Revenge and Forgiveness: An Anthology of Poems - Hardcover

Patrice Vecchione

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805073760 ISBN 13: 9780805073768

Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 2004

Synopsis

A collection of nearly sixty poems which address the human desires of revenge and forgiveness includes suggested readings about each contributing poet. 10,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Patrice Vecchione is the editor of The Body Eclectic and Truth and Lies: An Anthology of Poems, both for young adults, as well as several adult anthologies, and is the author of a collection of poems. She lives in Del Rey Oaks, California.

Reviews

Grade 7 Up–Inspired by the events of September 11, this excellent anthology illustrates how people deal individually with grief and anger of all types. While subjects range from lovers, friends, parents, and strangers to politics, terrorism, slavery, and war, all of the poems speak to the natural human urge to respond to a wrong whether by forgiving or by taking revenge. Beginning with a song from a Native American myth, "My Heart, You Might Pierce It and Take It," which sets the tone for this collection, the volume ends on a hopeful note with Lucille Clifton's "Let There Be New Flowering." The range of authors included is vast, from the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus through Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, and contemporary poets like Naomi Shihab Nye, Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie, and Vecchione herself. The introduction is thoughtful in its discussion of revenge and forgiveness in their various forms. The biographical notes at the end are fascinating and often include quotes from the poets themselves about the works presented in the collection. Each entry includes additional titles for those who want more exposure to a particular writer. Vecchione's goal for this book, to help readers to see themselves and others more clearly, to guide them past pain to understanding, has been beautifully and intelligently reached.–Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL
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Gr. 8-12. September 11 was Vecchione's inspiration for this moving anthology in which poets from many times and places speak of war, violence, and the search for peace. Her anthology The Body Eclectic (2002) broke new ground, and here, too, she includes personal themes, including anger, grief, and the struggle to forgive oneself in wars with family, friends, and lovers. Quarrels make great drama, but there's also humor to lighten the somber tone, as in X. J. Kennedy's "A Curse on a Thief," in which the author has fun with furious curses. Classic works by writers from Shakespeare to Whitman lend themselves to fresh discussion. Next to Frost's "Mending Wall" is Naomi Shihab Nye's "Jerusalem," drawn from today's headlines ("I'm not interested in / who suffered the most / I'm interested in people / getting over it"). Then there's Stephen Dunn's "To a Terrorist" ("I hate your good reasons"). Without glib messages, the combination works, connecting conflict and empathy across the world and within the reader. The last one-third of the book comprises biographical and critical notes. A strong choice for discussion across the curriculum. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805073760
• ISBN 13: 9780805073768
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160