A (Found) Ode to Signed Books

This week, I went to a reading by the esteemed poet Rita Dove.

1. It was free. Thanks, HoCoPoLitSo!
2. There was music by young composer and violinist Joshua Coyne.
3. RITA DOVE

Poetry Friday

Today's Poetry Friday round-up

is at Cathy's blog,

Merely Day by Day.

I'd been meaning to buy and read Dove's historical novel-in-verse Sonata Mulattica for several years. (Read the NY Times review here.) She spoke about the book and its subject, child prodigy George Polgreen Bridgetower (1780-1860), on the Diane Rehm Show when Sonata Mulattica was first released.

The selections she read at the event were beautiful. Some of the poems include multiple voices. They are funny, piercing in their portrayal of the society that celebrated Bridgetower, then erased him from history.

But what I really want to talk about is signed books. I did buy a copy of Sonata Mulattica last night and Rita Dove signed it.

Sonata Mulattica by Rita Dove

That got me wondering. Why do we love signed books? I have dozens of them. Some were already favorites when I sought out the author to have the book signed. Others I had never heard of, but fell in love with at a reading or writers' conference. They were bought and signed on the spot.

Are these books a little more special than their unsigned shelf-mates?

I think so. A signed book is similar to a photograph. Every time I open the book and read the personalized dedication, I remember meeting the author and sharing a word or two. I remember asking poet Mark Doty to sign a book and wanting to hide in a giant hole when he pointed out that I'd handed him someone else's book by accident. I remember meeting children's poet Heidi Mordhorst, now a dear friend, for the first time.

Today, I'm presenting a gallery of dedications for you to enjoy. Following the photographs is a little found ode that I wrote. It combines titles of these signed books with words and phrases borrowed from the dedications.

The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth: A Celebration of Music
by Jaime Adoff

Pumpkin Butterfly: Poems
from the Other Side of Nature
by Heidi Mordhorst

The East-West House: Noguchi's Childhood in Japan
by Christy Hale

I Am the Running Girl
by Arnold Adoff

She Had Some Horses
by Joy Harjo

And here is my found poem. Words I added are in bold. Everything else is strung together from the dedications and the book titles.

When You Sign My Book

by Laura Shovan

The song shoots out of my mouth

with great appreciation for everything:

Gr8 to meet you!!

Enjoy!! God bless!!

Looking forward to your next book!

(and thanks for the new horizons).

I am a pumpkin butterfly,

flying East-West in a celebration

of word music.

I am the running girl,

watching with joy,

listening for your sonata.

Poems journey like childhood ghosts

or horses

from the other side of nature.

And, following poet Brenda Hillman's example, here are some drippings -- phrases from the titles and dedications that I wasn't able to weave into the poem.

The House: Noguchi’s in Japan

at SCBWI 3/6/10 Poems

Keep for

She Had Some

Some horses for your

Enjoy

Mulattica

I'd love to hear your thoughts on signed books and book signings. If you have a treasured signed book, or a memory about a book signing, please share in the comments.

NPM 50 State Tour: Ohio

Ohio does not have a poet laureate. Never has.

That makes me cranky. Especially when the Buckeye State proudly claims former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove as one of its own. No wonder she wants to take a vacation.

A writing prompt follows the poem.

Vacation
by Rita Dove
I love the hour before takeoff, that stretch of no time, no home but the gray vinyl seats linked like unfolding paper dolls. Soon we shall be summoned to the gate, soon enough there’ll be the clumsy procedure of row numbers and perforated stubs—but for now I can look at these ragtag nuclear families with their cooing and bickering or the heeled bachelorette trying to ignore a baby’s wail and the baby’s exhausted mother waiting to be called up early while the athlete, one monstrous hand asleep on his duffel bag, listens, perched like a seal trained for the plunge. The rest of the poem is here.   Look for Ohio on my Wall of Shame tomorrow, 4/15. I will be urging Ohioans, on Tax Day, to demand their poetic rights and get themselves a poet laureate.   But first, we'll visit Louisiana.   While we're traveling south, try this writing prompt based on Dove's poem.     Writing prompt: In the poem "Vacation," by Rita Dove, the poet juxtaposes our positive connotations about the title word, "vacation," with reality.   Try it out. Choose a word for your title about which readers will have  strong assumptions, beliefs and feelings. Use observed details to show that those connotations don't jibe with reality.

Poetry Friday

Stressed out? Read this while I raid the candy jar (it's filled with Dove dark chocolates -- an unintentional pun.)

Chocolate

by Rita Dove

Velvet fruit, exquisite square

I hold up to sniff

between finger and thumb

how you numb me

with your rich attentions!

If I don't eat you quickly,

you'll melt in my palm.

Read the rest of the poem here. If that's not enough to satisfy your craving, pick up Arnold Adoff's Chocolate Dreams: Poems. Great fun for kids & adults with a sweet tooth.

I started a new poetry residency this week, working with fourth graders at Harford Hills Elementary in Parkville, MD. Having a wonderful, but the schedule has me taking off from the bus stop in the morning and returning home 20 minutes before my middle schooler in the afternoon. Barely enough time for a cup of tea and a few of those "exquisite squares" of "velvet fruit."

My students and I were working on food poems today. Sandra Cisneros' "Good Hotdogs" is the model. I've posted the lesson -- on writing with imagery -- recently. But hot dogs aren't my thing. When it comes to coping with stress, there's only one food for me.

There's more delicious poetry at Wild Rose Reader. Elaine is hosting Poetry Friday today.

Amok in Giftedness II

Do G/T educators discuss giftedness and its pressures with their students? I’m guessing it’s a scary topic – both for teachers afraid of stepping on parental toes, and for kids. If you’re willing to start the conversation with your child or your students, you might use Rita Dove’s poem, “Flash Cards” as a way to enter into the topic. The poem begins: Flash Cards In math I was the whiz kid, keeper of oranges and apples. What you don’t understand, master, my father said; the faster I answered, the faster they came. Read the poem to its wonderful & sad conclusion here: http://matthewsalomon.wordpress.com/2007/10/28/rita-dove-flash-cards/ Younger students will like this animated version of “Flash Cards,” with Dove reading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgDImBQ_ZjI Are you willing, teachers/parents, to talk about giftedness with your gifted students? If so, send a comment about how it goes. Writing Exercise (Upper Elementary through Adult) A Poem or Essay on Giftedness What were or are you a “whiz kid” at? (It might be haiku writing or hula hooping – anything goes.) How did/do you know you were good at it? How did people treat you because of your talent? Do you feel good about your talent, or does it make you feel anxious like the character in “Flash Cards?”