Of A Lady Named Naomi Shihab Nye.

Naomi Shihab Nye?

My classmates and I have been given a poem by Dr. Haslina titled A Biography of an Armenian Schoolgirl written by Naomi Shihab Nye on last Monday.  In my honest opinion I think Nye is an honest poet. The poem is honest in a way she managed to 'touch' on such sensitive issue on a girl who lives in a trapped circumstance involving arranged marriage, rebellious phase, and unwillingness. Below is a biography of the known poet. 

Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother was an American. She spent most of her adolescent in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. Living with two different cultures has influenced much of her writings. Her poetry brings fresh perspective and ideas on local life.

 “I never get tired of mixture,” Nye wrote for Winds Press. “My poems and stories often begin with the voices of our neighbours, mostly Mexican American, always inventive and surprising.”

Received her higher education from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, Nye was once announced as a “wandering poet” due to her interest in travel, place and cultural exchange.  Tattoed Feet (1977) and Eye-to-Eye (1978) poems both were written in free verse and themed on journey or quest.

Nye also won the Voertman Poetry Prize by her collection named Hugging the Jukebox (1982). Critics and reviewers praised the collection, noting Nye’s “warmth and celebratory tone”. She used a lot of earthy relation and its people in her poems. For example the poem “Hugging the Jukebox”, Nye inspired the poem upon a boy who is very enthusiastic about the jukebox he adopts and sings its songs in a way that “strings a hundred passionate sentences in a single line.”

Besides writing about daily lives or so, Nye also ponders on tragedy and sorrow view. She wrote “Blood” describing the Palestinian-Israeli endless conflict. After some time, she wrote another volume which is, perhaps, her most acclaimed one, Fuel (1998). The poems discussed over varieties of subject, settings and scenes.

In 2001, after the World Trade Center attacks, Nye became a voice for Arab-Americans against terrorism and prejudice. Tailed by this act, she collected her previous poems regarding the misunderstanding between Americans and Arabs. This act received a lot of positive feedbacks from her followers.

Attempts on writing children literature also been made by Nye. She is acclaimed for her sensitivity and cultural awareness. For instance, her book Sitti’s (grandmother) Secrets (1994) focuses on an Arab-American child’s relationship with her grandmother who lives in a Palestinian village. Nye was highly praised for her ability to capture the emotions of a longing child for a distant grandparent.

Other compilations from Nye are:

• Different Ways to Pray, Breitenbush (Portland, OR), 1980.
• On the Edge of the Sky, Iguana Press (Madison, WI), 1981.
• Yellow Glove, Breitenbush (Portland, OR), 1986.
• Invisible, Trilobite (Denton, TX), 1987.
• Red Suitcase, BOA Editions (Rochester, NY), 1994.
• Words under the Words: Selected Poems, Far Corner Books (Portland, OR), 1995.

And lastly before I finish my entry, here’s a quote from Naomi Shihab Nye to Contemporary Authors:

 “I have always loved the gaps, the spaces between things, as much as the things. I love staring, pondering, mulling, puttering. I love the times when someone or something is late—there’s that rich possibility of noticing more, in the meantime…Poetry calls us to pause. There is so much we overlook, while the abundance around us continues to shimmer, on its own.”

Ref : "Naomi Shihab Nye." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.