This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World (Paperback)

~ Naomi Shihab Nye (Author, Compiler) "Once I got a postcard from the Fiji Islands with a picture of sugar cane harvest..." (more)
Key Phrases: Naomi Shihab Nye, Jacinto Vera

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9-12-- In the preface, Nye says, ``. . . what lovely, larger life becomes ours when we listen to one another?'' This question states the purpose of this anthology that emphasizes selections from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, India, and South and Central America. They are indexed by country as well as by poet. This is a lengthy collection, close to 200 pages long, brimming with much lovely material. The poems are about many things: the nature of poetry (and language itself), the beauty of the natural world, how feelings about childhood are colored by memory, the love of parent for a child (and vice versa). Some are more political in subject matter. Determining the audience is problematic. The preface states that the poems have been especially chosen for young people, but many of them will be of marginal interest to them, and several require an adult perspective to be appreciated. The book may be useful, but it will have to be introduced by a sensitive adult (preferably a very talented teacher who can lead students to draw connections that may seem unlikely at first). For senior high and public libraries where multicultural material is a priority. --Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

An award-winning multicultural compilation of poetry introduces more than 125 poems from sixty-eight countries around the world, many translated into English for the first time, and offers glimpses of similarities across people despite cultural differences. Reprint. H. VY. AB.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689806302
• ISBN-13: 978-0689806308
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #96,414 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Poetry from around the world, April 10, 2004

By	Amelia (Texas) - See all my reviews

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Naomi Shihab Nye has collected over one hundred poems from poets all over the world. The poems are about many things, including nature and families. While the details of the poetry (items, animals and birds) are foreign, the feelings expressed are familiar to us all.

Some of the poems are funny, like the one from Altazor by Vicente Huidobro, many others are sad ("My Life Story" by Lan Nguyen and "Behind Bars" by Fadwa Tuqan). Some poems are puzzling, like "Petrified Minute" by Zoltan Zelk and others make you want to know more of the story behind them, like Ruth Dallas's "A New Dress" and Gu Cheng's "A Headstrong Boy." There are poems that create beautiful mental images, and poems that leave the reader bewildered and vaguely disturbed (Tony Perez's "Volunteer Worker").

While the words have been translated into English, much of this poetry is difficult to understand. Many poems would be almost meaningless for a reader with no frame of reference to place the poem in. The poem "Jerusalem" by the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai is one that a reader with little knowledge about the history of Palestine would find puzzling. The brief Notes on the Contributors at the back of the volume help explain a little more about the poets, but to truly understand some of the poetry more background information is needed. This collection is not one most children will fully understand on their own.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lost in Translation, April 30, 2006

By	C. Payne (Fargo, ND) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

English is a simplistic language when compared to a great many other languages. It simply doesn't have the same potential for subtle nuances, rhyming, and other things of that nature. With that in mind, it's always hit-or-miss as to whether a translated poem will carry the same impact in English as it did in its original language. That, I would say, is one of the problems with this book, and it's not the book's, nor Naomi Shihab Nye's fault.

As the other reviewer said, some of the poems are quite good, some are obscure, and some are downright puzzling, and I imagine those particular ones, in their original language, had a lot more clarity of vision and feeling. The cultural backgrounds are a pitfall, as was also stated, though if a reader has a small knowledge of world history, the captions at the bottom of each poem which state the country of the author's origin are a great help. For example, when reading a poem about scrounging in the jungle, looking for a few scraps of rice, AK-47 in hand, it helps to know if the author is Vietnamese.

That notwithstanding, some of the poems are simply confusing, and I am an English major, and some, also due to the translation, I imagine, seem more like straight-forward prose.

All in all, This Same Sky is a good collection, and it does a very good job representing a broad cross-section of the world. It's just a shame the English language doesn't do the works justice. So, with that in mind, it's the translation's fault that I only gave the book 3 stars.