Poetry Speaks Who I Am is filled with more than 100 remarkable poems about you, who you are, and who you are becoming. Dive in-find the poem you love, the one that makes you angry, the one that makes you laugh, the one that knocks the wind out of you, and become a part of Poetry Speaks Who I Am by adding your own inside the book.
Poetry can be life altering. It can be gritty and difficult. It can be hilarious or heart-breaking. And it’s meant to be experienced, so we’ve included a CD on which you’ll hear 44 poems, 39 of which are original recordings-you’ll only find them here. You’ll hear poets both classic and contemporary, well-known and refreshingly new, including:
–Dana Gioia expresses the hunger of a “Vampire’s Serenade”
–Elizabeth Alexander waits for that second kiss in “Zodiac”
–Langston Hughes flings his arms wide in “Dream Variations”
–Marilyn Nelson reads to her class in “How I Discovered Poetry”
–Paul Muldoon’s poem “Sideman,” brought loudly to life by the band Rackett
–And 39 more poems that are immediate and vibrant
From Lucille Clifton’s “Here Yet Be Dragons” to Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee” to “Tia Chucha,” by Luis J. Rodriguez, Poetry Speaks Who I Am is a collection that is dynamic, accessible, challenging, classic, edgy, and ultimately not quite perfect. Just like you. If you’re lucky, it’ll serve as a gateway to a lifetime lived with poetry. At the very least, it’ll be a good time. Dive in, and happy hunting.
The Brain Lair on Poetry Speaks Who I Am Poetry Speaks comes with a CD that includes poets reading their own works. The table of contents lets you know which poems are on the CD, since only about half of them are included. The ARC also included a little 1/2 sheet with the selections listed on it. That was really helpful since I didn’t have to turn back to the beginning to check on a poem, I could just consult the sheet I was using as bookmark. The poems looked like I might have typed them out on recycled paper and then added a…
It’s not just her I got this book for my 10 yr old stepdaughter, who struggles with focus in school and has been in counseling for years due to issues with her mother. I heard about it on NPR last year, and felt it would be very good for her to hear poems by/about other children her age and the issues that bother them. She has read the entire thing, some of it several times, and listened to the cd. I can’t say with certainty, but she seems to have bonded with some of the poems that speak directly to her about…
Still they rise In spite of having a poet for a mother (or perhaps because of it) I have never come to terms with poetry. Which is not to say that I didn’t try. As a kid I would pluck up a collection of the stuff and try to read through it. I was handed poems in elementary, middle, and high school with regularity, but I didn’t quite understand why snowy woods were any more important in stanzas than in paragraphs. Poetry seemed like something I should like, but I never found the right way to get a taste …more…