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[CCBC-Net] Poetry and Art
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From: WriterBabe at aol.com <WriterBabe>
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 13:30:46 EDT
I was one of the judges for the most recent Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and we had interesting discussions about how much the art should figure into our selection of the winners. Without getting into specific books, I can say that we all pretty much felt that the words have to be considered first and foremost. The art is there to support, to work with them. If the art takes over, if it is far better than the poems, that is a problem. If the art is really poor and detracts from the poems, frankly, that is a problem, too. The perfect book is the perfect blend.
Having said that, I have sometimes asked myself if poetry needs illustration at all. My answer has nothing to do with the poetry and everything to do with the Market. I'm sorry to say that I don't think adults will buy poetry for kids unless it has illustrations. I'm not sure if teens will buy it for themselves without teen-appropriate art (spot illustrations, photos, what have you). I remember quite well buying pretty little poetry books (Emily Dickinson, The Rubaiyat) with girly illustrations when I was a teen. I liked their daintiness. I also remember receiving from friends Hallmark-type poetry books with illustrations that were too twee even for the teenaged me. The point is, my friends and I were buying ILLUSTRATED poetry books.
If any of you have ideas of how to get the public to buy mass quantities of unillustrated poetry books for kids (heck, if you know how to get the public to buy mass quantities of ANY poetry books), let the publishers know. After all, they'd be happy to pay just one advance instead of two! And who can blame 'em?
Marilyn Singer
_www.marilynsinger.net_ (http://www.marilynsinger.net)
Received on Sat 08 Apr 2006 12:30:46 PM CDT
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 13:30:46 EDT
I was one of the judges for the most recent Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and we had interesting discussions about how much the art should figure into our selection of the winners. Without getting into specific books, I can say that we all pretty much felt that the words have to be considered first and foremost. The art is there to support, to work with them. If the art takes over, if it is far better than the poems, that is a problem. If the art is really poor and detracts from the poems, frankly, that is a problem, too. The perfect book is the perfect blend.
Having said that, I have sometimes asked myself if poetry needs illustration at all. My answer has nothing to do with the poetry and everything to do with the Market. I'm sorry to say that I don't think adults will buy poetry for kids unless it has illustrations. I'm not sure if teens will buy it for themselves without teen-appropriate art (spot illustrations, photos, what have you). I remember quite well buying pretty little poetry books (Emily Dickinson, The Rubaiyat) with girly illustrations when I was a teen. I liked their daintiness. I also remember receiving from friends Hallmark-type poetry books with illustrations that were too twee even for the teenaged me. The point is, my friends and I were buying ILLUSTRATED poetry books.
If any of you have ideas of how to get the public to buy mass quantities of unillustrated poetry books for kids (heck, if you know how to get the public to buy mass quantities of ANY poetry books), let the publishers know. After all, they'd be happy to pay just one advance instead of two! And who can blame 'em?
Marilyn Singer
_www.marilynsinger.net_ (http://www.marilynsinger.net)
Received on Sat 08 Apr 2006 12:30:46 PM CDT
