Word For the Day

From dictionary.com

Articulate

1. uttered clearly in distinct syllables.
2. capable of speech; not speechless.
3. using language easily and fluently; having facility with words: an articulate speaker.
4. expressed, formulated, or presented with clarity and effectiveness: an articulate thought.

or in short....Taylor Mali

Celebrating the Spoken Word

I was introduced to Rives' poetry by my daughter who insisted I check out Def Poetry Jam, thereby proving once and for all that she is way cooler than her mom. His poem on Def Poetry Jam was entitled "Kite" and it was both sweet and profane... a combination I did not think was possible.

The following poem is "If I Controlled the Internet".

a puzzlement....

I spent a good part of today going through a box of old children's magazines; Childrens Digest, Story Parade and of course Jack and Jill. (I love days like this when I get to browse/handle/read the material instead of processing/invoicing/packing it.)

In reviewing the Jack and Jill magazines I found in the July 1958 issue a Fae folk story called Billy Hook and the Three Souvenirs by Ted Hughes. I was able with a quick bit of online research to confirm that this was the same Hughes that was both the former Poet Laureate of England and former husband of Sylvia Plath. But I also came up with a bit of contradictory information: In one reference, page 164, of The Cambridge Companion to Sylvia Plath it states that Plath was co-author on this story while in a biography of Plath, Rough Magic by Paul Alexander it states (page 224) that this story was written by Ted Hughes alone.

These were the only two online references to this story that I found, hopefully I will find time to research this further.

7/7/07 update

I found a very interesting Horn Book article, quoted in part below, which actually cites Sylvia Plath's Journal and states that Ted Hughes wrote Billy Hook and the Three Souvenirs without any collaboration.

July 1958. Ted publishes his first story for children. Sylvia writes in her journal: “Vicarious joy at Ted’s writing which opens promise for me too: New Yorker’s 3rd poem acceptance & a short story for Jack & Jill. 1958: The year I stop teaching & start writing.” Sylvia regarded the acceptance as a kind of talisman, confirmation of their “promise” as writers. When the story is published, Sylvia writes in her journal: “In the A & P I rushed to the magazine rack & there was Ted’s story ‘Billy Hook and the Three Souvenirs’ in the July issue of Jack & Jill. The story was sumptuously presented: two fine lively color pictures & two half-tone drawings: gay & magic.”

January 15, 2007

One of my favorite children's poetry books is by Arnold Adoff called ALL THE COLORS OF THE RACE. (Illustrated by John Steptoe and first published in 1982 and unfortunately out of print now.) The main character is a young bi-racial girl and instead of trying to give you my long winded opinions of the writing, below is the title poem:

"All the colors of the race
are
in my face, and just behind my face:
behind my eyes:
inside my head.

And inside my head, I give myself a place
at the end of a long
line forming
itself into a
circle.

And I am holding out my hands."