Poetry speaks who I am

Review by New York Times Review

A kind of sequel to "Hip Hop Speaks to Children," this volume of verse is aimed at teenagers and is, not surprisingly, full of strong emotion, from Sylvia Plath's "Mad Girl's Love Song," an incantatory poem in which the speaker is kissed "quite insane," to Alan Dugan's "How We Heard the Name," where a river brings down "dead horses, dead men /and military debris, /indicative of war /or official acts upstream." It's a standout collection, packaged with a CD of the poems read aloud, many by the poets themselves.

Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [April 11, 2010]

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Review by Booklist Review

From baseball to first kisses to family, friends, community, love, and anger, the subjects in the 108 poems that make up this lively anthology will appeal to young people. The editors mix classic and contemporary selections, from Langston Hughes' I Loved My Friend and Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken to Sherman Alexie's Indian Education and Julia Alvarez's How I Learned to Sweep, and the spacious, inviting design will encourage teens to dip in, browse, and then linger. Another draw is the accompanying audio CD, on which many poets read their own work. Kids will recognize the familiar scenes in many poems, such as the torture of bra shopping for the first time and the fun of browsing in a used book store. Just as compelling are the selections by Shakespeare, Rilke, Dickinson, Whitman, and other classic poets. This makes a strong companion to poetry collections for youth compiled by Ruth Gordon, Paul Janeczko, and Naomi Shihab Nye.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This addition to the Poetry Speaks series aims at middle-grade readers with more than 100 strikingly diverse poems by writers including Poe, Frost, Nikki Giovanni, and Sandra Cisneros. The works are slotted together in mindful thematic order, beside occasional spot art. In Rosellen Brown's untitled poem, she reflects, "Nothing. They are for nothing, friends,/ I think. All they do in the end-they touch you. They fill you like music." Just opposite, is Langston Hughes's "I Loved My Friend": "I loved my friend./ He went away from me./ There's nothing more to say./ The poem ends,/ Soft as it began-I loved my friend." Pairing a contemporary poem like Toi Derricotte's "Fears of the Eighth Grade" alongside Keats's "When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be," results in a refreshing lack of literary hierarchy that enables disparate works to build and reflect upon one another. An accompanying CD features recordings of 44 of the poems, and blank lined pages at the end allow readers to integrate their voices into the chorus. A sound and rewarding introduction to the joys of poetry. Ages 9-12. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 6-10-This extraordinary collection is alive with pathos, sensitivity, humor, beauty, controversy, and insight. The more than 100 poems are by prize-winning authors and relative newcomers. Familiar classics and contemporary selections sing out with profound ideas and simple truths. To define "who I am," there are selections about racial and ethnic identity; about ordinary and lofty ideas; about love, friendship, and family connections. They exhibit compassion, confusion, and anger. The poems are at once personal and universal, each told in a voice that speaks candidly to the target audience. The accompanying CD includes readings by many of the poets, and some of them describe the inspiration for their work, creating an intriguing perspective and connection to the piece. Blank pages at the end of the book invite readers to compose selections of their own. The variety of poems could easily hook youngsters on the genre as a comforting, accessible art form. This special book will enrich poetry sections.-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

From the creators of the popular anthologies Poetry Speaks and Poetry Speaks to Children (2001, 2005) comes another volume, this one aimed at the 12-14 set. Paschen casts a wide net for material, including pieces by William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Billy Collins, Nikki Grimes and Ogden Nash, among many others. The poems selected deal with themes of particular interest to young teens, such as romance, growing up, loneliness, friendship and identity. An audio CD featuring many of the poets reading their work as well as some poets reading the works of others is included; these clear and powerful readings add a welcome dimension and will no doubt enhance readers' enjoyment of the collection. The design of the volume, with its funky typefaces and brightly colored cover, will also appeal to young teens. The final pages provide space for readers to add their own poemsa good idea, because after paging through this eclectic and powerful anthology many will indeed be inspired to take up the pen. (About the Contributors) (Poetry with audio CD. 12-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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From the Introduction:

This is not a poetry anthology for adults, for children, for classroom study, or for required memorization and recitation. It's made just for you.

When I was younger, I wish I had possessed an anthology like this one-a compilation that brings poetry to life through words and recordings. In grammar school, I memorized the poems I discovered in a favorite poetry anthology my parents had given me. In high school, after my British Literature teacher introduced me to the work of William Butler Yeats, I began to understand how to write a poem. But in middle school there were no poetry anthologies compiled just for students and poetry was not taught in class. So I gravitated toward poets of the past and read William Shakespeare's love sonnets, trying to imitate them. I had no idea that poets were alive and writing. This anthology attempts to fill that void by offering poems about subjects that might express what's on your mind.

Youth inspires poets. So when we asked poets to send poems either that were important to them at your age or that they'd written about being your age, we received hundreds of submissions. Many writers try to capture those moments you may be thinking about now as you step into a new world.

We strived to create an anthology where you can discover poems about the changes taking place in your life. We offer first kiss poems like "Zodiac" or "The Skokie Theatre." If you've ever stood in the outfield, waiting to catch a fly ball, check out "Baseball." There are some Bar Mitzvah poems called "33" and "49." Poems about changing bodies such as "Bra Shopping." Poems about the times you think you hate your mother as in "The Adversary" and poems about loving her such as "Dear Mama (4)." Poems about loneliness like Robert Frost's "Acquainted with the Night." We even have a "Vampire Serenade." There are poems about navigating the turbulence of friendship like "Caroline" or the riptides of your parents' marriage as in "Mediation." We have paired classic poems with contemporary poems, from John Keats to Toi Derricotte, so you can read how poets throughout the ages have mulled over the same subjects.

Some poems will help you catch your breath, others will let you slowly exhale. Many of the poets traveled to studios to record their poems for Poetry Speaks Who I Am. When you listen to the CD, you will hear the immediacy of their words and the nuance of expression, and you will be able to hear and perhaps understand the poem from the poet's perspective.

In seventh grade, my friends and I would get together at each other's houses, listening for long afternoons to our favorite records. Older siblings introduced us to Carly Simon, James Taylor, Carole King, and we would sit and talk and sometimes just sit and listen to the songs, memorizing each one, playing them over and over in our minds. Let's hope that these poem recordings touch that same nerve for you and that they hold the same power that music did. Throughout my life, whenever I read a book I often scribble down a draft of a poem in the back pages. In Poetry Speaks Who I Am, you will find pages at the end where you can write down your own thoughts. Maybe some of the poems in this anthology will stir you to write some poems of your own.

We hope you will find inspiring company with these poems and with these poets. As the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke writes: "Live a while in these books..." So live a while with these poems.
-Elise Paschen

Excerpted from Poetry Speaks Who I Am: Poems of Discovery, Inspiration, Independence, and Everything Else by Elise Paschen, Dominique Raccah All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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