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Summary
Summary
"Nye at her engaging, insightful best." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Acclaimed poet and Young People's Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than eighty original and never-before-published poems. A deeply moving, sometimes funny, and always provocative poetry collection for all ages.
"How much have you thrown away in your lifetime already Do you ever think about it Where does this plethora of leavings come from How long does it take you, even one little you, to fill the can by your desk" Naomi Shihab Nye
National Book Award Finalist, Young People's Poet Laureate, and devoted trash-picker-upper Naomi Shihab Nye explores these questions and more in this original collection of poetry that features more than eighty new poems. "I couldn't save the world, but I could pick up trash," she says in her introduction to this stunning volume.
With poems about food wrappers, lost mittens, plastic straws, refugee children, trashy talk, the environment, connection, community, responsibility to the planet, politics, immigration, time, junk mail, trash collectors, garbage trucks, all that we carry and all that we discard, this is a rich, engaging, moving, and sometimes humorous collection for readers ages twelve to adult.
Includes ideas for writing, recycling, and reclaiming, and an index.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up--Young People's Poet Laureate Nye ponders the things we carry and throw away--both literal and metaphorical. The poems cover a large range of topics: discarded food wrappers; animal hoarding; the migrant children who have been seized by the U.S. Border Patrol. Nye contemplates the acts of discarding or leaving, but also finding. Nye writes in her introduction, "Sometimes we have to leave things. You never know what's out there. Selection is involved." This idea is also applicable to the craft of writing and will serve as good advice to young poets. Many of the featured topics are suitable for mature teens or adults. Sometimes the intended audience feels deliberately focused on adults, like in the heartfelt and sparse poem "Nothing." However, the poems could be gently unpacked by younger readers with guidance. Nye provides thematic examples from many perspectives, giving this collection a rich variety and impressive scope. The book itself is organized into five separate "Routes," each with its own spin on the things we discard. VERDICT There is much to discover in Nye's beautiful and timely collection filled with haunting, sensory images. A must-have for all poetry collections.--Shannon O'Connor, Unami Middle School, Chalfont, PA
Horn Book Review
Current Young Peoples Poet Laureate Nye finds inspiration in those things we throw awayas well as in the act of throwing things away and that of picking them up again. Its a surprisingly flexible metaphor for this collection of over eighty free-verse, free-range poems, from the lyrical to the humorous, ecological to political, brief to meandering. In Not a Bagel, But... Nye commemorates poet David Ignatow, thanking him for an image from a poem which can / stay with you your whole life, and in her relaxed, conversational style, she drops many such images so casually arrived at that they are all the more convincing. Trees are ferocious. / They might be planning things. / How can we ever again sit calmly in the shade? The collection is divided into five sections (whose distinctions elude this reviewer), but they dont interfere with the eminent browsability of the volume. Pick up a poem, why dont you? Roger Sutton March/April 2020 p.95(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Nye explores what we throw away, literally (she's a litter picker-upper) and metaphorically.In 80-plus poems, Nye writes conversationally, injecting humor, outrage, and reminiscence. Unambiguously championing the environment, she marvels at how casually humans toss trash. "What about these energy bottles pitched by someone / who didn't have energy to find a bin? / Fun Finger Food wrappers dropped by someone / not so fun?" An archaeologist of urban detritus, she ponders her discoveries, championing children throughout. "Blocks around elementary schools / are surprisingly free of litter. / Good custodians?" Nye locates the profound in the mundane: "A single silver star / on a curb by Bonham Elementary / Good work! / Glimmering / like a treasure / stronger at this moment than all 50 / drooping on the flagpole." She mourns the current othering of the homeless and refugees: "A few hundred miles from here / thousands of traumatized kids / huddle in cages / / Who can believe this? / Land of the Free!" She keenly knits place into poems: her city, San Antonio; the Ferguson, Missouri, of her childhood; Maui; Hong Kong. She castigates Trump, who "talks uglier than the bully in grade school," and Prince Charles, who dithers ineffectually about plastic waste. She generously praises poets and writers: W.S. Merwin, who drafted poems on junk mail; David Ignatow, for a poetic image that Nye has found compelling since high school; Kevin Henkes, for his book Egg.Nye at her engaging, insightful best. (Poetry. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
