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Autobiography
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From: JoAnn Portalupi <jport>
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 12:02:12 +0100
One title that hasn't been mentioned yet is Cynthia Rylant's YA autobiography, I'll Be Back Again. The storytelling quality of it engages me as much as any of her works of fiction. It's essayistic, but still has a strong narrative pull which was something I found lacking in Lowry's Looking Back. (This is not necessarily a critique on Looking Back. I just think they offer something different to their audiences.)
What I particularly like about Rylant's autobiography is the way it enriches my reading of her fiction and poetry. There is a kind of seamlessness between this and certain others of her works - Missing May, The Islander, Every Living Thing, even Tulip Sees America. But I'll Be Back Again helps me understand more fully the recurring themes of home and family that run through her work.
It's great as a read aloud. And it holds up to multiple rereadings. Perhaps the latter is due to the fact that most readers like being reminded of such things as the romantic first kiss.
JoAnn Portalupi, Ph.D. UAB School of Education Department of Curriculum & Instruction 901 South 13th St. Birmngham, AL 35294 - 1250
phone (205) 934T19
fax (205) 934G92
Received on Fri 23 Apr 1999 06:02:12 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 12:02:12 +0100
One title that hasn't been mentioned yet is Cynthia Rylant's YA autobiography, I'll Be Back Again. The storytelling quality of it engages me as much as any of her works of fiction. It's essayistic, but still has a strong narrative pull which was something I found lacking in Lowry's Looking Back. (This is not necessarily a critique on Looking Back. I just think they offer something different to their audiences.)
What I particularly like about Rylant's autobiography is the way it enriches my reading of her fiction and poetry. There is a kind of seamlessness between this and certain others of her works - Missing May, The Islander, Every Living Thing, even Tulip Sees America. But I'll Be Back Again helps me understand more fully the recurring themes of home and family that run through her work.
It's great as a read aloud. And it holds up to multiple rereadings. Perhaps the latter is due to the fact that most readers like being reminded of such things as the romantic first kiss.
JoAnn Portalupi, Ph.D. UAB School of Education Department of Curriculum & Instruction 901 South 13th St. Birmngham, AL 35294 - 1250
phone (205) 934T19
fax (205) 934G92
Received on Fri 23 Apr 1999 06:02:12 AM CDT
