Poems for Life
Page 6
I’ve been to a marvelous party,
I must say the fun was intense,
We all had to do
What the people we knew
Would be doing a hundred years hence.
Dear Cecil arrived wearing armor,
Some shells and a black feather boa,
Poor Millicent wore a surrealist comb
Made of bits of mosaic from St. Peter’s in Rome,
But the weight was so great that she had to go home,
I couldn’t have liked it more!
— Noel Coward
With best wishes,
Grade V, 1992–93
Christine Alicea
Kate Auletta
Sasha Bernstein
Melissa Butler
Katherine Clifford
Rachel Coll
Louisa Conrad
Clare Cosman
Enerria Edmond
Adrienne Ellis
Amber Ellis
Alexandra Hagerty
Eugenia Hamshaw
Rebecca Hessel
Margot Hill
Samantha Hill
Lara Kalayjian
Louise Lamphere
Kathryn Lawton
Carah Lucas-Hill
Celene Menschel
Lee Katherine Miller
Hillary Nammack
Elizabeth Niemiec
Chloe Polemis
Lindsay Richardson
Annabelle Saks
Kristina Scurry
Zoe Settle
Emma Sheanshang
Ginger Shields
Margarette Steele
Rebecca Tanenbaum
Cara Thomas
Allison Toombs
Stefanie Victor
Ellison Ward
Alison Weisser
Laura Wheater
Fernanda Winthrop
Erica Wolff
Deborah Wolfson
Karen Yeung
Grade V, 1993–94
Agnes Ahlander
Nicole Arens
Elaine Blanck
Adriana Boulanger
Lia Brezavar
Carolyn Centeno
Francesca Forrestal
Lauren Friedman
Juliet Fuisz
Candice Gorman
Antoinette Grannum
Stephanie Greco
Laura Hampton
Alexia Jacobs
Shanthini Kasturi
Leslie Kaufmann
Olivia Kirby
Emily Kracauer
Hillary Matlin
Alfia Muzio
Evelyn Ngeow
Alexandra Odevall
Jean Petrek-Duban
Anne Rabbino
Elana Rakoff
Margaret Ross
Molly Shaw
Anne Stephenson
Cecile St. Hilaire
Jenny Tolan
Alexis Versandi
Lily Vonnegut
Elettra Wiedemann
Sophia Withers
Venetia Young
Contributors
Jane Alexander is director of the National Endowment for the Arts. She won a Tony award for The Great White Hope , and has appeared in a number of films.
Brooke Astor was president of the Vincent Astor Foundation and corporate board member of the Astor Home for Children. Her books include Patchwork Child, Footprints, and The Last Blossom on the Plum Tree. Astor passed away in 2007.
Ken Auletta is a columnist for the New Yorker and the author of five national bestsellers, including Googled; Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way; and Greed and Glory on Wall Street.
Harolyn M. Blackwell is a lyric coloratura who made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1994 and achieved renown for her roles in Die Fledermaus and Daughter of the Regiment. She has sung at the White House, and with many national opera companies.
Martin Charnin won a Tony award for his lyrics to Annie, which he directed on Broadway. He also directed The First and A Little Family Business and is the author of The Giraffe Like Ole Blue Eyes, a children’s book.
Mario Cuomo was governor of New York State from 1982 to 1994. He is the author of The New York Idea: An Experiment in Democracy, and coeditor of Lincoln on Democracy. Cuomo has also written a children’s book based on his own experiences called The Blue Spruce.
David Dinkins was mayor of New York City from 1988 to 1992 and currently teaches at Columbia University.
E. L. Doctorow’s works include Ragtime; Lives of the Poets: Six Stories and a Novella; Loon Lake; Billy Bathgate; Waterworks; The Book of Daniel; and most recently, All the Time in the World. He has received a myriad of awards and nominations, including the National Humanities Medal.
Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to run for the vice presidency of the United States. Author of Changing History: Women, Power, and Politics, she was appointed to the United Nations Human Rights Commission Conference in 1993. Ferraro passed away in 2011.
Allen Ginsberg’s iconic poetry defined the Beat Generation. He passed away in 1997. Nearly all of his works remain in print.
Rudolph Giuliani was the mayor of New York City from 1994–2001. He also ran for the Republican Party nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election.
Richard F. Grein was bishop of the Episcopal Church of New York City, and is coauthor of Preparing Younger Children for First Communion. Now retired, Bishop Grein serves as Bishop-in-Residence at St.Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan, Connecticut.
David Halberstam was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist known for his coverage of Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement. He passed away in 2007.
Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist who won Tony awards for his lyrics to Fiddler on the Roof and Fiorello!
Bill Irwin is a clown, dancer, and stage and film actor whose Broadway credits include Largely New York, The Regard of Flight, and Fool Moon. He has won Tony awards for his performances in Largely New York and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Peter Jennings was the anchor and senior editor of ABC World News Tonight, and co-anchor of Turning Point, ABC News. He passed away in 2005.
Edward I. Koch was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989 and is the author of His Eminence and Hizzoner and Citizen Koch. He is coauthor of a children’s book based on his own experiences called Eddie, Harold’s Little Brother.
Kenneth Koch, poet and playwright, teaches at Columbia University. His works include Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching Children to Write Poetry, and Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? Teaching Poetry to Children. In 1996, Koch was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He passed away in 2002.
Jill Krementz is a photographer and author whose works include The Face of South Vietnam; Sweet Pea: A Black Girl Growing Up in the Rural South; and Lily Goes to the Playground.
Angela Lansbury is a five-time Tony award-winning actress and singer. She has recently starred in Broadway revivals of Blithe Spirit and A Little Night Music.
Yo-Yo E. Ma is a cellist who has performed with Pablo Casals, Isaac Stern, Leonard Bernstein, and orchestras throughout the world. Among many awards, Ma won the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
David Mamet’s award-winning plays include Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed the Plow, and Oleanna. He is also the author of Warm and Cold, The Village, and The Hero Pony.
Jason McManus was editor-in-chief of Time magazine from 1988 to 1994 and the author of a collection of short stories.
Joan S. McMenamin was headmistress of The Nightingale-Bamford School from 1971 to 1992 and was a member of the board of trustees of Roberts College in Istanbul and the English Speaking Union. She passed away in 2004.
Ved Mehta was a staff writer for the New Yorker. He is the author of Portrait of India, The Stolen Light, and Up at Oxford.
Ismail Merchant produced many award-winning films, including A Room with a View, Howards End, and The Remains of the Day. He and partner James Ivory headed Mer
chant Ivory films for over forty years. He passed away in 2005.
Ruth W. Messinger was Manhattan Borough president from 1990 to 1998, and served on the city council for twelve years. Since 1998, Messinger has been CEO of Jewish World Service.
Susan Minot is a novelist whose works include Monkeys and Folly. Among other honors, she has received an O. Henry Prize and a Pushcart Prize for her work.
Joyce Carol Oates is the author of A Garden of Earthly Delights, Wonderland, Solstice, Black Water, and Haunted. Her novel Them received the National Book Award in 1970. Since 1978, she has been teaching at Princeton University.
Ron Padgett was the director of publications at Teachers & Writers Collaborative, an editor at Teachers & Writers Magazine, and the founder of Full Court Press.
Harold Prince, winner of over twenty Tony Awards, produced Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, and West Side Story, and directed Phantom of the Opera, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, and Show Boat.
Anna Quindlen is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author. She worked as a columnist at the New York Times before leaving to write full time.
David Read was a chaplain to the forces of the British army during the Second World War and served as senior minister of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City from 1956 to 1989. He passed away in 2001.
Richard W. Riley was formerly governor of South Carolina and served as U.S. Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton.
Isabella Rossellini is a model and actress whose films include White Nights, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, and Fearless.
Gene Saks is a Tony Award-winning director who helmed Half a Sixpence, Mame, and Same Time, Next Year. His film credits include The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park.
Diane Sawyer has been a correspondent on CBS’s 60 Minutes, a co-anchor of Prime Time Live, ABC News, and a co-anchor for Good Morning America. She currently hosts ABC World News.
Whitney North Seymour, Jr., is a New York trial lawyer, a former federal prosecutor and state senator, and founder of both the Natural Resources Defense Council and the South Street Seaport Museum.
Ally Sheedy has appeared in the films The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, and Only the Lonely, and the critically acclaimed High Art. She has also published a collection of poetry entitled Yesterday I Saw the Sun.
Beverly Sills sang for many years with the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera. She became chairwoman of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Metropolitan Opera. She passed away in 2007.
Margaret Chase Smith represented the state of Maine as both a congresswoman and a senator. She was one of the first women to be nominated for presidency of the United States. She passed away in 1995.
Ronald B. Sobel is senior rabbi at the Temple Emanuel in New York City.
Stephen Sondheim, winner of both the Tony and Academy awards, wrote the lyrics for West Side Story, and wrote both lyrics and music for Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and most recently, Road Show.
Liv Ullmann, actress, author, and director, is honorary chair of the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, vice-chairwoman of the International Rescue Committee, and a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. She also participated in the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony.
Kurt Vonnegut’s novels include the classics Cat’s Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, Galàpagos, and Bluebeard. The American Humanist Association named him the Humanist of the Year in 1992. He passed away in 2007.
Wendy Wasserstein’s plays include Uncommon Women and Others, The Heidi Chronicles, and The Sisters Rosensweig. She has won a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She passed away in 2006.
Paul Watkins is writer-in-residence at The Peddie School in New Jersey. His works include Night over Day over Night, Stand before Your God, The Promise of Light, and most recently, The Ice Soldier.
Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Prize for peace, teaches at Boston University and is the author of the Night trilogy.
Elizabeth Winthrop, a writer for children and young adults, is the author of The Castle in the Attic and The Battle for the Castle.
Tom Wolfe is the author of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The Right Stuff, Bonfire of the Vanities, and I Am Charlotte Simmons. He won the Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award in 2005.
Acknowledgments
Noel Coward, “I’ve Been to a Marvelous Party,” copyright © 1945 by the Estate of Noel Coward. Reproduced by kind permission of Graham Payn, Esq.
Emily Dickinson, “Tell all the Truth But Tell It Slant,” “If I can stop one Heart from breaking,” and “I never saw a Moor.” Reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of Amherst College from The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, 1983, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Excerpt from “Little Gidding” in Four Quartets, copyright © 1943 by T. S. Eliot and renewed 1971 by Esme Valerie Eliot. Reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company.
Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” and “The Gift Outright,” from The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1942, 1951 by Robert Frost. Copyright © 1970 by Lesley Frost Ballantine. Copyright © 1923 by Henry Holt & Co., Inc. Reprinted by permission of Henry Holt & Co., Inc.
Langston Hughes, “Stars” and “To Be Somebody,” from Selected Poems by Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1947, 1950 by Langston Hughes. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Christopher Logue, “Come to the Edge” from Ode to the Dodo, Poems 1953–78, copyright © 1981, published by Jonathan Cape. Used by permission.
Edward Markham, “Outwitted,” reprinted by kind permission of Ayer Company Publishers.
Motele, “From Tomorrow On,” reprinted by kind permission of The Jewish Publication Society.
Andrea Musher, “In Black Earth, Wisconsin,” reprinted by kind permission of the author.
Frank O’Hara, “A Step Away from Them,” copyright © 1964 by Frank O’Hara. Reprinted by permission of City lights Books.
Mary Oliver, “Wild Ceese,” from Dream Work by Mary Oliver, copyright © 1986 by Mary Oliver. Used by permission.
Marge Piercy, “The Low Road,” from The Moon Is Always Female. Copyright © 1980 by Marge Piercy. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Anna Quindlen, “Poetry Emotion,” Copyright © 1994 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission.
Siegfried Sassoon, “Does It Matter,” copyright © 1918 by E.P Dutton, copyright renewed 1946 by Siegfried Sassoon, from Collected Poems of Siegfried Sassoon by Siegfried Sassoon. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA, Inc.
James Tate, “Man with Wooden Leg Escapes Prison,” from Absences by James Tate, copyright © 1971 by James Tate. By permission of Little, Brown and Company.
Alice Walker, “On Stripping Bark from Myself,” from Goodnight, Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning, copyright © 1979 by Alice Walker. Used by permission of Doubleday Publishers, a division of Bantam, Doubleday, Dell.
William Carlos Williams, “The Yachts,” from Collected Poems, 1909–1939, Volume I, copyright © 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
James Wright, “A Blessing,” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 1971 by James Wright, Wesleyan University Press. Used by permission of University Press of New England.
enter>