From: JSidman at aol.com <JSidman>
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2003 13:33:26 EDT

Yes, I agree with Arnold that labels are shredding, and I think that some novels in poetry form are more poetic than others, but I wanted to point out one book that does a beautiful job of being a "a thematic collection of individual poems which moves a narrative line forward in some way." (Arnold's words)

HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE BEACH LATELY? by Ralph Fletcher is billed as a collection of poems (not a novel), but it is more. It follows an 11-yr-old boy's day at the beach, from arrival in the morning sunlight to a late-evening campfire. One boy, one day, one point of view. There is no obstensible plot (except a mild flirtation with a schoolmate) but we enter fully into this boy's life in these sly, wonderful free-verse poems.

Maybe there is a category of narrative poetry books that is more than just a collection of poems, but not quite a "novel in poems"? LITTLE DOG AND DUNCAN by Kristine O'Connell George also comes to mind.

Joyce Sidman
Received on Sun 06 Apr 2003 12:33:26 PM CDT