"Ode to American English" & "Fat Is Not a Fairy Tale"

“Fat Is Not a Fairy Tale” 

Jane Yolen

Questions about the text: What inspired the reader to write this poem? What is the meaning behind the poem? Why is the poem titled “Fat is Not a Fairy Tale”? Why does the reader say “I am thinking of a fairy tale, that is not yet written, for a teller not yet born”, why does the teller have to be someone who isn't born? Also, on that subject, when the author uses the word “Born” is he relating it to something else? Such as the teller won't be able to tell a story about these things if they haven't opened their eyes to the flaws of beauty?

Personal response to the text: This poem really was a beautiful poem to read because I enjoyed what the author was trying to get across about fairy tales. I thought that the point was very clear, that the author believed that fairy tales should be about people of all sizes and the princesses in question shouldn't be figures that were extremely skinny and disproportionate.

Overall thoughts about the text: I thought this poem was very beautiful, mainly because I thought that the topic of the poem was something that was intriguing. I thought that the poem was a very interesting thought because during this time period all of the fairy tales involved characters that were somewhat thin, and that was just what was expected. I found it very endearing of the author to come out and write a poem about what she felt was right, and how she believed that these stories should be handled. Overall, I thought the poem was a very good read and I actually enjoyed reading it, unlike many poems I have read, or tried to read, before.

“Ode to American English”

Barbara Hamby

Questions about the text: What does “pill popping Hungarian goulash” mean? What does Brentano's on the Avenue de l'Opera mean? Why is the US vocabulary so much less dignified than the British vocabulary? What exactly is the “battle cry of the bible belt”?

Personal response to the text: This poem really made me feel a sense of American Pride while reading it. I felt as if the author was just missing America so much, and the things that she was saying that she missed were just simple things, but they really showed how much she loved America and the American culture, and I found that really cool. This poem also made me laugh a lot. The simplicity of the things that she was comparing from British culture to American culture was just too funny.

Overall thoughts about the text: I really enjoyed this text because I felt like they used many references that were extremely American, such as “Valley girls” and “hip hop stereos shaking the windows of my dining room like a 7.5 earthquake”. Anyone who has lived in an American city has experienced these things, or at least heard about one of the two. I also enjoyed the poem because I liked how it was written in a narrative form. This helped me to better understand and comprehend the poem, and it's meaning. Honestly, I just really liked this poem. I thought it was cool, because it was written in 1972, so it shows the things and people that were popular during the time that this poem was created, and I find that to be really interesting.