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Thoughts on Novels in Verse
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:22:14 -0500
I wanted to share part of a post Nina Lindsay made on her "Heavy Medal" blog on the School Library Journal web site last December, as she speaks so articulately and eloquently about poetry and the verse novel form. (I should explain for anyone not familiar with "Heavy Medal" that it is a "mock Newbery" blog, so discussion focuses on books eligible within each year., so even though the scope of our discussion is not Newbery novels in verse, it is what she was focusing on):
On December 21, 2011, Nina wrote (in part):
"In “novels in verse,” the structure/individuality of single “poems” is not what’s at stake anymore…rather, the “verse” format is serving the structure of a novel. I think the term was coined to handle Viriginia Euwer Wolff’s groundbreaking MAKE LEMONADE. A few years after its publication, OUT OF THE DUST became the first Newbery novel in verse. Though the titles make this more clearly a set of narratively-strung “poems” than other verse novels like Wolff’s, it’s not the strength of each individual poem that makes this book distinguished; rather, what makes it stand out is the overall effect of the novel. This effect is carried through the poetic format: the character development and tangible setting standing out to me as masterfully conveyed through the verse. Margarita Engle’s THE SURRENDER TREE is the only other Newbery novel in verse we have as an example (I say tentatively: am I missing anything else?), and its structure and strengths are the same.
"Interestingly, when I compare these two Newbery books to the wider field of novels in verse, I do see very clearly that the poetic craft of both are remarkably higher than in many other verse novels. If you read them aloud, you hear that the authors have close to mind the rhythm, mouth-feel, and sound of their lines. Their line and stanza breaks are deliberate and effective, and the impact of each individual poem thought through. In other verse novels….let’s take MAKE LEMONADE as an example of a good one of the “other” camp…this is not so much the case: though a vaguely “free-verse” format serves to set a rhythm to the voice, the rest of the author’s deliberations seem to be concentrated on the narrative arc, and episodic-novel structure."
You can read her complete post at:
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Fri 13 Apr 2012 03:22:14 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:22:14 -0500
I wanted to share part of a post Nina Lindsay made on her "Heavy Medal" blog on the School Library Journal web site last December, as she speaks so articulately and eloquently about poetry and the verse novel form. (I should explain for anyone not familiar with "Heavy Medal" that it is a "mock Newbery" blog, so discussion focuses on books eligible within each year., so even though the scope of our discussion is not Newbery novels in verse, it is what she was focusing on):
On December 21, 2011, Nina wrote (in part):
"In “novels in verse,” the structure/individuality of single “poems” is not what’s at stake anymore…rather, the “verse” format is serving the structure of a novel. I think the term was coined to handle Viriginia Euwer Wolff’s groundbreaking MAKE LEMONADE. A few years after its publication, OUT OF THE DUST became the first Newbery novel in verse. Though the titles make this more clearly a set of narratively-strung “poems” than other verse novels like Wolff’s, it’s not the strength of each individual poem that makes this book distinguished; rather, what makes it stand out is the overall effect of the novel. This effect is carried through the poetic format: the character development and tangible setting standing out to me as masterfully conveyed through the verse. Margarita Engle’s THE SURRENDER TREE is the only other Newbery novel in verse we have as an example (I say tentatively: am I missing anything else?), and its structure and strengths are the same.
"Interestingly, when I compare these two Newbery books to the wider field of novels in verse, I do see very clearly that the poetic craft of both are remarkably higher than in many other verse novels. If you read them aloud, you hear that the authors have close to mind the rhythm, mouth-feel, and sound of their lines. Their line and stanza breaks are deliberate and effective, and the impact of each individual poem thought through. In other verse novels….let’s take MAKE LEMONADE as an example of a good one of the “other” camp…this is not so much the case: though a vaguely “free-verse” format serves to set a rhythm to the voice, the rest of the author’s deliberations seem to be concentrated on the narrative arc, and episodic-novel structure."
You can read her complete post at:
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Fri 13 Apr 2012 03:22:14 PM CDT
