Sidman Poetry

Sidman Poetry

Bibliography

Sidman, J. 2010. Dark emperor and other poems of the night. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Illustrated by Rick Allen. ISBN:9780547152288

Summary/Analysis

“Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night” is a collection of 12 poems by Joyce Sidman.  Sidman uses lyrical, rhyming (variety of schemes), concrete, and verse forms to create poems about animals and other things of the night.  Each poem is easy to follow and Sidman tailors the mood of the poem to the subject she is focusing on.  Each poem and illustration takes up a double page spread and is accompanied by a paragraph of factual information on the subject.  The illustrations by Rick Allen assist the poems and really help the reader understand the mood and tone of each poem while also reinforcing the facts found in the poems.  The book contain a table of contents and also a glossary featuring some of the scientific terms found in the book.

Use

Welcome to the Night

To all of you who crawl and creep,

who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep,

who wake at dusk and throw off sleep:

Welcome to the night.

To you who make the forest sing,

who dip and dodge on silent wing,

who flutter, hover, clasp, and cling:

Welcome to the night!

Come feel the cool and shadowed breeze,

come smell your way among the trees,

come touch rough bark and leathered leaves:

Welcome to the night.

The night's a sea of dappled dark,

the night's a feast of sound and spark,

the night's a wild, enchanted park.

Welcome to the night!

This rhyming poem is the first poem that Sidman uses to introduce the other poems and subject of this book.  After reading the poem out loud I would have students come up with examples of animals that would go with specific lines of the poem.  For the line “to you who make the forest sing” I would have students think of examples of animals that “sing” in the forest at night.  I would do this activity for each line (smells, touch, etc.) and have students share any other ideas for future lines of the poem.  This poem could also be read in the dark with ambient forest sounds playing in the background.  Do both and have students discuss the different experiences and how they both changed the way they heard or experienced the poems.