Festivals by Myra Cohn Livingston - Social Studies Poetry

Bibliography

Livingston, Myra Cohn. 1996. FESTIVALS. Ill. by Leonard Everett Fisher. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 978-0823412172.

Review and Critical Analysis

            FESTIVALS by Myra Cohn Livingston is a poetic world tour of fourteen stunning and diverse festivals. The poems describe well known festivals such as Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras, along with others young readers may be less familiar with such as The Feast of St. Lucy and Now-Ruz, which is Iranian. Livingston includes a Table of Contents and a Glossary which lists each festival in alphabetical order, what time of the year the festival is celebrated, as well as a short history.

          Livingston’s poems are written in varying forms, which provides a nice mixture for the reader. She suits the poem to the festival, employing such forms as haiku for CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL, and narrative for RAMADAN AND ID-UL-FITR. The best example of tailoring a poem to the festival is LAS POSADAS: (THE INNS). This festival unfolds over nine days, from December 16 to December 24, and is celebrated as a reenactment of Joseph and Mary’s attempt to find lodging in Bethlehem so Mary can have her baby. This is performance poetry and can be staged several ways including a play with students taking the roles of Mary, Joseph and the nine individual innkeepers; or it can be performed as a choral reading. The poems retain the reader’s attention well. They are easy to read, and they depict very interesting material, ensuring that young people will never get bored.

          As well as different forms, Livingston also employs various other poetic elements in her writing. One example is found in THE FEAST OF ST. LUCY:  LUCIADAGEN, where Livingston uses triplet rhyme. The poem is composed of five stanzas with three lines each. The last three words at the end of each individual line within the stanza rhyme with each other. Another poetic technique Livingston uses is repetition, an example occurs in MARDI GRAS. This poem has a strong sense of energy, which reflects the frenetic pace of the festival it celebrates. The line “Throw me something” is repeated several times throughout the poem and serves to emphasize one of the most famous practices at Mardi Gras, that of float riders throwing beads to the crowds. The narrator is a person in the crowd asking to be thrown beads. Livingston’s poem gives the reader a strong sense of being immersed in a Mardi Gras crowd surrounded by floats, dancers and musicians.

          Livingston’s book is educational on several levels, primarily providing information about each of the fourteen festivals. Young readers get a sampling of how and why varied cultures around the world celebrate their most important festivals. Another layer Livingston adds in several of her poems is the use of words in native languages. Two poems provide excellent examples of the use of native language. In TET NGUYEN-DAN banh day is Vietnamese sticky rice which is consumed during the festival, and a palaquin is a litter that is elevated by four people. This litter helps remind the celebrants that through education they can rise and make themselves better in their own lives. The poem DIWALI includes the Hindu word dipas which are clay oil lamps made by children and placed in windows, on roofs and along garden paths. Diwali itself is the Hindu festival of light meant to mark the beginning of the Hindu year. Through the incorporation of these native words within the poems, young readers can visualize elements of foreign cultures in a more personal manner.

          Leonard Everett Fisher’s painted illustrations bring these poems to life, and with the exception of the last poem KWANZAA, are displayed on two pages. They unite large, eye catching shapes with smaller elements that add to the comprehensive understanding of the festival. These illustrations are bold representations of the main aspects of the festivals and add to the overall interpretation. The central image of the poem PURIM is a large face meant to represent Haman, minister to King Ahasverosh, who wanted all of the Jewish people killed. This face takes up a large portion of the left hand page. Surrounding the face, on both the right and left hand pages, and represented on a smaller scale, are hands holding groggers or noisemakers. Children who participate in this festival shake the groggers to obscure the mention of Haman’s name when they are told the story of Purim. Fisher’s illustration compliments Livingston’s overall portrayal of the festival.

Poem Used to Support Critical Analysis and How That Poem Would Be Introduced

EL DÍA DE MUERTOS:

THE DAY OF THE DEAD

By: Myra Cohn Livingston

On our

ofrenda we

place pictures, clothes, food, masks,

and calaveras; whatever

they loved

in life

is here, waiting

for them, and we carry

baskets of food, and flowers from

our house

making

a golden path

of fragrant marigolds,

sprinkling the petals by handfuls

along

the road

from our doorstep

to the far cemetery

so the spirits may find their way

back home.

          Livingston’s EL DÍA DE MUERTOS: THE DAY OF THE DEAD is essentially one long sentence transformed into a narrative poem. The narrator describes the rituals performed within Hispanic culture on the Día de Muertos to celebrate loved ones who have died. This poem also incorporates words in a native language, in this case Spanish. Ofrendas are the altars set up to honor deceased family members and calaveras are sugar skulls that are placed on the altar alongside other offerings. This poem is an allegorical journey where marigold petals are trailed from the home to the cemetery so family spirits can find their way back home. This poetic form will hold young reader's interest, especially if they are unfamiliar with this festival.

          To introduce this poem I would first ask if anyone had ever heard of the festival Dia de Muertos, or if anyone celebrated it themselves. The students would be given a short opportunity to respond. After that I would say, “I am now going to read you a poem about this festival entitled EL DÍA DE MUERTOS: THE DAY OF THE DEAD by Myra Cohn Livingston. This poem describes how Hispanic people celebrate the spirits of their dead ancestors.” In the process of reading I would also be showcasing Fisher’s accompanying illustrations. This will help not only put the poem in context, but also assist those students who are not familiar with this festival to have a better sense of what the poem is referring to.