Hopkins, Lee
Bennett. Ill. by Charlene Rendeiro. Been
to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 1995. ISBN: 1-56397-467-3.
SUMMARY
Lee Bennett
Hopkins' childhood experiences are thoughtfully told through poetry in his book
Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life.
His childhood story opens when he and his family move from Scranton,
Pennsylvania to Newark, New Jersey to live near his grandmother. Sadly, though,
the happy beginnings the move is meant to bring forth do not occur. Instead the
move brings about a broken home when his father and mother divorce. As he
witnesses the struggles and emotional collapse of his mother, he finds comfort
in the guidance of his grandmother's wisdom. With her sage words, he is able to
find his own strength as he struggles to live through the dynamics brought to
his life by the actions and inactions of his mother and father.
ANALYSIS
Simple
poetry filled with the intensity of feeling greet the reader on each page in Lee Bennett
Hopkin's poetic memoir Been to
Yesterdays: Poems of a Life. Bennett's skill in crafting words to hold deep
messages and arouse poignant feelings fall lightly on each page, leaving traces
of imagery of a young boy whose life is deeply affected and influenced by the
adults with whom he shares it.
His poems
open with words of the title leading into the first lines of the poem. As the
poem builds, the message of the poem strengthens and leads into the following
poem. Each poem's format follows a simple, but rhythmic quality as one line
falls into the other. Sometimes he will
have one word or two words stand alone, in a series of brief but candid stanzas. Using
this technique emphasizes the words and focuses on their intended purpose to
draw the reader closer to the boy's feelings as he tries to sort through his
thoughts. His poem, "Staring,"
reveals how powerful carefully chosen words in isolation can reach deeply into
the reader's own emotions to pull forward the loneliness of loss. The isolation
of the words recognize the isolation of the child who misses his absent father.
"I wonder/if Daddy/ ever -/even for a/little while -/thinks/about me-/thinks/about/us."
These simple lines quietly depict the child's sadness in loss as he quietly sits
alone on a "bursting/crowded/city bus."
Bennett's
poems are not overly sentimental, which would lead to a sense of distaste to
the reader. He does not want the reader's sympathy. He wants the reader to be
attentive to feelings and emotions, to perhaps touch and awaken the reader's
own emotions experienced when losing a loved one. Strong in their short phrased
but rhythmic pace, his poems achieve the poet's purpose. As the book ends with its final poem,
"Dear," the reader learns the importance of accepting the pain that
comes with loss and then moving on to embrace the happiness and love that is always a part of our lives.
AWARDS
Christopher Award, 1996 - Winner Ages
10-12, United States
Golden Kite Award, 1996, Honor Book
Fiction, United States
Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's
Literature, 1996, Honor Book - California, United States
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 1996,
ALA, United States
SUGGESTED
ACTIVITY
"What
do you
want to be
when you grow up?"
asked my teacher,
Miss Ethel K. Tway.
Down the rows
the kids called out:
"A
cop."
"A
nurse."
"A
soldier."
"A
sailor."
"A
scientist."
"Butcher!"
"A
firefighter."
When she got to me
I said,
"A
writer."
Louis laughed
hysterically:
"A writer!"
he said.
"What a crazy thing
to want to be!"
"I don't think
That's funny, Louis,"
said Miss Tway.
"Everyone's entitled
to sound
their own voice.
Becoming
a writer is a
fine life-choice."
That special moment
on that
red-letter day
I fell madly
in love
with
Miss Ethel K. Tway.
Read "What" to the class in an "untrained" poetry voice (stilted, pause at the end of each line, etc.) Then, play the clip (found in the above link) of Lee Bennett Hopkins reading his poem aloud. After listening
to the reading, open a discussion. Suggested questions about reading the poem aloud:
1. How did you feel about the poem when the teacher read it?
2. How did you feel about the poem after hearing Lee Bennett Hopkins read it?
3. Why do you think reading poetry aloud is important?
4. Find a poem in a book and practice reading it aloud.
5. Can you change the "feeling" of a poem by reading it with different tones, word inflections, and paces? Try it!
Been to Yesterdays:
Poems of a Life. cover illustration. Internet on-line. Retrieved January 26, 2013 from http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID=2160bfdc47608afa071c6a2f50ced8b1
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