The Patriot Spot

The Robert R. Muntz Library has acquired the following books by 2008 Texas Poet Laureate Larry D. Thomas. Mr. Thomas recently visited UT Tyler, where he was featured as the keynote speaker for the Annual Student Poetry Awards. The books are available to be checked out. Here are the titles and call numbers; their location is in the third floor stacks.

• The Woodlanders. PS 3620 .H63 W66 2002.
• Where the Skulls Speak Wind. PS 3620 .H63 W48 2004.
• Amazing Grace. PS 3620 .H63 A43 2001.

If you are looking for some poetry, and you are in the mood for poetry that evokes the greatness and beauty of Texas, then go check these books out.

On Tuesday, April 29, 2008, the UT Tyler Robert R. Muntz Library held its Annual Student Poetry Awards. This was the library’s capstone even for National Poetry Month. The event took place at Braithwaite Auditorium. The keynote was delivered by the 2008 Texas Poet Laureate Mr. Larry D. Thomas. Following a reception and book signing, the event drew students and members of the community for a night of poetry and performance. We had 34 entries this year in the contest. The winners of the contest this year were:

1. Jesse Florendo for “Japan Sketch #1.”
2. Conor Herterich for “”Epitaph.”
3. Paige Hayter for “Ode to the Gardenia.”
4. Carly Thompson for “The Need for a Story.”

• And honorable mention to Jesse Florendo for “Frankenstein’s Creature Finds Solace.”

Local poet and friend of the library Anne McCrady (link to her blog here) was one of the judges for the contest. She also gave the introduction for Larry Thomas during the event. McCrady described Mr. Thomas as an inspiration to her and other poets. She also added that Mr. Thomas’s poetry comes from the heart of a visual artist. In addition, McCrady observed that Mr. Thomas sees the job of poet laureate as a gift to the people of Texas.

After the introduction, Mr. Thomas went right on with the poetry. He talked about himself, his writing, and then delighted the audience with selections of his poetry. Mr. Thomas took the audience on a tour of Texas from West to East with poems like “Wind,” “Neches River,” “Out of the blue,” and “Apricots.” After the reading, Mr. Thomas took questions and comments from the audience.

Next came the award ceremony. As part of the ceremony, the winners were asked to read their pieces. They delighted the audience with their craft and diversity of themes and images in their verse. Winners received a trophy and a signed copy of Mr. Thomas’s new book.

The library would like to take this opportunity to thank The Friends of the Arts and the members of the Texas Poetry Society for their generosity in making this event possible. Our thanks as well to Joseph’s for providing the hors d’ouevres. In addition, I took some photos of the event, which interested readers can see over in my Flickr page here.

On Wednesday, April 23, 2008, the library held its annual Poetry Read-out. We read from 10:00am to 2:00pm in the library’s reading area. This was part of the library’s programs celebrating National Poetry Month during April. We had a good number of readers who came to the library to share their favorite pieces of poetry with the audience. We came together to celebrate the beauty of language and the art of verse. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the participants for sharing their verses and the audience for their support.

Some of the highlights:

• Anne McCrady and Cheryl Cooper had a pretty lively conversation about poetry. They went back and forth, and they both read poetry. Cheryl chose selections by Billy Collins. Anne read from her own works.
• Our head men’s soccer coach, Kenny Jones, read as well. He picked his poems on the spot from the selection of books we provided. From Robert Frost to “Casey at the Bat,” he delighted our audience.
• We heard poetry in Old English when Dr. Victor Scherb gave us a history of the English language in 15 minutes through his selections.

I took some photos of the event, which interested folks can find in my Flickr account. I included brief descriptions with the photos. Here is the direct link.

We hope to see you all for next year’s poetry read-out. Happy reading!

We continue featuring reference books dealing with poetry as part of our National Poetry Month celebration. This week we feature the Longman Dictionary and Handbook of Poetry. This is a dictionary of terms, concepts, theories and techniques in poetry. So, what might you use this book for?

• You are discussing a poem in class, and the professor says it has internal rhyme? You want to know what that is? The dictionary will tell you that it is “a rhyme that occurs within a metrical line in order to create a musical or rhythmical effect. . . ” (145).
• You need an overview of Romanticism (pages 268-269).
• You need to tell the difference between a Petrarchan sonnet and a Shakesperean sonnet (see the entry for sonnet on pages 281-282).

This is one of those cool books that you can use to look up a term quickly and get an answer. The Longman Dictionary and Handbook of Poetry is available in the library’s reference collection. Its call number is PN 1021 .M94 1985.

Here are a few links which may be of interest for poetry reading during National Poetry Month. Remember that you can look up authors and titles of poetry books on our catalog, accessible via the library website.

• Public school teachers may be interested in some free activities and lesson plans from Scholastic here. Teachers: also note that the Academy of American Poets, which I linked above, also has some links of interest for teachers.
• The National Council of Teachers of English has a series of resources for teachers and other links related to National Poetry Month here.
• There is also a National Poet Laureate. You can learn about the program and find out about the laureates from the Library of Congress here.
• Where did the concept of poet laureate come from? Wikipedia has a nice overview here.
• Want to read some prize winning poetry? Here are some links:
  • Learn about the winners of the prestigious Bollingen Prize in Poetry, which is administered by Yale University.
  • There is a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Find a list of the poetry winners here in Wikipedia. Here is the official Pulitzer Prize site; however, it is not as easy to get a list from it.
  • The Claremont (California) Graduate School administers the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Find a list of the winners here.
  • The National Book Foundation, which awards the prestigious National Book Award, includes poetry as one of their categories. Visit their website where you can browse through the award lists for reading ideas.
  • The National Book Critics Circle also has its own awards, and they include poetry as well. Find a list of current (2007) winners here and previous winners here.
  • The PEN Literary Awads also feature poetry categories. The 2008 awards will be announced on April 21st. You can learn about the award and find lists of winners here.

Since this is National Poetry Month, I figured that this month I will try to feature some reference books related to poetry. A reminder to our students to submit their poems for our Poetry Contest. Find the details on our website here. Now back to the Reference Book of the Week.

This is a reference book for those seeking information on American poets and their poetry in the 20th century. According to the editor, the book aims to explicate a broad selection of poetry. It also covers various authors and topics. It contains 400 entries, which are organized alphabetically. The book features a title index and a general index.

The book provides the following types of entries:

• “Entries on individual poets feature a critical treatment of the poet’s achievements” (ix). In these entries, you get a brief biography of the poet, a list of his/her published works, and a list of criticism under the heading of “further reading.” If you want an overview on a poet, this is a good place to get it. You can use the list of works to check if we have a poet’s books in the library by using the library catalog. You can also check to see if we have the items suggested for further reading in the library.
• “Entries on landmark poems offer close readings of the work thus distinguished and situate it within a historical and biographical context” (ix). For example, the entry for Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” will provide a small entry that gives some background on how the poem was written and where it fits in the context of Frost’s work. Entries for poems also feature a list for further reading. If you are writing a paper on a poem, this book can provide a good place to start.
• “Entries on major topics offer in-depth analysis of formal developmens in 20th-century American poetry” (ix). Some sample topics include: free verse, Beat Poetry, Harlem Renaissance, Canadian Poetry, and Literary Theory and Poetry. If you need information on poetry concepts, movements, and related concepts, this is a good start.

Do keep in mind this volume covers only American poetry. There are other works for other parts of the world, and I will try to cover some of them in the blog this month. I like works like this because they give me a good place to start researching a topic. The fact you get a small list of suggestions for further reading means you get some items that you can try to locate in the library and expand your research. Entries in volumes like these are signed and are written by scholars in the field. Usually, what they list in the further readings list is what the scholars consider to be a good selection of items on the topic.

The Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century is available in the library’s reference collection. Its call number is PS 323.5 .E53 2001.