Naomi Shihab Nye Letters

Veronica and Jessica are going to send letters to poet Naomi Shihab Nye.  They read poems from 16 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East and Amaze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye.

 We read and discussed her essay "Lights in the Windows" and read the funny poem: "Valentine for Ernest Mann." This allowed us to enjoy her poetry while learning more about the power a poet can have in the world to create positive social change. Nye writes poems about war and peace. She also edits anthologies of poets from around the world in an effort to promote understanding between different cultures. She has edited This Same Sky and The Space Between Our Footsteps. 

In this YouTube video, Naomi Shihab Nye talks about creativity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_ARPTIMPxo 


Now read Jessica's letter about how Nye's writing influenced her:

Dear Naomi Shihab Nye,

My name is Jessica and I just turned thirteen on October 10, 2011. I recently read your essay, “Lights in the Windows.” When you said, “How many other lights had I missed?”, it made me realize that every time you walk by a stranger, they are thinking about their thoughts and their worries. What I noticed was if you take a step back from everything, your own problems seem petty. Someone always has it worse than you do. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be an author. You have inspired me to write poems as well as using books to spread a positive message.

My favorite poem you wrote was “All Things Not Considered.” My favorite line was “No one was right. Everyone was wrong,” because it is pointless to sit around all day blaming people when you have made a mistake. I also liked “They might have picked up turnip roots or olive pits.” This line, to me atleast, means that people always have a choice. Whether its easy to make or tough, there’s always the right choice, waiting. Thank you so much for spreading meaningful messages throughout the world.

Sincerely,

Jessica 

Dear Naomi Shihab Nye,

My name is Veronica and I am ten years old. I live in Laguna Beach, CA and I go to school at Rebel Waltz Academy, which is like a version of homeschool with my sister, Jessica. I read your essay “Lights in the Windows” and several poems from the collection you edited, The Space Between Our Footsteps. I really enjoyed them. Two of my favorites were “A Dream” by Muhammad al-Ghuzzi and “Sand” by Salih Bolat. “Sand” showed that little things lead to bigger things. A grain of sand can greatly affect life under the water. It all starts with something. Everything you see is a puzzle piece connecting to the puzzle of life.

I liked “A Dream” because it expresses the experience of going into a deep sleep where many emotions can engulf you. They seem realistic at the time. Once I had such a scary dream, I woke up crying. In dreams, you can do anything you want, you can go anywhere, and you can set your imagination free.

I also read three poems from 13 Varieties of Gazelle, including “Steps,” “All Things Not Considered,” and “Red Brocade.” “Steps” was my favorite, because at first I thought about the outer layer, and then the metaphors. Once you go deeper, you think about how it connects to life. I loved the image of the purple fish. I also liked the lines “Their long laughs are boats they will ride and ride, / making the shadows that cross each other’s smiles. The metaphor made me think of one time in the car when my mom made me laugh so hard for ten minutes.

When my teacher read us “Lights in the Windows,” one line really stood out to me: “That girl had not stood out to me, I realized, among the other upturned, interested faces in the classroom.” In a crowd of people, you don’t always look twice. One look and you turn away. Poetry helps us notice tiny things. I realized after reading the essay that poetry teaches you how to notice little things, observe the world better, which is why I liked the line: “To me, the world of poetry is a house with thousands of glittering windows.” Your poem “Steps” also taught me that you can learn from other’s mistakes and do better next time, and try new things. I thought about this after re-reading the line: “One of these children will tell a story/ that keeps her people alive.”

When I looked at the world after reading a poem (like a nature poem by Mary Oliver), I noticed little veins on a leaf and how beautiful they were. Before I would’ve just looked at the whole tree and walked by, but now I would write a poem.

            Thanks!

Sincerely,

Veronica