A Poem of Her Own: Voices of American Women Yesterday and Today

Catherine Clinton

Harry N. Abrams, Mar 1, 2003 - Juvenile Nonfiction - 80 pages

A groundbreaking collection--featuring four new poems by major poetsA Poem of Her Own brings together notable American works that convey the powerful spirit of mothers, sisters, and daughters throughout this nation's history. Among the poets included are luminaries such as Phillis Wheatley, Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, and Sylvia Plath. Also featured are previously unpublished pieces by contemporary poets Julia Alvarez, Nikki Giovanni, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Marge Piercy. Not intended as a survey but as a celebration of uniquely female perspectives, this compilation of 25 poems addresses difficult issues such as oppression and bigotry, and celebrates themes such as the pursuit of freedom, the triumph of democracy, and the splendor of the natural world. But most importantly, all of these selections provide unforgettable insights into the singular experience of being an American woman. An introduction by editor Catherine Clinton and biographies of the poets complete this rich, much-needed collection.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - omc10 - LibraryThing

I loved this book just because it was an easy read. I think it would be a great book to share with children. Not all of the poems are appropriate or even understandable for children but there are a few that they could understand.

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - mikitchenlady - LibraryThing

My favorites: "The Brown Thrush" by Lucy Larcom "I Sit and Sew" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson "Poetry" by Marianne Moore "Homage to My Hips" by Lucielle Clifton "Lost Sster" by Cathy Song "What Do Women Want ...

Contents

• EMMA LAZARUS: 6
• PHILLIS WHEATLEY MARIANNE MOORE: 15
• LYDIA MARIA CHILD: 22

About the author

Catherine Clinton is a writer and historian who has published widely in the fields of southern studies, African American studies, women's studies and the American Civil War. She is the Mark Clark Visiting Chair of History at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina for 2001-2002 and an affiliate of
the Gelder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition at Yale University. She is currently completing a biography of Harriet Tubman. She lives in Riverside, Connecticut.

Born in the United States, Stephen Alcorn spent his formative, teenage years in Florence, Italy, where he attended the Istituto Statale d'Arte, an experience that infused his work with an appreciation for history and a passion for experimentation in a multitude of mediums. Since then he has embraced an equally broad spectrum of themes and subjects, including the interpretation of literary classics, interpretation of poetry, nineteenth-century American history, and notably, the African-American experience -- resulting in a stream of award-winning projects for adult, young adult, and young readers alike. "America at War" is Alcorn's fifth collaboration with Lee Bennett Hopkins.

Mr. Alcorn lives with his wife, Sabina, and four cats in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in the heart of Cambridge, New York, surrounded by the pastoral farmland of Washington County. An overview of his work may be viewed at www.alcorngallery.com.

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Poem of Her Own: Voices of American Women Yesterday and Today
• Author: Catherine Clinton
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 2003
• ISBN: 0810942402, 9780810942400
• Length: 80 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Nonfiction / Poetry / General