Shout: A Poetry Memoir Review

 

Module 3: Verse Novel

 

Shout: A Poetry Memoir by Laurie Halse Anderson

Bibliography
Halse Anderson, L. (2019). Shout: A poetry memoir. Viking, an Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. ISBN 9780670012107

Summary
Shout is a memoir in the form of a novel in verse. The dedication page sets the tone for this memoir with a simple, yet powerful “for the survivors” inscribed on the page. Next, we read an introduction and prelude which gives insight into why this memoir was written, the emotions behind it, and that it will provide Anderson’s life story. The novel is divided into three sections, followed by a postlude called “my why,” sexual violence and mental health resources for readers, and acknowledgments. The resources for readers are a considerate addition that not only gives contact information, but a brief description of each resource.

Analysis
Shout, like Speak, is not a read for the fainthearted as Anderson bravely and boldly describes her life during the seventies when women’s rights were missing, and “Men feared the liberation/ movement might change/ all of the rules” (Anderson, p. 40). Anderson describes a childhood with alcoholic parents who did their best, but they were still “four shards of a family” (Anderson, p. 50), her rape at age 13 and her decades-long battle with the consequences of it, the unwelcomed advances of boys and professors leading up to her publication of Speak. She then moves into a voice for victims and urging for change and advocacy.

Throughout the memoir, the poems are all free verse, but Anderson crafts strong imagery with her words. For example, after her rape, she describes the trauma she was left with “Rape wounds deeply, splits open/ your core with shrapnel./ The stench of the injury attracts maggots/ which hatch into clouds of doubt and self-loathing…untreated pain/ is a cancer of the soul/ that can kill you” (69). And later she describes the effect Speak had on readers and their massive response as “earthquakes in deep water/ send ripples to the surface/ that crave the shore/ thundering/ toward land, sounding/ like a freight train/ the fatetrain, monsooning” (175). The use of imagery allows the reader to have better empathy for Anderson and other victims of sexual assault and also allows those who are also victims to know that they are not alone.

While much of the novel is a memoir, part two focuses on the stories of other victims and has a clear call to action to bring predators to justice, supportive attention to victims, while stressing the importance of consent. This section creates a space for a wider audience to resonate with. “Loud Fences” tells of a community in Australia whose relentlessness in tying ribbons on fences brought attention to the Vatican of the abuse happening in their community because “in Ballarat,/ good neighbors make loud fences/ the language of love made visible” (p. 252). She warns young people “your brain, young thing/…drawn to/ warm bodies like/ a moth/ to a flame/ be careful/ out there,/ k?” (p. 253). Anderson hits the heavy topics but keeps it real and accessible to readers.

Excerpt

emerging

wet-winged butterflies
wobbly antennae, shaky knees
their faces still lined
with chrysalis wrinkles
finally at liberty
straining to take flight

 while terrified kings
reigning suspicious
witness the butterflies’
metamorphosis
effecting change
from elementary stasis
fluttering chaos, launching
in the dawn’s early fight
their unrestrained campaign
to remove politicians
from their paper palaces
bought and paid for,
the sad, recoiling kings
freak
because the otherworldly magic
available to the newly hatched
is boundless and unbreakable
which is why the powerful
won’t let the young vote

 but the kids know how to use matches

Activity
This book or selections from it can be tied into a humanitarian unit. The teacher will read poem(s) from Shout, like the one above that demonstrates a crisis that is widely known about but is being overlooked. Students will then research a humanitarian crisis that they are passionate about: what is it? What is and is not being done to resolve the problem? Is it being actively ignored or avoided? What groups or voices are speaking out for those who may not have a voice in this matter? Extension activity can be the students draft a call-to-action poem in response to their humanitarian crisis of choice.

Reviews
From Booklist: “The classroom benefit of this book is undeniable—it’s a primer on writing and on living, and both Speak and Anderson’s effect on teens has never waned. But more than that, it is a captivating, powerful read about clawing your way out of trauma, reclaiming your body, and undoing lifetimes of lessons in order to use your voice as the weapon it is. Fervent and deafening.”

From School Library Journal: “Though the rape devastated Anderson, she stresses that a lifetime of seemingly small injustices (entitled boys, flirtatious professors) also eroded her self-worth. Her rage on behalf of all those who have been wounded is palpable, yet she envisions a different world, where consent and respect are the norm. VERDICT More than a gifted writer, Anderson is an advocate for anyone who feels alienated. Her sensitive, incisive book is essential for all young people” 

Awards
National Book Awards 2019 for Young People’s Literature, Longlist