Happy VDay and love from Pat Mora

In honor of the day of love, I’m celebrating Dizzy in Your Eyes; Poems About Love, Pat Mora’s new collection of poetry (Knopf, 2010). Don’t miss this innovative anthology of nearly 50 poems about all kinds of love, a chocolate box of many flavors and forms of poems (clerihew, tercet, list, dialogue, blank verse, tanka, letter poem, pantoum, sestina, villanelle, sonnet, cinquain, anaphora, haiku, acrostic, triolet, blues, couplet, lyric, ode, and song) with brief notes on each form in the “wrapper.”

There is clearly a youthful point of view and voice, but the poems reference love of parents, friends, family, pets—acknowledging the depth of feeling in many relationships and at many stages of life. (“Old Love” about an uncle’s mourning his wife’s passing is especially beautiful and poignant.) Besides the variety of forms and voices, many poems also incorporate Spanish words, always in a clear and musical context that adds another layer of sweetness. “Ode to Teachers” is particularly special to me and appears twice, once in English, once in Spanish.

I predict these poems will really resonate with young readers in middle school through high school, although older elementary school age readers will enjoy and understand the poems, too. There is great sensitivity and heart, without being explicit or scintillating (read: safe for school libraries), yet the emotions are often intense and authentic. And the look of the book is so accessible and inviting. The “psychedelic” cover in black/white/red circles and swirls is crazy-fun and a parallel grayscale geometric design of patterned circles and stripes decorates the book throughout giving it a strong, graphic impact. In fact, there is no poetry on the pages on the left side throughout the book—every poem begins only on the pages on the right-hand side—which I think kids will love. Plus they’re placed perfectly on the page, in an inviting font in this small trim size (5x7) volume. Congrats to the book designer for these judicious and effective choices!

Finally, I think the kids will also enjoy performing many of these poems, particularly since the voices and points of view are so strong and varied—that would come alive when read aloud. “Doubts,” for example, is constructed with a series of questions, which would be so powerful read aloud with a different person reading/reciting each question, beginning:

Doubts, p. 11
By Pat Mora

What if guys think I can’t kiss because I can think?

What if I ask her out and she laughs?

Believe it or not, that poem reminds me a bit of Shel Silverstein’s poem “Whatif” that I’ve used with many, many groups of kids for reading aloud and it always gives me gooesbumps (and the kids respond strongly too) when hearing the different “worry” lines voiced by the kids who FEEL those worries. Powerful stuff!



I’d also like to showcase one whole sample poem to give you a feel for Mora’s fine walk between romance and reality, love and heartache. (Plus the title of the book comes from this quartet.) Here’s her haiku series on love. She writes in the accompanying note, “Since haiku traditionally contain a seasonal reference, I decided to use the four seasons as the settings for four haiku that chronicle a relationship.”

Love Haiku
By Pat Mora


I
Everything’s in love.
Birds, butterflies, and now me,
dizzy in your eyes.

II

Love blooms in hot nights.
Under stars, hand-in-hand strolls.
Kisses like star sparks.

III

Now I walk alone.

Did autumn wind cool our love?

No hugs warm me now.

IV

Snow, advise my heart.
White whisper, “Friends. Books. Patience.
Bright new year’s coming.”

Mora, Pat. 2010. Dizzy in Your Eyes; Poems About Love. Knopf, p. 123.

This is a lovely collection about love, about relationships of all kinds, with a variety of poetic forms (and notes) to guide aspiring poets. It’s gentle and reflective, without being overly sweet, realistic and descriptive, without being overly graphic, and completely captivating. Great “occasional” poetry, too-- perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and other occasions —the final poem, “My Song” would even be perfect for a graduation or commencement ceremony.

FYI: Be sure to look for Pat's previous collection of poetry for young people, My Own True Name: New And Selected Poems For Young Adults, which has one of my favorite poems about learning English, "Elena."
Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2010. All rights reserved.
Image credit: patmora.com

Amiri & Odette in Love

This is another fantastic poem-in-a-picture-book by Walter Dean Myers in the tradition of Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam (which I loved), a gritty, story-poem suitable for tween and teen readers. In this case, however, Myers has created a love story rooted in the “Swan Lake” ballet story. Cool, huh?

Myers provides a fascinating introductory “HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS POEM” that considers the cultural roots of the folk story, the grace and drama of the ballet, and the violence and power of Tchaikovsky’s musical score. He sets the story in the red brick Swan Lake Projects in the city “teeming with life, alive with the everpresent promise of youth.”

The story unfolds in four “Acts” beginning with the Prince’s mother cautioning her son about the city’s violence and pleading with him to settle down. In a Romeo-Juliet “meet-sweet,” Amiri is in his element, playing basketball, when he spies the dancing Odette, and it’s love at first sight. She warns him of the spell she’s under, “I’m forever bound in shadow/ A prisoner to my pain.” If he proclaims his love to her and her alone, she’ll be saved. He eagerly does so and invites her to his party…

“Odette!” HE CALLS.

“Amiri!” SHE RESPONDS.

She pulls him with a stunning glance
Across the crowded floor.
Until kiss-close they begin the dance
That will flame his heart once more.
They dance like mist on water,
As light as summer breeze.
He touches her waist—she kisses his cheek.
Her eyes begin to tease.
They dance like salsa angels.
They cling like summer vines.
He begs for more—
she moves away.

“ODETTE, WILL
YOU BE MINE?”

Myers, Walter Dean. 2009. Amiri & Odette: A Love Story. Ill. by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Scholastic.

Unfortunately, it’s Odette’s evil twin and “O muffle the drum and mute the horn/ From love’s demise, despair is born!” In a positively Shakespearean conclusion, Amiri fights and defeats the evil Big Red (a drug dealer) and the lovers are reunited “Where joy lives in spite of sorrow/ And gladness now denies tomorrow.”

The book flap calls Amiri & Odette “part rap and rhapsody”—Amen! This lyrical telling is fast-paced and musical, with beautiful phrasing:

“A pane-shattering scream.
A scream-scattering pain”

And Javaka Steptoe’s art is the perfect complement, dark and textured, suggestive of a cityscape mural, with its painted-on-cinder-blocks illustrations. In an ARTIST’S NOTE at the end he shares that the “images are rendered with acrylic paint on slabs of asphalt” and he has “embellished the collages with candy wrappers, gold plated and 14k jewelry, newspaper, plastic bags and other items to give them a three-dimensional quality.” Add to this the use of white text on the dark backgrounds, with occasional juxtaposition of colored text, ALL CAPS, and syncopated spacing and indenting, and the words splay graffiti-like across the gravelly art. The overall effect is graphic and compelling and may inspire teen artists to create their own found art using available resources.

In the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, Walter Dean Myers notes the many dancers who have “demonstrated that the classical arts could be brought into the urban arena to great effect” and I believe his new interpretation of Swan Lake (in Amiri & Odette) is a significant contribution to this tradition. I can definitely envision teen groups or troupes performing this as a choral reading, rap, pantomime, or dance—complete with mural backdrops created by peers. It’s an inspiring homage to the classic poetic and balletic story tradition—made fresh and new for young audiences.

Image credit: bookreviewsandmore.ca

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2009. All rights reserved.

Celebrate Soto and Mora for Latino Heritage Month

In honor of Latino Heritage Month (September 15- October 15), I’d like to highlight the latest poetry by two of my favorite poets, Latino or otherwise, Gary Soto and Pat Mora.

Gary Soto’s new collection, Partly Cloudy; Poems of Love and Longing, looks at love in 100 poems, the first half from the girl’s point of view (“A Girl’s Tears, Her Songs), and the second half from the boy’s point of view (“A Boy’s Body, His Words”).

These unrhymed, free verses swing from funny, to serious, some sad, some ironic, some hopeful, some angry. I like the idea of pairing or matching boy and girl poems—either based on similar feelings or tone or by contrasting them—does one reflect the rejection of the other? Could they be cross referencing each other? The voices reflect young, perhaps first love—many are identified as 13-14 years old. Kids as young as middle school age will relate to these emotions and experiences, as well teens and older readers. Here’s just a taste; first from a boy, then from a girl:

Natural Talent
by Gary Soto

You brought out a can of chicken noodle soup,
And set its contents in a pot
Over the stove’s collar of blue flames.
“Wow,” I said, “you can cook.”
The refrigerator’s bulb shone on your handsome face
When you brought out a block of cheese—
You deftly cut little squares
And placed them onto saltines.
“Where did you learn all this?” I asked,
And you shrugged your shoulders.
I even liked how you turned on the kitchen faucet
With your elbow— you had to keep
Your fingers clean—and whittled little pieces
Of salami. We ate looking at each other,
Me so obviously in love. I asked, “Do you iron?”
You nodded—god, you have shiny hair!
After we ate, you asked me to take…
To take off my blouse! “Slow down,” I said,
Hands on my hips. Then I understood.
You gave me a sweatshirt to wear
While you sewed on my loose fourth button.
Where did you learn this,
Multi-tasking lover boy of mine?

p. 13

Beautiful Trouble
by Gary Soto

They say you have a tattoo of a butterfly
On your thigh, but how will I know?
That you can uncurl cigarette smoke at will,
That you can cuss in six languages,
That your last boyfriend is using a whole box
Of Kleenex to wipe away his river of tears.
These are rumors, just rumors.
But I can see. You’re dressed in beautiful trouble,
The skirt that swings and the low-cut blouse,
And I may as well mention the red smile,
The ring on your loveliest toe,
And the glance in a compact mirror,
Seeing me watch you.
When you raise your hand in class,
Your bracelets ring. You seldom get the answer
Right, but who cares!
My dad, a deacon in the church, warns,
“Watch out for girls who cause trouble.”
Indeed, I watch every day as you swing
Down the hallways, the little roll of muscle
In your calf, and somewhere up higher,
The rumor of a butterfly.

p. 58

Soto, Gary. 2008. Partly Cloudy; Poems of Love and Longing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

More love poetry for young people is on its way in two collections by Betsy Franco and Pat Mora coming out later this year or early next year. I can’t wait!

Speaking of Pat Mora, her new poetry book this fall is Join Hands! The Ways We Celebrate Life. It’s a poem picture book illustrated with color photographs by George Ancona of kids in constant motion. A single pantoum poem bounces across the pages, with repeated lines appearing across each of the four line stanzas. (A diagrammed poem at the end explains this repetition visually.) This reiterative, circular Malaysian poem form plays out like a playground chant as you read the book aloud, inviting children to participate in the suggested movement and actions: masquerade, parade, dance, skip, prance. The poem begins:

“Join hands!” is what we say.
We sing canciones, too.
We plan a hoopla day.
We strut and ballyhoo.

Kids are pictured in a variety of scenes, settings, and garb, suggesting multiple multicultural connections: Native dancing, flamenco, mariachis, etc.

Join the Poetry Friday gathering at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Picture credits: Charlesbridge; famouspoetsandpoems.com

A new poem (and book) for Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine’s Day coming up next week, I’d like to feature a poem from Naomi Shihab Nye’s amazing new collection, Honeybee (Greenwillow, 2008). Her new anthology includes 82 poems, including many prose poems, on school, war, families, landscapes and bees… the connecting thread that buzzes through the poems with nectar and implication. There are many selections about words and books and libraries (one of my favorite poem topic that I have featured previously). She takes us along with her in her travels through Texas (her home state and mine) and Egypt and childhood and airports and beehives. It’s a striking variety of vignettes and anecdotes and observations all threaded through her unique poetic voice. Honeybee is political, personal, and powerful. I marked at least eight poems that I just had to keep in my “favorite poems” notebook. Here’s one small sampling about love and marriage from the point of view of a two year old!

Accuracy

Lyda Rose walked through our front door and said.
“Where is the sock monkey? I need him.” This surprised
me. She had never shown any interest in the sock mon-
key before.

We began digging in the tall basked where the stuffed animals
live.

Lyda Rose said, “I am two and a half now, did you know
that? Where is he?”

We threw out the snake, the yellow bunnies, battered
bears, a strange small eagle wearing a blue T-shirt, a soft
camel, and the bird that makes a chickadee sound if you
press its belly.

Sock Monkey was buried at the bottom.

Lyda Rose clutched him to her chest. “My husband!” she
said, closing her eyes dreamily.

I was astonished. “Your husband? When did this happen?”

She spoke clearly and definitely. “I thought of him and
I married him in my mind.”

She ran around the dining room clutching her husband
tightly, singing the song of a chickadee trapped in a
human body.

“How great! I am happy for you both! I said,
following her.

She did not answer, lost in a newlywed’s swoon.

I said, “It is so nice that you love him now!”

And she stopped dancing, staring at me
disapprovingly.

“I didn’t say I love him! I said, he is my husband!” *

p. 79-80

Poignant, funny, unsentimental, crystal clear and child-sincere. What a gem!

And don’t forget to join the Poetry Friday Round Up at AmoXcalli.
Picture credit: amazon.com

More about Verse Novels: Sonya Sones

I’m on a roll with verse novels, so let me herald the arrival of Sonya Sones’ latest book, another young adult novel-in-verse, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, due out this summer. It’s a sequel to the very popular, What My Mother Doesn’t Know, although it changes points of view to focus on the boy’s perspective, the misfit Murphy, whose name is a synonym for “klutz” or “outcast.” We begin with the outcast Murphy and the popular Sophie madly in love and in the throes of longing.

As Soon as We Get Upstairs to My Room

It’s like there’s
no future,

no
past,

only
now.

Right
now.

The greatest
now

I’ve ever
known.

Only
now—

this
kiss,

this
wow!

Simon & Schuster, 2007, p. 211

The effect of their relationship on their peers at school, however, is quite different. They are not accepted and indeed, Sophie’s friends abandon her and gradually take part in ridiculing her. Sophie is defiant and her faith in him empowers Murphy to grow in confidence—and lust! Murphy feels stunned by his good fortune and unworthy of her love and attention. However, things take a turn when he has the opportunity to mix with college students in an extra-curricular art class. For once he is accepted, even admired, and the object of attraction for another girl. Conflict ensues, choices must be made. With her usual blend of sharp humor and honest anguish, Sones creates a story of love and longing against a backdrop of art, artists, and artlessness.

Look for more books by Sonya Sones like the “prequel,” What My Mother Doesn’t Know, as well as One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. And for more poetry on the teenage boy’s perspective on love, look for poems by Ralph Fletcher, Gary Soto, and Steven Herrick.

Picture credit: www.magpi.net