A Visit to William Blake's Inn

A Visit to William Blake's Inn

Infobox Book
name = A Visit to William Blake's Inn
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Nancy Willard
illustrator = Alice and Martin Provensen
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Poetry
publisher = Harcourt Brace & Company
release_date = 1981
media_type =
pages = 45 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-15-293823-0
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers" is a book by Nancy Willard that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1982. It is also the only book to have won both the Newbery Award and the Caldecott Honor Award. (The Caldecott Medal in 1982 went to Jumanji.)

In a prose introduction, Nancy Willard tells how she was first introduced to the poetry of William Blake when she was ill as a seven-year-old. When she asked her babysitter, Miss Pratt, for a story "about lions and tigers," Miss Pratt responded with Blake's "The Tyger," and two days later she received a copy of "Songs of Experience" and "Songs of Innocence," inscribed "Poetry is the best medicine. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. yrs, William Blake."

The fifteen poems that follow, plus an epilogue, describe the events of a day and a half of a child's visit to William Blake's Inn. Inhabited by such creatures as the Rabbit, the Rat, the Wise Cow, the King of Cats, the Tiger, the Man in the Marmalade Hat, and of course William Blake himself, it is a place of wonder and magic.

Willard's poetry is metrical and rhyming, simple in many ways but never simplistic. Hints of a larger universe or magical forces at work are never far from the surface. In the central "Blake Leads a Walk on the Milky Way," most of the characters express wonder and awe at the eternal beauty around them and are rewarded by Blake with gifts of stars, while the rat, sullen and cynical, receives only "a handful of dirt."

The illustrations are beautiful gouache paintings which are whimsical and iconic, making great use of the architecture of Blake's England.

The poems are:
* William Blake’s Inn for Innocent and Experienced Travelers
* Blake’s Wonderful Car Delivers Us Wonderfully Well
* A Rabbit Reveals My Room
* The Sun and Moon Circus Soothes the Wakeful Guests
* The Man in the Marmalade Hat Arrives
* The King of Cats Orders an Early Breakfast
* The Wise Cow Enjoys a Cloud
* Two Sunflowers Move into the Yellow Room
* The Wise Cow Makes Way, Room, and Believe
* Blake Leads a Walk on the Milky Way
* When We Come Home, Blake Calls for Fire
* The Marmalade Man Makes a Dance to Mend Us
* The King of Cats Sends a Postcard to His Wife
* The Tiger Asks Blake for a Bedtime Story
* Blake Tells the Tiger the Tale of the Tailor
* Epilogue

"A Visit to William Blake's Inn" has been set to music as a song cycle by American composer Dale Lyles.

References

* Willard, Nancy. "A Visit to William Blake's Inn." Harcourt Brace & Company, 1981.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Newbery Medal — Awarded for ... for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Presented by Association for Library Service to Children …   Wikipedia

  • Nancy Willard — (born June 26, 1936, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an award winning children s author, poet, and novelist. In 1982, she received the Newbery Medal for A Visit to William Blake s Inn. She lives currently lives in Poughkeepsie, New York where she… …   Wikipedia

  • Amerikanische Kinder- und Jugendliteratur — Amerikanische Schulkinder wählen in der kleinen Bibliothek ihrer Grundschule Bücher aus (1938)[1] Die amerikanische Kinder und Jugendliteratur umfasst alle literarischen Arbeiten, die für ein Publikum von Kindern und Jugendlichen geschaffen,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • US-amerikanische Kinder- und Jugendliteratur — Amerikanische Schulkinder wählen in der kleinen Bibliothek ihrer Grundschule Bücher aus (1938)[1] Die amerikanische Kinder und Jugendliteratur umfasst alle literarischen Arbeiten, die für ein Publikum von Kindern und Jugendlichen geschaffen,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of University of Michigan arts alumni — The parent article is at List of University of Michigan alumni This is a list of arts related alumni from the University of Michigan.Belles lettres*Daniel Aaron (BA 1933) “…may be the most eminent living critic of American literature and… …   Wikipedia

  • Newbery Medal — Die Newbery Medal ist ein US amerikanischer Literaturpreis, der seit 1922 von der Association for Library Service to Children, einer Untergruppe der American Library Association, vergeben wird. Zusammen mit der Caldecott Medal ist dieser Preis… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Medaille Newbery — Médaille Newbery La Médaille John Newbery (John Newbery Medal) est un prix littéraire décerné chaque année par l Association for Library Service to Children de l American Library Association (ALA, Association des bibliothèques américaines) à l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Médaille Newbery — La Médaille John Newbery (John Newbery Medal) est un prix littéraire décerné chaque année par l Association for Library Service to Children, branche de l American Library Association, à l auteur du meilleur livre pour enfants américain. Le prix… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Newbery Medal — Médaille Newbery La Médaille John Newbery (John Newbery Medal) est un prix littéraire décerné chaque année par l Association for Library Service to Children de l American Library Association (ALA, Association des bibliothèques américaines) à l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Медаль Джона Ньюбери — Оригинальное название англ. John Newbery Medal Страна …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”