Review of Poetry Book #1: THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS by Joyce Sidman

 

 

 

This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness

 Review by Lucinda Zamora-Wiley

1.      1. Bibliography:

Sidman, Joyce. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, New York:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.

2.        2. Brief plot summary: In this collection of poems of apology and forgiveness, Sidman imagines and creates the voices for a fictitious 6th-grade class under the tutelage of the inspirational Mrs. Merz, at Florence Scribner School. Sidman even goes so far as to have a fictional "Anthony K." introduce the reader to the purpose of the class's collection and how it came to fruition. The book is divided into two parts: "Apologies" to those wronged and "Responses" from the wronged to those offering their apologies. Apologies are for various infractions, from the light to heavy--everything from a student sneakily eating the doughnuts in the teachers' lounge to a young girl apologizing for supposedly driving her father away from her and her mother and imploring him to come back by writing, "Next time I'll be/ perfect." Sidman then gives voice to respondents, and this amplifies the meaningfulness of the poems of apology, especially in the voice of an anonymous student who accidentally let the beloved class pet accidentally die under his watch...and most especially in the father's response to his daughter in which he explains, "'Dear Baby...you are perfect'" and on to something more powerful that his daughter now understands: "He says he was going to leave this world/ and my poem called him back." With this collection written by Sidman and enhanced by Pamela Zagarenski's accompanying moving and vibrant illustrations, each page in this collection resonates with real poetic inspiration that could have come from any 6th-grade class in the world. I

 3.   Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to each genre (this is the “heart” of your review)

Sidman's rhythm, language, imagery, and occasional rhyme (depending on individual student writers) is a perfect portrayal of insightful 6th-grade writers who are fresh off studying poetry in class, especially after having read William Carlos Williams' "This is Just to Say," his iconic poem of apology about eating plums that were "...delicious/ so sweet/ and so cold," but were not his to have eaten. The emotional range and complexity encompassed by this collection is remarkable due to the poetry topics covered via unique, independent student writers who broach such topics as playing too rough in dodgeball, to breaking the windows in the garage for no good reason...to heavier topics of having to euthanize a beloved pet dog and a father's emotional response to his daughter about how he nearly ended his life. This collection "does right by" the fictional writers in Mrs. Merz's fictional classroom. Sidman honors the humanity, depth, and complexity of 6th-grade human beings who see and know more than we often give credit. Any teacher would be wise to invest in this collection as an educational resource that could inspire profound creativity within their own 6th-grade language arts classrooms. As a high school teacher of AP Literature and Composition, I plan to use some of the poems in this collection to inspire my own poetry club to emulate the authenticity and honesty unfolded within this rich collection of poetry told in a very real-world scenario: in a classroom filled with sensitive hearts, brains, and souls...and equally importantly in today's educational arena, in a classroom filled with cultural diversity. 

4.     Awards won (if any) and review excerpt(s):

·        Cybils Poetry Award

·        Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book

·        School Library Journal “Best Book of the Year”

·        IRA Teacher’s Choice Book

·        New York Public Library’s “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing” 

 ·        From Kirkus Reviews: “Packed with the intensity of everyday pain and sorrow, kids and adults exchange the words that convey grief, delight, love and acceptance of themselves and others.”

 ·        Publishers Weekly writes: “The poems successfully navigate the complicated terrain for those who seek forgiveness.”

     ·        School Library Journal writes of the author: “Sidman’s ear is keen, capturing many voices. Her skill as a poet accessible to young people is unmatched…This is an important book both for its creativity and wisdom.” 

·        From Book Page: “The concept for Sidman’s book is original and entertaining, using a fictional classroom to bring a group of poems and their elementary school authors to life…a fabulous book to show students the many forms that poetry can take and to inspire them to write their own ‘sorry’ poems.”

 5.     Connections: (related books, enrichment activities, children’s responses, etc.)

 ·        Students who read this collection could write their own poem of apology OR forgiveness in order to make peace with any trauma—large or small, old or new.

 ·        A teacher might inspire his/ her own class of young poets to undertake the creation of their own classroom literary anthology—whether focused on apologies and forgiveness, or perhaps, another topic altogether as voted upon by the class.

 ·        As an ongoing project for an elementary school campus—or middle grades, too—a school could create a “forgiveness space” in which students are encouraged to make peace with peers or others as needed—via creative endeavors such as the creation of visual art, collage, poetry composition, journaling, and more. This might be a great space to carve out within the school counselor’s office, in particular.

 ·        Practice with Point of View: as a practice in empathy, a student could write poetry in response to a variety of purposes—everything from writing from the perspective of a character in classroom literary readings…to victims of crimes in current event scenarios such as the current Black Lives Matter movement and more.