Poetry Review #31

World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from The Metropolitan Museum 

Editor: Lee Bennett Hopkins, The Metropolitan Museum of Art & contributors

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 2018
ISBN: 978-1419728457
Reading Ages: 5-9 years

Genre: Children's Poetry, Picture Book, Art History, Anthology

 4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 4 Roars? I loved the concept for this collection of poetry. The ability to combine art history with children's poetry was innovative and makes the reader wonder what other areas of education could be infused with poetry. 

Poetic Elements:

The poetry is as diverse and as different as the works of art they are utilizing. The blending of art and words provides a celebration for the senses.

"The book’s true spotlight is on diversity—in the background of the poets, the style of the artworks, and the method of interpretation chosen by each poet . . . The poems emphasize that in art and poetry there is no right answer, rather a myriad of different interpretations. Accordingly, there is something for every young reader in this delightful collection." 

~~ Booklist

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” 

~~ Leonardo da Vinci

Appeal: The appeal of this collection for me was that I got to look at a piece of art through a poet's eyes. The perception or view of art in another's mind and the translation into words was fascinating and rewarding. 

"The specially commissioned poems, which easily lend themselves to reading aloud, are well matched with their individual artwork and can be excellent springboards for further discussion about the picture." 

~~ School Library Journal

Overall Quality: The collection offers 18 poems written by poets responding to some of the most popular works of art at The Metropolitan Museum. 

"And the whole book is really based on a form from the Greek called ekphrastic poetry, where poems are inspired by art. I assigned these varied paintings to 18 of the top children's poets in America, who would then write their emotions toward the painting. Rather than describing the painting, it's what they feel."

~~ Lee Bennett Hopkins

Some of the participating poets are Marilyn Singer, Alma Flor Alda, Carole Boston Weatherford, Mary Cassatt, Fernando Botero, Winslow Homer, Naomi Shihab Nye, J. Patrick Lewis, Marilyn Nelson, and Utagawa Hiroshige.  

Layout: Along with the artwork and poems there is an introduction, a really useful biography of each poet and artist that I very much enjoyed, and an index. 

Connections:

Sharing - This collection would be a great way to introduce poems for poetry month to students, or an excellent method to launch an assortment of poets and art history as a combined project.

Spotlight Poem - My favorite poem in the collection was written by Marilyn Singer.

 

Paint Me

Hurry up and

                paint me,

I have things to do,

more than you.

Streets, countries, continents to see,

outside of this atelier.

I cannot spare more hours.

I'm tired of this dress, these flowers.

I'm young, a girl, it's true,

But I insist,

                World make way.

You've captured my expression

and the way I hold my hands. 

So, dear old man, please end this 

session.

Hurry up and

                paint me.

Finish today!  

  

Activity: This would be a great poem to have students expand upon in a written or classroom discussion. Why does the girl in the poem insist, "World make way" when she is being painted?  Why do you think someone was painting her portrait? Questions that prompt a writing response or lively dialog would work well with this project. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art