Friday, February 27, 2015

Poetry Friday


     I just finished a 2015 Coretta Scott King (Author) Honor Book Award winner, How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson.  It is a memoir in verse, which is becoming one of my favorite genres/formats.  Several weeks ago, I featured Woodson's memoir in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming.  These two books make perfect companions. It's wonderful that these stories in poetry are getting so much recognition! 
 
 
My Goodreads Review:
 
 
I enjoyed reading about Nelson's experiences with being the daughter of a military man and moving around frequently, civil rights, the "Red Scare" and atomic bomb drills, growing up, friendships and crushes, and discovering her love of words and poetry. I loved the photos and would have enjoyed seeing more.


 
 
For more on memoirs in verse, check out this terrific blog post by Sylvia M. Vardell.  Some day I'd like to try to put some of my memories in poetry form and see how it goes!

Now hop on over to Heidi's blog for the Poetry Roundup!

7 comments:

  1. You have such a rich down-on-the-farm experience to write about. You could do it! I love verse novels and have one in the works. Not as easy as it looks.

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  2. I've been wanting to read Marilyn's book. I enjoy verse memoirs too!

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  3. Yes, I am loving these poetic memoirs! It's kind of the perfect way to record memories, isn't it? Like making a scrapbook, but with words. Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Sadly, we don't have this available in our library yet, but this would definitely be one of the titles I am recommending to our institution's librarian for purchase. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this book, dear Holly, as I absolutely love verse novels.

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  5. Lucky Baldwin kids! Irene, you're right about the scrapbook quality of a memoir and how poems fit that perfectly. Looking forward to this--thanks, Holly!

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  6. I've had the pleasure of meeting her and she is as thought-proving as her poetry. Can't wait to read this book, will do so later this week. NELSON POWER!

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  7. Thank you for sharing about this book.

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