From: Levine, Arthur <ALevine>
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 16:32:29 -0400

I'm going to be provocative and challenge the notion that children's poetry shouldn't be illustrated.
        It seems to me that the prime objection comes from people who feel that an artist's interpretation of the text interferes with the child's ability to form his or her own mental imagery.
        My feeling is that you might just as soon ask for picture book texts written in prose not to be illustrated. There too an illustrator plays an integral part in conveying the meaning, the tone, the atmosphere of a given work. What the artist chooses to emphasize, what he or she chooses to depict is critical to the reader's experience.
        Why then, should it be mandatory that poetry for children be presented without the partnership of illustration? Why shouldn't the reader benefit from, and enjoy an artist's interpretation of a given text? Why shouldn't a visual artist give color, flavor, and yes, meaning to a poet's lines just as an actor or presenter would give color, flavor and meaning to the text by their oratory technique? (I'm sure all of us have heard poetry read out loud by people whose dramatic talents give the words their own life.)(We've probably all heard poets kill their own texts by reading in a monotone!)
        

 Message----From: ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu] Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 2:00 AM To: ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu Subject: ccbc-net digest 16 Apr 2003


Topics covered in this issue include:

  1. illustrations in poetry books
       Barbara Tobin
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:57:13 00
  2. Illustrated Poetry
       druthgo at sonic.net (Ruth I Gordon)
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 09:46:37 00
  3. illustration in poetry books
       JSidman at aol.com
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 13:42:31 EDT
  4. Picking up a book...
       druthgo at sonic.net (Ruth I Gordon)
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 12:44:02 00
  5. Poetry and Illustration
       "Merri Lindgren"
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 17:56:37 00
  6. Re: [ccbc-net] Poetry and Illustration
       Catherine Atkins
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 16:39:32 00
  7. Poetry and Illustration
       Annette Goldsmith
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 21:48:38 00
  8. Fwd: [ccbc-net] Picking up a book...
       ARNOLDADOFF at aol.com
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 22:14:49 EDT
  9. Re: [ccbc-net] Poetry and Illustration [HEART to HEART]
       "Karen L. Simonetti"
       Tue, 15 Apr 2003 21:43:37 00
Received on Wed 16 Apr 2003 03:32:29 PM CDT