The Ninja Reviews... Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Told in verse form, Because I am Furniture relates the story of one terrorized family through the voice of Anke, the youngest.  Her father is abusive and inflicts horrors on her mother, older brother and sister.  But Anke feels like a piece of furniture, always in the room but completely ignored by her dad, not even worthy of his abusive intents. 

The insignificance Anke feels at home transfers to high school, until she joins the volleyball team and learns while playing how to make her voice heard.  She finds strength she never knew she had, realizing that if she can yell her intentions on the court then maybe she can stand up for herself at home.

Chaltas' first novel is powerful and honest.  This devastating novel will have you quickly turning pages, rooting for Anke to find herself and fight back.  Though the abuse is not graphically portrayed it can be disturbing, especially to younger readers.

If you enjoy this book, try another dramatic novel written in verse (see the full list here):

Two more Poetry Programs left!

Poetry Month is almost over and there are only two more Poetry Programs left!

Teen Poetry Workshop
Tuesday, April 28, 5 p.m.
Woodland West Branch
Want to write poetry? This workshop will give you tips on improving your writing skills and provide information on how to submit your work to literary journals and magazines. Free for teens in grades 7-12. Space is limited so registration is required. Please call 817-277-5265 to register.



Make Your Own Magnetic Poetry!
Thursday, April 30, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Lake Arlington Branch
Do you like to create poetry, but sometimes have trouble finding the right thing to say? Well, here’s your chance to make sure you’ve always got a few words to spare. Come join us for an evening of creative, poetic fun as we construct our very own sets of magnetic poetry – perfect for the fridge, your school locker, and tons of other metallic surfaces!

"A poem begins with a lump in the throat" - Robert Frost

It doesn't matter if you spend all your free time writing, or if you've never written a line of poetry in your life. If you'd like to try your hand at poetry, the Arlington Library has four different programs at four different branches in the month of April (National Poetry Month). There's Video Poetry, Blank Slate Create and Take, a Teen Poetry Workshop, and Make Your Own Magnetic Poetry. Click here to get more info.

Poetry is often what and how we define it. This means that we can find poetry everywhere, even in the most unlikely of places. Like this. . .



For this year's Free Verse Project, Poets.org wants you to capture poetry in a photo. Their site says:

Write lines from a favorite poem on a sandy beach, assemble twigs on a hillside, or chalk the sidewalk. Take a photo before it disappears and post it in the Free Verse group page on Flickr, or on the Academy's Fan Page on Facebook, or email your photo to freeverse@poets.org. Include the source of your lines in the photo caption.

All photos of poems posted by April 15 will be entered in a drawing. Check out Free Verse Project for more info.

Poetry Ideas

Since we're still celebrating National Poetry Month, I thought y'all might like some examples of quick & easy poems you can do yourself.


Acrostic
Use your subject as the title; start each line with the letters of the subject

Example:
Curious by nature
Adventurous to a fault
Tail swishes, frenzied



Free Verse
No rhymes; No structures; But still has an internal rhythm

Example:
Picking the rose
was not as I expected.
The thorns sliced my palm,
but love numbed the pain.




Haiku
From Japan; Usually deals with nature; Describes a moment in time; No rhymes;
5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables

Example:
Crafty is the fox
As she protects her young kits
From the hunters’ guns.



Tanka
Like a Haiku, only with two extra lines of syllables. So the pattern is 5 – 7 – 5 – 7 – 7.

Example:
The fire dances
Embers flicker in the night
Radiating warmth
Until, slowly, the flames die
Leaving only white ashes


Limerick

5-line poem with rhyme scheme a-a-b-b-a; Humorous tone; Many often begin with: There once was a man/women named…

Example:
There once was a woman named Bea
Who always had scones with her tea
But when her chef got the flu
Oh, what could she do?!
“I can't cook a whit!“ said Bea.


Quatrain
4-line poem with rhyme scheme a-a-b-b, a-a-a-a, or a-b-c-d; This is one of the most common forms of poetry

Example:
My one true love has sailed to sea
His fortune soon to make
And if he never comes home to me
My poor heart, it will break.


Cinquain
Title (One Noun)
Description of the title (Two adjectives)
An action about the title (Three Verbs)
A feeling about the title (Four word phrase)
Another word for the title (One-word synonym)

Example:
Squall
Fierce, Unforgiving
Roiling, Rumbling, Raging
Mother Nature’s purifying wrath
Tempest


Diamante
Line 1: one noun
Line 2: two adjectives – describe line 1
Line 3: three verbs describe line 1
Line 4: four adjectives - the 1st two describe line 1; the other two describe line 7
Line5: three verbs describe line 7
Line6: two adjectives describe line 7
Line7: one noun - a noun that is the opposite of line 1

Example:
Villain
Nefarious, Vile
Plotting, Scheming, Lying
Dark, Sinister, Noble, Trustworthy
Leading, Rescuing, Struggling
Brave, Courageous
Hero


Concrete
Concrete poetry makes designs out of letters and words. Even though the visual pattern (shape) can really catch our eye, it is still the language itself that truly makes the poem poetic.

Examples:





If you click on each of the poems, it will take you to the web site where I found each of the examples. For more concrete poetry, take a look at the book A Poke in the I by Paul Janeczko.


Personal
First Name
Three adjectives about you
Sibling/Child/Grandchild of…
Lover of...
Who Feels...
Who Needs...
Who Gives...
Who’s Inspired by...
Who Fears...
Who would like to see...
Last Name

Example:
Miranda
Fun-Loving – Quirky – Bookworm
Daughter of James & Leah
Lover of Museums, Fantasy and Anime
Who feels Joy, Wonder and Hope
Who needs Affection, Chocolate and Coffee
Who gives Friendship, Laughter and Smiles
Who’s inspired by Kindness, Music and Art
Who fears Stinging insects, dark alleys, and global warming
Who would like to see Machu Picchu, the Tower of London, and the Forbidden City
Hawkins


There are also a variety of ways to expand upon this poem. What other things might you add to tell people about yourself? Perhaps you’re an avid reader? One of your lines could say “Who reads…” Or maybe you like to hike – you could say "Who enjoys hiking...". Or if you like a lot of different things you could simply say, “Who enjoys…” Another good way to jazz up this kind of poem is to draw doodles that represent various aspects from it. These kinds of poems are also especially fun to make for others and give as gifts.


Happy Creating!

P.S. If you can think of other poetry types I haven't mentioned, please feel free to add them via the "Comments" section below. Thanks! :)

Hello again, everyone! :) Well, since it's National Poetry Month, I just wanted to share a sampling of my favorite quotes from some of the best YA poetry the Arlingotn Public Library has to offer. If you find something that tickles your fancy or sings to your soul, just click on the title and a new catalog window will pop-up where you can place the book of your choice on hold. (Just make sure you have your library card and know your password.)

She smiles to herself
and she is warm
and she is rain
and I lean into the weather
~ Jerry Quickley, Slam ~

What she doesn’t know would hurt her.
My mother and I look in the mirror together.
It’s a pity we see two different images.
~ Mel Glenn, Split Image ~

Oh, I know the names they call me-
Snob, Ice Princess, Tease, and worse-
But I can’t hear them above the whine of the tires.
I am thirty miles out of town in a second.
I am flying with the wind, trying to catch up.
~ Mel Glenn, Foreign Exchange ~

And then I think: too late now,
man. We couldn’t stop if we
wanted to.
~ Ron Koertge, The Brimstone Journals ~

It was then I realized I was hurting
Not only myself, but my team as well.
In the silent argument between us,
It was Coach with no words to say
Who had spoken loudest of all.
~ Mel Glenn, Jump Ball ~

“Let’s change places,” the teenagers said.
“For a week, I’ll be you and you be me.”
Knowing if they did, they could never fight again.
~ Naomi Shihab Nye, 19 Varieties of Gazelle ~

My poetry doesn’t sing the song of the sonnets, but then
I sing a different kind of music-
Which is what it’s all about anyway.
~ Angela Johnson, The Other Side ~

Sometimes you wonder if they care.
But when you mess up-WOOOMPH!-
they’re there, like air bags,
in your face.
~ Janet s. Wong, Behind the Wheel ~

Somewhere before the end,
Somewhere between childhood and adulthood,
I lost you.
~ Mel Glenn, The Taking of Room 114 ~

Together we are looking up
into all we do not own
and we are listening.
~ Naomi Shihab Nye, A Maze Me ~

You curl your hair and paint your face; not I;
I am curled by the wind and painted by the sun.
~ Julia de Burgos, Truth and Lies ~

Música es: el susurro de los vientos el
oleaje de las olas el suspirar de los tiempos
y el escuchar de los lamentos.
~ Moisés Reyes, Movin’ ~

Discreetly you slip inside
and listen, silent,
to their hysteria.
~ Cynthia Rylant, Boris ~

Girls buy the image,
die to be it.
I’ll die
before I live it.
~ Amber Tamblyn, Free Stallion ~

and they took me, melted my spirit
and squeezed until i was drained
morphing my frame
into a hollow lyric
~ Biko Eisen-Martin, You Hear Me ~

The secret of life, he said,
is love. You become what you lose.
~ Diana Der-Hovanessian, What Have You Lost ~

Far beyond our monthly
tides and willful moon,
light years cut a path
to other embryos.
~ Christine Hemp, Seeing the Blue Between ~

Sometimes it seems like it don’t matter
if you lie or tell the truth.
People pick out what they want to believe—
All you can do is hope they pick
the things that count.
~ Helen Frost, Keesha’s House ~

It’s all completely different now
I been broken off,
Like part of her bad past.
~ Virginia Euwer Wolff, Make Lemonade ~

Everybody smiling at the camera but
me. I’m looking away from it
frowning
Like I see something coming
that ain’t good.
~ Jacqueline Woodson, Locomotion ~

Everything in my world
is relentless. Except you.
~ Eireann Corrigan, You Remind Me of You ~

I wish my words
were smoke
he could breathe in
then he would
know.
~ Ann Turner, Learning to Swim ~

But what kind of life is it
When the only sound you hear
Is the bass drum beating of your own heart?
~ Mel Glenn, Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? ~

Buddah told Him it
could be this way,
but He’d never really
believed it until now.
Life really was easier,
sitting under a tree.
~ Cynthia Rylant, God Went to Beauty School ~

I don’t want to see you.
I dread it.
There.
I’ve said it.
~ Sonya Sones, Stop Pretending ~

Zombies—
I can deal with
Now what about my
“friends”?
~ Shannon Kerner, The Pain Tree ~

You walk into class—
my head clears.
No kidding.
You are my aspirin.
~ April Halprin Wayland, girl coming in for a landing ~

A world of things only. Broken things.
Things and bodies. Swirl around me.
Bodies in iron scraps. The scream breaks
them, fuses them, melts them.
~ Juan Felipe Herrera, CrashBoomLove ~

And if this
was a scene in a movie,
it would definitely be the sappy montage.
~ Sonya Sones, What My Mother Doesn’t Know ~

my friend and i
got caught in a storm
with tears for rain
and shouts for thunder
~ Melissa Leigh Davis, Things I Have to Tell You ~

Listen: you’ve got to
root it out,
laugh last, push past,
pursue. Be you—
whoever that is—
dream intact.
And don’t look back.
~ Nikki Grimes, Bronx Masquerade ~

I sat alone on the steps,
The light too dim for reading,
Glad to remain twilight-hidden
~ Robert Cormier, Frenchtown Summer ~

Okay, that's it for this time around. I hope y'all find something you like! :)