“Janet Wong”
A Poet and She
Didn’t Even Know It
“I like poems
that are not afraid to talk about painful things. I like poems that make you
laugh, or cry; poems that grab you and make you read them again; poems that
make you think. “
– Janet Wong
Introduction
to Author Study:At first, I was not sure who I wanted to write about for my Author Study but after looking at many of the authors I knew that I had to choose Janet Wong. I watched an interview on Wong where she talked about how she was working as a lawyer but she felt like she was becoming a mean person so she wanted to do something more with her life and she couldn’t think of anything more important than working with children. When Wong discussed this I felt like I could really relate to her. Sometimes I wonder if I am choosing the right career and then I always remind myself of the passion I have for children and what an impact I can have on their lives. After researching Wong further I discovered that she is a poet and I was even more excited with my choice. Ever since I was young I have enjoyed reading stories or novels that are a little off beat. I like reading anything that is free verse and I especially love poetry. I think that poetry can be extremely powerful and so does Janet Wong. I think her books are a great way to introduce poetry to students because they discuss cultural topics as well as everyday topics. I would use this author study in a second or third grade classroom and I would expect for the unit to take about two weeks.
About
the Author:Janet Wong was born in Los Angeles, California and she grew up there with her father, a Chinese immigrant and her mother, a Korean immigrant. Wong was exposed to these two cultures as well as the American culture and most of her writing reflects her experiences growing up in a multicultural environment. However Wong didn’t always want to pursue a career in children’s literature. She graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in History and College Honors, she then went on to receive her J.D. from Yale Law School. She practiced as a corporate lawyer at Universal Studios Hollywood but after a few years she decided that she wanted to do something different. Wong realized she wasn’t happy with her job and one day, while shopping for a gift for her nephew she fell in love with children’s books. She decided that she was going to start writing children’s books and see if she could get published. After an entire year of writing, Wong had received over 20 rejection letters. Wong was discouraged but she didn’t give up and since then she has become a well known children’s author.
Janet Wong is mostly known for her poetry which is ironic because when Wong began taking writing classes at UCLA she actually hated poetry. That is until she heard poet Myra Cohn Livingston read a piece that moved Wong so deeply. Wong has written over 100 poems and put them into multiple collective books. She has also written over 13 short children’s picture books. What I find to be so special about her work is that she includes her own experiences with culture and I think this can relate to many different children. She has won numerous awards for her writing over the years including the International Reading Association's Celebrate Literacy Award, Foothill Reading Council, 1998; Stone Center Recognition of Merit, Claremont Graduate School, 1999 all just for Good Luck Gold and Other Poems, one of her most famous books.
Website Links for more
information on Janet Wong
Janet Wong’s Website: http://www.janetwong.com/biography/index.cfm
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