Laura Purdie Salas

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Poetry Friday: Juvenile Court (Sara Henderson Hay)

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I got the book Disenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairy Tale Poetry for Christmas, anDisenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairy Tale Poetryd I just cracked it open last night. I have an unsold collection of kids’ fairy tale poems, and?it’s such a rich field to plow.

I’ve only read a few of the poems in it, and one of them is “Juvenile Court,” by Sara Henderson Hay. It looks like it originally appeared in her collection, Story Hour, which I’ll have to check out.

Juvenile Court
by Sara Henderson Hay, all rights reserved

Deep in the oven, where the two had shoved her,
They found the Witch, burned to a crisp, of course.
And when the police had decently removed her,
They questioned the children, who showed no remorse.
“She threatened us,” said Hansel, “with a kettle
Of boiling water, just because I threw
The cat into the well.” Cried little Gretel,
“She fussed because I broke her broom in two,

Read the last sixe lines of the sonnet here…scroll down to page 33.

Clearly, the little hooligans got what they deserved:>) In my fairy tale collection, H&G are rather proud of how they outwitted the Witch. To their dismay, though, they’ve lost their taste for sugary junk food after their experiences with her.

Jim at Hey, Jim Hill! has the Poetry Friday Roundup today!

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Comments

  1. These are both terrifying and hilarious – I Remember Mama – explaining about growing up with the Old Woman who lived in a shoe… and becoming a jack-the-ripper sort… or the woman who maimed the mice – already blind mice, mind you. Yeah. Some of those are indeed rich psychological fields to plow… I very much hope you find a home for your book – will be interesting to see the angles you use!

    • Thanks, Tanita–my collection is not even out anywhere anymore. It was much younger and funnier, but still twisted. Not as delightfully creepy and terrifying as some of these are. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of this anthology.

  2. These are both terrifying and hilarious – I Remember Mama – explaining about growing up with the Old Woman who lived in a shoe… and becoming a jack-the-ripper sort… or the woman who maimed the mice – already blind mice, mind you. Yeah. Some of those are indeed rich psychological fields to plow… I very much hope you find a home for your book – will be interesting to see the angles you use!

    • Thanks, Tanita–my collection is not even out anywhere anymore. It was much younger and funnier, but still twisted. Not as delightfully creepy and terrifying as some of these are. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of this anthology.

    • Funny! Thanks for pointing me that way:>) And I don’t even think my agent is submitting my fairy tale collection any more. 4 or 5 rejections and it’s old news…sigh.

    • Funny! Thanks for pointing me that way:>) And I don’t even think my agent is submitting my fairy tale collection any more. 4 or 5 rejections and it’s old news…sigh.

  5. Very dark, & actually interesting to look behind the charmingly rhymed stories to see the real story. I liked each one, and wonder if they wouldn’t be very inviting to older students, and inspiring for writing too. Glad you shared!

  6. Very dark, & actually interesting to look behind the charmingly rhymed stories to see the real story. I liked each one, and wonder if they wouldn’t be very inviting to older students, and inspiring for writing too. Glad you shared!

  7. I also got that book for Christmas! Sara Henderson Hay was one of my favorite poets in it.

    • It was in my Amazon wishlist because of your recommendation, Tabatha:>) And my husband saw it there and ordered it for me. I only skimmed a tiny portion (desperately looking for a poem for today!), but of the three that grabbed me immediately, two were Sara’s.

  8. I also got that book for Christmas! Sara Henderson Hay was one of my favorite poets in it.

    • It was in my Amazon wishlist because of your recommendation, Tabatha:>) And my husband saw it there and ordered it for me. I only skimmed a tiny portion (desperately looking for a poem for today!), but of the three that grabbed me immediately, two were Sara’s.

  9. The kids and I saw the new MET production of Hansel and Gretel a couple of weekends ago and it was scary and creepy. This poem should have been printed in the program!

  10. The kids and I saw the new MET production of Hansel and Gretel a couple of weekends ago and it was scary and creepy. This poem should have been printed in the program!

  11. Oh what a steep price to pay for killing an insufferable old witch. Cant imagine losing my taste for chocolates! that would be tragic indeed. I havent heard of this antholo yet, will look for it in our community library. Sounds lovely!

  12. Oh what a steep price to pay for killing an insufferable old witch. Cant imagine losing my taste for chocolates! that would be tragic indeed. I havent heard of this antholo yet, will look for it in our community library. Sounds lovely!

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