The poetry of US : with favorites from Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman, Gwendolyn Brooks, and more : more than 200 poems that celebrate the people, places, and passions of the United States

Cover image for The poetry of US : with favorites from Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman, Gwendolyn Brooks, and more : more than 200 poems that celebrate the people, places, and passions of the United States

Title:

The poetry of US : with favorites from Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman, Gwendolyn Brooks, and more : more than 200 poems that celebrate the people, places, and passions of the United States

Author:

Lewis, J. Patrick, editor.

ISBN:

9781426331855

9781426331862

Publication Information:

Washington, DC : National Geographic, [2018]

Physical Description:

191 pages : color illustrations ; 29 cm

Contents:

New England -- Mid-Atlantic -- Southeast -- Midwest -- Great Plains -- Rocky Mountain West -- Pacific Coast -- Territories.

Abstract:

Experience the great diversity of America on a trip through each of the 50 states and the many cultures, traditions, histories, and passions that define us. Taste sweet blueberries and baked beans in New England, hear the bustle of city music and the call of market vendors in the Mid-Atlantic, and watch the sunrise over gentle ridges and silent swamps in the Southeast. Attend city parades and small-town festivals in the Midwest, join cowboys and songwriters in the Great Plains, sweep through sleeping deserts and running rivers in the Rocky Mountain West, and dive into the salty seas, sylvan valleys, and snowy shorelines of the Pacific Coast. From Langston Hughes's Alabama mornings to Edna St. Vincent Millay's New York ferry rides, distinctive voices celebrate the spirit that unites us.

Subject Term:

National characteristics, American -- Juvenile poetry.

Patriotism -- United States -- Juvenile poetry.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Juvenile poetry.

Genre:

Poetry.

Picture books.

Added Author:

Lewis, J. Patrick,

Document ID:

SD_ILS:2309131

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Library	Collection	Collection	Call Number	Status
Searching... Clovis Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Non-Fiction Area	811.008 POE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Fig Garden Branch (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Non-Fiction Area	811.008 POE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Porterville Public Library (Porterville)	Searching... Unknown	Youth Non-fiction Area	Y 811.008 POE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Sanger Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Non-Fiction Area	811.008 POE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Woodward Park Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Children's Non-Fiction Area	811.008 POE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

It's all about us! Join former U.S. Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis on a lyrical journey through the United States to experience the wonders of America's people and places through 200+ inspiring poems and stunning photographs.

Celebrate the gift of language and the vibrant culture of the United States with this collection of classic and never-before-published poetry. Poems are arranged by region, from coast to coast, and among them you'll find works by Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, Robert Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walt Whitman, and more. From the familiar to the surprising, subjects include people, places, landmarks, monuments, nature, and celebrations. Designed for sharing, but geared to younger readers, this beautifully illustrated treasury is a must-have for the whole family.

Author Notes

J. PATRICK LEWIS is a former U.S. Children's Poet Laureate. He earned a B.A. at Saint Joseph's College, an M.A. at Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in economics at the Ohio State University. Lewis taught in the department of Business, Accounting and Economics at Otterbein College until 1998, when he became a full-time writer. He is the author of more than 50 books of poetry for children, including Spot the Plot- A Riddle Book of Book Riddles (2009, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger); New York Times Best Illustrated Book The Last Resort (2002); The Shoe Tree of Chagrin (2001) which won the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators' Golden Kite Award; A Hippopotamusn't- And Other Animal Poems (1990); and he has collaborated with other poets on several collections.

His children's poetry has been widely anthologized, and his contributions to children's literature have been recognized with the 2011 Poetry Award from the National Council of Teachers of English and the Ohioana Awards' 2004 Alice Louise Wood Memorial Prize. His poetry for adults includes the collection Gulls Hold Up the Sky- Poems 1983-2010 .

Reviews (2)

Horn Book Review

A predominantly celebratory, occasionally sobering collection of hundreds of poems related to the United States, these selections were not written for children but work nicely for them here. The poets include some of our most celebrated, and their range of tone and subject give the whole a resonance that will make the anthology useful for years. Photographs from National Geographic's archives accompany the poetry. Reading list. Ind. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Some 200-plus short poems about U.S. places, people, and events are superimposed on big, bright landscape and other photographs.Notwithstanding Lewis' grandiose claim that these "chiseled words and fabulous photos" present "the underside, backside, inside, and other side of America," the general tone is blandly celebratory, with only occasional, mild dissension. Robert Frost's paternalistic "The Gift Outright" ("The land was ours before we were the land's") is paired, for instance with Carole Boston Weatherford's protest litany "Power to the People" ("You Are On Stolen Land"); and Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing" appears, rather obviously, side by side with Langston Hughes' "I, too, sing America." The poetry largely steers clear of abstractions, violent imagery, or even, aside from a strongly rhythmic final chant by Leigh Lewis, declamatory slam or hip-hop language. Topics range from natural wonders to local festivals, regional food, salutes to celebrities including John Wayne and Willie Nelson, elegies for Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin, sports, religious observances, and statements of ethnic or national identity. Nods to the diversity of American voices include frequent entries by immigrant and minority writers as well as poems in Spanish, Arabic, and Korean with accompanying translations into English by, usually, the poets themselves. The photos, gorgeous as they are, largely serve a decorative function as only a handful bear identifying captions.Safe, mostly conservative choices in an expansive gathering, with dazzling visuals. (bibliography, indexes) (Poetry. 8-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.