I’ve just bought my first e-book.  I realise that might fill some people with horror at how long it’s taken me to jump on the bandwagon, but it was always going to have to be something special that would propel me into action.  Perhaps if I spent more time on public transport, I might have succumbed to an e-reader by now, but as it is…  Anyway, I’ve just downloaded the free Kindle for PC and have taken the leap, tempted as I was by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong‘s e-book p*tag. It’s an exciting anthology of 31 poems newly written and published to coincide with National Teen Read Week this month in the US: “the first ever electronic poetry anthology of new poems by top poets for teens” – and wow, what a roll of poets it is: check it out here.

Following on from the success of their PoetryTagTime project of children’s poetry in April during the US’s national poetry month, this game of poetry tag includes some simple rules to connect the poems – each one had to include three words from the previous person’s poems.  And an added twist is that the poets chose an image from this selection of photographs taken by Sylvia Vardell, as the inspiration for their poem. Each poet then also provided a short introduction to their choice of photograph. All this makes for a very exciting, energetic mix of poetry that can be read and enjoyed in many ways. I loved the added dimension of the word tag used in the cover photograph and to good effect in Janet Wong’s own poem “p*tag” – it rounds off the collection beautifully.

What’s really great is that the conceit of the tagging in no way defines the quality of the individual poems. From Marilyn Singer’s opening reverso poem “Time and Water”, you know you’re in for a treat. The array of names included several I’ve “met” through Poetry Friday, and others who are new to me – what a wonderful way for teenagers to encounter poetry; and the interactive nature of the e-book invites readers to explore each poet’s work more deeply. I was intrigued by Arnold Adoff’s introduction (as much a poem as his actual poem): in it he invites readers to email him so he can send the “original” in its, well, I’d like to say real format, but I’m not sure he would allow the word “real” to slip by – and it’s already on shaky ground in a discussion of e-books. Hmmm! Let’s quote then:

“this poem is in a format to fit the machine you are using now…
but feel free to be in touch [...]
and i’ll send you the “original” and we can talk about:
style and substance and the poet’s hard(est) head….

I’d like to think there’ll be some young poets getting in touch…

With so many ways to find a route into the collection (photographs, the three linking words, each poet’s introduction), not to mention the variety of viewing possibilities for its e-format, these exciting poems touch on so many emotions. From humor to deep pondering, there’s something here for every teen – even the so-called “Reluctant Reader” (Jaime Adoff), and like the goose (or is it a swan?) in Julie Larios’ “Walking, Waiting”, there’s the possibility of ‘a wild honk or two / or three that might surprise you.’

Find out more about this great e-collection here – and read our 2008 interview with Janet here, and this reprint of Sylvia’s article “Pairing Across Cultures” here.

This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Great Kid Books, where Mary Ann Scheuer is also highlighting p*tag, as are other contributors. So head on over – there’s a feast on offer, as always…

During Poetry Month in April, Mary Ann Dame’s wrote about Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures by Julie Larios and Julie Paschkis and challenged us to concoct some weird and wonderful hybrids of our own. It didn’t, I have to admit, have the result that I now have a brilliant piece of my own poetry to flourish – however, it did make me think of one of my favorite nonsense poems by Sukumar Ray (1887-1923), whom I first heard of via Swapna Dutta’s portrait of the poet for PaperTigers (and Swapna has also writen a Personal View for our current issue). Here are a couple of couplets from “Haans chilo sojaru” translated from the original Bengali by Sukanta Chaudhuri as “Hotch-Potch” in The Select Nonsense of Sukumar Ray (Oxford University Press):

A pochard and a porcupine, defying the grammarians,
Combined to form a porcochard, unmindful of their variance.

A stork upon a tortoise grew, exclaiming ‘What a hoot!
A very handsome storkoise, now, we jointly constitute.’

You can read, or at least look at, the original Bengali poem here, along with the whole poem in a different English translation by well-known filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Sukumar’s son; and the poem is also discussed here. I love comparing the two translations, with the different ways they have combined the animals, and I wish I could reproduce the whole of Sukanta Chaudhuri’s “Hotch Potch” so that you could do so too… And I wish I could read the original so that I could see what Sukumar Ray himself actually wrote – ah, well…

Anyway, the whole book is worth getting hold of: here’s what I wrote about it a couple of years ago(!):

Each poem has to be savored and the sounds enjoyed. Sukanta Chaudhuri’s translations from the original Bengali are truly amazing – lots of delightful rhymes and rhythms; and nonsense that is both nonsensical and convincingly English. Sukumar Ray’s own sketches and silhouettes sometimes give a visual lead into the poems and it hasn’t worried my two that some of the language is archaic: they expect to be baffled because it is, after all, nonsense! I think the word porcochard from “Hotch Potch” is set to become a new family word.

This week’s Poetry Friday is over at Carol’s Corner…

We are delighted to welcome author and educator Nancy Bo Flood as a guest on the PaperTigers Blog. Nancy has lived and worked in several different cultures, including Japan, Hawaii, Malawi, Samoa and Saipan of Micronesia, the setting for her most recent book, Warriors in the Crossfire. We will be reviewing it soon; in the meantime, do read Julie Larios’ interview with Nancy, in which she talks about the book’s background.

Nancy now lives on the Navajo Nation Reservation, in northern Arizona, where she teaches and promotes literacy. In this, the first of two Guest Posts, she highlights some of the projects working to bring books to Navajo children and young people:

It was my first class teaching for Diné College in Tuba City, Arizona. I asked students to buy a dictionary and bring it to class. Our campus building had no library, no dictionaries.

The next week I drove through a sandstorm to get to class; my students had done the same after watering livestock and getting their children to school. Not one student brought a dictionary. Why not? It turns out the nearest bookstore was two hours away. That meant a lot of driving time, a lot of money for gas. This was the beginning of my education about the need for books and libraries across the Navajo Nation.

Here are some resources I have found:

Tuba City Outreach Library

The Navajo Nation extends into Arizona, New Mexico and southern Utah. It is about as big as New England (without Maine) but has only one official public library. Almost no bookstores exist. On the western side of the Reservation the small Tuba City Outreach Library is sponsored by Coconino County / Flagstaff. For the past 10 years I have worked with the librarian, Trish Polacca, to develop the children’s and teen sections.

We’ve worked hard to get books through donations, private foundations, my graduation class’s community service and through a used book store in Flagstaff. Finding “appropriate books” is another challenge. Picture books with contemporary, non-stereotyped images of children who are Native American are hard to find, new or used.

International Reading Association (IRA) and Arizona Reading Association (ARA)

In 2009 I worked with ARA to collect left-over books from vendors at the annual IRA convention in Phoenix. These books were distributed to local literacy organizations and school libraries. There is a full description of this project in the Spring-Summer issue of Arizona Reading Journal, Vol XXXV, 2009. Next time, we will ask attendees to bring books to donate – or buy books at the conference to donate.

Reach Out and Read (ROR), American Indian and Alaskan Native

This national organization was begun over 20 years ago and has grown into a nationwide project giving free new books and literacy guidance to children at their regular pediatric check-ups. As a board member of the Arizona coalition, we have worked to bring books to health clinics throughout Arizona, including the Navajo and Hopi Nations.

A new coalition was formed in 2007 to focus on children who receive health care at Indian Health Service Clinics, or tribal or urban Indian Health Centers.

Save the Children

Supports programs and purchases books.

Reading Is Fundamental

Supplies low cost books but is in danger of being eliminated from the Federal budget.

How lucky we are to have a dictionary – or a good book – or hundreds – within the click of a computer key, on the shelf above our desk, or in any nearby library.

I hope these descriptions help brainstorm ways to bring books to children. Every child should have a good book!

Thank you,
Nancy Bo Flood

And thank you, Nancy.

Spirit of PaperTigers Book Sets will soon be on their way to the Tuba City Outreach Library and to Chinle school, and we look forward to sharing their feedback with you… In the meantime, Nancy has also drawn my attention to Cynsations’ post yesterday about this year’s Operation TBD (Teen Book Drop). Coordinated by readergirlz, Guys Lit Wire and YALSA, Operation TBD has joined forces for this, its third year, with If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything, a national Reading Club for Native American children. On 15th April, thousands of donated books will drop into the hands of teens on Native American tribal lands. There’s still time to get involved – just click on any of the links above…