Salting The Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets

Bibliography: Nye, Naomi Shihab. 2000. Ill. By Ashley Bryan. SALTING THE OCEAN. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN: 9780688161934


Review: In Nye's diverse collection titled Salting the Ocean, 100 poems are introduced by 100 different poets who were also students that Nye worked with over the years. Salting the Ocean has a wide range of poetic forms including but not limited to: free verse, couplets, ballads, and quatrains. The collection is organized by being separated into four sections with 20-30 poems in each. In “The Self and the Inner World” poems that contain introspective thoughts about the writer are presented. In the section, “Where We Live” poems reveal the thoughts and feelings the poets have toward the area they live in whether that be a street, a town, or the whole world. In “Anybody's Family” poets share their innermost desires and feelings towards their friends and loved one such as the poem titled, “My Dad”. In “The Wide Imagination”, this section may perhaps contain the more artistic and thought provoking poems that reveal how the poets see the world around them or how the poets view themselves and their own talent.

Excerpt: “My Dad”

My father sails he sails
in his sleep he sails when he's awake
I think he falls asleep by listening
to the waves hit the hull of his imaginary boat
and the sail clanging against the mast
I love my father I know he will
fall asleep and never awake
but I will be happy because he
will still be sailing in his lake.

William V. Lange


Introducing the Poem: Since the collection features poems written by students from grades one through twelve, the anthology is appropriate for any age and perfect for any level. Although some sections of the collection may be too difficult for the younger readers with so many poems to choose from readers of any age will definetly find something to relate to whether that be a poem about a family member or the beauty of nature. Due to all the different poetry formats available in Nye's collection this book would be a great introduction to the different types of poetry. Teachers and Librarians could spotlight a different format and share the poems that fall under that category.