tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post2010813834265994272..comments2024-03-19T18:51:58.496-05:00Comments on Cultural Front: The Rise & Fall of Signature PoemsH. Rambsyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16862209871277442972noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-13722734916680678352011-05-18T18:16:32.934-05:002011-05-18T18:16:32.934-05:00Oh...thanks for sharing those memories, observatio...Oh...thanks for sharing those memories, observations. I appreciate it.H. Rambsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16862209871277442972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595859379914711075.post-57245418174244325732011-05-18T18:05:31.901-05:002011-05-18T18:05:31.901-05:00I was involved with selecting poems for anthologie...I was involved with selecting poems for anthologies once my mother (Ouida Clapp, Director of Language Arts for the Buffalo NY Public Schools) had been given the task of finding poems by black authors that could be included. I was a college English major home for the summer and she asked for my help with the project. Scott Foresman was among the first publishers to include black poetry. Their criteria was strict: A lot depended on would it fly in Texas and CA (mass book buying states); copyright issues; and language deemed non-controversial enough for publishing in high school anthologies. It was the 70s. Mrs. Clapp was the first textbook author to place this poetry into anthologies. The company asked her after she wrote Scott Foresman (several years previous to their request) protesting a story about Tarzan in her 7th grade class anthology. Mrs. Clapp not only refused to teach it; she wrote a sharply worded note of protest to the company. They kept her name and letter on file for years, finally turning to her in the 70s when multiculturalism in high school anthologies became a desirable commodity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com