Young Audiences of Virginia

Making the arts a relevant
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Using dance, music, storytelling, theater, literary and visual arts in education

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Young Audiences of Virginia is a chapter of a national organization that enhances education through the arts


	The Playground: Poets

	Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) Most Quiet Garden Club, non-active member Correspondence Club, President Puritan Student Organization, non-active member Emerson Study Club, non-active member Quote: "I'm Nobody, are you Nobody, too?" Emily Dickinson rates among the best American poets ever alive. Her poems are short, and yet say a lot. Even though she spent the majority of her life in her house, hardly ever leaving her front yard, her words have affected millions. Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) Born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Class Clown Math Club Photography Club Linguistics Club, President Quote: "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe." Lewis Carroll was best known for his Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, but he was also a brilliant linguist. When he wrote, he often created a new word by blending two. These words were called portmanteau words, which means "wearing a coat" in French. The words, you see, are "wearing a coat:" another word! His most famous portman-teau is the word "chortle," which is made up of the words "snort" and "chuckle." Richard Nathaniel Wright (1908-1960) Most Outspoken Young Communists Debate Club, President Theater Club Future Ex-patriots of America Quote: "White man, listen!" Richard Wright is the father of the American black novel. In his autobiographical novels, he described the experiences of being black in the United States. His whole life he tried to improve the way black Americans lived and were treated, but he was never satisfied. He tried to find the answer by joining the Communist Party, and when that failed him, he left the US for good and went to life in Paris. Gwendolyn Brooks (1917- ) Most Unique Future Leaders of America Debate Club Quote: "We real cool" Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature. She went on to serve as the Poet Laureate of Illinois and the Poet Consultant to the Library of Congress. Throughout this work, however, she found the time to host writing workshops for young people in her home. Nikki Giovanni (1943- ) Most Modern Young Feminists Future Leaders of America School Newspaper Quote: "If I could come back as anything-I'd be a bird first, but definitely the command key is my second choice." Nikki Giovanni, who is currently a professor at Virginia Polytechnic University, has added her unique perspective to the world of literature. Her poems are modern, straightforward and blunt. James Mercer Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967) Most Sarcastic Sailing Club, President World Travel Club Quote: "Bring me all of your dreams, you dreamers" Langston Hughes played a great role the African-American literature golden age known as the Harlem Renaissance. He excelled at mixing the sad and the happy. His legacy is his conviction that all people were united by the fact that they all struggle with the same problems.

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