Naomi Shihab Nye Naomi Shihab Nye is a Palestinian American poet, songwriter and author best known for her work such as“Habibi” and her poems “Making a fist” and “Kindness”. Nye was born in St. Louis in 1952 (“Poetry Foundation”). Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American with a German and Swiss descent. Nye spent most of her childhood in Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas, where she still now resides (“Naomi Shihab Nye”). In San Antonio, Nye graduated from Trinity University
Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “A Valentine for Ernest Mann” tells the reader: “You can’t order a poem like you order a taco. / Walk up to the counter, say, ‘I’ll take two’.” This shows that poems cannot be written or interpreted perfectly on the first try or on demand; you have to dig a little deeper to discover them. Naomi Shihab Nye also shows readers that poems hide in everyday things that we might not think to notice. She also tells about a serious man who gave his wife two skunks for Valentine’s Day
Any Would-be Terrorists by Naomi Shihab Nye. These two literature works as example of protest literature were very important in illustrating how crucial it was to fight against injustice because both works were effective in encouraging and helping the authors and their audiences share their ideas about a preoccupying topic while hoping at the same time to someday bring about an important social or political change. Letter to Any Would-be Terrorists by Naomi Shihab Nye is protest literature, targeting
“Famous” is a 21 line poem that gabs about general everyday objects and their famous relationship to another subject. Naomi Shihab Nye composes this spontaneous, thoughtful, and conversational poetic piece that, in actuality, represents the meaning of fame - at its most basic level. It is almost a construct of perspective; the result of imbalances of power, fear, love, and tragedy (“Poem”). The fame of an object to its subject may not be the same in reverse, and may not exist at all outside of their
In the poem Famous by Naomi Shihab Nye, the speaker is a person (male or female) who is a deep thinker and longs for wanting to be needed. The nine-stanza, 21 line poem goes through the different examples of nature, people or things and how they are valued by someone/something. It could be a buttonhole, a man walking down the street, a sleeping cat, or a tear, Nye connects that thing to something that relies on the object or person using simple but purposeful language. This happens throughout the
them use their senses to discover the world in a new and exciting way. This, like many other literary devices used can help an author achieve a more mature tone. In the texts: “There is No Word for Goodbye,” by Mary Tall Mountain, “Daily,” by Naomi Shihab Nye, “Hope,” by David T. Hilbun,” and, “The Day of the Storm,” by Tryoneca Booker, imagery is used in different ways. The poem, “There is No Word for Goodbye,” by Mary Tall Mountain uses imagery to help the reader understand the author’s connection
“Blood” by Naomi Shihab Nye. This poem is narrated by an adult Arab woman. As the reader we learn in the first line that our narrator is, “A true Arab." This poem is a direct narration of Naomi’s life. Naomi’s father and family became refugees in 1948 when the state of Israel was created. She said that her father lost everything during these troubling times. While the war was taking place, Arabs were scattered all over the world in refugee camps or lucky enough to find a home. We learn that Naomi and her
are commonly used to create the detailed scenes that we imagine when we read a book or listen to music. Aside from that, writers often use onomatopoeia and personification. In “There is No Word for Goodbye,” by Mary Tall Mountain, “Daily,” by Naomi Shihab Nye, “Hope,” by David T. Hilbun, and “The Day of the Storm,” by Tyroneca “Ty” Booker, imagery causes many effects on the reader. To begin, in “There is No Word for Goodbye,” by Mary Tall Mountain, imagery is used to bring emotion into the words that
and that you have the power within yourself to rise above the things in life that try to hold you down and that you should not give up. You have the strength to continue on when things seem to be at their worst. In the poem, “Making a fist” by Naomi Shihab Nye conveys the message in the car ride that she takes with her mom at a young age symbolizes her life and the facts that the journey through life would not be easy. In stanza 3, she speaks of crossing “borders”. These are meant to represent not
wholeheartedly. Naomi Shihab Nye stated, “Anyone who feels poetry is an alien or an ominous force should consider the style in which human beings think. ‘How do you think?’ I ask my students. ‘Do you think in complete, elaborate sentences?... Or in flashes and bursts of images, snatches of lines leaping one to the next?’ We think in poetry. But some people pretend poetry is far away.” Nye is correct when she compares the way humans think of the way poetry is written. It is clear that Naomi Shihab Nye is correct
no genes in the human genome that state race. In the article “To Any Would-Be Terrorists” Naomi Shihab Nye discusses the racial issues dealt by muslims, Arabs and middle easterners in general. People should not be beleaguered because of a group from their religion has imbued fear into you. Not all middle easterners are muslim, and more
has impacted citizens from the Middle East in a negative way. These offenses are what Naomi Shihab Nye speaks about in her writing “To Any Would Be Terrorist.” Nye is both disappointed and understanding towards the Americans and middle east. She takes both sides on the issue that offends her people and her family. She also takes into consideration the stereotyping that’s been endured throughout the years. Nye uses ethos, pathos, and logos to state her argument and opinions on the subject, which
Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “One Boy Told Me” uses the innocence and imagination of a young child to convey important life messages to adults. The sense of wonder and “not taking things to seriously” in the poem captures the way children look at the world. Her poem includes stylistic choices that reflect the way a child would talk and think, including anthropomorphism and repetition, which makes the poem all the more believable and relatable. While many phrases in the poem are humorous in their apparent
chaos and divergence, this loving bond prevails. (Nye, Naomi Shihab) The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them. Works Cited Nye, Naomi Shihab. “Our Son Swears He Has 102 Gallons of Water in
“He’d wrestle his Parents” (Nye line 2). For many children they do this all the time. In the poem “Our Son Swears He Has 102 Gallons of Water in His Body,” Naomi Shihab Nye describes this situation between a child and a parent arguing over the solution to a math problem. After analyzing the poem, the reader is the poem not only describes this conflict, but it also stresses the relationship between a child and their parents. In the beginning, the speaker reveals the conflict between the son and
you imagine, and then be able to relate the story back to your own agenda. It is easier in literature to not be told how to feel than any other platform. In a story like “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber or the poem “United” by Naomi Shihab Nye the themes of identity is shown. The theme of identity, how it is crafted, and who contributes to it, is a question all people can ask themselves in one-way or another. Some people are content with their image, but others have trouble finding
2.1 Nye and Family Traditions Naomi Shihab Nye’s earlier poetry, Tattooed Feet (1977) Eye-to-Eye (1978), and followed by a collection, Different Ways to Pray (1980), explores the similarities and differences between Southwestern American cultures from the United States to Mexico. These early publications make Gregory Orfalea think that Nye deals with topics other than her Arab origin; topics like the Hispanic southwest and Latin America where she lives and travels, of 155 poems
multiple cultural worlds. In the realm of poetry, the interplay between freedom and confinement emerges as a compelling narrative, shedding light on the intricate dynamics of cultural identity and societal expectations. Pat Mora's "Legal Alien" and Naomi Shihab Nye's "Blood" exemplify
because they were determined to learn to do it. Many articles and stories such as Caroline Alexander’s “The Voyage of the James Caird”, Grayson Schaffer’s “The Value of a Sherpa Life”, The Writer by Richard Wilbur, and Hugging the Jukebox by Naomi Shihab Nye prove these statements. In Caroline Alexander’s, “The Voyage of the James Caird”, the voyagers on the James Caird were determined to not give up after all
one singular's decision impact a whole race by how people see them. As showed by Naomi Shihab Nye, "Not simply did your accomplices butcher a colossal number Anzola 2 of unadulterated, overall people in those structures and scar their families everlastingly, they harmed a huge gathering of people in the Middle East, in the United States and all over the place all through the world" (1). As being what is indicated, Nye advocates that the terrorists are responsible for executing Americans and also people