MODULE 5: HOPKINS AWARD POETRY

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Myers, Walter Dean. 2006. JAZZ. ill. Christopher Myers. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 9780823415458

2. BOOK REVIEW
This book of poems written by Walter Dean Myers was written in a way that brings jazz to life. Most of the poems in this book rhyme and all of them have a strong repetitive rhythm and beat, much like the music of jazz itself. There is a combination of poems that are concrete and abstract in this book. The poems are written in a way that is appealing to the ear when read aloud. The poems are full of sensory images and onomatopoeia, as the reader can almost hear as the saxophone "goes screa-min, goes screamin', goes screa-screa-screamin' to the moon", the bass "thum, thum, thum, and thumming" and "strings crying like midnight widows."

The tone of the poems in this book is one of pride. The mood is joyful and upbeat in the majority of the poems. A few of the poems reflect a more somber mood, such as the poem titled, "Blue Creeps In", which is a poem about the music of the blues. Another more sombre poem is titled "Good-Bye to Old Bob Johnson", as music is played at a funeral march.

This book begins with an introduction by Walter Dean Myers, where the history of jazz music is explained to the reader. At the end of the book, there is a "Glossary of Jazz Terms." Following the glossary is a "Jazz Time Line", where the important developments in the history of jazz are highlighted.

3. SELECTED POEM
The poem I selected is the first one in the book titled "Jazz." I chose this poem because it is an excellent example of a poem that has a rhyme, rhythm, and a beat that makes the reader feel almost like dancing. This poem also illustrates the pride felt in many of the poems found in this book. This book could be used in a music class to introduce the music of jazz to students. The instructor could read the book aloud to inspire the students to want to hear how jazz music sounds. After reading, the students could listen to jazz music and be inspired to write their own poems about jazz.

JAZZ

Start with rhythm
Start with the heart
Drumming in tongues
Along the Nile
A black man's drum
Speaks
LOVE
Start with
RHYTHM
Start with
the HEART
Work songs
Gospel
Triumph
Despair
Voices
Lifted
From the soul