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Naomi Shihab Nye

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Naomi Shihab Nye
Nye at the 2024 Texas Book Festival.
Nye at the 2024 Texas Book Festival.
BornNaomi Shihab
(1952-03-12)March 12, 1952(age 72)
St. Louis,Missouri,U.S.
Occupation
EducationTrinity University(BA)
SpouseMichael Nye
Children1

Naomi Shihab Nye(Arabic:نعومي شهاب ناي;born March 12, 1952) is anArab Americanpoet,editor,songwriter,andnovelist.Born to aPalestinianfather and an American mother, she began composing her first poetry at the age of six. In total, she has published or contributed to over 30 volumes of poetry. Her works include poetry, young-adult fiction, picture books, and novels.[1]Nye received the 2013NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literaturein honor of her entire body of work as a writer,[2]and in 2019 thePoetry Foundationdesignated her theYoung People's Poet Laureatefor the 2019–21 term.[3]

Early life

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Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and songwriter born in 1952 to a Palestinian father, Aziz Shihab, who worked as a journalist, editor and writer, and American mother, Miriam Allwardt Shihab, an artist who worked as aMontessori schoolteacher.[4]Her father grew up inPalestine.He and his family became refugees in the 1948Nakba,when the state of Israel was created. She has said her father "seemed a little shell-shocked when I was a child."[5]

She grew up initially inFerguson,St. Louis County, Missouri. Her mother studied underPhilip GustonandMax BeckmannatWashington University in St. Louis.[6]In 1966, when Nye was 14, the family moved to theWest Bank,then part of Jordan, when her father's mother was sick.[7]After less than a year,[8]before the 1967Six-Day Waroccurred,[4]they moved toSan Antonio,Texas.[9]

Nye graduated fromRobert E. Lee High School,where she was editor of the literary magazine. She earned a BA in English and world religions fromTrinity University[10]in 1974 and has lived in San Antonio since.[4]

Career

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Teaching writing

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After graduation, Nye worked as a writer-in-schools with the Texas Commission on the Arts. She has continued to teach writing workshops, mostly to kids.[4]Currently, she teaches creative writing atTexas State University.[11]

Writing

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Nye characterizes herself as a "wandering poet," and says that much of her poetry is inspired by her childhood memories and her travels. She considers San Antonio her current home, "San Antonio feels most like home as I have lived here the longest. But everywhere can be home the moment you unpack, make a tiny space that feels agreeable". San Antonio is the inspiration behind many of her poems.[12]Both roots and sense of place are major themes in her body of work. Her poems are frank and accessible, often making use of ordinary images in startling ways. Her ability to enter into foreign experiences and chronicle them from the inside is reminiscent ofElizabeth Bishop,while her simple and direct "voice" is akin to that of her mentorWilliam Stafford.

Her first collection of poems,Different Ways to Pray,explored the theme of similarities and differences between cultures, which would become one of her lifelong areas of focus. Her other books include poetry collections19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East,Red Suitcase,andFuel;a collection of essays entitledNever in a Hurry;a young-adult novel calledHabibi(the autobiographical story of an Arab-American teenager who moves to Jerusalem in the 1970s) and picture bookLullaby Raft,which is also the title of one of her two albums of music. (The other is called Rutabaga-Roo; both were limited-edition.)

Nye's first two chapter books,Tattooed Feet(1977) andEye-to-Eye(1978), are written in free verse and possess themes of questing. Nye's first full-length collection,Different Ways to Pray(1980), explores the differences between and shared experiences of cultures from California to Texas and from South America to Mexico.Hugging the Jukebox(1982), a full-length collection that won the Voertman Poetry Prize, focuses on the connections between diverse peoples and on the perspectives of those in other lands.Yellow Glove(1986) presents poems with more tragic and sorrowful themes. According to thePoetry Foundation,Fuel(1998) may be Nye's most acclaimed volume and ranges over a variety of subjects, scenes and settings.[13]

Nye's poemFamouswas referenced and quoted in full by JudgeAndre Davisin his concurring opinion on the caseG. G. v. Gloucester County School Board.[14]

Her poemSo much happiness[15]was included in the 'Happiness' edition ofParabola.[16]

Editing anthologies

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Nye has edited many anthologies of poems, for audiences both young and old. One of the best-known isThis Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from around the World,which contains translated work by 129 poets from 68 different countries. Her most recent anthology is calledIs This Forever, Or What?: Poems & Paintings from Texas.

Awards and recognition

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Nye has won many awards and fellowships, among them fourPushcart Prizes,theJane Addams Children's Book Award,the Paterson Poetry Prize, and many notable book and best book citations from theAmerican Library Association,and a 2,000 Witter Bynner Fellowship.[17]In 1997, Trinity University, her alma mater, honored her with the Distinguished Alumna Award.

In 1997, Nye became a Guggenheim Poetry Fellow. In 2000, Nye became aWitter Bynner Fellow,awarded by theLibrary of Congress.In 2002, she became aLannan Literary Fellow.[18]In June 2009, Nye was named as one of PeaceByPeace.com's first peace heroes.[19]In 2013, Nye won the Robert Creeley Award.[20]

In October 2012, she was named laureate of the 2013NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature.[2]The NSK Prize is a juried award sponsored by theUniversity of OklahomaandWorld Literature Todaymagazine. In her nominating statement, Ibtisam Barakat, the juror who championed Nye for the award wrote, "Naomi's incandescent humanity and voice can change the world, or someone's world, by taking a position not one word less beautiful than an exquisite poem." Barakat commended her work by saying, "Naomi's poetry masterfully blends music, images, colors, languages, and insights into poems that ache like a shore pacing in ebb and flow, expecting the arrival of meaning."[21]

In 2019, thePoetry Foundationdesignated Nye theirYoung People's Poet Laureatefor the 2019–21 term. The foundation's announcement characterized Nye's writing style as one that "moves seamlessly between ages in a way that is accessible, warm, and sophisticated even for the youngest of readers."[3]

In 2023, she was awarded an honorary degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts.[22]

Personal life

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Although she calls herself a "wandering poet", Nye refers toSan Antonioas her home and lives there with her family. She says a visit to her grandmother in theWest Bankvillage ofSinjilwas a life-changing experience. In 1978, she married Michael Nye, who worked initially as an attorney and later on photography and on writing on topics including hunger, teenage pregnancy and mental illness. They have one son.[4]

Published works

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Poetry

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  • Different Ways to Pray: Poems.Breitenbush Publications. 1980.ISBN978-0-932576-04-0.
  • On the Edge of the Sky.Iguana Press. 1981.
  • Hugging the Jukebox.Dutton. 1982.ISBN978-0-525-47703-7.
  • Yellow Glove.Breitenbush Books. 1986.ISBN978-0-932576-41-5.
  • Invisible: Poems.The Trilobite Press. 1987.
  • Mint.State Street Press Chapbooks. 1991.
  • Red Suitcase: Poems.BOA Editions. 1994.ISBN978-1-880238-14-1.
  • Words Under the Words.The Eighth Mountain Press. 1994.ISBN978-0933377295.
  • Fuel: poems.BOA Editions, Ltd. 1998.ISBN978-1-880238-63-9.
  • Mint Snowball.Anhinga Press. 2001.ISBN9780938078685.
  • 19 varieties of gazelle: poems of the Middle East.HarperCollins. 2002.ISBN978-0-06-009766-0.
  • Baby Radar.lllustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Greenwillow Books, 2003.[23][24]
  • You & yours: poems.BOA Editions, Ltd. 2005.ISBN978-1-929918-69-0.
  • A Maze Me: Poems for Girls.Greenwillow Books. 2005.ISBN978-0060581893
  • Tender Spot: Selected Poems.Bloodaxe Books. 2008.ISBN978-1-85224-791-1
  • Transfer.BOA Editions, Ltd. 2011.ISBN978-1934414644.
  • Sometimes I Pretend: A Poem[artist's book]. Santa Cruz, California: Peter and Donna Thomas. 2014.
  • The Tiny Journalist: Poems.BOA Editions, Ltd. 2019.ISBN9781942683728
  • "Kindness"

Children's poetry

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Poetry in anthologies

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Other children's books

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Essays

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  • Never in a Hurry: Essays on People and Places.University of South Carolina Press. 1996.ISBN9781570030826.

Novels

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Short stories

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Discography

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  • Rutabaga-Roo – I've Got a Song and It's for You(Flying Cat, 1979)

Editor

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  • Naomi Shihab Nye, ed. (1995).The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems & Stories from Mexico with Paintings by Mexican Artists.Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.ISBN9780689802973.
  • Naomi Shihab Nye, Paul B. Janeczko, eds. (1996).I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You: Paired Poems by Men & Women.Simon & Schuster.ISBN9780689813412.
  • Naomi Shihab Nye, ed. (1996).This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World.Aladdin Paperbacks.ISBN978-0-689-80630-8.
  • Naomi Shihab Nye, ed. (1998).The Space Between Our Footsteps.Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.ISBN978-0689812330.
  • Naomi Shihab Nye; Ashley Bryan, eds. (2000).Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets.HarperCollins.ISBN978-0-688-16193-4.
  • Naomi Shihab Nye, ed. (2010).Time You Let Me In: 25 Poets Under 25.Greenwillow Books.ISBN9780061896378.

Critical studies

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  • Abouddahab, Rédouane. "The Life of ‘Words under the Words.’ The Father Figure, Mourning, and the Music of Desire in Naomi Shihab Nye’s ‘Brushing Lives.’"Revue Française d’Études Américaines170 (2022): 83-96.
  • Abouddahab, Rédouane. "The Father as a Figure of Exile: Desire and Sublimation in Naomi Shihab Nye’s ‘My Father and the Figtree’." In S. Brownlie and R. Abouddahab, eds.,Figures of the Migrant: The Roles of Literature and the Arts in Representing Migration,New York and London, Routledge, 2022, 127-146.
  • Gómez-Vega, Ibis. "The Art of Telling Stornoyies in the Poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye."MELUS26.4 (Winter 2001): 245-252.
  • Gómez-Vega, Ibis. "Extreme Realities: Naomi Shihab Nye's Essays and Poems."Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics30 (2010): 109-133.
  • Mercer, Lorraine, and Linda Strom. "Counter Narratives: Cooking Up Stories of Love and Loss in Naomi Shihab Nye's Poetry and Diana Abu-Jaber's Crescent."MELUS32.4 (Winter 2007):
  • Orfalea, Gregory. "Doomed by Our Blood to Care: The Poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye."Paintbrush18.35 (Spring 1991): 56-66.

Forewords

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References

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  1. ^"2013 NSK Neustadt Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye".The Neustadt Prizes.July 31, 2013.RetrievedApril 2,2019.
  2. ^ab"Naomi Shihab Nye Wins 2013 NSK Prize".The Neustadt Prizes.June 4, 2013.
  3. ^ab"Poetry Foundation Announces 2019 Pegasus Awards Winners, Marilyn Nelson Awarded Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize".Poetry Foundation.May 7, 2019.RetrievedMay 7,2019.
  4. ^abcdeBennett, Steve (May 20, 2015)."Naomi Shihab Nye a bright light of S.A. lit".San Antonio Express-News.RetrievedJune 6,2024.
  5. ^Nye, Naomi Shihab (August 28, 2014)."On growing up in Ferguson and Palestine".Washington Post.
  6. ^Shihab, Miriam Allwardt; Nye, Naomi Shihab (2021).Before I was twenty-three: paintings.Texas.OCLC1294303730.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^Kurson, Ken (September 1, 2014)."Poet Naomi Shihab Nye Grew Up in Ferguson and the West Bank".The New York Observer.RetrievedJune 6,2024.
  8. ^Neklason, Annika (June 30, 2017)."Poem of the Week: 'Darling' by Naomi Shihab Nye".The Atlantic.RetrievedJune 6,2024.
  9. ^Cucinella, Catherine (2002).Contemporary American women poets: an A-to-Z guide.Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.ISBN978-0313317835.OCLC144590762.
  10. ^"About Naomi Shihab Nye | Academy of American Poets".poets.org.Academy of American Poets.RetrievedJune 6,2024.
  11. ^"Permanent Faculty".Department of English.Texas State University. March 9, 2021.RetrievedJune 6,2024.
  12. ^Long, Kate; Nye, Naomi Shihab (2009). "Roots: On Language and Heritage: A Conversation with Naomi Shihab Nye".World Literature Today.83(6): 31–34.doi:10.1353/wlt.2009.0357.JSTOR20621789.S2CID160273578.
  13. ^"Naomi Shihab Nye".Poetry Foundation.RetrievedJune 6,2024.
  14. ^Cole, David (April 11, 2017)."Poetry in the courtroom".The New York Review.RetrievedJune 6,2024.
  15. ^Nye, Naomi Shihab."So Much Happiness".poets.org.Academy of American Poets.
  16. ^"So Much Happiness".Parabola.Vol. 42, no. 2 (Happiness).
  17. ^"Poetry in America: A Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration To Be Held at the Library of Congress, April 3-4".Library of Congress. February 25, 2000. Archived fromthe originalon June 5, 2000.RetrievedNovember 13,2013.
  18. ^Barakat, Ibtisam (2014). "A Tribute to Naomi Shihab Nye".World Literature Today.88(1): 46–49.doi:10.7588/worllitetoda.88.1.0046.JSTOR10.7588/worllitetoda.88.1.0046.S2CID163228005.
  19. ^"Naomi Shihab Nye".Peace By Peace.Archived fromthe originalon July 15, 2011.RetrievedNovember 13,2013.
  20. ^"Robert Creeley Award".Robert Creeley Foundation.Archived fromthe originalon December 4, 2014.RetrievedMarch 19,2015.
  21. ^"Press Release: Naomi Shihab Nye Wins 2013 NSK Prize".World Literature Today. September 28, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon June 21, 2015.
  22. ^"Naomi Shihab Nye to Receive Honorary Degree".Vermont College of Fine Arts.RetrievedJune 6,2024.
  23. ^"BABY RADAR".Kirkus Reviews.
  24. ^"BABY RADAR by Naomi Shihab Nye".www.publishersweekly.com.RetrievedMay 11,2023.
  25. ^"SITTI'S SECRETS".Kirkus Reviews.

Further reading

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