SOFT HAY WILL CATCH YOU: POEMS BY YOUNG PEOPLE

SOFT HAY WILL CATCH YOU: POEMS BY YOUNG PEOPLE

Compiled by Sanford Lyne

Illustrated by Julie Monks

Image credit: www.amazon.com

Bibliography:

Lyne, Sanford. 2004. Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems By Young People. Ill. by Julie Monks. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689834608

Critical Analysis and Review:

Sanford Lyne compiled an interesting collection of poetry in Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems By Young People.  Each poem in this compilation is written by a young person aged eight to eighteen. 

In the introduction, the reader learns that Lyne works in schools as a visiting poet and encourages young people to cultivate their love for poetry. The poems in this book are from his work with students in rural Kentucky. Lyne explains that during his time in Kentucky, the students "discovered  --as [he] knew they would-- that the poems they wrote were the 'histories' of their own smiles, their own tears." In this collection, it is evident that Lyne was able to teach the students to connect with their feelings and weave emotion into their writing. 

Lyne has selected one hundred poems separated into six sections including "Poems About the Search for the Self," "Poems About Solitude and Loneliness," "Poems About the Home and Family," "Poems About the Soul's Journey and the Circle of Life," and "Poems About Awakenings and Discoveries." The poems cover a variety of topics and display an impressive aptitude for writing.  The poems are written in free verse, using line breaks, similes, metaphor and descriptive language.  The poems often refer to their families' agrarian lifestyle and the rural town in which they live.

Monks uses oil paints to create illustrations with soft colors. These pictures are sprinkled throughout the book showing scenes from the rural setting of the poems, using a simplistic, folk art style. Readers that enjoy this compilation should also read Lyne's earlier work Ten-Second Rainshowers: 

Poems By Young People (1996).

                                                                                                                                                   

Spotlight Poem:

POWER 

by Cooper Lankford, Grade 7

The old man sits as if a king,

his crown the sun, 

his cape the wind.

His shoulders are held comfortably, 

a place of certainty.

I listen closely to his ideas;

they are like sparks for my fire.

As the beautiful afternoon turns dark,

he calls me into his palace,

for he wishes to dine.

I chose this poem because it contains figurative language and has a lot to unpack as a reader. After reading I would ask students, "What questions do you have after reading this poem?"  I would use this poem (and others from this collection) at the beginning of a poetry unit to show students that kids can write poetry. It can seem intimidating to write poetry at first, but poems written by young people can be used as a tool to encourage students to try their hand at poetry as well.