RSS Feed (xml)
1. Bibliographic Information
Rosenberg, L. & November, D. (2005). I just hope it’s lethal: Poems of sadness, madness, & joy. Boston, Massachusetts: Graphia.
ISBN: 0-618-564-52-7
190 pages
2. Plot Summary
I Just Hope its Lethal is a collection of poems compiled by Liz Rosenberg and Deena November. The authors wanted to give teenagers an opportunity to realize that while their own personal experiences with depression and life is unique, there are many people who can empathize with their feelings. This book is divided into 5 parts: moods, world, love, tumble, and return. All of these headings attempt to help teens throughout their journeys in life. The authors have included a variety of poets/authors, some living, some dead, some famous, and some not. The poems themselves are different in structure, form and sometimes language. In the back of the book, there is a short biographical list of these poets. These poets include, but are not limited to: Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Bukowski, Sylvia Plath, and Emily Dickinson. The authors have also included indexes organized by author, title, and first line of work.
3. Critical Evaluation
I thought that this book is a great example of how books have the ability to connect with the reader. Whether or not teens suffer from depression, the poems included in this collection offer a variety of emotions and experiences that can help teenagers regardless of their current situations. While these poems offer a look at how debilitating depression, home life, and life in general can be, it also provides readers with the ability to hope. I really enjoyed “For Years, Copying Other People, I Tried to Know Myself." It is a poem of empowerment and letting go of insecurities. Not all readers will necessarily find connections with all poems, but such is the case with poetry as a whole. Nevertheless, this book will succeed on all counts if a reader connects with any one poem, and thus be impacted by its individual meaning. Readers, though, can also see how serious depression is. Unfortunately, due to its content, the book does feature poets who did commit suicide. I think what is most telling about this book is that it does not judge the actions of these poets, but rather allows readers to hopefully learn from the demons in these author’s lives and overcome their own individual obstacles.
4. Reader’s Annotation
Teenage years are full of emotion; sometimes happiness prevails in your outlook, while other times darker moments invade your thoughts. I Just Hope It’s Lethal recognizes these moments in your life when sometimes you just need someone to understand what you’re going through.
5. Information about the Authors
Liz Rosenberg was born on Long Island. She teaches English and Creative Writing at the State University of New York at Binghamton since 1979. While she is happily married with children, she has suffered from depression for most of her life.
Deena November was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a student in one of Liz Rosenberg’s classes at the State University of New York. Due to shared experiences with depression, the two women decided to compile a list of poems for this book.
6. Genre
Poetry
7. Curriculum Ties
This collection of poems could be used in an English, History or Health class. An English class could analyze the poems, the History class might be able to compare the poems to the social and historical context of when they were written and a Health class can look at the effects of depression on writers and their audience (in this case, teens).
8. Booktalking Ideas
- Explain how poetry affects your views of life?
- How do you think teens might respond to some of these poems?
9. Reading Level/Interest Age
Due to the more adult content of this collection of poems, I would encourage older teens aged 15-18 to read this book.
10. Challenge Issues
This book does include poems about sadness, depression and suicide. In fact, many of the authors highlighted in this collection have attempted suicide if not been successful.
I would hope that any person who challenges this book could realize the positive effects this book could have on a depressed teenager. However, if there was a petition against this book, I would recommend ALA’s challenge form found at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm
Rosenberg, L. & November, D. (2005). I just hope it’s lethal: Poems of sadness, madness, & joy. Boston, Massachusetts: Graphia.
ISBN: 0-618-564-52-7
190 pages
2. Plot Summary
I Just Hope its Lethal is a collection of poems compiled by Liz Rosenberg and Deena November. The authors wanted to give teenagers an opportunity to realize that while their own personal experiences with depression and life is unique, there are many people who can empathize with their feelings. This book is divided into 5 parts: moods, world, love, tumble, and return. All of these headings attempt to help teens throughout their journeys in life. The authors have included a variety of poets/authors, some living, some dead, some famous, and some not. The poems themselves are different in structure, form and sometimes language. In the back of the book, there is a short biographical list of these poets. These poets include, but are not limited to: Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Bukowski, Sylvia Plath, and Emily Dickinson. The authors have also included indexes organized by author, title, and first line of work.
3. Critical Evaluation
I thought that this book is a great example of how books have the ability to connect with the reader. Whether or not teens suffer from depression, the poems included in this collection offer a variety of emotions and experiences that can help teenagers regardless of their current situations. While these poems offer a look at how debilitating depression, home life, and life in general can be, it also provides readers with the ability to hope. I really enjoyed “For Years, Copying Other People, I Tried to Know Myself." It is a poem of empowerment and letting go of insecurities. Not all readers will necessarily find connections with all poems, but such is the case with poetry as a whole. Nevertheless, this book will succeed on all counts if a reader connects with any one poem, and thus be impacted by its individual meaning. Readers, though, can also see how serious depression is. Unfortunately, due to its content, the book does feature poets who did commit suicide. I think what is most telling about this book is that it does not judge the actions of these poets, but rather allows readers to hopefully learn from the demons in these author’s lives and overcome their own individual obstacles.
4. Reader’s Annotation
Teenage years are full of emotion; sometimes happiness prevails in your outlook, while other times darker moments invade your thoughts. I Just Hope It’s Lethal recognizes these moments in your life when sometimes you just need someone to understand what you’re going through.
5. Information about the Authors
Liz Rosenberg was born on Long Island. She teaches English and Creative Writing at the State University of New York at Binghamton since 1979. While she is happily married with children, she has suffered from depression for most of her life.
Deena November was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a student in one of Liz Rosenberg’s classes at the State University of New York. Due to shared experiences with depression, the two women decided to compile a list of poems for this book.
6. Genre
Poetry
7. Curriculum Ties
This collection of poems could be used in an English, History or Health class. An English class could analyze the poems, the History class might be able to compare the poems to the social and historical context of when they were written and a Health class can look at the effects of depression on writers and their audience (in this case, teens).
8. Booktalking Ideas
- Explain how poetry affects your views of life?
- How do you think teens might respond to some of these poems?
9. Reading Level/Interest Age
Due to the more adult content of this collection of poems, I would encourage older teens aged 15-18 to read this book.
10. Challenge Issues
This book does include poems about sadness, depression and suicide. In fact, many of the authors highlighted in this collection have attempted suicide if not been successful.
I would hope that any person who challenges this book could realize the positive effects this book could have on a depressed teenager. However, if there was a petition against this book, I would recommend ALA’s challenge form found at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm
11. Why was it selected?
I think that poetry is an effective form of self-expression.
12. Citations
Challenges to library materials. (2010). In American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm
Rosenberg, L. & November, D. (2005). I just hope it’s lethal: Poems of sadness, madness, & joy. Boston, Massachusetts: Graphia.
Picture
Amazon.com (2010). I just hope it's lethal: Poems of sadness, madness, and joy (Paperback). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618564527/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0JSSC8NRPHJQ4V7KFAHZ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
13. Awards
No awards known.
No comments:
Post a Comment