Exploring Poetry

A condensed format,

Concise, eloquent words,

A powerful message

And poetry is born.

         I have always been awe of people who are able to convey so much with so little, who are able to paint an image or evoke emotion by intricately combining a few words. However, I have to confess that I was one of those kids who didn’t have a great fondness for poetry. While selecting a book, I have always gravitated towards prose than verse. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t have an aversion for poetry; I have read my fair share of poems and have gained profound insights, but it’s just not my first choice in reading materials. So for this blog post, I have chosen poetry books that are simple and easy to read, which I think is a good way to ease children into this genre.

FORGET-ME-NOTS

Poems to Learn by Heart

Selected by: Mary Ann Hoberman

Illustrated by: Michael Emberley

120 poems, long and short, happy and sad, strange and mysterious, are all put together in this delightful anthology selected by Children’s Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman. It’s a banquet of different kinds of poems that is sure to satisfy the palate of every poetry lover. Classical poets from Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson to newer ones like Shel Silverstein and Nikki Grimes find a place in this anthology, and even Shakespeare is not left behind.Each of the poems is chosen for the simple reason that they are “memorable,” in other words are “easy to remember” and are “worth remembering.” These poems, some old, some new when learned by heart will stay with the reader forever like a well-cherished memory. Poems like The Arrow and the Song by H.W.Longfellow, Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti  took me down the memory lane as they were part of my growing up years. The fact that I remembered these poems proves the point that once these poems make a house in our memories, they remain there perpetually. However, I do have doubts about the memorability factor of some of the longer poems. There are poems in this collection that I found a connection to. The poem My Name by Lee Bennett Hopkins talks about a girl who tries writing her name on the sidewalk and on her hands, but all her efforts meet with the same fate; it gets washed away. Then the perfect place to write her name dawns on her. She realizes that a birthday card for her mother with her (girl’s) name on it would be perfect. Her mother does not throw away anything of the girl, so she knows that her name will remain there forever. As a mother myself, I know the compelling desire to preserve everything and anything that is remotely associated with my son. I have scribbled cards and indistinguishable ‘art-work’ to prove it.

     Any description of this book would be incomplete without mentioning the charming illustrations by Michael Emberley. Illustrations done with pencils, watercolor, and pastels are seen in every page of the book, and they match the mood and subject of the poem. Silly and whimsical poems have

funny illustrations whereas thought-provoking and somber poems have serious illustrations. The poems and illustrations in this anthology transport us to a fantastical world that is both real and whimsical at the same time and makes the readers experience a wide range of emotions from laughter to sorrow. Many of the short and silly poems have a rhythm that young readers can easily pick up, making this an excellent book for young readers.

                                                   I Have Heard of a Land

                                                      By: Joyce Carol Thomas

                                                Illustrated by: Floyd Cooper

Drawing inspiration from her own family, Joyce Carol Thomas has written in verse a powerful anthem to the strong and resilient American Pioneers who through courage turned their dreams into reality. In the late 1800’s Blacks, Whites, men, and women moved to Oklahoma Territory to lay

stake on free land. This poem offers a new perspective on an era that is otherwise well-documented for slavery and segregation. This lyrical narrative describes the happiness and hardships that a brave African-American woman experiences as she lays her claim on the free land. It is a land where she knows that her dreams can come to fruition if she works hard and survives the harsh conditions. A land where “possibilities reach as far as her eyes can see, and as far as our imaginations can carry us.” Through simple descriptive language, Joyce Thomas paints not only the beauty of the new frontier but also describes the grit of the people who created a niche for themselves in an unknown and uncharted land. Floyd Cooper’s oil-wash portraits complement and enhance the quality of the book. Cooper uses unique oil wash on board technique or "subtractive process" of painting, where he first paints the illustration board with oil paint and pastels, and then he erases using a stretchy eraser to bring out the color to design a picture. Light pink, yellow and brown

are the prominent colors used in this book. He makes use of double-page spreads through the entire book to show the beauty of the land and the life of the Pioneers in the frontier.

Apart from the simple poetic narrative and the beautiful illustrations what stands out is the female protagonist, who dreams of owning land and is brave enough to follow through. When many African-Americans were still living under the shadows of slavery and women didn’t have any rights, we are presented in this poem a woman who has the courage and the fortitude to carve out her own future, and on her own terms. I think that this poem is a wonderful way to introduce a historical period to children and pique their curiosity about the way of life and the events of that time.