Poetry Break - NCTE Award-Winning Poet

Introduction
Ask your audience the question: What are these? Hopscotch, hide and seek, jacks, tag, bike riding, roller skating, tree climbing, etc. Can they guess these are outside games and activities played by children?

Tell children your favorite outside game or activity as a child. Was morning, afternoon, or evening the best time to play it? The neighborhood kids where I lived always played hide and seek after the sun went down, in that magical twilight time before everyone was called home to eat dinner. This poem reminds me of that special time of day.

OUT IN THE DARK AND DAYLIGHT

by David McCord

Out in the dark and daylight,

under a cloud or tree,

Out in the park and play light,

out where the wind blows free,

Out in the March or May light

with shadows and stars to see,

Out in the dark and daylight…

that’s where I like to be.

A JAR OF TINY STARS, Boyds Mill Press, 1996

Extension

David McCord says “children love words, rhythm, rhyme, music, games.” Follow up reciting the poem by playing another game: Name That Game. Ask your children to think of a favorite game they like to play or activity they like to do. Choose a child to describe their actions while doing the activity and where it is played or perhaps perform the actions as if they were playing charades. Can the other children guess the name of the game described?

Poetry Book Review - Multicultural Poet

The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes

This newly published book of one of Langston Hughes’ early poems features powerful watercolor illustrations by E. B. (Earl Bradley) Lewis and earned starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. 

Langston Hughes is widely acknowledged to be one of the most influential voices of the Harlem Renaissance. Though he was only 18 years old when he composed this poem, he possessed “the insight to capture in words the courage and spirit of black people in America, and all over the world.” 

The poem is universal and timeless, focusing on the history of black people but reminding all readers of their personal heritage and their own connections to the natural world.

Hughes uses words that are simple, yet they evoke strong emotions. The feeling of the poem is personal, as most of the lines begin with the words “I” or “my soul.”  Hughes uses figurative language to emphasize the similarities between deep soul, deep rivers, and deep roots. He involves all of the senses in the imagery of the poem by using words such as “known”, “bathed”, “built”, “looked”, “heard”, and “seen.”  

Lewis’ illustrations are compelling and inspiring. The soulful images celebrate the river waters which surround, sustain, and eventually become a part of the individuals they touch. The book’s golden cover image eloquently portrays that kinship through the generations.

The design of the book enhances the poem. Each double-page spread pairs a line of poetry with a detailed watercolor composition. The images “celebrate African American strength through the generations, and each picture is both timeless and weighted with history.” (Booklist, November 15, 2008)

The book also includes an illustrator’s note by Mr. Lewis, long an admirer of Langston Hughes’ work. He writes that, inspired by the role of water in his own life, he included a self-portrait in this book in which the river is embracing him.

I believe this book will appeal to a child’s quiet, reflective side. The poem imparts a sense of history that can speak to a child’s desire to understand their place in the world. The picture book format is appropriate for elementary age students and provides them with a wonderful introduction to the poetry of Langston Hughes.

Hughes, Langston. 2009. The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Lewis, E.B., illustrator. 

New York: Jump at the Sun Books (Disney).