Nye, N. (2010). Time You Let Me In. New York: Greenwillow.
Summary
Texan Naomi Shihab Nye has accumulated a sampling of poetry from 26 poets under 25 (she miscounted: originally, it was supposed to be 25 poets under 25 as it reads on the cover). The poets give voice to a variety of experiences, from war to immigration to love.
Impressions
I will confess that this book surprised me. There are some extremely talented young writers out there: watch out, world! In fact, as I was reading the poems, a wire tripped, and I felt motivated to write my own verse (which, for now, will stay with me). My favorites in this book include the following:
1) "Pupil" by Brianne Carpenter; it deals with the famous National Geographic photograph of a green-eyed Afghan girl.
2) "invitation" by Mackenzie Connellee; the author writes about writing poetry.
3) "To Be Two" by Amal Khan; this excellent selection concludes with an interesting reflection on binary code in relationship to human perception.
4) "Living with a Bodhisattva Cat is Intimidating" by Margaret Bashaar; the cat "destroys all my knitting to teach me about impermanence."
If poetry is the verbal distillation of emotion or experience which I believe it to be then this selection ranks as poetry of the highest order. I would definitely seek it out for a middle or high school library and promote it with gusto. I'm considering buying my own copy, and I will probably visit the websites of some of the authors to tell them how much I enjoyed their work.Review
Rochman, H. (2010). Time you let me in [book review]. Booklist, 106(9), 58.
Moderation can wait––plenty of time for that later,” says acclaimed poet and anthologist Nye. She knows how to reach teens, and this lively collection by young contemporary writers is rooted in the strong, emotional particulars of family, friendship, childhood memories, school, dislocation, war, and more; interestingly, there is almost no talk of sex or romance. The spare lines are passionate, wry, irreverent, and eloquent about meaning found in daily-life scenarios. One poet describes a meditative moment with her cat that “destroys all my knitting to teach me about impermanence.” Another prays for a soldier, a “ kindergarten best friend” who has returned from Baghdad. In several selections, immigrants remember their arrival in the U.S. In a brief, appended biography, one poet describes her draw to poetry: “Unresolved, uncomfortable, and sometimes repulsive moments of memory can be made somehow graceful through writing.” Teens will connect with the passionate, unmoderated feelings that are given clarity and shape in each poem. Grades 7-12
Suggestions for Use
As we have discussed in class, sometimes poetry is analyzed ad nauseum, and I would hate to do to much with this book. It needs to be read and appreciated in all of its unmediated beauty. However, I think that this book could serve as inspiration for young people to write their own poetry. Perhaps the librarian could sponsor a poetry festival for which students would write, (pre-)submit, and read their own work (with supervision from the librarian and/or administrators). Personally, I would seek to have some of these poets come visit my school. Bringing such young writers and poets into the school environment would have the effect of demystifying poets and encouraging creative verbal expression from students.
