Book Review by María Luisa Arroyo
Poetry Speaks Who I Am. Editor, Elise Paschen. Series Editor: Dominique Raccah. Advisory Editors: Elizabeth Alexander, Joy Harjo, and Brad Leithauser. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, Publisher. Melrose Park, Illinois: 2010
During my latest trip to the library, I chose Poetry Speaks Who I Am, an anthology of poems for middle school-aged youth and up. While the introduction targets youth, this anthology is ideal for adults, too, especially for poets who may want to reflect on and even revisit in their own writing some of the provoking themes this book raises: identity, race and racism, teenage angst, bullying, love, the complexity of familial relationships, friendship, and loneliness, among others.
For the most part, I enjoyed this thoughtfully organized collection and was especially mesmerized by the accompanying audio CD. In some instances, I let the voice of a poet envelop me as I absorbed the poet’s words, cadence, and breathing pauses. In others, I followed along in the book as the poet read aloud. What a joy it was to listen to Langton Hughes’ own voice reading aloud his “Dream Variations”, a poem I have known since I was a kid and have used in poetry workshops. Other poets whose voices I personally found compelling? Joy Harjo, Marilyn Chin, Edward Hirsch, and the quirky, gruff voice of X.J. Kennedy.
The only disappointment for me was the dearth of Latin@ poets in the anthology. Only 3 out of 108 poems? While I’m sure that many teachers of poetry will appreciate this book, as I do, at the same time, I wonder at the missed opportunity to include poems that speak to who Puerto Rican and other Latin@ youth are. Pat Mora, Judith Ortiz Cofer, and Francisco X. Alarcón are only three of numerous U.S. Latin@ poets I can name for inclusion.
Would I recommend this book? Sure. In fact, I plan to buy one for myself and several copies for gifting. At the same, I challenge this and other presses to pay more and better attention at a diverse Latin@ demographic that is here to stay and who hungers to read poems reflective of their own languages (English, Spanish, and Spanglish) and experiences.
Poetry Speaks Who I Am. Editor, Elise Paschen. Series Editor: Dominique Raccah. Advisory Editors: Elizabeth Alexander, Joy Harjo, and Brad Leithauser. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, Publisher. Melrose Park, Illinois: 2010
During my latest trip to the library, I chose Poetry Speaks Who I Am, an anthology of poems for middle school-aged youth and up. While the introduction targets youth, this anthology is ideal for adults, too, especially for poets who may want to reflect on and even revisit in their own writing some of the provoking themes this book raises: identity, race and racism, teenage angst, bullying, love, the complexity of familial relationships, friendship, and loneliness, among others.
For the most part, I enjoyed this thoughtfully organized collection and was especially mesmerized by the accompanying audio CD. In some instances, I let the voice of a poet envelop me as I absorbed the poet’s words, cadence, and breathing pauses. In others, I followed along in the book as the poet read aloud. What a joy it was to listen to Langton Hughes’ own voice reading aloud his “Dream Variations”, a poem I have known since I was a kid and have used in poetry workshops. Other poets whose voices I personally found compelling? Joy Harjo, Marilyn Chin, Edward Hirsch, and the quirky, gruff voice of X.J. Kennedy.
The only disappointment for me was the dearth of Latin@ poets in the anthology. Only 3 out of 108 poems? While I’m sure that many teachers of poetry will appreciate this book, as I do, at the same time, I wonder at the missed opportunity to include poems that speak to who Puerto Rican and other Latin@ youth are. Pat Mora, Judith Ortiz Cofer, and Francisco X. Alarcón are only three of numerous U.S. Latin@ poets I can name for inclusion.
Would I recommend this book? Sure. In fact, I plan to buy one for myself and several copies for gifting. At the same, I challenge this and other presses to pay more and better attention at a diverse Latin@ demographic that is here to stay and who hungers to read poems reflective of their own languages (English, Spanish, and Spanglish) and experiences.