Dennis Littrell

Like a Tsunami Headed for Hilo: Selected Poems Dennis Littrell

In addition to 52 of Dennis Littrell?s best or most representative poems ?Like a tsunami headed for Hilo? contains two appendices, one entitled, ?On the teaching of poetry at the high school level? and the other a poetry quiz that tests your ability to distinguish between ?good? poetry and ?bad? poetry, or as Littrell has it between professional poetry and the not so professional. Littrell was considered one of the top poetry teachers in the Los Angeles area when he taught at Mira Costa High School in the late eighties and early nineties. His mentor was Dr. Marilyn Whirry, who in 2000 went to the White House to accept from President Clinton the National Teacher of the Year award. The poems themselves range from epigrams and ditties to narrative poems that tell a story or evoke a milieu. The style is razor sharp, sometimes satirical and even mocking, at other times lyrical and warm. With titles like ?I like a woman? to ?Politically incorrect poem #35? to ?The Phoenix of a singular fire? the poems examine the human experience emotionally and intellectually with candor and a kind of wild grace. The title poem itself is about the power of poetry.