Poetry for Young People: Edna St. Vincent Millay - Hardcover

Millay, Edna St. Vincent

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0806959282 ISBN 13: 9780806959283

Publisher: Union Square Kids, 1999

Synopsis

"Well-written, engaging introduction...illuminates Millay's personal history and writing...luminous, evocative watercolors...A noteworthy addition to the poetry shelf...both informs and intrigues."--Booklist. "Luminous, elegant illustrations bring these complex and insightful verses to life...all are fresh and alive and will draw readers into the book."--School Library Journal.  "A good assortment of Millay's poetry."--Kirkus. "The watercolor artwork creates atmospheric settings for her words."--Publishers Weekly.

About this title

About the Author:

Academic editor Frances Schoonmaker is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teacher's College, Columbia University. She has taught and lectured in China, Japan, Mexico, England and India, and served as the head of the teacher-education initiative for the Teachers College/UNICEF Afghanistan Project. Illustrator Mike Bryce has a BA in fine arts and an MA in fine arts. He has taught art at many colleges and has illustrated for Houghton-Mifflin and Hallmark Cards. He lives in Rhode Island.

From Kirkus Reviews:

As a bare introduction to Millay's poetry, this entry in the Poetry for Young People series is adequate, but should not be a substitute for other biographies or analyses of her work. Schoonmaker (Carl Sandburg, 1995) has written a four-page introduction to Millay's life before arranging a selection of more than 30 poems. In the narrative of Millay's childhood she includes many good details of her life at home (with a long explanation of her name, Vincent), but is silent on the topic of Millay's ``bohemian'' adult life, and more importantly, how the unconventional views of her poetry gave voice to the young generation of the roaring 20s. She reports that Millay's wealthy husband was a feminist, but not that Millay was, and offers no explanation of how her poetry reflected her strong convictions. In fact, although the book includes a good assortment of Millay's poetry, the format allows for almost no interpretation, particularly of the more ``adult'' poems that are include, e.g., ``First Fig,'' and ``Second Fig.'' Even if Schoonmaker chose not to venture into the charged territory of Millay's sexuality, there's no indication of how small verses such as these expressed in two lines the explosion of new freedoms for women. By placing the poems into safe, pastel-colored, greeting-card context, she leaves readers with a false portrait of who the poet was. (Poetry. 9-12) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Union Square Kids
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0806959282
• ISBN 13: 9780806959283
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48
• Editor: Schoonmaker Frances
• Illustrator: Bryce Mike