NCTE AWARD POETRY

THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.  ISBN 9780618616800.

SUMMARY

Inspired by William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say,” Joyce Sidman created a two-part poem collection in this book.  Sidman approaches this collection by setting up a fictional class, Mrs. Merz’s sixth-grade class at Florence Scribner School, in which students write apology poems as part of their class poetry unit.  As a further extension of this poetry unit, students then write responses to the first set of apology poems, bringing forgiveness for some and closure for all.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet

Joyce Sidman is a renowned, award-winning children’s writer. She is the 2006 recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Song of the Water Boatman and ALA’s Best Book for Young Adults for The World According to Dog.  She is known to write works related to nature and set in nature, such as Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. Sidman is also known for writing poems in different voices that she imagines, creates, and tells stories through.

Layout

In the Introduction, Sidman writes in the voice of a sixth-grade boy, Anthony, who also happens to be the fictional editor of the book.  Anthony explains that this collection came about as part of a poetry unit in Mrs. Merz’s class in which he and his classmates had to write their own apology poems modeled after William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say” poem.  Anthony continues to explain that he got the idea to have the students write poems in response to apology poems written to them.  Thus, the book is set up in two parts: Part One, Apologies, and Part Two, Responses. In Part One, readers hear apologies from a boy who stole doughnuts from the teachers’ lounge, a girl who stabbed her sister’s hand with a pencil, and a boy who had to put his dog to sleep, among others.  In Part Two, Mrs. Garcia from the school’s office forgives the boy who stole her doughnuts, the girl whose had was stabbed expresses lingering anger towards her sister, and the school custodian replies to the boy who lost his dog.

Each poem appears on a different page, giving each voice ample space to express the apology. Poems are written in free verse and have varying lengths. Also, each poem is accompanied by illustrations by Pamela Zagarenski, which in the Anthony explains were made by a classmate, Bao Vang with the help of their art teacher. Zagarenski’s colorful, detailed artwork emphasizes each poem’s essence.  Simple character drawings display the emotions carried through a single poem, bringing these fictional characters to life and giving them realistic qualities. By using mixed media, Zagarenski adds a whimsical touch to her illustrations, which highlights the child-like experiences that make up the content of this collection.

Poetic Elements

Sidman effortlessly displays her poetic craft and style through each poem. Her use of imagery is particularly exceptional. In “Brownies—Oops!,” for instance, readers will salivate at the visualization of “the warm, thick/brick of brownies” with “gooey hunks of chocolate” and will relate to Maria, the girl who “step[s]/over the sleeping dog” and walks across the “cold linoleum/on [her] bare toes” to gobble up this delicious dessert.  In “It Was Quiet,” readers will feel sorrow as they through Sidman’s sensory images, imagine Tenzin’s dog Einstein, his “nose…still wet” and “ears…still silky” as he passed away.  The poems in this collection are mostly written in free verse, but one in particular, “Spelling Bomb,” is written in pantoum form with the second and fourth lines in one stanza being repeated as the first and third lines in the next stanza.  However, even this poem does not rhyme.  Other poems such as “Dodge Ball Crazy” use a concrete poem form, allowing readers to visualize the bouncing movement of a dodge ball. In the response poem, “Dodge Ball Kings,” Sidman writes a poem for two voices, introducing another fun poetic form that begs to be read and performed aloud.

In this collection, Sidman also makes great use of figurative language. In “Fashion Sense,” for example, Carmen writes that “The silence [in the classroom] seemed like a hundred crushing elephants” since no one had more to say about Old Yeller.  This simile allows readers to imagine the tension in the room, creating an exaggerated feeling of suffocation.  In “Sparkling Deer,” Mrs. Merz apologizes to her mother for breaking her glass deer, explaining that the “little snow scene drew [her] like a magnet.” By suing this simile, Sidman allows readers to relate to Mrs. Merz’s character.

Because the poems are narrative in style, they do not have many sound techniques. Instead, Sidman chooses to focus on meaning and emotional impact.  Many of her poems are humorous, such as “Dodge Ball,” in which a young boy apologizes to his friend for getting carried away in the game and hitting him too hard. Other poems, however, are much deeper and tug at readers’ heart strings. “Next Time,” for instance, follows the thoughts of a young girl who blames herself for her father leaving.  The responses further evoke a forgiving, heartfelt tone.  In “Some Reasons Why,” Tenzin replies to Anthony, who felt he had disappointed his mother for not winning the Spelling Bee.  In this poem, Tenzin offers Anthony friendly advice, encouraging him to not be so hard on himself and to focus on the great things he has to offer. Through the responses, readers get a good sense of the strong bonds and relationships between the characters.

Appeal

Sidman’s collection will appeal to young readers primarily because of the content and style.  They will be able to connect to the experience of being apologetic towards someone or something, and they may even gain the confidence to write apology poems as well.  The free-verse format of most of the poems will also make this collection non-threatening, as readers will recognize that poems do not have to rhyme or follow a specific meter.  The language used throughout the collection is simple enough for young children to follow and comprehend. Sidman’s use of imagery and figurative language, however, make these poems just as appealing to older readers, who will enjoy the imaginative way in which the ideas behind the poems are expressed.

Overall Quality

Overall, the poems in this collection are of high literary quality.  Sidman evokes not only sensory images but emotional connections in the readers as well.  The complexity of the structure forces readers to follow as though this was a storyline, showing the interconnectedness of every character and every experience detailed in the poems.  Because they are written in free verse, the flow of the words is natural, giving authenticity to the apologies and making the characters realistic.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Dodge Ball Kings” by Joyce Sidman

Kyle                                                       Reuben

We’re

Dodge Ball Kings!                                  Dodge Ball Kings!

We like to zing

                                                           each other.

Dodge Ball Kings!                                 Dodge Ball Kings!

Each ball, we fling

                                                           with all out might

as though it is our last:                        as though it is our last:

a catapult,

                                                           a cherry bomb,

a setting sun,

                                                           a blazing ring

we fire

                                                          through air.

We mark each other out—                    We mark each other out—

Zing, bam, sting!                                 Zing, bam, sting!

It hurts

                                                          but we don’t care.

We’re

Dodge Ball Kings!                              Dodge Ball Kings!

This poem is an excellent introduction to the entire collection, as it incorporates the subject matter of apologies while offering the two-voice poem form as way to simultaneously provide an immediate response, capturing the essence of the collection structure and layout. Within this poem, readers can also visualize the events through Sidman’s sensory imagery and onomatopoeia. 

To introduce this poem, I would play a short video clip of a dodge ball game for students to activate their prior knowledge. I would then ask students to pair-share their experiences with playing dodge ball and then do a class share-out/discussion.  I would guide the discussion by asking, “Have you evern played dodge ball with a close friend? How did it feel to hit him/her with the ball? How did it feel when your friend hit you?” I would then explain that we would be reading an apology poem between two friends who play dodge ball with each other.  I would introduce the two-voice poem form by explaining that this form is like a conversation between two people, and, just as in conversations, there are times when they speak at the same time. I would make sure to make the poem visible to all students, either via a paper copy or via a projection of the poem on a screen. I would ask two student volunteers to each take a role and to read the poem aloud. After reading, I would ask students how they would act out the lines from the poem to make the poem a performance. I would then pair students up and ask each pair to prepare a performance of the poem by acting it out. We would finish by having each pair present their own performance/reading of this poem.