Learning by Heart: Contemporary American Poetry about School
“The most thoughtful--and scholastic--anthology of the season. ”—Publishers Weekly“I would wager that you have forgotten 90% of the academic lessons you learned in school. I would also wager that you remember 100% of the lessons you learned about yourself—from your teachers and your classmates. And I am certain that whether you were teacher's pet or the pariah of the playground, you will find yourself inLearning by Heart,walking those familiar hallways, hiding in those familiar corners, wishing on stars and stepping over cracks in the sidewalk in front of your own school.”—LouAnne Johnson, author ofDangerous Minds“I have spent many years among schoolchildren, but I have never written directly about it. I don't know if I'm eventually going to write about Mr. Baradone, my Hebrew teacher, or Miss Pickard, my seventh-grade teacher whom I fell madly in love with. In the meantime I will read this book with joy, savoring every wild dream, fear, confession, disappointment, nostalgia, embarrassment, and horror. A lovely book.”—Gerald Stern