Poetry come alive

Coral Wilson

In a world of video games and 30-second commercials, a poem hardly

stands a chance these days at capturing a child’s attention. But

guest author Ashley Bryan had an avid audience Monday at Joseph R.

Perry Elementary School as he shared his illustrations and readings

of African American poetry.

When Bryan reads poetry, kids listen.

Through whispering, screaming, laughing, crying, clapping and

singing, the emotions of the poem become real.

“What is the poet asking the voice to do?” Bryan asks.

When Bryan reads Langston Hughes, there is no more Bryan, there is

only Hughes and kids begin to understand the voice of the written

word. Then reading becomes fun.

“Reading educates,” Bryan said. “I want to make readers out of the

children so they educate themselves.”

By doing so, he hopes to ignite a hunger and thirst that will push

kids to learn more. If they want to know about Arctic exploration,

they don’t have to wait to study it in school, he said.

Bryan is an illustrator as well as a writer. He illustrates books

celebrating African American poetry in bright colors and vivid

detail. In expressing the voices of his people through painting and

reading, he keeps their words alive.

He points out story patterns that travel the world and unites

cultures, similar stories told from different perspectives. But love

for other cultures is rooted in a love for oneself, he believes.

“You must believe in the beauty of yourself and your people,” he

said.

Bryan travels the world reading poetry. He has been to schools in

Africa with no electricity or running water, but where the kids walk

six miles to school because they have such a desire to learn.

He always enjoys a “back and forth” interaction and this time the

children surprised him by singing “What a Wonderful World,” inspired

by Bryan’s illustrated book. The children illustrated their song with

colored pictures and hand gestures.

“You can’t write a poem without a lot of feeling,” said Kelly

Kuhn, 8, describing her impression.

Although Bryan enjoyed the children’s gift of song and is happy

when they learn something, he asks only one thing from any audience

-- their eyes.

“When I see two eyes looking straight at me, I know two ears are

listening,” Bryan said. “When two ears are listening, a mind is

thinking and the poem goes straight to the heart. Then you have a

poem that you can take home with you.”

* CORAL WILSON is a news assistant who covers education. She can

be reached at (714) 965-7177 or by e-mail at

coral.wilson@latimes.com.