REVIEW: World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from The Metropolitan Museum

World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins in partnership with Metropolitan Museum of Art, includes exclusive poems from eighteen poets to pair with classic works of art. The compilation is centered around a quote from the introduction:

 

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” Leonardo da Vinci

 

This poetry collection features poems from well-known contemporary poets for young readers, including:

• Alma Flor Ada

• Cynthia Cotten

• Rebecca Kai Dotlich

• Julie Fogliano

• Charles Ghigna

• Joan Bransfield Graham

• Lee Bennett Hopkins

• Irene Latham

• J. Patrick Lewis

• Elaine Magliaro

• Guadalupe Garcia McCall

• Marilyn Nelson

• Naomi Shihab Nye

• Ann Whitford Paul

• Marilyn Singer

• Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

• Carole Boston Weatherford

• Janet Wong

The original poems in World Make Way are written in response to a diverse range of art from different time periods, cultures and art forms (the inspiration art is pictured next to the poem in the book.) The poems all differ in style and tone which expresses the diversity of art as well as how everyone sees and feels art differently. Some poets create internal thoughts for their subject such as “Paint Me,” by Marilyn Singer (inspired by Gustav Klimt’s Mäda Primavesi) as she writes impatient internal dialogue for the privileged young girl, "I have things to do, /more than you." While others, such as Julie Fogliano, write from an omniscient perspective, using sparse language and a slow pace to convey the tension of a cat stalking a spider, as depicted in Ōide Tōkō’s Cat Watching a Spider, in her poem of the same name.

Rhythm and sound are important throughout the collection, particularly in poems that are full of movement and energy. “Ti-ki-ri, ti-ki-ri, ti-ki-ri, tas!” by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (inspired by Skeletons as Artisans by José Guadalupe Posada) uses repetition and onomatopoeia to create a percussive beat that immerses readers in the hard physical work of the skeletons. This harsh rhythm contrasts with softer poems like “Early Evening” by Charles Ghigna (inspired by Winslow Homer’s Boys in a Dory,) as he describes boys rowing a boat in a calm harbor using gentle sound patterns used to create a dreamy, reflective tone, “ into the shadows/of a water colored world/where we float as in a dream.” This variety of tone and style is engaging for young readers and shows how multifaceted art can be.

Not surprisingly, imagery is often used within the poems to evoke not only what is seen in the artwork, but what is felt. “Blue Worlds” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich (inspired by Mary Cassatt’s Young Mother Sewing) is filled with visual and sensory imagery that highlights the emotional depth within the painting. The repeated imagery of the color blue evokes a calm in the reader as Dotlich connects the color to the child's "mama" signaling to the feeling of the tender contentedness between mother and daughter. Dotlich’s translation from seeing into feeling fully encapsulates the mission of World Make Way: to invite readers to feel art rather than simple observe it.

BLUE WORLDS

by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

I grow up in a world the color of water.

Sometimes when breezes blow just right,

when sun puddles in blue folds,

mama talks of blue things, wild things;

seaglass and butterflies,

peacocks and poppies.

While clocks keep perfect time

ships sail on seas yet named,

and birds sing odes to skylight.

Cornflowers turn to tufted stars

while mama threads light rain,

stitching my name

into air.

World Make Way is a wonderful book for all ages. While it was initially written for a younger elementary school audience, I believe its depth and complexity make it equally suited to older audiences. Art lovers and poetry lovers will both enjoy the varied poetic forms and vivid images this compilation provides. This collection invites readers to engage in an active dialogue with the art they see as opposed to a mere surface level viewing.

To fully engage with the theme of this poetry compilation, I would first introduce “Blue Worlds” to teens by encouraging a dialogue.  I would start with a viewing of Mary Cassatt’s Young Mother Sewing (the painting that inspired the poem) and encourage students to jot down ideas and words about their own personal responses to the painting. After viewing the poem's inspiration, I would then read the poem aloud and ask the students to interpret the poet’s perspective and then compare it to their own. From there I would start an in-class discussion on how we can look at the same image but see and feel different things from it.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from The Metropolitan Museum. Abrams Books for Young Readers 2018. 978-1683352884