16 pages • 32 minutes read
Naomi Shihab NyeValentine for Ernest Mann
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1994A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Rhetorical Context
“Valentine for Ernest Mann” operates as an Ars Poetica, or a poem that explains the function, art, and purpose of poetry. In the Academy of American Poets Poet-to-Poet project, Nye recounts the poem’s origins and the fateful meeting with Ernest Mann on Valentine’s Day when he requested the poem (“Poet-to-Poet: Naomi Shihab Nye, ‘Valentine for Ernest Mann.’” YouTube, YouTube, 4 Feb. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBH6GNHbp1Y). As she grappled with how to reply to his request, she recalled a story that some close friends had revealed to her about two skunks as a Valentine’s Day gift and decided to weave the two stories together as one poem. In doing so, she poses the question “where does one find poetry?” as she simultaneously gives her own answer: by living “in a way that lets us find [poems]” (Line 13). While the original audience for the poem was Ernest, to whom she ultimately did mail the poem, the poem’s wider publication broadens the conversation around poetry, how to find it, and how it connects us to a larger community.
The poem’s intention is to examine the role of poetry in everyday life. In approaching this question, Nye concludes that like the man who saw the skunks as valentines, we must “re-invent whatever our lives give us” (Line 26). In doing so her reader becomes an active participant in poetry, finding it not only in the garage or sock drawer but also (and especially) in relationships with other people.
Literary Context
Critics often note Nye’s ability to capture small details of the world, particularly the things that might be otherwise ignored or forgotten. “Valentine for Ernest Mann” takes this ability and turns it into the very argument of the poem, asserting that these details are the heart of poetry. Writing about Nye for Ploughshares, critic Victoria Clausi says “[Her] carefully crafted connections offer bridges on which readers might find their own stable footing, enabling them to peek over the railings at the lush scenery” (Clausi, Victoria. “Rev. of Fuel by Naomi Shihab Nye.” Ploughshares, www.pshares.org/issues/winter-1998-99/rev-fuel-naomi-shihab-nye). In this poem Nye creates intimacy with the reader, literally inviting them in the final stanza to participate in the re-invention of life to become more open to poetry. In doing so, she creates the bridge that Clausi mentions and gives the reader the tools needed to enact the meaningful poetic life Nye wishes for Ernest and her readers at large.
At the 2015 National Book Festival, Nye talked about the themes she finds herself returning to in her poetry, as well as the poet's civic responsibility: "to continue to encourage a sense of civility among us and a sense of curiosity about one another’s lives.” She noted also, “I love the deep attribute of poetry to pause, to look, to listen, to respect, to pay attention to variety and learn something new” (“Naomi Shihab Nye on the Poet's Civic Responsibility.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, poets.org/text/video-naomi-shihab-nye-poets-civic-responsibility). She believes that poetry can give us access to each other’s humanity and empathy for other people. “Valentine for Ernest Mann” is an argument for this philosophy as it asks the reader to reconsider not just the objects and animals in everyday life but “the person you almost like, but not quite” (Line 28). This impulse is key to understanding Nye’s work and her belief in the power of empathy and human connection across different cultures and barriers.
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By Naomi Shihab Nye
