Thirty-two of his finest verses, accompanied by gorgeous paintings that capture Williams' evocative references to nature and everyday life, grace this new title in the much-celebrated Poetry for Young People series. William Carlos Williams' poems are like pictures, full of visual images that youngsters will quickly grasp and enjoy. Marilyn Nelson, “How I Discovered Poetry” from The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems.William Carlos Williams : Poetry for Young People To the buses, awed by the power of words. Until I stood and opened my mouth to banjo playingĭarkies, pickaninnies, disses and dats. She smiled when she told me to read it, smiled harder, To read to the all except for me white class.

She gave me a poem she’d chosen especially for me The darkest eyes in the room brim: The next day Purdy and I wandered lonely as clouds borneīy a breeze off Mount Parnassus. Purdy read from her desk.Īll the other kids zoned an hour ahead to 3:15,īut Mrs. It was like soul-kissing, the way the wordsįilled my mouth as Mrs. I begin the series with Marilyn Nelson's poem, and it will end on 4/30/09 with brief commentary from Marilyn on her poem. I hope you'll take a moment every so often to visit I Was Born Doing Reference Work In Sin to check out the series. (I'm even going to participate! I am hosting the party after all.) I think I can safely say there will be a little something for everyone. The series will include responses from Denise Duhamel, Ellen Bass, Mark Bibbins, Sandra Beasley, David Trinidad, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, and more. My series titled 'How I Discovered Poetry,' as you probably already assumed, is inspired by Marilyn Nelson's poem, 'How I Discovered Poetry.' This series will be posted only during April in tribute to National Poetry Month and in honor of Marilyn Nelson. Marilyn Nelson is a poet who has not been polluted by her success. Every time I've seen her she wears a smile that reaches out and hugs you. Marilyn is a delightful, kind-hearted poet. Marilyn Nelson is a powerful and talented poet whose words will make you bow to her work. I've also found it is a great exercise to have people use the first line of the poem as a writing prompt. I love to see the looks on the faces of writers after they finish Nelson's poem-the sound of the gasp as they finish the last line. I use 'How I Discovered Poetry' every chance I can when leading a workshop.

People, this is what good poetry does to its reader. (There would be no second guessing myself.) Chills creep over my body every time I read Nelson's 'How I Discovered Poetry.' Every time I read Nelson's poem, I feel the passion I felt the first time I read it. If I compiled a list of my top ten favorite poems of all time, it is easy for me to say Marilyn Nelson's 'How I Discovered Poetry' would be one of the first poems I would write down.

How i discovered poetry