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Naomi Shihab NyeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye (1995)
Like “The Art of Disappearing,” “Famous” prizes anonymity in a very playful way. The connotation of “fame” is that a person will be important to large crowds, but in “Famous” Shihab Nye writes about the many ways that people can be famous to individual people in small, seemingly unimportant ways. She also personifies non-human entities, saying, “The river is famous to the fish” (Line 1), and “The loud voice is famous to silence” (Line 2). She ends by saying she wants to be famous to “sticky children in grocery lines” (Line 17).
“Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye (1995)
This is arguably Shihab Nye’s most famous poem. Unlike in “The Art of Disappearing,” she writes here about the necessity to think about others and realize how much people have in common. As if writing directly to readers (and while seemingly experiencing solitude), she implores kindness.
“Gate A-22” by Naomi Shihab Nye (2008)
Shihab Nye uses this prose poem to tell a story about a time when she, presumably the speaker of the poem, responded to a call to help communicate with someone distressed at an airport. A woman dresses in traditional Palestinian clothing was having trouble understanding that their flight was late, not cancelled.
By Naomi Shihab Nye
300 Goats
300 Goats
Naomi Shihab Nye
Alphabet
Alphabet
Naomi Shihab Nye
Blood
Blood
Naomi Shihab Nye
Burning the Old Year
Burning the Old Year
Naomi Shihab Nye
Different Ways to Pray
Different Ways to Pray
Naomi Shihab Nye
Famous
Famous
Naomi Shihab Nye
Gate A-4
Gate A-4
Naomi Shihab Nye
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
Naomi Shihab Nye
Kindness
Kindness
Naomi Shihab Nye
Making a Fist
Making a Fist
Naomi Shihab Nye
Morning Song
Morning Song
Naomi Shihab Nye
My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop
My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop
Naomi Shihab Nye
Shoulders
Shoulders
Naomi Shihab Nye
The Rider
The Rider
Naomi Shihab Nye
The Turtle of Oman
The Turtle of Oman
Naomi Shihab Nye
The Words Under the Words
The Words Under the Words
Naomi Shihab Nye
Valentine for Ernest Mann
Valentine for Ernest Mann
Naomi Shihab Nye