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19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East
Nye is a prominent poet for adults, as well as a highly regarded anthologist for teenagers. Her newest volume contains 57 of her own poems written about the Middle East and about being an Arab American, collected here with young readers in mind. Most are very short. All involve impassioned images: people, aromas, happenings. In the title poem Nye writes, "For years the Arab poets used 'gazelle' / to signify grace / but when faced with a meadow of leaping gazelle / there were no words . . . What else had we seen in our lives? / Nothing better . . . 'Don't bother to go there,' said a man at our hotel. 'It's too far.' / . . . There is no gazelle in today's headline . . . " Her poem dated September 11, 2001, ends, "Peace is rough." Nye knows this, and yet she doesn't give up. Neither will her young readers, because her belief in all people shines through in her exquisite poetry. ©2002 Cooperative Children's Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 12 and older
Age Range:
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Poetry
Subjects:
Affirmation
Identity
Observation
Palestinians and Palestinian Americans
Politics and Political Systems
Diversity subjects:
Arab
Middle East
Publishers:
Greenwillow, HarperCollins
Publish Year: 2002
Pages: 142
ISBN: 0060097655
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 811 Nye