Poetry found Pablo Neruda, bornNeftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, at an early age--an age where his father opposed Neftali's poetry writing and politics, but Neftali published his first poems as a teenager under his real name. To escape his father's disapproval, by the time he was 20, he wrote under the name for which he gained universal fame--"the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language," according to novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Not only was he wildly popular as a poet, he became a diplomat and ambassador for his native country, Chile.
Here are some of his well-known lines:
“Then love knew it was called love. And when I lifted my eyes to your name, suddenly your heart showed me my way”
“To feel the love of people whom we love is a
fire that feeds our life.”
“And one by one the nights
between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us."
“Laughter is the language of the soul.”
“Love is the mystery of water and a star.”
Pam Muñoz Ryan's fictional biography of Neruda's boyhood and coming of age shows young readers how Neruda overcame his father's opposition and followed his dream. Written in heartfelt poetic prose, The Dreamer, illustrated byPeter Sís, encourages young people to be who they are and use the talents they are given.
The back matter explains fact and fiction and includes some of Neruda's poetry.
My last post featured
brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, a coming-of-age memoir in verse. In
this book, we learn that Woodson discovers that her “brilliance” is telling
stories. We encounter a similar theme in a different memoir for young people
that, like Woodson’s book, has earned many awards. A 2015 Newbery Honor Book, El Deafo by Cece Bell is often referred to as a “graphic novel” in consumer
reviews. It is, however, a graphic memoir--non-fiction.
When Bell becomes deaf
at an early age, she must learn to cope not only with her deafness, but others’
reactions to it. Making true friends is hard, and teasing and bullying sadden, anger, and frustrate her until she takes a bully’s name for her, “El Deafo,” and embraces it as her
superpower. What a great way to turn something intended as bad into something
good!
You’ll have to read
the book to find out how that works out. Read my young friend Haley's review to whet your appetite:
“This touching graphic novel uses bunnies as characters to show how the main character (Cece) is deaf. This was very clever to help express how different she feels. This story not only tells about how she learns to deal with her disability but also how she goes through elementary school. She has the same friend problems as any elementary kid! But she handles them by going into her own creative world where she helps others. El Deafo has its ups and downs but you'll want to read it to the end!” ~ Haley, 8th grade
If you aren't sure what your superpower is, see what kinds of programs your public library offers this summer and get your whole family involved. Some libraries across the country are using the theme of heroes and superheroes. Maybe participating will help you find your superpower!
The dust is settling on the book awards season, and
winners’ covers proclaim their awards. I was fortunate to get my hands on two
very popular titles for young people. While they are completely different, they have
one theme in common—a young person’s discovering what’s special about themselves. Here are my reflections on the first book:
brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson has been
awarded the 2014 National Book Award—Young People’s Literature, the 2015
Newbery, a 2015 Coretta Scott King Honor, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding
Work—Youth/Teens, and others. Why all the accolades? And what can I possibly
add to the many more learned reviews that have already been written?
-brown girl dreaming has historical significance. It is a
coming-of-age memoir written in free verse about growing up in the 1960s and
‘70s partly in the North and partly in the South. These were historic times in
the Civil Rights Movement, and this book shows what a young girl thought about living
in those times in those places. How to behave in certain places to avoid
trouble—or should you go ahead and make trouble?
“At the fabric store, we are not Colored
or Negro. We are not thieves or shameful
or something to be hidden away.
At the fabric store, we’re just people.” (from “the
fabric store,” p. 90-91)
By Unknown or not provided (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
-It is a book about who we are as family, and the ways
family influences our identity. Aunts, uncles, brothers, sister, mother,
father, and grandparents all played a part in making Woodson who she is today.
Especially poignant is Woodson’s love for her maternal grandfather, expressed
throughout the book, as in “sometimes, no words are needed:”
“…My head
against/my grandfather’s arm,
a blanket around us as we sit on the front porch swing.
Its whine like a song.”
-It is a book about finding one’s unique gift and
figuring out what to do with it. Woodson’s brother could sing. Woodson’s sister
was brilliant. Fortunately for us, Woodson found her gift in writing.
“I want to catch words one day. I want to hold them
then blow gently, watch them float
right out of my hands” (from “gifted,” p. 169).
The free verse format makes for easy reading that I want
to read over and over again. On learning to write her name at age 3:
“Will the words
end, I ask
whenever I remember to.
Nope, my sister
says, all of five years old now,
and promising me
infinity.” (from “the beginning,” p. 62-63)
By Biswarup Ganguly (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Like any life, there is stuggle and triumph, joy and
sorrow.
“Maybe, I am thinking, there is something hidden
like this, in all of us. A small gift from the universe
waiting to be discovered” (from “hope onstage,” p. 233).
Woodson’s words are sure to help other young people—of
any color—look for and find their own brilliance.
Chances are good that you know someone with Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Association says that every 67 seconds
someone is diagnosed with the disease, more than 5 million Americans are living
with it, and 1 in 3 senior citizens in America dies from Alzheimer’s or another
dementia.
Awhile back, I won the book What Flowers Remember from author
Shannon Wiersbitzky. In the book, the main character, Delia, learns about
Alzheimer’s as her elderly friend, Old Red, goes through changes caused by the
disease. Wiersbitzky graciously offered to answer a few questions about this
book for young people.
Jane: Your story is set in Tucker’s Ferry,
a nice small town in West Virginia that reminds me somewhat of Mitford, Jan
Karon’s made-up town. How did you go about creating Tucker’s Ferry, and what
other writers influenced your own writing?
Shannon: Tucker’s Ferry is modeled after the
small town of Culloden, West Virginia. Growing up, I spent all my summers
there. It was where my grandparents lived. It had a little post office where
everyone met to get mail and share news, one little grocery store, a gas
station and a fire department. And that was about it. The fictional Tucker’s
Ferry is an idealized version I suppose, and that fits the story.
I think everything you read
influences you in some way. As a child, it was probably more about learning the
arc of story. Growing up I loved Robert C. O’Brien books, Judy Blume, Noel Streatfeild and all her dancing
shoes, there was the Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher and the Little House
series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The person who has influenced my writing the
most though is probably my editor Stephen Roxburgh. He is simply brilliant.
Jane: I love the intergenerational aspects
of this book. People of all ages do things together and learn from each other,
whether or not they’re related. Our society tends to lump people together by
age, so that young people don’t mix with senior citizens unless they are
grandparents. What are some benefits of intergenerational activities, and how
can we promote them in our own communities?
Shannon: You’re absolutely right. And it is
such a loss for everyone! I was fortunate in that I lived with my grandparents
three months of every year from the age of about seven until I was almost out
of high school. We’d visit the requisite amusement park and such, but most of
the time it was just regular life. I remember my grandfather heading off to
work and coming home in the evening. I’d help my grandmother clean. We’d talk
to neighbors. And my grandfather had a big garden. He didn’t grow flowers like
Old Red, he grew vegetables, and then my grandmother would preserve hundreds
and hundreds of jars for winter. I really got to know them as people, which is
such a gift.
Today I think too many young people
only see their grandparents or other senior citizens as old. Every older person
was young once! They had first kisses and got in trouble, they’ve been scared
or brave, and they are usually more than happy to share their stories. And the
stories can be so surprising and wonderful.
I wish there were more ways to
connect the generations, through real conversation, not lecture. We should
absolutely invite senior citizens into schools. Have them lend real context to
an era or a war, read books aloud, listen and mentor, participate in
activities. If kids are describing what they want to be when they grow up, have
seniors answer that same question based on their own younger dreams. Ask
children to interview a senior they know and give them some prompts. Tell me
about a time when you got into big trouble as a kid. What were you most scared
of when you were my age? What did you do for fun?
When a young person can discover the
personality behind the age, that is the key. From there, anything is possible.
Here are a couple of recent news items about young people and Alzheimer's patients:
Let Me Be Your Memory is a school curriculum to link kids to seniors to gather and record memories and create memoirs.
Jane: The heart of the book is about young
Delia and Old Red, who have a flower seed business together. Old Red has been
teaching Delia about flowers, seeds, and gardening. Where did you get the
expertise to write accurately about flower gardening?
Shannon: I’m so glad it all seems accurate!
As I said, my grandfather grew vegetables, so I knew a tiny bit about tending
to plants and such. The rest I learned through research. I did my best to get
it right for all the real gardeners out there. I’m not very good at it myself.
I love the IDEA of gardening, but I don’t love all the hard work it actually
requires. My own gardens start out beautiful and then end in a tangle of weeds.
It’s shameful.
Jane: Delia takes over more and more of
the work, as Old Red becomes unreliable. He finally must be moved to a senior
care center. This process is difficult for everyone in town, but they try to
help each other cope with Old Red’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Delia uses
creativity to help Old Red hang onto his memories. I read on your website that
your grandfather had Alzheimer’s. Did you use a similar tactic? If not, where
did you get the idea?
Shannon: My grandfather did have Alzheimer’s
and eventually he forgot me. That was horrible, and very hard to comprehend,
even as an adult. And I’m certain that is why I was drawn to write about the
topic. My grandfather and I never talked about his disease. And not once did I
think to record as many memories as I could. Delia’s bravery and ability to
confront the problem head on is so admirable. I love her for it.
The idea for the memory wall that
Delia creates in Old Red’s room just popped into my mind one day. I’m a very
visual writer. I tend to imagine scenes first and then write them. I knew she
was capturing all these stories and folks were giving her photos and I could
see this entire wall of Old Red’s life, there for everyone to see. The thought
was so beautiful it made me cry. Which meant I absolutely had to get it on
paper.
Jane: The contrast between flowers
bursting into bloom and dropping seeds as Old Red loses his faculties and fades
away is very poignant. What DO flowers remember? What would you like to tell
people who know someone with Alzheimer’s?
Shannon: I would like to think that flowers
do remember the people who tended them and the stories they’ve told. Certainly
as humans we have the ability to carry stories forward. To tell them to our own
children or grandchildren. Perhaps we’re both the flowers and the seeds.
Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease.
It hurts everyone it touches. In the early stages, if I could do it over, I
would have asked more, listened more, recorded more. In the later stages,
prepare the best you can for the day when your loved one won’t remember you. And
simply know you're not alone. So many have been touched by it. Read, talk,
ensure you have a support system.
Jane: I hope we’ll hear more from Tucker’s
Ferry. I have a feeling Delia and her friends might have more to learn—and more
to teach us. Thanks for talking with me.
Shannon:Thank you!
Alzheimer’s makes an appearance in
the glamour of Hollywood, too. One of tonight’s Oscar nominees is Julianne Moore
for Best Actress in “Still Alice.” Moore portrays a college linguistics
professor with a happy home life who starts forgetting words and is diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s. She is only 50, and the disease progresses quickly, affecting
herself and everyone around her. Is she still Alice?
Avid reader and friend, Jan Mullin,
wrote this about the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova: "A Novel."
Really? The voice of Alice feels like it comes from my own heart and head and
couldn't be more real. Genova writes in such a personal way (Oh my God, what's
happening to me?) Her poignant phrases--"She’d rather die than lose her
mind" or " Who was she if she wasn’t..." professor, wife,
mother, researcher--bring home the realities of the monster under the bed.
Alzheimer's is something Alice can't fight, "a demon in her head, tearing
a reckless and illogical path of destruction, ripping apart the wiring…"
Through diligent research, interviews and personal interactions (and great
writing), Genova gives a heart-rending view of the fear, isolation, and
confusion as the disease evolves. On the brighter side, Genova includes very
positive actions such as early diagnosis and intervention, support groups not
just for the caregiver, but also the AD person, and how Alice's family comes to
care for and about her in her new reality. The title isn't a question, but through the entire book Alice
questions the concept of still being Alice. At
the end, the question remains: Still Alice?
Here’s a
clip of Moore’s performance in the movie trailer:
A portion of the sales from
Wiersbitzky’s book goes to the Alzheimer’s Association. See how you can help or receive help: http://www.alz.org/
The romance genre isn’t one I usually reach for, though
it sometimes provides me with a little escape from reality. (Maybe romance
novels are realistic in your world. If so, good for you!) That said, I enjoyed
the escape from reality I got from Rose Ross Zediker’s quilting romance series.
They have recently been released in 1 package as “Dakota Love.”
So why does this non-romantic like these romances? 5 reasons:
1) They are set in my home state, which the rest of the
country considers fly-over, if they consider it at all.
("South Dakota general map 2" by Jon Platek. - Base topography map is from the public domain National Atlas, as were several layers used as reference points. Highway shields were by User:SPUI and released to the public domain. US locator map was by User:Theshibboleth. All other work was done by the uploader.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Dakota_general_map_2.png#mediaviewer/File:South_Dakota_general_map_2.png)
2) The author is from my area, so she has written
authentically about it. And, in full disclosure, I know her personally and
consider her a friend.
3) The main characters are “of a certain age.” You are
never too old for love! I liked reading books with characters closer to my age
than the usual silly 20-somethings. (Sorry if you are a silly 20-something. You’ll
outgrow it.) Those romances or mystery-romances make me want to jump into the
story and yell advice at the main character.
4) The quilting theme in this series gives a homey feel
to the stories. I’m not a quilter, but I do appreciate the art and craft.
("Baby quilt in pinwheel pattern" by Jim from Lexington, KY, USA - [1]. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baby_quilt_in_pinwheel_pattern.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Baby_quilt_in_pinwheel_pattern.jpg)
5) And speaking of art, I love the cover art of this new
package—“our own” beautiful Falls Park!
What are your favorite stories for Valentine's Day?
It's been awhile since I posted, what with work, family, holidays, and all. What I've been told is true--time goes faster the older I get. As a measurement, each minute is the same length. But as we experience it, some minutes drag on for hours, while others are a mere blip.
The time-space continuum has interested and puzzled people for ages, and the idea of time travel captures our imaginations. Award-winning author Connie Willis has written several time travel novels, including the one I just read, To Say Nothing of the Dog. This delightful romantic romp was first published in 1997 and won the Hugo and Locus awards in 1999. It was nominated for the Nebulae Awards in 1998.
The characters go back and forth from England in 2057 to Oxford in Victorian times to WWII Coventry during the bombing. The main characters, Ned Henry, an intelligent bumbler trying to do the right thing--whatever that is in his current time period--and Verity Kindle, a smart beauty also trying to do the right thing, also prod the reader to consider the impact of an individual on history and what difference small incidents can make on the future. What if Terence had not met his intended? What if Princess Arjumand had drowned? What if Ned and Terence had not pulled Professor Peddick out of the river? Though we are assured that the time space continuum repairs problems so that things turn out the way they should, sometimes it takes years.
What if we fail to smile at the person we meet, hold open a door, make a call, or give a helping hand where we can? We can't rewrite history, but we may be able to make the present--and the future--a better place. Happy New Year!
In the meantime, Steve Miller is right, "time keeps on slippin' into the future..."
Today is South Dakota's 125th Birthday. (North Dakota's, too, for that matter, but that's not what this post is about.) Yesterday was National Bison Day, and November is National Picture Book Month. That's a lot to celebrate!
Though South Dakota's official state animal is the coyote, the mighty bison has long played a part in state history. Once nearly extinct because of over-hunting, bison herds now thrive across the state, including at ranches that raise them to sell for meat.
One large herd that attracts tourists lives in Custer State Park in the Black Hills. We once found ourselves amid a herd of buffalo trying to cross the road we were on. Believe me, there's nothing to do but wait, and you do not want to get between a mother and baby!
South Dakota artist Donald F. Montileaux's picture book, Tatanka and the Lakota People, tells part of a traditional creation story with the buffalo (tatanka) as hero. The story is told in illustrations, English, and Lakota.
This post is just a brushstroke of everything that is South Dakota. South Dakota is proud of its history and its resources and is ready to meet the next 125 years. Come and visit! In the meantime, find out more facts about South Dakota here.
(photographs copyright Jane Heitman Healy, 2012, all rights reserved)
