Poetic Form: Concrete Poetry

Bibliography:

Janezko, Paul. 2001. A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems. Ill. Raschka, Chris. Massachuetts: Candwick Press. ISBN: 0763606618.

Review:

Paul Janezko has put together a book of thirty one concrete poems. These poems are written by different authors and include Douglas Florian, Joan Bransfield Graham and Robert Froman. Chris Raschka uses a mixed media of paint and torn paper that have a decidedly Picasso feel to add detail to these shaped poems. The book is written completely in concrete poetry form –even the copyright page. All of the copyright and CIP information is written in such a way as to create the traditional Copyright symbol of a circle with a “c” in the middle. Very cute! The book includes a note from the editor explaining that “concrete poems are different from regular poems” and gives a great introduction to this type of poetry. Concrete poetry is very playful and accessible to young readers. However, there are a few poems in this collections such as Eskimo Pie (pg. 16), Swan and Shadow (pg. 24) and Pattern Poem with an Elusive Intruder (pg.32) that will be difficult for children to comprehend. Nevertheless, the shape of these poems will engage the children and help them to see that words can be “shaped” in a way to represent what the poem is talking about. These poems will delight readers and will help them understand that the words create an image or feeling that is the essence of the topic. Most of these poems will be difficult to read aloud and are meant to be seen and felt rather than heard.

Poem Selection:

The poem that I have chosen to share from this book is Tennis Anyone? By Monica Kulling.

Tennis ******* is a
game I ******* could watch
for hours ****** but my
neck won’t ****** let me

Do you feel like your watching a tennis match when you read this? I do! As I read the poem, I had to laugh out loud. What a great experience for children! This collection of poems is perfect for challenging the typical idea that poetry has to rhyme and to see that poems can be more than meets the eye. Teachers from every subject area can use concrete poetry. Students can write a poem about any topic and have it take the shape they are writing about.
Extension:
Here are some excellent ideas and resources for concrete poetry.
http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763606618.kit.1.pdf
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/shape/

Verse Novel: All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg

Bibliography:
Burg, Ann E. 2009. All the Broken Pieces. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 978054508927

Review:

All the Broken Pieces is the story of twelve-year-old Matt Pin. Told in first person, this novel blends historical fiction and poetry to tell how this young boy recovers from the ravages of the Vietnam War. Matt is the son of an American GI and a Vietnamese woman. Matt lived with his mother until he was ten years old. At the end of the war, Matt is airlifted out of Vietnam and adopted by an American family. During the past two years, Matt has been loved and cared for by his adoptive family but still struggles with the loss of his biological mother and brother and the horrific memories of the war. His family has tried to help Matt retain his Vietnamese culture by having him attend classes that taught him about Vietnam. Nevertheless, this was not the Vietnam that he remembers. “I close my eyes./I listen./I try to remember the colors,/but I cannot./I try to form the dragons from dust, /but I cannot./I try again./But I cannot./ My Vietnam/is drenched/in smoke and fog./It has no parks/or playgrounds,/no classrooms/or teachers./It is not on any map/or in any book./ My Vietnam is/only/a pocketful/of broken pieces/I carry/inside me.” (pg.22-23) . Although Matt struggles with his loss, he also integrates with his new culture. His adoptive parents help him develop a love of music and baseball and encourage him in all aspects of his life. He also receives the support from his teachers and coaches when some of his classmates do not accept him because he is Vietnamese. Matt has a LOT to deal with.

Author Ann E. Burg’s use of sparse language gets right to the point. Readers can feel the raw pain and emotion throughout the book that all the characters feel. All of the characters are believable and respond in a way that is to be expected. Young adult readers will learn about how confusing the war was for all people and learn about the tension and misconceptions among the American people of that time about the war. As I read the book, I felt a deep sadness for Matt and the Vietnamese people. By the end of the book, I felt hope that Matt would overcome the terrors of war and finally be happy.

All the Broken Pieces is an excellent novel to share with readers learning about how war affects people. Students in grades 6 and up will enjoy this novel and will gain an understanding of perspectives as they read.

Poem Selection:

As I read this novel. I kept thinking about how people do not always understand each other and often develop prejudices. In the novel, Matt has an enemy, Rob, who hates him and calls him names. Matt does not understand why. The baseball coach realized this and sets up an activity to help the team learn to rely on each other. He teams Matt and Rob together. Matt is willing to try but Rob is not. However, it is through this activity that Matt finally learns why Rob hates him so much.

“I hate you,/he says/My brother died/because of you.” (pg. 188)

After Rob says this, Matt is hit with images of the war, and the voices of the support group that he has attended with his dad and piano teacher. He suddenly remembers his Vietnamese mother singing to him and decides to respond to Rob.

“I lost my brother too,/I say, and/my words surprise me./He isn’t dead,/but he’s gone just the same./And it’s my fault./My mouth is saying stuff/I don’t even know I’m thinking./I’m sorry that your brother died./I’m really sorry./I know how you feel.”(pg. 190-191)

This is a turning point for Matt and Rob. Both boys realize that they have been hurt by the war and Matt finally starts healing. This novel is an excellent way to get students talking about prejudice, and not making judgments about people before they get to know them.

Douglas Florian

Bibliography:

Florian, Douglas. 2009. Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings. New York: Atheneum Books. ISBN: 9781416979784

Review:

Douglas Florian has written a book of poetry about one topic that everyone loves- Dinosaurs! This book of 20 poems will delight students of all ages. The first poem titled: “The Age of Dinosaurs” serves as an introduction to the different periods of time that dinosaurs lived: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. The last poem, “The End of Dinosaurs”, explores the theories behind the dinosaurs demise. In between there are 18 poems about specific dinosaurs. Poems include the most commonly know dinosaurs such as the T-Rex and Triceratops to the more obscure such as the Baryonyx. Florian used rhyme and humor liberally throughout the book. Students will love reading these poems aloud. The poems are very concrete and will be understood by the youngest of readers. Each poem has a pronunciation guide (very helpful!) and the meaning of each dinosaurs name. Also included is a table of contents, a “glossarysaurs”, a list of dinosaur museums and fossil sites and a bibliography. Florian uses brown paper bags as the background and “gouache, collage, colored pencils, stencils, rubber stamps and “dinosaur dust” to illustrate the poems. Huge, full page spreads use muted colors and unexpected details to compliment the poems perfectly.

Poem Selection:

All of the poems are fantastic and fun. This is a great book to share with students who are interested in dinosaurs. Of course, most dinosaur books are in the nonfiction section 567 of the library. This book is perfect for sharing how poetry books can be about specific subjects that students love and introducing students to the poetry section of the library as well. Librarians and teachers could collaborate to have students do a research project on a specific dinosaur. Then share Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings as an introduction to the specific dinosaurs. Be sure to point out the glossary, bibliography and special features of the book and how they can aid students who are researching.

Triceratops
try-SAIR-a-tops (three-horned face)

Triceratops.
Try-scare-a-tops.
Try-wouldn't-want-to-dare-a-tops.
Triceratops.
Try-stare-a-tops.
Beware-and-please-take-care-a-tops.
Born with three great horns in place,
Triceratops was in your face.

http://floriancafe.blogspot.com/2009/04/4th-starred-review.html

NCTE Award Winning Poet: Eloise Greenfield

Bibliography:

Greenfield, Eloise. 2004. In The Land of Words: New and Selected Poems. Ill. Gilchrist, Jan Spivey. USA: HarperCollins. ISBN: 0060289937

Review:

NCTE award winning poet, Eloise Greenfield has written a book that is an excellent introduction to poetry for young readers. In The Land of Words: New and Selected Poems is actually a combination of new poems and poems that Ms. Greenfield has previously written. The book is a tribute to poems, poetry, stories and words. The book is divided into two parts: Part I is titled “The Poet/The Poem”. In this section, each poem is introduced by the author and explains the inspiration behind the poem and what she was thinking as she wrote it. Part II is titled “In The Land”. In this section, there are poems about books, stories, jokes, riddles poems, words and how people feel about reading and writing. All of the poems in the book are easily accessible by young students and are concrete in nature. Children will love the strong rhythm and rhyme in the poems. Here is an example of this strong rhythm and beat : from Nathaniel’s Rap:

It’s Nathaniel talking/and Nathaniel’s me/I’m talking about/my philosophy/About the people I see/All told in the words/Of Nathaniel B. Free/That’s me/And I can rap/I can rap/I can rap, rap, rap/Til your earflaps flap….

I love the feel of this poem. I can feel Nathaniel’s energy, and desire to express his opinions about everything. In addition to the strong rhythmic poems, many of the poems use strong rhyming phrases. The rhymes roll off the tongue and are fun to read aloud. Greenfield truly understands children and the poetry that they will love. This a wonderful book to share with students and to explore the way words and imagination can be used to express how you feel about everything. Jan Spivey Gilchrist illustrated the poems in beautiful fabric collage. The bright felt illustrations are very detailed and add to the appeal of the book.

Poem Selection:

It was difficult to decide which poem to share in this post. I decided to share two in order to show the uniqueness of the book. As stated earlier, Part I of the book is titled “The Poet/The Poem. What I really liked about this section is the introduction to each poem that Ms. Greenfield gives. I would use this book to introduce students to the thought process involved in writing. Too often students think that writing is just sitting down and writing-on demand! Ms. Greenfield’s explanations are the perfect way to dispel that idea. I would read the title to each of the poems, and then read the introduction. I would then ask students to tell what they think about the specific activity and write on chart paper in order to facilitate the sights, smells, sounds, tastes and touch of the specific activity. Here is an excerpt from To Catch a Fish. Ms. Greenfield explains: “This poem was inspired by a painting by Amos Ferguson. I thought of the patience it takes to go fishing” (pg.16).

It takes more than a wish/to catch a fish/you take the hook/you add the bait/you concentrate/and then you wait/you wait/you wait….

As I read this poem, I could just picture myself sitting on the dock or in a boat going fishing. What an excellent way to explore the feelings of an activity with children and the creative ways to write about those experiences.

My favorite poem in the book is Story. It truly expresses how I feel when I read-and how I want all of my students to feel.

I step into the story,/I leave my world behind,/I let the walls of story/Be the walls around my mind./New faces and new voices,/I listen and I see,/and people I have never met/mean everything to me./I worry when they worry,/I quake when danger’s near,/I hold my breath and hope/that all their troubles disappear./ I don’t know what will happen,/I never know what I’ll find,/when I step into a story/and leave my world behind.