INTRODUCTION
This text is a compilation of poems published in 1883, by Louise Clarkson Whitelock. The book features poems about autumn, as well as colorful drawings of flowers and leaves. An original copy can be found in the Crystal Bridges Library rare books collection.
RESOURCES
→ Oliver Wendell Holmes - "The Last Leaf"
→ Ralph Waldo Emerson - "Dirge"
→ Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt - "Her Last Gift"
→ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - "Snow-flakes"
- The central activity here is essentially the same as the one derived from Illustrated Gems of Sacred Poetry--the creation of a personal anthology. Something to add might be the concept of editing / cutting / deleting sections and parts of poems and images to suit the main theme of your anthology. Many publishers and authors in the late 19th century (and today) delete content they think do not fully match their intended theme or big idea for the collection they are creating. You can show some of the pertinent examples (below) to students, to illustrate how they can manipulate elements in their anthology to fully bring out their own "author's purpose" for their anthology. It is a kind of collage technique, that of 'take what you want, and leave the rest.' This kind of activity also forces students to decide what is important and what is not in any given text (or image), which subsequently forces them to be close readers of the text, without labeling it as a dreaded 'close reading strategy.' Students feel that they are simply deciding what parts of a poem to keep for their anthology, and what parts to leave out, when really they are also developing critical reading and thinking skills.
- Here are some of the poems featured in Indian Summer, as well as discussion questions.
→ Oliver Wendell Holmes - "The Last Leaf"
→ Ralph Waldo Emerson - "Dirge"
→ Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt - "Her Last Gift"
→ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - "Snow-flakes"
REFERENCES
Whitelock, Louise Clarkson. Indian Summer: Autumn Poems and Sketches. New York : E.P. Dutton, 1883. Print.
→ Link to item in Crystal Bridges Library database: http://library.uark.edu/record=b2894455~S2
→ Call number: PS595.A89 I53 1883
Whitelock, Louise Clarkson. Indian Summer: Autumn Poems and Sketches. New York : E.P. Dutton, 1883. Print.
→ Link to item in Crystal Bridges Library database: http://library.uark.edu/record=b2894455~S2
→ Call number: PS595.A89 I53 1883
