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/