LS 5623 Mod 6

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Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by twentieth-century American Art edited by Jan Greenberg


Module 6 Poetry, Drama, Film and Response



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Greenberg, Jan. Heart to heart: new poems inspired by twentieth-century American art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001. ISBN: 0810943867



CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This anthology is a unique pairing of original poetry inspired by iconic 20th century art. The result is both moving and profound. Biographical information is included for poets and artists as well as photograph and poem credits. Some poets and artists featured are Carole Boston Weatherford, William H. Johnson, Jane O. Wayne and Milton Avery. In some cases it is hard to believe that the art and poem were not created by the same person. The parings are so connected that it is difficult to separate the two. Broken into chapters such as “Stories”, “Voices”, “Impressions” and Expressions”, this collection offers a variety of both art and poetry that is playful, emotional, challenging or provocative. The combination of powerful images and compelling language is impressive.

BOOK HOOK/EXPLEMPLARY OR FAVORITE LINES

Jan Greenberg has received many awards for her books. They include the ALA Notable, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Booklist Editor’s Choice, IRA Teacher’s Choice, Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book, and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book.

Author’s Website: http://www.jangreenbergsandrajordan.com/



EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS



School Library Journal

Greenberg invited 43 poets to choose a piece of modern art and to write a poetic response to it. The result is a gorgeous, thoughtful, stimulating collection of art and poetry that turns the standard poetry/art book on its head. "How would you paint a poem?" Bobbi Katz asks in her response to a Mark Rothko painting. "Prepare the canvas carefully/With shallow pools of color/Stacked secrets waiting to be told-." Greenberg's book might best be seen as an embodiment of that poem. Each work of art is impeccably reproduced, the color and design are exceptional, and each poem is given room on the page to breathe. The art glows, the words reflect the images and create more light-"Florine, we would live inside your colors! Red joy,/golden rushes of hope-" Naomi Shihab Nye writes about Florine Stettheimer's The Cathedrals of Broadway. If a picture book is defined as a marriage of word and art, then Heart to Heart is not only a wonderful poetry collection, but also a picture book of the highest quality.





Booklist

Specially commissioned, original poems celebrate some of the finest twentieth-century American art in this beautiful, surprising volume. Such well-known writers as Nancy Willard, X. J. Kennedy, Lee Upton, and Angela Johnson wrote poems inspired by artworks created through the century, but the book's organization is thematic rather than chronological. The poems are grouped according to how the writer responded to the art: some tell a story about the whole painting; some speak from the perspective of an object within the artwork; some transform the visual elements into poetic metaphors; some talk about the artists and their techniques. From a tight diamante and pantoum to lyrical free verse, the range of poetic styles will speak to a wide age group. Younger children, for example, will love Deborah Pope's "On Lichtenstein's 'Bananas and Grapefruit,'" which melts quickly down the page to a delicious ending: "gulppulp / sweet part / eat / art." Teens (and adults) will enjoy the inquisitive depth of such selections as Ronald Wallace's "Mobile/Stabile." Concluding with biographical notes on each poet and artist, this rich resource is an obvious choice for teachers, and the exciting interplay between art and the written word will encourage many readers to return again and again to the book. To learn more about the book's origins, see the Story behind the Story on the opposite page.