Naomi Shihab Nye Georgia Bancheri, Jane Falduto, and Colin Verdi “For those of us who trust poetry and the power of linkage that poetry gives us. It’s a way of – sitting quietly with words and – letting us – them lead us somewhere.”-Naomi Shihab Nye A P oet’s P alestinian P erspective

Nyography Born March 12 th, 1952 Father is Palestinian and mother is American Grew up in Saint Louis and Jerusalem Inspired by William Stafford (American poet) Worked as a teacher Married with one son BA in World Religions and English from Trinity University Presently lives in San Antonio, Texas Grandmother lived to be 106

My Grandmother in the Stars It is possible we will not meet again on earth. To think this fills my throat with dust. Then there is only the sky tying the universe together. Just now the neighbor's horse must be standing patiently, hoof on stone, waiting for his day to open. What you think of him, and the village's one heroic cow, is the knowledge i wish to gather. I bow to your rugged feet, the moth-eaten scarves that knot your hair. Where we live in the world is never one place. Our hearts those dogged mirrors, keep flashing us moons before we are ready for them. You and I on a roof at sunset, our two languages adrift. Heart saying, Take this home with you never again, and only memory making us rich -- Naomi Shihab Nye

How Naomi Nye’s Life Influenced Her Poetry “I am humble in my country’s pain and I am furious.” - To Any Would-Be Terrorists Can see situations through multiple viewpoints because of her mixed nationality

Commonalities Motifs and Themes Family and culture imbedded in poetry Palestinian conflict Addresses prejudices towards the Middle East Tangential Structure (no fluent train of thought) Theme comes from the conflicts going on in her country Uses vivid images to allude to true meaning of poems

Rider A boy told me if he roller-skated fast enough his loneliness couldn’t catch up to him, the best reason I ever heard for trying to be a champion. What I wonder tonight pedaling hard down King William Street is if it translates to bicycles. A victory! To leave your loneliness panting behind you on some street corner while you float free into a cloud of sudden azaleas, pink petals that have never felt loneliness, no matter how slowly they fell.

Commonalities Literary Devices Personification Symbolism Dialogue Utilizes questions to confront confusion in her culture’s problems Free verse “But skin felt it was never seen, never known as a land on the map, nose like a city, hip like a city, gleaming dome of the mosque and the hundred corridors of cinnamon and rope.” - Two Countries

Two Countries Skin remembers how long the years grow when skin is not touched, a gray tunnel of singleness, feather lost from the tail of a bird, swirling onto a step, swept away by someone who never saw it was a feather. Skin ate, walked, slept by itself, knew how to raise a see-you-later hand. But skin felt it was never seen, never known as a land on the map, nose like a city, hip like a city, gleaming dome of the mosque and the hundred corridors of cinnamon and rope. Skin had hope, that's what skin does. Heals over the scarred place, makes a road. Love means you breathe in two countries. And skin remembers--silk, spiny grass, deep in the pocket that is skin's secret own. Even now, when skin is not alone, it remembers being alone and thanks something larger that there are travelers, that people go places larger than themselves.

What Critics Say About Naomi Nye Connects poems’ meaning to Nye’s life and culture Uses her poetry to tell stories “The best poems take a detailed image and expose its wider application to daily life.” “This poet is always vigilant: the rhythms are sharp, the eye is keen.” “She excels at the unexpected and brilliant detail that underwrites the poetic vision.” “rich humanity of people who are often demonized”

We Agree “deep concern for humanity” “discovering one thing while examining another” “forces the reader to look beneath the words to find a more profound meaning” “overall idea is more complex than it appears” “unwavering commitment to humanity”

We Disagree Poetry more about her views and experiences, not just telling a story We agreed with much of what the critics had to say about Nye’s poetry- Nye provides a new perspective on ordinary events that skillfully address serious matters in the world today

LOWC Almon, Bert, “Poetry of the American West,” in Western American Literature, Vol. 31, No. 3, Fall 1996, pp Reprinted in Poetry for Students, Vol. 24. Reprinted in Literature Resource Center. West Morris Mendham H.S. Lib., Mendham, NJ. 3 Apr Hill, Pamela Steed, Critical Essay on “Kindness,” in Poetry for Students, Vol. 24, Thomson Gale, Reprinted in Literature Resource Center. West Morris Mendham H.S. Lib., Mendham, NJ. 3 Apr Howie, Mindy S. “Naomi Shihab Nye.” VG: Voices from the Gaps. West Morris Mendham H.S. Lib., Mendham, NJ. 21 April “A Maze Me: Poems for Girls,” in Publishers Weekly, 14 March 2005 v 252 i11 p69(1). Reprinted in Literature Resource Center. West Morris Mendham H.S. Lib., Mendham, NJ. 3 Apr “Naomi Shihab Nye.” Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, Contemporary Authors. West Morris Mendham H.S. Lib., Mendham, NJ. 2 Apr Nye, Naomi Shihab. Fuel. Rochester: BOA Editions, Ltd., Nye, Naomi Shihab. Nineteen Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. N.p.: Greenwillow Books, Nye, Naomi Shihab. Red Suitcase. Brockport: BOA Editions, Ltd., 1994.

"For me the primary source of poetry has always been local life, random characters met on the streets, our own ancestry sifting down to us through small essential daily tasks" -Naomi Shihab Nye