Yesterday, I came across this article by Chris Harris, "When Exactly do Children Start Thinking They hate Poetry?"Chris is an executive producer for How I Met Your Mother and The Great Indoors and recently released his first poetry book, I'M JUST NO GOOD AT RHYMING. I found my poem in his article. I was struck by Chris' question, "When did poetry become literary broccoli?" and wondered if there might be a found poem hiding in the article. I started messing around with it; it didn't quite work, but close enough, and so I added some of my own words, and revised the order a little. Because I didn't want to end up in copyright jail, Chris' words are in italics.
"When did poetry become literary broccoli?"
So tell me, exactly when
did poetry become literary broccoli?
word-hungry toddler
gobbles songs, finger plays,
Good Night Moon and
Brown Bear, Brown Bear
bangs spoon on metal highchair trays
shouts incessantly,
"more, more, more, more, more!"
So tell me, exactly when
did poetry become literary broccoli?
was it that nine-year-old
experiencing poetry
solely through prefab formal structures-
haiku,
acrostics,
cinquains,
and diamante
who exclaimed, "POETRY:
It's like regular writing
but with even more rules!"
No wonder
some kids go from
enjoying poetry,
to thinking they hate it
to knowing they can't stand it.
what about this?
what about if we made poetry
expansive
rather than constrictivewhat about if we help kids
discover just how many directions
and word countries
there are to explore
Dr. Seuss and Lewis Carroll…
bouncy joy
in nonsense words
that somehow magically
make sense
Nikki Grimes…
imagery,
laser-specific moments
make the universal
feel personal
John Grandits
blurring the line
between picture and poem
until poemisthepictureisthepoem…
Kwame Alexander…
onomatopaiea
makes reader
lean forward
until they find themselves
surrounded by a heartbreaking moment
What about if we help kids think of poetry
as the polar opposite of that?
As writing that's free
from the standard rules?
What about if we allowed them to sit at the kids' table?
unshackled
from the usual concerns
of standard grammar
proper sentence structure,
conventional margins
let them look at how versatile
and powerful
english words can suddenly be.
let's give our kids the chance
to stick macaroni noodle words on the tines of their heart
press gravy sentence lakes in mashed potato paragraph puddles
bake miniature cakes in essaybake ovens
might then poetry
become
children's literary heart food?
(C) Carol Wilcox, 2018
Irene Latham is hosting Poetry Friday today. Be sure to stick around and read a few of her poems, ok, actually all of them, from her series ART SPEAK, based on art work from the Harlem Renaissance. In today's post, she talks about how her composing process. I can't believe she creates such beautiful words in an hour!
19 comments:
I love this!
The "Let's give our kids the chance..." verse is incredible! Great poem!
What a good source for a found poem! I enjoyed the transition from "word-hungry toddler" to frustrated nine-year-old. Your "What if" stanzas offer a more thoughtful approach.
Thanks for sharing this with us, Carol! It's a topic worth thinking about. I think having teachers who love poetry helps...someone acting like they are offering you something wonderful is inspiring!
I loved "I'm Just No Good at Rhyming", so finding your own poem there is terrific, Carol. I love "children's literary heart food" and all those other things that are loved by children. Let them choose! I agree with Tabatha, teachers who love poetry themselves helps a lot!
Poetry as writing to be free - how wonderful is that?!
I loved poetry as a child, but then it went away. When it returned in high school, we were told what the poet intended and were never asked what our own impressions and interpretations were. I'm trying to change that with my Kindergarten poets, encouraging them to write their own poetry and begin to share their thoughts and feeling about the work of others. Poetry can be brussels sprouts, too. Can't get enough as an adult!
As a substitute teacher these days I am amazed at the different responses I get from the same age groups but in different schools.
That said, if I just let them play, no holds barred, including letting them talk about poo and farts, i am always impressed by what they pull off.
WOW, that's amazing! I love it. I can't believe you created something that cool and insightful using some of my ramblings. Agree that the "Let's give our kids..." paragraph is a standout. If anyone tries to throw you into copyright jail, let me know and I'll try to post bail for you.
I love it--all of it--the question, the article, the poem in response.
What a wonderful way to blend an original poem with your thoughts to come up with a marvelous new poem, Carol. I agree with Chris Harris that the stanza that starts with "Let's give our kids..." is so full of great word play and an amazing response but the line, "children's literary heart food", is such a poetic type of thought. Carol, I hope you join me as I start collecting poetry for my new spring gallery, Sense-sational Spring that I posted for Poetry Friday tonigth.
Love your poem, and the fun woven into this stanza:
"let's give our kids the chance
to stick macaroni noodle words on the tines of their heart
press gravy sentence lakes in mashed potato paragraph puddles
bake miniature cakes in essaybake ovens"
Marvelous, thanks Carol!
Yes! Love your found poem. And yes, if children were just aloud to enjoy reading and listening to poetry, rather than putting so much focus on structure, form, and getting it right, we might have a world full of poetry lovers.
Wow Carol, this is like a Cliffs Notes of the article. :) I love it. Beautifully done! Poetry doesn't need to be pretentious or high-falutin' ... there is something in poetry for EVERYONE. xo
Poetry as literary heart food! I want this for all young people. Thanks so much for this, Carol. I'll come back later to read the original article. So glad to see John Grandits mentioned, always an instant hit with my middle schoolers!
I ask this question about reading all the time. Even in AP Lit kids come in thinking about poetry as broccoli. When I started teaching AP lit, I made a decision to de-emphasize discussions of formal structures. Frankly, the CB doesn't care about a kid's ability to articulate a laundry list of lit devices. This approach allows students to discuss ideas and experience poetry in the way Archibald MacLeash tells us to let a poem be. Then we can get into form later. Honestly, sometimes I think teachers want to show kids what they--the teacher--knows instead of honoring the words on the page and the voice in the poem.
Having said all that, I love your found poem. I'm glad you made the distinction between your words and those of the article. I love the list of authors to make your point.
It's Chris Harris' book that has taken Poetry Friday in my classroom by storm. I think we had 6 selections from that book yesterday. It is HILARIOUS and kids totally get the humor.
I can't even pick any favorite parts of you poem because I love it all so much (and I love Chris Harris EVEN MORE now)!!
Love the poem, Carol, and I agree with the sentiments. We need to stop pouring words into molds and calling it poetry. Instead, the words should be the frame that holds our hearts, still beating and alive.
This is fabulous! I love how you've personalized and tweaked your found poem to create a wonderful hybrid. Way to model the "no rules" approach! I think my favorite stanza is the one that begins, "Let's give our kids the chance..."
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