Andrea Cheng is the author of several critically-acclaimed books for young readers. Her most 
recent novel, Etched in Clay, tells the story in verse of Dave the Potter, an enslaved man, poet, and master craftsperson whose jars (many of which are inscribed with his poetry and writings) are among the most sought-after pieces of Edgefield pottery. Etched in Clay recently won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award.
April is National Poetry Month, so we asked author Andrea Cheng to share one of her favorite poems from Etched in Clay:
FEATURED POEM
Etched in Clay, p. 65
A Poem!
Dave, July 12, 1834
The summer’s so hot,
it’s like we’re living
in the furnace.
The clay doesn’t like it either,
getting hard on me
too quick.
I better hurry now,
before the sun’s too low to see.
What words will I scrawl
across the shoulder
of this jar?
I hear Lydia’s voice in my head.
Be careful, Dave.
Those words in clay
can get you killed.
But I will die of silence
if I keep my words inside me
any longer.
Doctor Landrum used to say
it’s best to write a poem a day,
for it calms the body
and the soul
to shape those words.
This jar is a beauty,
big and wide,
fourteen gallons
I know it will hold.
I have the words now,
and my stick is sharp.
I write:
put every bit all between
surely this jar will hold 14.
Andrea Cheng: There are three poems in Etched in Clay which speak directly about the act of writing. In the first one, “Tell the World,” (EIC p. 38) Dave writes in clay for the first time. Using a sharp stick, he carves the date, April 18, into a brick; he is announcing to the world that on this day, “a man started practicing/his letters.” In the poem called “Words and Verses,” (EIC p. 52) Dave thinks about writing down one of the poems that has been swirling around in his head as he works on the potter’s wheel. Finally, in “A Poem!” (EIC p. 67) Dave actually carves a couplet into one of his jars. His words are practical and ordinary; he simply comments on the size of the jar. But he is no longer silent.
Further Reading:
Andrea Cheng on Writing Biography in Verse
An interview with Andrea Cheng about Etched in Clay in School Library Journal
A look at how Andrea Cheng made the woodcut illustrations for Etched in Clay
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Here’s a biography of someone we really know very little about. What do you make of Hill’s poem? Do you want to learn more? Do Collier’s illustrations fill in some gaps?
The information at the end tells us more, but in fact we are still left with a mystery. Do Collier’s collages match the tone of the text?
We’re also reading some articles about this book. You can comment on the articles on that page, but I’d love to know how they affected your appreciation of the book.
The post Dave the Potter appeared first on The Horn Book.
Bryan Collier with his wife, daughter, and newborn baby daughter on Easter, April 2011.
In addition to the four information books we’re reading this week, there are also three articles from the July/August 2011 Horn Book Magazine related to Dave the Potter:
Personally, I love learning about the background of books and hearing how they are used. I also like hearing commentary tracks on DVDs after watching a movie. Does knowing more about the creating process help you appreciate the book more? Or does it take away some of the magic?
The post Three articles about Dave the Potter appeared first on The Horn Book.
The story of Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Little, Brown and Company, 2010) combines two great loves of mine — poetry and pottery — so I was absolutely delighted to have been introduced to this recently published book by Myra at Gathering Books. The historical ‘Dave’ was an unusual combination of talent in an age where such talents would not have only been under-appreciated but potentially dangerous. Dave was a skilled and literate slave of the mid 1800′s in South Carolina. His legacy is a collection of large pots and urns, some of which have lines written into them. The lines are short and cryptic, reminiscent of Dickinson. For example, on one of his earliest known pots — a large one for which Dave had a reputation for creating — are inscribed these lines:
put every bit all between
surely this Jar will hold 14
This particular pot could hold fourteen gallons, and these short lines conveyed the volume capacity in rhyme. Other couplets also appear, giving more of a sense of Dave’s personality and of his vocation. Particularly moving was this couplet:
I, made this Jar, all of cross
If, you don’t repent, you will be, lost
Dave the Potter is a picture book, sumptuously illustrated by Bryan Collier, who has captured well the nature of the man and his art. There’s a lovely fold-out panel of illustrations showing the process of pot-making which is visually affecting. My daughter and I really enjoyed Dave the Potter; it is a wonderful book telling a little known story of — as the book’s subtitle indicates — an ‘artist, poet and slave’ of the American south.
This week’s Poetry Friday host is Doraine at Dori Reads.
