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Re: thoughts about theme
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From: Helen Frost <helenfrost_at_comcast.net>
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 23:01:25 -0400
Hi Roseanne, What a comprehensive set of questions! Thanks for asking--I'll give it my best shot.
To start with the form of CROSSING STONES: I was trying to create the sense of stepping across a creek on stones, the back and forth movement of that. Muriel's poems are like the creek pushing one way, then the other, within the confines of the bank, and the "stone poems" are connected by the rhyme scheme (the middle rhyme from one stepping across the water to begin the rhyme of the next) and defined by their shape. I came to this form through quite a bit of experimentation and charting it out. Once I settled on the form, I enjoyed the way it worked, leading me deeper into the story.
Form in my other books: My first two novels-in-poems were written in traditional forms (sestinas and sonnets in KEESHA's HOUSE; a variety of forms in what is now called ROOM 214: A YEAR IN POEMS). After that, I started creating my own book-length forms, developing them as I found the story and voices and central images in each book. In recent work, I've been using some freer forms--HIDDEN is partly in free verse, SALT is defined by the shape of the poems on the page, and the forthcoming APPLESAUCE WEATHER is in free verse, with a lot of attention to the music of the language.)
My background in poetry: Early teachers were Philip Booth and W.D. Snodgrass; later I had workshops with William Stafford, Ellen Bryant Voigt, and Marianne Boruch, among others. And I've loved having many friends "grow up in poetry" along with me: Ingrid Wendt and Ralph Salisbury, Christianne Balk, Marc Hudson, Jeff Gundy, Dick and Nora Dauenhauer, Don Mager, are just a few poets I've known for several decades now. I'm not mentioning poets who write primarily for children and Young Adults because I'm afraid of missing good friends who may be reading this, and because they are, for the most part, more recent friends and I'm trying to recount how I learned poetry. Mostly I've learned about poetry from reading it, and that's been the same way I've found my way into children's and YA poetry.
A favorite resource: the 811 section of the library. Teachers and Writers Collaborative is the best resource I know of for sharing poetry (reading and writing it) with kids.
To learn about forms, a couple of books pulled from my bookshelf: STRONG MEASURES (Dacey and Jauss); A POET'S CRAFT, a new book by Annie Finch.
Something that works well with students: I love Terry Hermsen's POETRY OF PLACE and Ingrid Wendt's STARTING WITH LITTLE THINGS. And I wrote a book myself, specifically about helping students write about difficult things: WHEN I WHISPER, NOBODY LISTENS (Heinemann, 2001)
A favorite poetry format: I guess if I had to pick one, I'd go with a crown of sonnets, the most magnificent contemporary example of which is Marilyn Nelson's A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL.
Other poets reading this: what are your favorite forms and resources, and how did you learn about poetry?
all good wishes, Helen Frost
On Apr 18, 2014, at 8:32 PM, Rosanne Parry wrote:
Dear Helen,
I've been mulling that thought about theme over all day and now I'm dashing out the door to a book event in Salem this evening. But I will chime in tomorrow when I've got a moment to catch my breath.
And I have a question for you on how you settled on the particular formats for your poems. What is your background in poetry? Do you have a favorite resource for your own learning about poems? Something you feel works well with students? Do you have a favorite poetry format besides these in the book? Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I've learned a lot.
Rosanne Parry
Written in Stone, 2013 Second Fiddle, 2011 Heart of a Shepherd, 2009 www.rosanneparry.com
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Received on Fri 18 Apr 2014 10:02:07 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 23:01:25 -0400
Hi Roseanne, What a comprehensive set of questions! Thanks for asking--I'll give it my best shot.
To start with the form of CROSSING STONES: I was trying to create the sense of stepping across a creek on stones, the back and forth movement of that. Muriel's poems are like the creek pushing one way, then the other, within the confines of the bank, and the "stone poems" are connected by the rhyme scheme (the middle rhyme from one stepping across the water to begin the rhyme of the next) and defined by their shape. I came to this form through quite a bit of experimentation and charting it out. Once I settled on the form, I enjoyed the way it worked, leading me deeper into the story.
Form in my other books: My first two novels-in-poems were written in traditional forms (sestinas and sonnets in KEESHA's HOUSE; a variety of forms in what is now called ROOM 214: A YEAR IN POEMS). After that, I started creating my own book-length forms, developing them as I found the story and voices and central images in each book. In recent work, I've been using some freer forms--HIDDEN is partly in free verse, SALT is defined by the shape of the poems on the page, and the forthcoming APPLESAUCE WEATHER is in free verse, with a lot of attention to the music of the language.)
My background in poetry: Early teachers were Philip Booth and W.D. Snodgrass; later I had workshops with William Stafford, Ellen Bryant Voigt, and Marianne Boruch, among others. And I've loved having many friends "grow up in poetry" along with me: Ingrid Wendt and Ralph Salisbury, Christianne Balk, Marc Hudson, Jeff Gundy, Dick and Nora Dauenhauer, Don Mager, are just a few poets I've known for several decades now. I'm not mentioning poets who write primarily for children and Young Adults because I'm afraid of missing good friends who may be reading this, and because they are, for the most part, more recent friends and I'm trying to recount how I learned poetry. Mostly I've learned about poetry from reading it, and that's been the same way I've found my way into children's and YA poetry.
A favorite resource: the 811 section of the library. Teachers and Writers Collaborative is the best resource I know of for sharing poetry (reading and writing it) with kids.
To learn about forms, a couple of books pulled from my bookshelf: STRONG MEASURES (Dacey and Jauss); A POET'S CRAFT, a new book by Annie Finch.
Something that works well with students: I love Terry Hermsen's POETRY OF PLACE and Ingrid Wendt's STARTING WITH LITTLE THINGS. And I wrote a book myself, specifically about helping students write about difficult things: WHEN I WHISPER, NOBODY LISTENS (Heinemann, 2001)
A favorite poetry format: I guess if I had to pick one, I'd go with a crown of sonnets, the most magnificent contemporary example of which is Marilyn Nelson's A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL.
Other poets reading this: what are your favorite forms and resources, and how did you learn about poetry?
all good wishes, Helen Frost
On Apr 18, 2014, at 8:32 PM, Rosanne Parry wrote:
Dear Helen,
I've been mulling that thought about theme over all day and now I'm dashing out the door to a book event in Salem this evening. But I will chime in tomorrow when I've got a moment to catch my breath.
And I have a question for you on how you settled on the particular formats for your poems. What is your background in poetry? Do you have a favorite resource for your own learning about poems? Something you feel works well with students? Do you have a favorite poetry format besides these in the book? Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I've learned a lot.
Rosanne Parry
Written in Stone, 2013 Second Fiddle, 2011 Heart of a Shepherd, 2009 www.rosanneparry.com
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Received on Fri 18 Apr 2014 10:02:07 PM CDT
