I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You : A Book of Her Poems & His Poems Collected in Pairs

by Naomi Shihab Nye, Paul B. Janeczko

An award-winning anthology of paired poems by men and women .

In this insightful anthology, the editors grouped almost 200 poems into pairs to demonstrate the different ways in which male and female poets see the same topics. How women see men, how boys see girls, and how we all see the world—often in very different ways, but surprisingly, wonderfully, sometimes very much the same.

Genres: Poetry, Young Adult

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Naomi Shihab Nye was born to a Palestinian father and an American mother. During her high school years, she lived in Ramallah in Jordan, the Old City in Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas, where she later received her B.A. in English and world religions from Trinity University. She is a novelist, poet and songwriter.

She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas. She was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2010.

Reviews

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. I didn’t understand why they paired up some of the poems together, and I didn’t love all of the selections. That said, I felt it was an accessible collection for the most part and I enjoyed the banter between the editors. And, as always (and perhaps the real reason for the round up) - I love Naomi!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I shouldn't write this...but I used to hate poetry and I use the word "hate" in the strongest way. Then I realized, after convinced by my professor, I just needed to find poetry that was engaging and interesting. He recommended this book, which is a collection of poems paired in unique ways. The book is broken up into various themes and presents poems in pairs, one written by a male and the other written by a female. The comparisons the editors imply by the pairing of their chosen poems is really interesting and the poems are written for the young adult reader. I can now say I enjoy reading poetry and like it.

[Cheryl]

Skimmed every page.
Had the wrong expectations going in... thought it would be more focused, more 'greatest hits' - and more about young love like the cover implies. But it's a big book for adults (though nothing objectionable for those younger who are interested). And it's just too much. Too much sexism, too many subjects covered, too many poems. Sorry.

[Hillary]

some were funny and some were kinda sad...but i loved them all

[Anne Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I apologize but I have to disagree with the couple of reviews I read before starting this book. I can’t say I dislike poetry, but I can’t say I like it either. I had an open mind about this book since one reviewer said they didn’t like poetry but loved this book. Okay, so I started reading...and the poems weren’t very exciting....it was just like what I feel about poetry...does this poem have a deeper meaning than what I’m reading? Probably. Can I figure it out? No. Why can’t one write about something and not write it so you have to figure out why you’re writing about it? I don’t know. I think I’m going to stick with my realistic fiction stories, ones that have no deeper meaning but the words written on the pages.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for poems to read to your child before bed? Then look no further than this book of poems! This book would be a great library addition to your local library that many other families could enjoy. While the themes of each poem are very unique it helps give a different feel to each story. While poem books are not very represented in the media, they are still worth buying. The authors of this book took poems from other authors and put them in all one to make an amazing collection of poems. While these poems may not be entertaining, they are still worth reading to your child at night for an easy bedtime winddown.

[Hailee Scheffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not much of a poetry fan but I can always appreciate ones I can connect with on different levels

[Julie]

Nye and Janeczko have each independently produced worthy poetry anthologies (This Same Sky, 12/92, Wherever Home Begins, 11/95); here they join forces for a collection with a twist. The poems come in pairs, the male-authored entry always leading and the female-authored one always getting the last word. The coupled poems sometimes share a subject, sometimes a setting, sometimes a theme or an image (Agha Shahid Ali's "Snowman" and Robin Boody Galguera's "Alloy" both address questions of culture, E. Ethelbert Miller's "Dressed Up" and Naomi Stroud Simmons' "With Reservation" offer quirky takes on fancy dress) that directs readers to a specific way into each poem. The poems themselves, almost all contemporary free verse and from poets ranging from famous (Rita Dove, W. S. Merwin) to less known, are of a high standard. Though the gender counterpoint really plays little part in the juxtaposition, the pairings are piquant and provide a manageable way to start talking about a very large collection of poetry. An engaging marginal dialogue, taken from Nye's and Janeczko's collaborative fax correspondence, appears alongside the appendix and permits a revealing peek behind the scenes. Highly readable notes from contributors are included, as is an index of poems and a gender-segregated index of poets. R--Recommended. Reviewed from galleys (c) Copyright 1996, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1996, Simon, [256p], $17.00. Grades 7-12. (Deborah Stevenson, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 1996 (Vol. 49, No. 9))[return][return]Has won YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults, 1997 and School Library Journal's Best Books for Young Adults, 1996. It received starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just my type of book! I love it so much because it's filled with romance poems! All kinds of love poems actually, like: a boy likeing a girl poem, a family love poem, a husband and wife love poem, a dog and it's owner love poem... and much more. Some of them are pretty funny but some of them are really sad and serious. Just the way i like them! It's like a short storry that twist and turns, first it's complicated then its happy then sad and the happy agin. It's just interesting the way love works, and now i say love frases all the time, my family says it's getting into my head and that it could cause problems in real life, but love isn't a bad thing, and at my age I'm not really interested, when that time comes I wanna feel just the way those poems were written like!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I was in the mood for a little poetry, and I liked the title. I found some real gems in there -- poems I will keep and reread many times, I'm sure. Many about the difficulty of life's decisions and the travails of sustaining relationships with others. Really powerful stuff. I would expect no less from Naomi Shihab Nye, an amazing poet in her own right. My only quibble would be in pairing poems based solely on the gender of the poet. It feels forced and arbitrary. I'm not sure whose idea that was, but I don't really like it. When I can put that aside, however, I do like the idea of paired poems, and it is fun to try to find the connections between the poems that are put together. Overall, a great book to dip into and to ponder.

[Nyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was kind of random and made me really think. the poems where different from each other even though they came in like pairs you had to actually read it a few times to fin the connection between them. there was this one poem though that I really thought was interesting because the writer was telling the story from when he was little and how his dad came to america. then the writer start telling you how his dad die. how he was a drink but he worked hard to give them a good life. but in all it was a good book the only thing I would recommend is that next time the author writes a book like this he kind of makes it clear

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pairings can be quite interesting. The 'hit' to 'miss' ratio in this was a little high for me, but it is especially good for showing students how different experiences lead to differences in creations.

[Phobean · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare that I seek to own a book (rather than checking it out of the library), it's even rarer that I own a book of poetry, and rarer still that I purchased that book of poetry back in high school and have been visiting it every year, ever since. Shows you how I feel about this book, I think.

[Tracy O · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fine, but I didn't love it the way I would have thought I would. The book is a great IDEA - but, the poems didn't get to me at all.

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic collection of poetry suitable for any age group!

[Rynell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of poetry! Nye is one of my favorite poets and this collaboration is a wonderful sampling of His and Her poems. I was so happy to read this collection of contemporary poetry!

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a serous book but i liked some of them. they were all well wrtien

[Marianna Monaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight. Pairs of poems from the male and female points of view on a variety of subjects. An anthology of many good poets and good subjects.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most perfect anthology of contemporary poems out there.

[Amrita · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely

[Blackbook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry/Work