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Re: Poetry in Literature for Children and Young Adults
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From: Maria Jose Botelho <mbotelho_at_educ.umass.edu>
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 16:25:55 -0400
Poetry is no longer just found in compilations; it is mixed and remixed into so many genres (e.g., free verse biographies, novels, nonfiction). I would like to consider the hybrid genre of the verse novel but first want to invite us to reflect on the process of reading poetry.
Poetry, more than any other genre, requires readers to pay attention to language use. Poetry invites the reader to become a poet, to rewrite the text, and, to pose many questions about the meaning of the work. The sparseness of poetic language permits the reader into the creative process.
Verse novels are poetry, combined, for example, with the genre of realistic fiction, intensifies the experiences rendered by these texts. Many are told from a first-person perspective, propelling the reader into the protagonist's heart and mind. Some argue that these dramatic monologues capture the inner life of adolescent years, bringing the reader up close to the consciousness and emotional life of the protagonist(s), maybe even in closer proximity than the prose of first-person narratives. Verse novels create intimate interactions with readers.
One of my favorite verse novels is *The Crazy Man* by Pamela Porter
(Groundwood, 2005). It was recognized with Canada's highest children's literature award, the 2005 Governor General's Award. The story begins with Emaline and her mother's experience on a Saskatchewan farm after Emaline's father leaves the family. Emaline's mother has no choice but to seek help in tending the farmland. She hires a man from the local mental health hospital. As the story unfolds, the reader learns along with Emaline that it is hard to dehumanize someone that you have come to know. You can't help but question who really is "the crazy man" in the story. I became so emotionally involved with this text that it was so difficult to say good bye to the characters with the turning of the last page.
Maria José
*"Justice is what love looks like in public, just as deep democracy is what justice looks like in practice." * - Cornel West
Dr. Maria José Botelho Language, Literacy, and Culture 205 Furcolo Hall College of Education University of Massachusetts Amherst 813 North Pleasant Street Amherst, MA 01003
(413) 545-1110 mbotelho_at_educ.umass.edu www.umass.edu/education/llc/
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Received on Thu 03 Apr 2014 03:26:16 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 16:25:55 -0400
Poetry is no longer just found in compilations; it is mixed and remixed into so many genres (e.g., free verse biographies, novels, nonfiction). I would like to consider the hybrid genre of the verse novel but first want to invite us to reflect on the process of reading poetry.
Poetry, more than any other genre, requires readers to pay attention to language use. Poetry invites the reader to become a poet, to rewrite the text, and, to pose many questions about the meaning of the work. The sparseness of poetic language permits the reader into the creative process.
Verse novels are poetry, combined, for example, with the genre of realistic fiction, intensifies the experiences rendered by these texts. Many are told from a first-person perspective, propelling the reader into the protagonist's heart and mind. Some argue that these dramatic monologues capture the inner life of adolescent years, bringing the reader up close to the consciousness and emotional life of the protagonist(s), maybe even in closer proximity than the prose of first-person narratives. Verse novels create intimate interactions with readers.
One of my favorite verse novels is *The Crazy Man* by Pamela Porter
(Groundwood, 2005). It was recognized with Canada's highest children's literature award, the 2005 Governor General's Award. The story begins with Emaline and her mother's experience on a Saskatchewan farm after Emaline's father leaves the family. Emaline's mother has no choice but to seek help in tending the farmland. She hires a man from the local mental health hospital. As the story unfolds, the reader learns along with Emaline that it is hard to dehumanize someone that you have come to know. You can't help but question who really is "the crazy man" in the story. I became so emotionally involved with this text that it was so difficult to say good bye to the characters with the turning of the last page.
Maria José
*"Justice is what love looks like in public, just as deep democracy is what justice looks like in practice." * - Cornel West
Dr. Maria José Botelho Language, Literacy, and Culture 205 Furcolo Hall College of Education University of Massachusetts Amherst 813 North Pleasant Street Amherst, MA 01003
(413) 545-1110 mbotelho_at_educ.umass.edu www.umass.edu/education/llc/
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Received on Thu 03 Apr 2014 03:26:16 PM CDT
