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Congratulations to Juan Felipe Herrera who has just been appointed the 21stPoet Laureate of the United States (or PLOTUS for those in the know) by the Library of Congress!
To introduce students to Juan Felipe Herrera and his body of work, we have put together a collection of resources and activities for an author (and poet!) study. We’ve structured this Author Study Unit off of Reading Rockets’ Author Study Toolkit (available as a PDF and online).
1. Set a purpose and goals for the author study
Have students read these books to find out:
who Juan Felipe Herrera is
how he uses his background, life, and experiences as inspiration for his stories and writing
what themes Herrera writes about in his stories and what themes these books share
which story (or moments in a story) the students connect to the most and why
2. Choose an author
Juan Felipe Herrera is the 21st Poet Laureate of the United States and the first Latino poet.
From where do you think Juan Felipe Herrera gets his inspiration for his stories and settings? What makes you think so? How does he include his culture and heritage in his works?
How would you describe Juan Felipe Herrera’s writing style?
What themes or topics are most meaningful to him? Why do you think that?
Compare two of his books. Use a Venn diagram to collect ideas on how these books are similar and unique. What is the central idea of each? Is the book written in verse or prose? Compare the topic, main figures, setting, and text structure of each.
4. Research the author
There are a ton of news articles celebrating and reporting the announcement of Juan Felipe Herrera as Poet Laureate. Build excitement and interest for students at the beginning of the unit with a couple of the articles, such as this one from the Los Angeles Times.
Several previous Poet Laureates created projects to share poetry with the public. Have students read about the Past Poet Laureate Projects from the Library of Congress. Knowing what they now know about Juan Felipe Herrera, have students brainstorm and discuss what project Herrera might create while Poet Laureate. What topics and themes are meaningful to Herrera? What makes you think that?
The main figures in each of these stories draw a lot of strength from a special adult in their lives. Who in your life helps you when you are having trouble, feel scared or doubtful, or have a goal you want to achieve? What advice has this person shared with you? What actions and qualities do you admire most about this person?
A major focus for Juan Felipe Herrera in his writing is family or community. Encourage students to write a poem or paragraph about a big or small tradition that is important in their own family or community.
Juan Felipe Herrera has written a lot on his migrant background. Encourage students to interview their parents or guardians about their family’s migration or immigration history. When did you or our family come to this city/community? Why did you or our family come to this place (was it voluntary or forced)? From where did you or our family come?What traditions does our family have?
What does “home” mean to you? How might this word mean more than just the place where you live? What does “family” mean to you? How might this word mean more than just your mother and father? How might these words mean something different to various people?
Have students write a letter to Juan Felipe Herrera. In their letters, students may describe which story, poem, or moment in one of his books they connected to the most and why. Students can also include any questions they are curious about concerning Herrera’s life and work.
Picture book recommendations for the author study:
Bilingual English/Spanish. Poet Juan Felipe Herrera’s bilingual memoir paints a vivid picture of his migrant farmworker childhood and his road to becoming a writer. Calling the Doves won the 1997 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for New Writing.
Bilingual English/Spanish. Award-winning poet Juan Felipe Herrera’s engaging memoir of the year his migrant family settled down so that he could go to school for the first time. The Upside Down Boy captures the universal experience of children entering a new school feeling like strangers in a world that seems upside down at first.
Bilingual English/Spanish. Every Sunday Juanito helps his grandmother sell old clothes beneath the rainbow-colored tents at the remate, the flea market. Juanito learns firsthand what it means to be a true rematero, a fleamarketeer, and understands that the value of community can never be measured in dollars.
Bilingual English/Spanish. At his new school or on the soccer field, all everyone wants to know is why Tomasito is in a wheelchair. His Papi gives Tomasito a new pet to make him smile, but this bird is a little bit different from the rest. Juan Felipe Herrera scores again with this sparkling bilingual story of self-empowerment and friendship. Featherless won the 2005 Independent Publisher Book Award for Multicultural Fiction.
What are your recommendations for a successful author study? Share with us!
Jill Eisenberg, our Senior Literacy Expert, began her career teaching English as a Foreign Language to second through sixth graders in Yilan, Taiwan as a Fulbright Fellow. She went on to become a literacy teacher for third grade in San Jose, CA as a Teach for America corps member. In her weekly column at The Open Book, she offers teaching and literacy tips for educators.
0 Comments on Using Picture Books to Teach and Discuss Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera with Students as of 1/1/1900
Yesterday, Mervyn Morris was named the Poet Laureate of Jamaica by the National Library of Jamaica at a ceremony in downtown Kingston. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award. It speaks to the years of commitment to his craft and the guidance that he has given and continues to give to poets and to the people of Jamaica. In honor of Mervyn, here are the five most popular posts about him that have been published on my blog:
On April 3, 2012, San Antonio became the first major city in Texas to appoint a Poet Laureate. Mayor Julián Castro formally announced nationally renowned author and poet Carmen Tafolla as the Poet Laureate in keeping with the SA2020 goal of turning San Antonio into “a brainpower community that is the liveliest city in the nation.” The initiative applies to the Arts & Culture as well as Education vision areas. The honorary position was created to promote the literary arts and literacy within the community as well as foster a greater appreciation of the poetic arts through the reading and writing of poetry. The Poet Laureate will serve a two-year term and will commit to a minimum of three City sponsored and selected public appearances for each year of service. "I can think of no one more worthy of this honor than Carmen Tafolla. She's not only an accomplished poet and educator; she is a homegrown talent who embodies the power and poignancy of art in our community. I am proud to call her San Antonio's first Poet Laureate," Mayor Julián Castro responded to the determination by the Poet Laureate selection committee. The announcement follows the Mayor’s State of the City address where he called for San Antonians to “be bold and invest in the city’s future” through education, early childhood education in particular.
The City’s Office of Cultural Affairs received 21 nominations representing 15 local poets. The selection committee was comprised of poetsfrom around the country: Francisco Aragon (San Francisco, CA), Catherine Bowman (Indiana), Cyrus Cassells (Texas), and Valerie Martinez (New Mexico). The application process opened in November 2011 and nominations were accepted until January 18, 2012. The committee review process took approximately six weeks.
Tafolla’s goal as Poet Laureate, she believes, is to bring the joy of literature into the daily lives of the people of this great pueblo, and to empower the expression of their own poetic voices in our young and old alike. She believes strongly that a multicultural dual-language education is one of the greatest gifts we can provide our children, and that effective family literacy is heavily dependent on the availability of stories and literature to which people can relate culturally and realistically. “Literacy and literature cannot be realistically separated if we hope to have an impact on all of our residents,” says Tafolla. “Powerful stories that reflect our reality reverberate inside us, and give us meaning. Literature cannot afford to be elitist or disconnected from the community.”
Her first solo collection of poetry, Curandera, was published in 1983, and gleaned her recognition as a master of “code-switching,” the art of alternating between formal and colloquial Spanish and English, as a literary technique. She has been called “a world class writer” by Alex Haley, and a “pioneer of Chicana literature” by Ana Castillo. Tafolla has published five books of poetry, including the award-winning Sonnets to Human Beings, translated into German in 1992, Spanish in 1994, and Bengali in 2006; the most recent collection, Rebozos, will be published in September 2012.
0 Comments on San Antonio's Mayor Castro announces nationally renowned author Carmen Tafolla as City's inaugural Poet Laureate as of 4/10/2012 11:41:00 PM
Last week, Juan Felipe Herrera was appointed California poet laureate by Gov. Jerry Brown. If this is confirmed by the California Senate, Herrera will become the first Chicano to ever receive this recognition.
You can go here to read about it, here to read more about him, and you can send him felicidades via E-mail to juan.herreraATucr.edu.
La Bloga can only say: Era tiempo!
Last Call for Ice Cream?
Not as significant as Herrrera's achivement, this zany story of mine was accepted by Rudy Rucker (of cyberpunk fame) for his Ezine Flurb #13. You can access a copy for FREE to see what at least one Chicano is doing to widen our presence in the spec fiction world. You can get Flurb #13 as an ebook that can be read on any e-reading device---Kindles, iPhones, Androids, NOOKs, Windows laptops, iPads, whatever. Mobi (for Kindle) and Epub (for the others) available for download at http://www.flurb.net/ebook/ Please leave comments there.
Chicano summer arts camp
Denver's Museo de las Americas is proud to present the 2012 summer camp program, "Animales." Students will have the opportunity to discover the wild world of animals through this multidisciplinary summer arts camp.
For three consecutive weeks, participants will immerse themselves in visual arts, dance, music, and theater classes to better understand the bond between animals, humans, and the environment. Each class is conducted by a trained teacher who is committed to advancing the students' understanding of animals through arts integration techniques and cultural competencies.
Dates: June 25th -July 13, 2012 July 4th: No Camp July 13th: Final Performance
Hours: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, snack provided Ages: K through 6th grade Cost: Scholarships available to DPS students on a first-come, first serve basis
If interested, contact Christina Gese, our Education Director at [email protected], (303) 571-4401, ext. 28, or in person at 861 Santa Fe Dr., Denver.
Space limited; request registration form today. Deadline May 1st, 2012.
0 Comments on Poet laureate. SF story. Museo summer camp. Obama. as of 3/31/2012 7:34:00 AM
Joseph Auslander was the first US Poet Laureate. The position was then known as the "Poetry Chair" or the "Consultant in Poetry." He served from 1937-1941.
About the position, he says
Having been appointed to the task of building in our national Library for the People of the United States a permanent sanctuary for the manuscripts and memorabilia of the poets of our tongue, I take the liberty of inviting your cooperation. Such a room, dedicated to the best and noblest utterances of the best and noble minds, is intended not only as a storehouse of treasures to inspire and instruct the multitude that daily throng our doors; it is to serve as one more heartening sigh, in a confused and darkened world, of the power of the poets and dramatists, the glory of our ideals and aspirations.
Isn't that a little bit what Poetry Friday is? It's temporary, but it's a sanctuary. It's built collaboratively each week. It's dedicated to what strikes us as the "best and noblest utterances of the best and noblest minds." And it is definitely a "heartening sigh, in a confused and darkened world."
Happy Poetry Friday in a flag-waving, country-loving, Fourth of July fireworks sort of way!!
I got my inspiration this week by dipping into my new book
The Poets Laureate Anthology edited and with introductions by Elizabeth Hun Schmidt foreword by Billy Collins W.H. Norton, 2011 review copy purchased by me
To see a dream Reduced to rust Is a bitter theme, Yet it leaves a gleam-- It must... But to lose trust In a simple thing Like the golden dust On a miller's wing Or the smell of spring In the air-- That I could never bear.
The roundup today is at a wrung sponge. The roundup for the next six months is here, and in our sidebar. Thank you everyone for volunteering to host!
I had just about the best poetry day ever yesterday! It started at Cover to Cover bookstore with Tim Bowers and J.Patrick Lewis for the launch of their book, FIRST DOG.
We heard the story of how talent and timing and luck resulted in the right book at the right...nay, the PERFECT time.
FIRST DOG, written by Lewis and one of his daughters (talent), was originally about an all-American mutt who travels the world trying to find his ancestry. When Obama promised his daughters that they could have a dog when they moved to the White House, the manuscript just happened to be in the hands of Pat's editor (timing) when the publisher wished out loud that they had a dog book for this occasion. Tim Bowers, who also lives in central Ohio and who has been friends with Pat for a dozen or more years (Pat and Tim have often wished they could work together, but authors are not often allowed the luxury of picking their illustrator) and who has become somewhat well-known for his dog illustrations, was chosen as the illustrator. (luck, but also talent, and timing: "It's about TIME we got to work together!!")
FIRST DOG takes the reader around the world as he looks for the right home. In the course of his travels, he meets dogs of the breeds that originated in various countries and wonders if he could live there with them. (Information about each breed is on the endpapers.) Ultimately, he finds his way back home to the U.S. and notices an article in a newspaper about the search for a dog for the White House. He trots on over to the back door of the White House, and is greeted by two children (seen only from the knees down to the spangly sparkly tennis shoes) who ask their dad if they can keep him. Can you guess what dad says?
First Dog by J. Patrick Lewis and Beth Zappitello illustrated by Tim Bowers Sleeping Bear Press in stores April 15, 2009
First Dog bonus tracks: an original First Dog poem by J. Patrick Lewis here, and another by Rebecca Kai Dotlich here. Stay tuned for a YouTube video of Pat reading FIRST DOG to an audience of dogs!
I had to leave Cover to Cover before the party ended, which was before even half of the autographing line had snake past the signing table. Lucky for me, the staff at CTC and Pat and Tim were understanding and accommodating, so my copy of FIRST DOG and my stack of not-yet-signed-by-Pat poetry books from my classroom collection were waiting for me later in the afternoon.
Why the rush? Kay Ryan, Poet Laureate of the United States of America, was speaking at Columbus State Community College!!
"The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress serves as the nation's official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry."
You might remember that I have a collection of four volumes signed by Poet Laureates -- Billy Collins (from before he was Laureate), Ted Kooser (who was signing at NCTE a few years ago), and two given to me by the best big brother in the world: Richard Eberhart (Laureate in the year of my birth), and Robert Frost (THE Robert Frost!!!).
Kay Ryan, whose wit and rhyme and word play I adore, is my fifth Poet Laureate autograph.
Ryan's talk was a poetry reading with commentary -- sometimes before the poem, sometimes after, sometimes during. She read each poem twice. She says (and I totally agree) the first reading of a poem is just to find out, "Do I want to read this poem?" The second reading is really the first reading. In her keynote, she gave us a few Key Notes: "You must write what you can at that time." Not very grand, she says, but meant to convey urgency and the acceptance of your work in the moment. (Good advice for living, as well as writing.) She also said that although her writing is very personal -- she writes because something is worrying her -- she is always aware that her writing must be accessible to the public as well.
Here's my favorite poem by Kay Ryan, one I loved before she was named Poet Laureate:
Turtle
Who would be a turtle who could help it? A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet, She can ill afford the chances she must take In rowing toward the grasses that she eats. (the rest is here)
You can hear Kay Ryan reading "Turtle" and commenting on her best rhyme ever ("a four-oared" and "afford") in this podcast with Billy Collins and Garrison Keillor. Ryan reads first, so if you only have time for a bit, you'll get to hear her. But if you listen to the whole thing, you'll get to hear her talk a bit more about her Key Note that the poet must attend to her/his reader.
And here's a bonus track of her talking about and reading her poem, "Home to Roost."
6 Comments on Poetry Saturday: J. Patrick Lewis and Kay Ryan, last added: 4/21/2009
Mary Lee, You got to spend the weekend with a great poet and so did I! I am presenting with Joyce Sidman at the IRA in May and we worked on our presentation this weekend. Thanks for still reading my blog. I'm glad to be back - new job kicked my ass for a while.
So, as I have had no email due to a technical glitch that can only be handled by the people that don’t answer the phones - don’t get me started on Customer Service as a right not a privilege…. I devoured a great Writing Prompt Book - Jack Prelutsky’s Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write A Poem.
One really cool thing about him, he is the first Children’s Poet Laureate. I love that distinguished title, it is something so grown-up like “Consultant”, but his poems reflect the pure joy of wordplay. That joy was in the reading and in the exercises or “tips” as he labels them - stuff that I forgot like concrete poetry: words as art. He wrote a poem in the shape of a circle, that you had to spin it around to read - something right up my skating alley, as I love to spin!
So I wrote one in the shape of a boomerang:
erang
boom and
a it
threw never
I came
Once back.
Just pure fun!
I’ve been stressing out about writing for the conferences, and getting the rejections, and crafting the words just right that nothing comes out— that creates a big writer’s block of nothing.
So thank you Jack for your personable poetry book, and someday I hope to take over your laureate position.
Posted in Kid Lit, Other Trains of Thought Tagged: Boomerangs, Jack Prelutsky, Kid Lit, Poet Laureate, Poetry, Writer's Block
0 Comments on Other Trains: Jack Prelutsky, Children’s Poet Laureate as of 1/1/1900
I’m pleased to announce that the Poetry Foundation has selected the second Children’s Poet Laureate: Mary Ann Hoberman. At a lovely dinner last night at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago, I was honored to be in attendance when she was presented with her medal and made a beautiful acceptance speech. Her husband and four grown children (from Paris, New York, and LA) were there to support her, even joining in on reading a poem at the end of her talk, “The Witch and the Broomstick” from one of her You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You collections.
With 45 poetry books published, a National Book Award, and the NCTE Poetry Award for her body of work, Hoberman spoke about her life as a young writer, a child in a family that moved a lot, enabling her to place her memories geographically—ideal training for a poet, in her opinion. She loved fairy tales in particular and still owns her three favorite collections and planned to be a reporter when she grew up—even dashing about in a snazzy red MG thinking of herself as “Mary Ann Hoberman, Girl Reporter.”
However, as life took another turn, she found herself married and writing and proofreading on the side. She made up songs and verses for her babies (her oldest daughter confirmed this memory!), and while pushing the kids in a stroller, a phrase popped into her head: “all my shoes come in twos,”the nugget of which would become her first book, to be illustrated by her husband, Norman. She read a poem from this collection for the audience and talked about her emergence as a poet, rather than reporter or fiction writer, claiming that “the house of children’s poetry has truly provided a house for me.”
With a nod to other smart, humorous poets that she believes have led us “from didacticism into sunlight” in children’s poetry (Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, Robert Louis Stevenson, and A. A. Milne, “bookended by Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss”), she proceeded to delight us all with readings of several of her poems, including her “absolute favorite,” “Brother,” which she read a second time so fast it became a tongue twister, a favorite approach among child audiences, she grinned.
We joined in on “Snow,” and she observed that many of her poems are chant or song-like. She followed with “Yellow Butter,” hamming it up with a mouth-full-of-peanut-butter-style reading of the finale. On a somewhat more serious note, she acknowledged that some of her poems are inspired by the work of others, particularly by their rhythms. She cited Rudyard Kipling’s poems that accompany his Just-So Stories as one example and read “Anthropoids,” her tribute to Darwin.
I was blown away when she read a poem in my honor that I had mentioned was one of my all-time favorites by ANY poet, “Mayfly,” which she felt was also one of her personal best. Most of these poems came from The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems (which was generously provided for each guest), but her final poem was an original composition for the occasion—a “Villanelle for Children’s Poets” with the repeated lines, “the craft of children’s poetry is its art” and “nonsense at its heart,” among other gems. It was perfect and moved us all.
Once again, thank you to the Poetry Foundation, and particularly Penny Barr, for making children's poetry such a priority. The Children's Poet Laureate receives a check for $25,000 and a lovely medallion featuring the cartoon Pegasus characterized by James Thurber encircled with the words "Children's Poet Laureate" on one side and a line of an Emily Dickinson poem on the other side, "Permit a child to join." The Children's Poet Laureate will serve as a consultant to the Foundation for a two-year period and will give at least two public readings during his/her tenure. Mary Ann says she has “about 50 ideas” of possible poetry projects, so stay tuned for more updates.
[Note: I wrote about the FIRST Children’s Poet Laureate on Sept. 29, 2006: Prelutsky is Poet Laureate. Jack (and his wife Carolyn) were also in the audience tonight as he passed the poetry torch and became “Poet Laureate Emeritus”-- in his words.]
Poetry Foundation head John Barr called poetry the “last source of magic” in our world today and we definitely felt the magic of poetry this evening!
For more poetry in general, join Poetry Friday, in progress, at Anastasia Suen's Picture Book of the Day.
What a wonderful description of this lovely event, Sylvia! Thank you so much for sharing each and every thoughtful & heartfelt post with us. Your blog is a tremendous resource for all who take joy in poetry!
I think the Poetry Foundation made an excellent choice. Mary Ann is such a wonderful person and such a talented poet. Young children delight in her rhythmic, rhyming poetry. She is definitely a master of the genre.
"Mayfly" and "Brother" are two of my favorite Hoberman poems.
This Minnesotan law reads as if it was written by two different people. And that it should be sung by a Gilbert-and-Sullivanesque politician, with a chorus of lady lawmakers in the background. http://blogs.walkerart.org/offcenter/?p=631
Also, it made me miss Mike Ford, who would have done it better.
...
And the ORACULAR INSTRUMENT OF DIVINATION now has its own webpage, which should be more long-lasting and useful than the one in the blog a couple of entries ago: http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/8ball/
0 Comments on Extremely Short Legal Entry as of 3/14/2007 12:38:00 AM
1. Set a purpose and goals for the author study
Calling the Doves / El canto de las palomas
The Upside Down Boy / El niño de cabeza
Grandma and Me at the Flea / Los Meros Meros Remateros
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it never occurred to me to wonder about this idea of there being a first poet laureate, or the succession of them. growing up, every once in a while, a poet's name popped out as a laureate, but it really isn't one of the cultural histories we are taught in the US of A.
thanks for this, and here's hoping you have a wondrous weekend.
My poems are not always my "best and noble utterances!" Thank you for this post. Poet Laureates do wonderful work. Wes McNair, Maine's new Poet Laureate, has already initiated two programs to highlight poetry in Maine. Patricia O'Donnell writes about McNair's projects at the Maine Humanities Council site:
http://mainehumanities.org/notes/2011/04/taking-heart-for-poetry/#more-925
I've always thought that this was one of the best things we adopted from the Brits - amazing to think that the first American laureate was only voted in in 1986!
That is a wonderful thought, that PF is a sanctuary and so heartening. I always find it so!
I confess I am confused by Auslander's poem. Seems a loss of trust is much more awful than the scent of spring. Maybe I am misreading?
I like others am intrigued...I had not given thought to our "first" nor the succession in those early years. A most appreciated post, Mary Lee!
Andi, I think he's saying that he wouldn't want to stop believing in the smell of spring.
Happy Poetry Friday/4th of July, Mary Lee! Fun topic.
Howdy and, as you would say, Huzzah for our National Poets! What strikes me as curious is that from his name I assume that Auslander is either German or Jewish, and there he is, selected just at the moment in our history when that might have been problematic. Does your book shed any light? And isn't his diction so old-fashioned? Yet I admit I aspire "to inspire and instruct" with my all-American work...
Very interesting! I have to think about the poem too...but of course, that's what poems are meant to do. Followed you here from twitter. Stop by and visit my blog sometime.