Directions in children's literature; 9

Directions in children's literature Riverside radio WRVO in New York City presents the ninth program of a second series with Richard Lewis poet and teacher and leading authorities in the field of children's literature. At this time Mr. Deer says guests are Herbert Cole a teacher and author of thirty six children issued by the new American Library. And two of the children Evan Curry and Robert Jackson they all read from the book which is based on Mr. Cohen's teaching experiences in Harlem. This is Richard Lewis. Today we're going to have our third program with Herb call and his guests who will be Robert Jackson and Alvin curry. Before we actually get into the reading of selections from 36 children let me explain to our audience something about the book itself. Thirty six children which was published by New American Library and written by Herb Cole is an account of herbes two years in teaching at a school in Harlem and within the text of the book

there are a number of stories and poems that were written by students who were in his cause. He uses them as illustrations of what he was doing as well as what the children themselves could do. And we have felt very strongly about the possibility of getting a number of the authors who are represented within her book to read their own selections. So we were very lucky today to be able to have Alvin Curry and Robert Jackson read some of the works that are actually in the book itself. They will be aided by Herb and myself will read a number of the other students in Herb's form a class. There's a number of their their works as well. And I'd like to begin first with Robert Jackson reading a piece called a barbarian becomes a Greek warrior. One day in ancient Germany a boy was growing up. His name was Parcells

he was named after the slatternly because he had sensitive feelings. In ancient Germany the Romans had their vast empire. Everyone in the country was to be a Roman citizen speak a lot and learn the Roman customs. Not possible if he had a large cup and he was stubborn. He wanted his people to be free to do as they wish but his mother told him not to stand up against her will mostly Any thinks more for they will slay him. He grew a fine looking handsome but not strong he was weak and sickly. The news about 18 years old his mother was killed by a woman soldier who had hated his family he was mad at this so he set out alone on foot. He went to Greece. He was walking down the road. The thought police. Then for me her and I were paired up on the back he fell to his chest dazed by the selection of the burning whip he couldn't tell whether he was bleeding dying away then the day sunny went away and he could hear the Latin words that he had learnt it was the emperor of Rome where he didn't know what he got up and fought like a beast.

Surrender or die. Path was so mad that he didn't even recognize Truman for Emperor the Emperor thought of spearing with its apostles he was unconscious when you walk you find a softening of a Coral Sea in Peru are commanded of since you are so brave you shall fight the two faces lions and all of whom if you win you shall go free dare if you lose you shall be killed and your soul go to Hades where the king of the Dead show will be those words pop frighten possibles. Soon the two lions came charging I need him. He saw one of the Roman soldiers and he swiped a sort from him. The first Lions given was it made him trip but it was a for his back he was stunned. Then he had learned I think NJ Orleans Lions frame this would have been last apostles but so lucky lucky at Parcells bend it when he had had his sword sticking out the line hit the sword then Elia fell over and it was did the second line

charge the Apostles got up threw the sword and stabbed lion to death the audience cheered by Tampa. Well you can tell with the look on his face was the next piece is by Alvin Curry and it's in titled The boy in the slum. Following this long story of modern life in uptown New York with comics passions and if you have a question for Mr. I was about a boy named Amy who lives in an apartment and around a slum area. I feel that other people should be interested in what I have to say and just let me try to do something about it either by little diatribe means. This book is only to be read by men and women boys and girls who feel deeply serious about segregation and feel that this is no joke especially when you are young you have a better opportunity to speak about and be willing to work for these problems of the

slums. Let me ask you some personal questions there may have to do with this book. Do you live in the slums. How do you think you would feel if you did would you had to be rich an amazing service to take care of you while your mother is away to dinners nightclubs and business trips or would you have to be porn your mother would be home to love and take care of you. Before about the last question I made sure that Lisa knew to ask. I had a decision to make Also because my mother asked us same question just a few days and go and take it for me is not easy to ask a question like that but of just by mere curiosity you would like to know my answer to this question. Just open the pages of this book and read to your heart's content. And do me a favor and just as a friend. So I let people about this book and maybe they may be encouraged to read it. Oh by the way are Buddha's book world will be underlined and therefore I intend if you want to know what this word

means does look it up in the back of his book. It is core Augen slang dictionary and introduction to my mother. I am dreaming and crying in my sleep I'm dreaming because I have nothing better to do. And crying because I'm dreaming about a problem I had in school. You see I promised myself I'll be good and try to learn more. But every time I come into the classroom in my dream my teacher read then and there starts to pick on me. I win this or album that. So I said to myself enough is too much. Every day the same old problem. Why does enough women to make a laughing hyena cry. So I could imagine quite clearly why that's a good enough reason to cry when you if you were in my situation. I was about to cry mostly for the second time. Unexpectedly a hand hit me right on in. I knew it was a hand because I have felt this morning one across I woke up in a merely knew that it was time for my brother my sisters and me to

go away to go to school. My younger sister's name is to re-assure is three years old next contact C. She is 8 years old. My next sister's name is Linda. She is 9 years old. Then comes my brother whose name is Greg. He is 10 years old then calls me album. I am 11 years old. There go my Lexus to show she is 12 years. Gone are 13 and last but not me. Lisa my older sister whose name is Brenda she is 14. I know you're not interested in my private life but I'll fill you in a little way just to have something interesting to say the first thing I have to do is her straight for the bathroom. P.S. By the way the way that was just a fancy word up at there for my teacher Mr Herbie Ralph Cole You know I'll let you all on in on a little secret mystical kind of fanciest So the reason why I'm telling you this is because my teacher told me to express myself to the full assistant. That's another fancy word for my teacher. And the first thing I do in the bathroom is to wash my face and comb my hair. Well my mother's I mean

my show and pants. Oh by the way among the modern name is Mrs. Helen Cody. You can call home all Mrs. Cody because death would always cause she doesn't get mad either. The next thing I do is eat my breath whose consist of two or three jelly sandwiches in the glass of water. If I'm lucky I have a bowl of cereal with Campbell. At this time it should be a time to go to school. P.S. 79 here I come. I say as I start to draw to my building as I walk alone to school which is within walking distance from my house I begin to think of things that I could but then again couldn't happen for example. Maybe someday I'll be a scientist or a big businessman or even a engineer then again a president of the United States or maybe even a man as long as it is somebody important. You see some people are lucky enough to be born important but not me I have to work my way up to what I want to be. If I'm even lucky enough to get their floor up as amount of fat you would be nothing if I get past the sixth grade the way things are going now.

If you get ever get into a situation similar to mine take my advice don't give up you have to work for your gold. Don't wear your no be alone ear problems. Other people just like us share the same problem. P.S. This is my own personal opinion of the situation. I feel I have closed up enough wine diggin into my long bony problems which you probably wouldn't be interested in anyhow. But do me a favor. Read on to the next chat. There's no time like the present so we didn't expect and thank you. The next two pieces will be read by Cole self and their two transformation by Marie. I was transformed from a poor little infant into a nice boy and as I grew I was transformed into a magnificent extraordinary deceiving nuisance to the world. Now I'm still the same old nuisance I ever was. One day when I found the man that changed me into a new sense of power right in the kisser. And then he might just turn me back into my magnificent self that is if he ever

recovers from the blow I gave him. I wish bro I wish it was a third of an inch tall inside my apartment it would be a tiny tiny MCR Apuleius there I would have a small buildings like a real city would have small cause for myself. Horses and schools etc.. My house would have small TVs by the dozen. When a movie come I have my own theater. It is time for school I'd send a robot in my place. I give him a good small brain so he know everything. Then I'd always get a hundred. I'm going to read you reading a poem called The junkies by Mary Ford. When they are in the street they pass it along to each other. But when they see the police they would run some would just stand still and be beat so pitiful that they want to cry. Her calls now going to read a piece by Reginald. I'm playing around by Reginald like to play or

sometimes I get in trouble sometimes I don't like to run around a lot. Sometimes when I run around I get hurt. One day I was walking down the street a boy with a gang wanted to fight me. I ran and that made my motto he who runs loose to run again. Next we're going to hear a piece called one cold rainy day one called Rainy day I was going to school and I had to go thousand miles to get there and it was a no cause and no buses no trains so I had to walk. I got sucked away. I still had 500 mile miles to go. At last I almost got there when I got there. The school was closed and I thought for a minute and then I remembered it was a holiday. And I dropped dead. Next we're going to hear from Robert Jackson who is not going to be reading directly from 36 children but he's going to be reading from a new work that he has been completing at this point. And I wonder Robert if you could before you

actually get into reading it since part of it is actually illustrations and so on if you could just describe as you read what some of the pictures are as well. And will you give us the title of your new work. Well this is another. Series another of you know a series of stories of the Invincible Combinator man and neighbor the story's destination in the underworld and as of the present moment I haven't finished the story yet but the main plot of the story is that the comm accommodative man being that he has to son of cars and cars is a guy who has Neil and gifted him with these powers the power of the my cars are makes great demands on him and you'll get some some responsibilities and you know

it because I see that these responsibilities are carried out the way he wants to and be carried out. And so you know in order to prove himself worthy of being you know the son of Ka-Zar the god come need a man must. Go go into the underworld. Going to the underworld fight all crime on earth and you know out in. You know the galaxy were caught will cause other great lives. He lives in a far distant galaxy millions of light years away and so Ka-Zar knows that he can you know he can avert this crime himself but he wants to see how common a demand will handle it. See how well he you know has you has used his powers so far so I know I'm just going to be a little bit you know I read what I got from here. Yeah well hope ya dig it.

Well in our first panel this young a young negro adolescent he is in his house he ironed his pants and the narrative goes like this. This is Curtis Kendricks. He is 18 years of age does he look at you as you can see is ironing his pants. Here's a one time successful composer lyricist of popular soul songs for the fair the past few months he has not written a single hit song. He is in modern times running out of funds. Does this cause a man of his stamina to sooner or later become desperate for a living in style the way he does you'd think he carried a huge rolls of money in his pockets every day. Well it was that way a few months ago. But he grew lazy let his laziness or power his songwriting creativity. But first things first. What makes this young man so important not the

next panel. We have a picture of his living room. He had a you know stereo tape recording everything along his walls at a very fancy couch a very fancy stereo and everything like that. And the caption goes like this a few years ago the invisible cause of a star the supreme knowledge and wisdom of the sacred altars of our work cause I said to you side following this young man since Curtis was the first to receive these powers he is therefore recognizes the first son of Kausar Curtis's thus manifested himself secretly in the invisible Combinator man Curtis checks the superclass to make sure everything is in place in case of emergencies before he dresses. Minutes later there is not. Oh excuse me a ring at the door and I want people to think they've named her Nobel. So he's thinking

how to know who he could be. So he goes to the door and open the door as does fly looking you know broad standing there and she says Well hello criticize you let me you know he can't he he pretends he's kind of shy you know as well I can't get a man to go outside and he's thinking hey she's a foxy little thing a she's so normal girls are she kind of pushes her way into his house. She said You better let me I'm boy you know there's no excuse. So he's thinking if he says oh she's got her nerve will find her way in. So finally let's say I have a way and he closes the door. Then reluctant Lee finally says Diane I wish she was a man and she's out there home and you know she came in every day you know

dancing pretending that she got music. She said yeah why. So he replies so I could deal with you physically for bustin in my house and she says why don't you do it anyway. Well because I don't aggress a woman unless she's a mind that's what she says Really. Well in that case I think I believe the nonsense I could very well be yours any time you don't want to be the consequences. But I'll be back later on tonight OK. Then he says OK that's a bit. Then he starts thinking again. I know it will work when he starts getting in on itself. Then in the next county system so now to continue what I left off before I was rudely interrupted I have to tighten her later you know in other words you got more important business to do. So now we switch to another panel and another scene in the kitchen. Catch him sits now so people know you're anxious to get to some plug and all that. But in order to prevent you from

getting work before we get to the airport we will switch to another scene while Curtis is he prepared to go out. So 100 light years away our scene takes place on a huge world called nuclear force. Unlike our planet as well inhabits only one race there are various mixture of brown to black people's color the VAX So there's this. This is one of the only one of the many leaders of the VAX he's walking down these fancy marble halls walls men are marble floors are made of marble and every day he's walking by past the guards and he says to them I shall have no visit is I am in conference and do not wish to be disturbed see that these orders are executed to the fullest extent. Then the next panel we see a large room where all the leaders from all over the world of nucleus no meeting and the caption says we are now

witnessing a general meeting about to go in session the nucleus of a huge and densely populated world. Every monarch is available thus making it a World Leaders Conference to the man in charge of the worlds motel your power as a man called the guard system military system of this planet is its most vital investment. He therefore is considered the most powerful. So they go. He says the meeting is now a saucer. Now I'm tired to my last uncompleted pate. So while they haven't I mean the next panel outside of the building outside a window. There's a cost to a costume figure standing on a window ledge. Simultaneously hideous figure guides his way along the ledge of the building towards the huge window of the conference room. Inside the room of a guy is talking to the people he says in terms of interplanetary conquest we have

been successful thus far. We now will this very galaxy with a strong and firm arm and there's no area in force that we know of that can stop us. The earth has been considered for conquest for a long time is a very distant world embedded in a very complex galaxy. One knowledge of this world must be obtained before we proceed. For we cannot resist the slightest chance of our vast empire being imperiled. So you know so now the unknown figure outside is thinking. I've been looking for a chance to get to Earth also for a long long time and I will get there. Phase one of my plan is about to succeed. So he flies off the window ledge. So he says to himself. It can't fail. After the conference they'll be looking for a volunteer to go to Earth for information. I've got to be that man so. After the conference is over he enters to premier

the premier status the leader of that part of the world. He had his his domain so he tells he tells them that he's one of he wants to volunteer. So the premier He then says to him I am proud of you Starkey destiny and I admire your ingenuity upon inventing your costume and your incredible skill at the javelin you have your orders and you know what to do. Get as much information as you can. Teleportation will be a means of transportation. Then he starts and you know gas starts to get high feeling you know how skilful I was at this he'd admire me more then a next time you see him undergoing a process of being told what it is not long before we find our aggressive undergoing a process of teleportation Whitefield ambition he simultaneously

disappears. So while while he is on his way to space by means of like we switch to another scene. Where we find Curtis Kendricks and one of his boys he's outside he's talking to him and Curtis says Dude this man I ain't no fool. That'll put lives on the top floors crazy got it done and with courtesy a gun he run you understand down his boy he gets mad you know cause he think he can i chicken out on you or try to steal yo mans money because I don't feel I get shot. So then he replies oh man you know IT shop a regular faggot. They have you and I have career. So Curtis he said well look bastard you got enough hard to tell what they're thinking you'll come out with some fun as well. So you sort of Gary but I was of course a man then Curtis's. You'd be lucky if you come out

in one piece. It's funny how niggas will do almost anything for some money. Well go long before I'll be at the first floor. So that concludes my unfinished. Story of the commentator man. But. Could you which I am sure I am trying very hard to finish it because you know I would like to see how it's going to am I so you don't know where it's going to continue from there. Do you have any well yeah I planned I planned it out but you know I like to you know I just like to be just like you know to have a complete story on us you know but it takes a long time to do it. Yes and I long time and if I try to rush a day you know when it wouldn't come out you know too well that's just about the size of it. Good. Thank you Robert. To end we're going to have Alvin Curry read two selections about they're titled my blog one is by Marie and the other one is

by sunya. Remember me. My block is the worst block you ever saw. People getting killed or stabbed. Men and women in buildings taking though. And when the police come around the block the block be so clean that nobody will get hurt. There is this person one plushie can you even be a woman you can go stand on your own stupid chase you are sometimes the patrol wagon comes around to pick up all the dope that is and one day they picked up this man and when his wife saw him when she went to tell the police that that's her husband they just love so she went to the police station and they let him go. You could never trust anyone of my blood. You even get robbed when the children in the building asked me to come down there. I say no because you don't know what will happen. Only sometimes I come downstairs now all the time. Sonia my block is dirty and the smells terrible. The children picks fights and I

hardly have room to play. This is not a very long time thing to write about. If you were living there you won't want to stay here no longer get it have dope that is in garbage pan is still on a sidewalk and food is on the ground. Not every day but sometimes children make fire in the back yard on the stoop is dirty. I go out to play that in the. About my block. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Robert Jackson and Alvin Curry and Herb Cole for participating in this program based on the book Thirty six children and published by New American Library. You've been listening to Richard Lewis and his guests Herbert Cole teacher and author of thirty six children published by The New American Library. And two of the children Evan Carey and Robert Jackson. Mr. Lewis is the author of five volumes of poetry for children most recent the miracles and the wind in the rain collections of

poetry by children and out of the earth. I sing the poetry of primitive peoples. For a free summary of this program write to WRVO our department B New York New York 1 0 2 7. Please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope. This is been directions in children's literature the ninth in a series of 12 programs with Richard Harris and authorities in the field of children's literature. At this time next week headstart and the teaching of language with Maya Appleman consultant for New York University University's in-service training program. Jerry Wilson field advisor for New York City is Head Start program and Ann Wright director of the Westside community nursery school directions in children's literature is produced by Richard Lewis and sort of peters for WRVO. The FM station of the Riverside Church in New York City. This program was distributed by the national educational radio network.