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Celebrate Poetry Month!: Poetry by David Elliott and Patricia Hruby Powell

15 Apr

April is poetry month! This month, the Hoboken Public Library Young Adult Department challenges you to become more aware and develop an appreciation of poetry. Poetry does not always rhyme and is not just a couple of verses to put on a greeting card. What better way to celebrate poetry month than to check out poetry through the Hoboken Public Library? We have a variety of digital resources including Hoopla, eBCCLS, and eLibraryNJ. Through these online digital resources, you can access these fiction books that are written in verse. Whether it is an adaptation of Greek mythology or the telling of a true love story that changed the country, these books are bound to attract many readers. 

Bull by David Elliott
Bull
Any true fans of Greek mythology will love David Elliott’s adaption of the Greek myth of the Minotaur. A Minotaur is a half-human and half-bull creature. Asterion is a Minotaur, whose story started before he was born. His birth was evidence of the revenge and betrayal of King Minos. The mastermind behind everything is Poseidon, the god of the sea, because King Minos angered him. So, instead of directly taking out his revenge on the king, he instead inflicted it on his wife, Queen Pasiphae. He did this by sending a bull to seduce the queen and therefore produce Asterion, the minotaur. Asterion understandably grows up estranged from his family but is still able to build a bond with his sister, Ariadne. The book captures this Greek story through verse and freestyle rap. The reader gets to take in the story through the voices of seven characters that play out throughout the book. The reader gets to see whether the bond between a brother and sister is strong enough to fight fate.  This title is available from eBCCLS as an ebook and  digital audiobook, eLibraryNJ as an ebook, and Hoopla as an ebook.

Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell
Loving Vs Virginia
Come and see how love conquered all and even changed a country in this historical verse fiction. Patricia Hruby Powell introduces Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving separately and together through her use of free verse. According to the law at this time, Mildred is considered “colored,” and Richard is considered “white” because of their skin tone. At this time, it is legal to keep people of different skin colors from loving or marrying each other. But this brave couple did just that through a legal loophole. They traveled from Virginia to Washington D.C. to get legally married. Trouble would not have been in the equation of their marriage, if they stayed in Washington D.C., but they went right back home to Virginia. Once they settled into married life, Richard and a pregnant Mildred were ripped apart and put in jail! Powell balances the external influences of Brown v.s Board of Education and the civil rights movement on the Lovings’ fight to live their lives as a married couple in the state they grew up in.  You can borrow Loving Vs. Virginia as an ebook or digital audiobook from Hoopla.

If you missed it, check out our blog post from last week with inspiration to write your own poetry.

Have a fiction book in verse to recommend?  Share it in our comments!

Written by:
Elbie Love
Young Adult Library Associate

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Writing Inspiration: A Love Song to the Lonely

10 Apr

MilkandHoney
I had written about one of New York Times bestsellers “Milk and Honey” by Rupi Kaur, as poetry that is an outstanding understatement. Now, for National Poetry Month, I second that opinion with this next poem from that same chapter “the loving”.

“i do not want to have you night / to fill the empty parts of me / i want to be full on my own / i want to be so complete / i could light a whole city / and then / i want to have you / cause the two of us combined / could set it on fire”

As I’ve said before, “Milk and Honey” is not only a collection of poetry and prose about survival, it’s also a love song. This book calls to everyone, with its four chapters labeled, “the hurting”, “the loving”, “the breaking”, and “the healing”. During these times I find myself in the chapter “the loving”, specifically this poem.

Just as the poems have no titles, we have no name for this time we are all experiencing. This can be seen as an editing choice or a purposeful choice that is supposed to signify unity. Alluding to my idea, we see this from the chapter “the loving”. The last two lines of said poem can be found on page 59 and it reads:

“cause the two of us combined / could set it on fire”

We are all in a time that we are all in. Everyone is experiencing suffering, pain, hurt, loss, and depravity, but we are all experiencing it together. In a time where some of us may be feeling lonely during isolation, let this poem remind you that you are not alone. This is a time for everyone, for you, to become great and to love yourself, so when we finally get together once again, we will light up the whole world.

Of course this is just my own emotional connection to this particular prose, as there are other particular depths within me that it reaches also. But as a whole this speaks to a deeper and somewhat neglected part of myself that calls to light how I see, treat, and care for myself emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Now is the time to love ourselves, to love one another, and feed into our neglected souls so when the isolation is lifted and we are ready to come back out, we set the world glowing with unity.

For more on poetry, please feel free to visit our Facebook and YouTube for some cool videos and our website for ways on how you can read online through our apps.  You can try writing some of your own with our Friday Writing Prompt featured below.

Written by
Sherissa Salas
Adult Programming Assistant/Media Liaison

Friday Writing Prompt:
Poetry can be intimidating since we do not encounter it as frequently on a daily basis as many types of writing, however, April being Poetry Month, it is the perfect time to dive in and give it a try, even if you never have before.  The best way to get a feel for poetry is by reading other poet’s works.  You can check out a variety of poetry collections including Kaur’s Milk and Honey on Hoopla.

Take inspiration from the beautiful lines of Kaur’s poem that Sherissa shared and think of how your own loneliness makes you feel.  What about it do you enjoy and what do you dislike?  What imagery or objects do you associate with it, that you could use in your poem?  What person have you not been able to see in the last few days, whom you miss, is the first you would like to see again?  How will you feel when you see them?  What will the experience be like?  Is there a specific imagery or object you associate with being together with them you could use in your poem?  Now get writing!  And if you like your poem consider sharing it with the person you were inspired by.

Have a favorite poet?  Share in our comment section!

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Reference

 

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