56 pages 1 hour read

Margarita Engle

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings

Nonfiction | Memoir in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

A 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

Genre Context: Verse Memoir

Verse memoirs are a genre of full-length autobiographical narratives that are told through poetry instead of prose. Verse memoirs make use of the poetic form to tell stories that highlight mood, symbolism, and atmosphere through a tight control of language and literary device. Young Adult verse novels often structure the narrative in short sections with different narrators, providing multiple perspectives with insight into the thoughts and feelings of diverse characters. In verse memoirs, the perspective usually remains tied to the autobiographical narrator. Engle uses organizational techniques such as evolving symbolism to highlight the changes in perspective that take place over the course of the narrative. An increasingly popular genre for memoirs by women of color, recent verse memoirs include Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhá Lai, and Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.

Authorial Context: Margarita Engle

Margarita Engle is an award-winning author best known for her poetry for children. Born in Los Angeles, California, the author spent summers in Cuba with her mother’s extended family where she developed a deep love of and appreciation for Cuba as well as Spanish poetry.

Related Titles

By Margarita Engle

Study Guide

logo

Drum Dream Girl

Margarita Engle

Drum Dream Girl

Margarita Engle

Plot Summary

logo

The Surrender Tree

Margarita Engle

The Surrender Tree

Margarita Engle

Study Guide

logo

Tula ["Books are door shaped"]

Margarita Engle

Tula ["Books are door shaped"]

Margarita Engle