DOCUMENT RESUME ED 379 675 CS 214 746 AUTHOR Copeland, Jeffrey S.; Copeland, Vicky L. TITLE Speaking of Poets 2: More Interviews with Poets Who Write for Children and Young Adults. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-4620-1 PUB DATE 94 NOTE 219p.; For volume 1, see ED 359 540. AVAILABLE FROM National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 46201-3050: $11.95 members, $15.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) Books (010) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adolescents; Audience Awareness; Children; *Childrens Literature; *Creative Writing; Elementary Secondary Education; Interviews; *Personal Narratives; *Poetry; *Poets; Reader Text Relationship; *Writing Processes IDENTIFIERS Author Reader Relationship; Author Text Relationship; Poetic Forms; Writing Contexts; *Writing for Children ABSTRACT Spotlighting a variety of venerable poets, ss well as some rising stars, this book is the secondseries of conversations about the lives and works of poets who write mainly for children and young people. The book presents informal interviewswith the writers about their childhoods, the influences upon their work, theirwriting processes, how they would like to see their workintroduced to youngsters, and what suggestions they have for young poetry writers. The 20 poets interviewed in the book are: J. Patrick Lewis, Marilyn Singer, Cynthia Rylant, Paul Fleischman, Bro'd Bagert, Lillian Morrison, Ashlay Bryan, Jane Yolen, Luis J. Rodriguez, Deborah Chandra, Paul Janeczko, Michael Spooner, Constance Levy, Nikki Gi,-vanni, Patricia Huboell, Victor Martinez, Lucille Clifton, Maxine Kumin, Judith Thurman, and Nancy White Carlstrom. Each interview is preceded by a very brief overview of the poet's life ana work. (NKA) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** 1 I . U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS Office of Educational Research and Improvement MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) /lcThis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality - - - - TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions slated in this document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy Alb P It PCTrtnpvAVAIl API r Speaking of Poets 2 3 Speaking of Poets 2 More Interviews with Poets WhoWrite for Children and Young Adults Written and edited by Jeffrey S. Copeland University of Northern Iowa Vicky L. Copeland Area Education Agency 7 Cedar Falls, Iowa National Council of Teachers of English 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096 Permission acknowledgments appear on page 204. NCTE Editorial Board: Colette Daiute, Hazel Davis, Bobbi Fisher, Keith Gilyard, Gail Hawisher, Ronald Jobe, Richard Luckert, Charles Suhor,ex officio, Mario Welshons, ex officio Manuscript Editor: Julie Riley Bush Staff Editor: Michael G. Ryan Cover Design: Doug Burnett Cover Illustration: Ashley Bryan. From Sing to the Sun (Harper Collins, 1992). ©1992 by Ashley Bryan. Used by permission of the artist. Interior Design: Doug Burnett NCTE Stock Number: 46201-3050 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Copyrights to authors' interview responses remain with the individual authors. Used by permission. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to providea forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in the announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Copeland, Jeffrey Scott, 1953 Speaking of poets 2: more interviews with poets who write for children and young adults / written and edited by Jeffrey S. Copeland, Vicky L. Copeland. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8141-4620-1 1. American poetry-20th centuryHistory and criticismTheory, etc.2. Children's poetry, AmericanHistory and criticismTheory, etc.3. Young adult poetry, AmericanHistory and criticism Theory, etc.4. Poets, American-20th centuryInterviews. 5. Children's poetryAuthorship. 6. Young adult poetry Authorship.I. Copeland, Vicky L.II.Title.III. Title: Speaking of poets two. PS325.C72 1995 811'.54099282dc20 94-47005 CIP 5 For Crystal, with love J.C.-V.C. 6 vi' Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi J. Patrick Lewis 1 Marilyn Singer 10 Cynthia Rylant 22 Paul Fleischman 32 Brod Bagert 40 Lillian Morrison 55 Ashley Bryan 66 Jane Yolen 77 Luis J. Rodriguez 87 Deborah Chandra 96 Paul Janeczko 106 Michael Spooner 117 Constance Levy 127 Nikki Giovanni 140 Patricia Hubbell 150 Victor Martinez 158 Lucille Clifton 168 Maxine Kumin 176 Judith Thurman 185 Nancy White Carlstrorn 194 Editors 203 7 Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank and expressappreciation to the following indi- viduals, without whom this project could nothave been completed: Michael Spooner, Michelle Sanden Joh las,Charles Suhor, Mario Welshons, and Rona Smith for encouragement and supportin all stages of the project; Members of the Children's Literature Assemblyfor assistance in selecting poets to be included in the volumeand for advice related to the interview format; The NCTE Editorial Board for advice andrecommendations; The poets included in volume 1 forhelpful suggestions and encourage- ment; Dee Gaede of B. Dalton Booksellers forhelp in acquiring new book releases; Julie and Jelly Klinkowitz for providingGerman and French translation; Charley Trujillo at Chusma House Publications;Judith Ayers Doyle and Alexander Taylor at Curbstone Press; AllisonMurphy, Amy Parsons, and Ann Mao at Orchard Books; Michael Street atWilliam Morrow Publishers; Meredith Johnson and Debby Bagert atJuliahouse Publishing Company; Bill Morris at Harper Collins; Beth Feldmanand Lydia Zelaya at Macmillan Pub- lishing Company; Larry Rosler at BoydsMills Press; Mimi Ross at Henry Holt & Company; Florence Eichin at Dialbooks for Children; Caitlin Macy and Marilyn Marlow at Curtis Brown Ltd.; andall the other members of publish- ing firms who provided photographsof the poets and books in galley form; Suzanne O'Shea of the Buffalo Public Libraryfor historical documentation; Ruth Falck, coordinator of South Sector AEA-7,for the support and impor- tance she lent to the project; Lucille Lettow, University of Northern Iowayouth librarian, for helping assemble the many volumes of poetry neededfor this project; Myra Cohn Livingston for her friendshipand guidance; Lee Bennett Hopkins for his assistance incontacting poets and editorsand for his kindness and enthusiasm; Michael G. Ryan, NCTE staff editor, andJulie Riley Bush, NCTE manu- script editor, for manuscript preparationand editorial assistance; Mary Rohrberger, chair of the Departmentof English Language and Litera- ture at the University of NorthernIowa, for her fostering of the project both professionally and personally; Crystal Copeland, for assistance withsecretarial matters and author corre- snondence;r Dever and Pat Biggerstaff for theirinspirationheartfelt thanks. And finally, special thanks to all the poetsincluded in this volume for giving so much of themselves to thisproject and the world of poetry for children and young adults. We salute you. xi Introduction This book is the continuation of a projectbegun in the fall of 1991 when the Editorial Board of the NationalCouncil of Teachers of English approved a proposal for a bookthat would explore the lives and works of poets writing today forchildren and young adults. Included in volume 1, Speaking of Poets:Interviews with Poets Who Write for Children and Young Adults (1993), wereArnold Adoff, Lilian Moore, Mel Glenn, Aileen Fisher, Karla Kuskin,Jimmy Santiago Baca, Mary Ann Hoberman, Myra Cohn Livingston,Valerie Worth, Lee Bennett Hopkins, X. J. Kennedy, Gary Soto, EloiseGreenfield, Barbara Juster Esbensen, William Cole, and Eve Merriam. Thesixteen poets included in that volume represent just the tipof the vast mountain that is poetry written for young readers. For this reason, asecond volume was plannedone that would continue this examinationof poets who rep- resent a full range of backgrounds,personalities, philosophies, and styles of writing. And, for this secondvolume, another element would be included: a special emphasis upon newer,emerging poets. The poets included in this volume werechosen by a selection process that consisted of three stages. First, overthe past year as we spoke at conferences and professional meetingsabout the poets included in vol- ume 1, invariably itseemed soicteone would ask, "Well, whatabout So-and-So? Are you going to interviewhimiher?" Immediately, we started making a list of those mostfrequently asked about by teachers, librarians, and young readers. Second,through a modified "reputa- tional selection" process, the poets includedin volume 1 were asked to recommend poets they believed should beincluded in a second volume. They were also asked to give specialconsideration to those new to the field of