Growing Up Poor: A Literary Anthology - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 156584744X ISBN 13: 9781565847446

Publisher: The New Press, 2002

Synopsis

In a land of seemingly endless plenty, Growing Up Poor offers a startling and beautiful collection of stories, poems, and essays about growing up without. Searing in their candor, understated, and often unexpectedly moving, the selections range from a young girl’s story of growing up in New York's slums at the turn of the twentieth century, to a southern family's struggles during the Depression, to contemporary stories of rural and urban poverty by some of our foremost authors.

Thematically organized into four sections on the material circumstances of poverty, denigration at the hands of others, the working poor, and moments of resolve and resiliency the book combines the work of experienced authors, many writing autobiographically about their first-hand experience of poverty, with that of students and other contemporary writers.

Edited and with an introduction by Pulitzer Prize winning child psychiatrist Robert Coles, Growing Up Poor gives eloquent voice to those judged not by who they are, but by what they lack.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Coles is a child psychiatrist, Pultizer Prize–winning author, and Harvard University professor. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his lifelong work on behalf of children, he lives in Concord, Massachusetts. Randy Testa teaches in the education department of Dartmouth College. He has written two books on the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Michael Coles is a documentary writer and photographer who has taught and coached inner-city children.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-This anthology of stories, poems, essays, and excerpts from longer works offers cross-cultural commentary about growing up in poverty in the American land of plenty. The selections represent in part a "who's who" of 20th-century ethnic American writers, from Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston to Sandra Cisneros, Gary Soto, and Cathy Song. Lesser-known writers are also included. Sylvia Watanabe writes about growing up in the small villages around Maui's sugar plantations, and Andrew Lam writes from his own experiences as a Vietnamese refugee. Still other selections come from young people currently living in poverty in New York or behind bars in California detention centers. Short biographical sketches of the writers precede the selections and provide a framework for understanding their perspective. This is a powerful collection of experiences, insights, and emotions. Within these pages, the poor speak with a simplicity and eloquence that touch the soul. The book provides excellent selections to accompany American history and literature courses. In addition, the entries will provide powerful oral presentations as well as thought-provoking introductions to class discussions and debate.

Becky Ferrall, Stonewall Jackson High School, Manassas, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: The New Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 156584744X
• ISBN 13: 9781565847446
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304
• Editor: Coles Robert, Testa Randy, Coles Michael H.