The video features the award-winning author of poetry, Naomi Shihab, Nye, reading from her work of adult and children poetry that includes 19 varieties of Gazelle such as Fuel, Poems of the Middle East, and Red suitcase. Her collection features a variety of poems about the Middle East and Palestinians and includes themes such as love and longing for imaginary and lost lands (GBH Forum Network). The poems also feature a Middle Eastern lifestyle that is dominated by spices and flavors that are presented the way a grandmother can talk to a grandchild, a pre-schooler talking to his mother, or an aged man to his lover.
Naomi uses literary language to make her poems more interesting and to present different ideas and themes. The setting of her poems portrays a world that is torn in political and religious conflicts and which provides a promise of hope to the audience. They are full of the positive characteristics of humanity, which also brings to mind the collection of 19 varieties of gazelle that forms the basis of the title poem.
Nye also uses literary language in her poetry to portray her seriousness with the effects caused by 9/11, especially on her culture, American culture, and her own cultural identity. She uses literary language to create a personal connection between her poems and the audience. She does this by using the words “it is more successful than any new channel” (Shihab). When using poetry, the message should be able to relate to the common man and not to politicians and people of higher authority.
I find the poems presented by Naomi to be interesting in the manner in which she directs them to young readers in a most appropriate manner. Some of the poems are bold and directly point out common and restrictive topics related to cultural identity and gender. They are political pieces of work that tend to celebrate, represent, and build on political capital to a certain group of people. She delves deeper into the emotional lives of people living in the Middle East with the intention of portraying humanity for her audience. Her poems are not fictitious and shy but are brave and tackle contentious issues in society without any reservations (Poetry Foundation). In this regard, she presents social issues as they are without concealing her true intentions with sugar-coated words.
Nye’s poems take on a special significance to many people in the context of the post-September terrorist attacks in America. It is because they entail a series of insights presented to make us fulfill our need to be comforted. She does this by using the language that represents her Palestinian as well as American background. She presents a unique identity that provides different perspectives about the American west and Arabic East that have been shaped by her creativity in her narrative. It is a different perspective that is a departure from the common and reactionary rhetoric which dominates our daily actions and thinking. Her thinking is not only new but also refreshing as it presents issues using different cultural perspectives. She uses her poems to portray different cultural backgrounds that have played a significant role in her life. She does not present the different cultural perspectives in an antagonistic manner but attempts to come to a consensus. She, therefore, tries to draw similarities between the Arabic east perspectives with those of America west.
Works Cited
GBH Forum Network. “Meet the Poet: Naomi Shihab Nye.”
“Naomi Shihab Nye.” Poetry Foundation, 2022.
Shihab, Naomi. 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. Green Willow Books. New York. 2002.