POEMS TO LEARN BY HEART compiled by Caroline Kennedy

Kennedy, Caroline, ed. 2013. Poems to Learn by Heart. Illustrated by Jon Muth. New York: Disney                 Hyperion Books.  ISBN 9781423108054

Poetry enthusiast Caroline Kennedy and painter Jon Muth, pair up again for a companion volume to their 2005 project, A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children.  Their 2013 offering is a denser collection called Poems to Learn by Heart.  Following their previous format, the poems are divided into chapters with each section introduced with a personal note by Ms. Kennedy.  A table of contents, index of first lines, index by author last name, and lengthy acknowledgments of source material accompany the volume.  The poets represented range from Saint Paul to current students in New York.  The majority of Kennedy’s selections are from classic poets.  Only five of the most notable award winning poets of the last thirty-four years are represented.

 Many of the poems selected for this volume are very long and of more interest to older students who are more serious about poetry.  I don’t know too many young students who would have the patience or desire to read, much less memorize some of the long verses.  Forcing memorization of some of these classics is probably one reason poetry has suffered in popularity.  However, there are still very entertaining and beloved poems complied here;  “My Shadow” by Robert Louis Stevenson, “If--“ by Rudyard Kipling, and I Corinthians 13:1-8 by Saint Paul to name a few.   As you can imagine from a collection of over 100 poems and 90 poets, many poetic forms are present; from a simple couplet to Holy Scripture, or a Shakespearean sonnet to the inspired prose of the Gettysburg Address.  

I was glad to discover a poem by Janet S. Wong called “Liberty.”

I pledge acceptance

of the views,

so different,

that make us America

To listen, to look,

to think, and to learn

One people

sharing the earth

responsible

for liberty

and justice

for all.

This poem naturally encourages a comparison and discussion of our own Pledge of Allegiance.  When reading this poem aloud, I think it is important to pause significantly at the line breaks the poet has determined.  This enhances the potency of each word or phrase.  The line breaks also mimic the line breaks of an oral recitation of our Pledge of Allegiance.  Try using this poem to launch a class project of designing a flag unique to the classroom and composing a pledge similar to a mission statement for the class.

This book would be a good one to add to a home library as well as school.  As time goes by, many of the classic poems are falling out of use.  Gone are the days when “Paul Revere’s Ride” or “Casey at the Bat” was known by every student.  I would not be surprised if many students graduate without hearing these poems even once.  I appreciate Ms. Kennedy’s efforts to use her name and influence to champion a revival of the love of poetry.