The 10 Wild Ways of Your Favorite Children’s Books
The people who write children’s literature are wilder than you ever imagined.
African-American
Two Poems About Aging Well by Rita Dove
This post is part of a month long spotlight on the poet Rita Dove, which we are concluding, fittingly, with poems about aging. They are both included in her collection On the Bus with Rosa Parks. Also don’t miss her new collection, published August, 2021, Playlist for the Apocalypse. Against Self Pity Against Self Pity …
Two Poems about Books by Rita Dove
How does reading two poems appearing side by side in a collection show us different ideas? What does Rita Dove want us to understand about reading by putting these poems in a collection about “Freedom”?
Yellow Wife, A Novel by Sadeqa Johnson
What would it be like if the man who owned you, married you, and then forced you to help him sell others? It really happened in the U.S., and Sadeqa Johnson dared to wonder how it felt in “Yellow Wife”.
Two Poems about Childhood from Poet Rita Dove
Nightwatch. The Son. (Aggressively adult, they keep their lives, to which I am a witness. At the other end I orbit, pinpricked light. I watch. I float and grieve.) Singsong When I was young, the moon spoke in riddles and the stars rhymed. I was a new toy waiting for my owner to pick me …
August Spotlight on Poet Rita Dove
Poet Rita Dove was born in Akron, Ohio 28 August 1952 About Rita Dove I was interested in reading poetry by Rita Dove because she has been a professor at The University of Virginia, where I got my graduate degrees, for many years. She has also been a Virginia Poet Laureate. I’ve always thought she …
Poet Langston Hughes’ Novel “Not Without Laughter”
The Novel You Need to Read You probably know of Langston Hughes’ poetry, but did you know that he also wrote prose? It isn’t nearly as well known as his poetry, but as I recently discovered, Langston Hughes’ novels and stories are definitely worth a read. The way I found this book proves the importance …
Poet Langston Hughes’ Novel “Not Without Laughter” Read More »
The Secret History of Home Economics by Danielle Drelinger
The mission of Danielle Drelinger’s new book, The Secret History of Home Economics is to show that home economics was and is about a lot more than girls spending their school years learning how to be housekeepers, or providing a career path for “failed” wives as home economics teachers.
Best Book Club Meeting Ideas and Questions for “The Known World”
Background and the best discussion questions for Edward P. Jones’ The Known World. What is so great about this book and what do I need to know about it?
