunker Hill -1775", by Ann Whitford Paul, a father’s grief in “The Pony Chair” by Tony Johnson, a sister’s loneliness in “Missing,” by Cynthia Cotten, the perspective of the “enemy” in “War is the Fiercest Art,” by Sara Holbrook to the brief, yet powerful reflection in “Mechanical Birds,” by Denver Butson (“today let’s forget to remember how slain our hearts will be when it’s over”), these poems all cause the reader to reflect, often painfully, on the consequences of war for those soldiers who have risked their lives and for their loved ones left behind.

Sharing the Poetry:

America at War is geared toward older children; it would not be grasped well by children who have not been exposed to American history or news about war. However,  middle school or high school teachers could use this book to share poems in conjunction with units on the various wars, or for Veteran’s Day. 

In high school English, one of the novels frequently read and discussed is The Things They Carried, by Tim Obrien: a collection of stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War.  One of the poems in America at War titled “Charms,” by Georgia Heard, could be read as part of a unit on the O'Brien book, and could coincide with a discussion about what kinds of things the students would carry with them if they were to be separated from loved ones for a long time.  Ms. Heard’s poem paints a strong picture in a few short sentences of soldiers in the Vietnam War and their desperation and longing for home.

Selected Poem: 

“Charms” by Georgia Heard

Soldiers stuck the ace of spades into helmet bands,

lugged Bibles through jungles in backpacks,

cradled Mezuzahs, locks of hair, crumpled photos

of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, the Pope,

The Beatles, in camouflage pockets.  Crosses,

St. Christophers dangled from strong necks,

resting against fearful hearts.

They slept with creased snapshots of families,

wives, kids, dogs, clutched tightly in their fists.

One soldier even carried a homemade oatmeal cookie

his entire tour of Vietnam, swaddled in tin foil.

When he was homesick

          he unwrapped it,

                   held it up to his nose,

                             to smell

                                      what home 

                                                was like.

References

Books in Print. n.d. America at War, by Lee Bennett Hopkins. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|20309994|13444802&mc=USA#

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. n.d. America at War by Lee Bennett Hopkins. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:4529/index.php/jbookdetail/jqbookdetail?page=1&pos=3&isbn=9781416918325