Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. 2000. MY AMAERICA: A POETRY ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES. Ill. by Stephen Alcorn. New York: Simon Schuster. ISBN: 0689812477.
My America: A Poetry Atlas of the Unites States is a collection of fifty poems accompanied by beautiful illustrations that when combined create a picturesque view of the United States. The author of the compilation describes the book in her introduction as a work divided into eight sections, one for each region, which captures the breadth, depth and character of the United States.
The reader will find a well organized book with a table of contents, each identified by the eight sections: The Northeast, The Capital, The Southwest, The Great Lakes, The Plains, The Mountains, The Southeast and The Pacific. The organization makes it easy to locate a specific poem in a time crunch. At the end of the book is an index listing each poem by author, title and first lines. At the beginning of each section are facts and maps about each state as well as Washington D.C.. Poets such as Langston Hughes, Carl Sandberg and Nikki Giovanni along with many others make this collection a diverse read.
Stephen Alcorn’s exquisite illustrations make this book a delight to display as well as to read. Impressive are the textured artworks and the scope they provide to each poem.
Many of the poems in the book rhyme and are easy to read. There is a wonderful variety of long and short poems and a variety of presentation. Some have white space while others are engulfed with the illustration. Some poems are written to the left or the right of the margin while others are centered on the page. This variety adds excitement as the pages are turned. The reader, never quite knows what to expect next. A child in Maine can get a glimpse of life in Kansas by reading about the rolling plains just as a child in west Texas can develop an appreciation for city life after reading a selection about New Orleans.
This book would be a wonderful resource for different grade levels and subjects. Elementary can learn the states and about places far from home. High school students could use it as research material.
The poem selected for The Capital has several attributes that would make great teaching opportunities.
An excerpt from Washington, D.C. by Rebecca Kat Dotlich
On the east bank of the Potomac.
lies Washington, D.C.
the capital of our nation
which stands for liberty.
It’s here our U.S. Presidents
are sworn into command:
where the courtly U.S. Capital
and the stately White House Stand.
Where patriotic monuments
stand haunting in the night;
where King proclaimed, I have a dream,
and Kennedy’s flame burns bright.
This poem would make a wonderful opening for discussion about the capital and its monuments. During election year the poem would make a nice accompaniment to all the election activities.
Two additional activities for this poem are a prelude to the studies of both Dr. Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy.
During a study of King, the poem would be presented in its entirety but then repeat the stanza speaking of King. A KWLK chart would be given to students for listing discussion about what they already know about King. The discussion would continue with viewing and discussion from the website:
From the website the teacher would plan ahead and ask that the traveling trunk be shipped in time for the lesson. If you take a look at the teacher tab you will find information about its contents. Items from the trunk would be placed on display ahead of time to give students a visual clue of the day’s lesson. The teacher then would proceed with poem reading and discussion followed by students virtually visiting King’s birthplace and home along with discussion. Upon conclusion of the activity, a viewing of Kings famous speech would be appropriate. Students could also be asked to put together a poem in honor of Black History Month that can be displayed in the library with plans to have students read them orally during announcements or during lunch in the cafeteria.
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