Happy National Poetry Month! Thanks for dropping by my Poem Starter Video party.
Today’s poem comes from?Grumbles from the Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist?(WordSong, 2013), by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Jane Yolen. I’ll tell you a secret. I
have an unpublished collection of fairy tale-related poems, and they were rejected by WordSong. In fact, the editor said she really enjoyed them, but she had recently acquired a fairy tale poetry collection. I was so bummed. But this book is wonderful–by turns funny, eerie, and magical. It’s hard to stay disappointed:>) I’m sharing one of Rebecca’s poems–she was one of the first children’s poets I fell in love with, and I’m pleased to offer this up!
Giant’s Wife Confides in Jack
You’re old enough to know–
one Giant gulp
and you’ll be breakfast ham;
knuckle spam on toast.
He’d roast spunk if he could.
His heart? Hard as wood.Husband’s pockets are always full
of freckles and toes,
and goodness know
what else.Shhh, I have a bracelet of bones;
a shelf of small shoes
to prove it.
A drawer of buttons,
eyeballs, and marbles.I’ve taken a liking to you, small Jack,
else you’d be boiled
porridge of finger, toe,
thigh bone, thumb.
Fe Fi Fo Fum.
RUN, JACK,
RUN!
RUN!–by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, all rights reserved
And here is my Poem Starter Video:
[wpvideo OSyAnxBb]
You’re a good sport and a nice person, Laura. I am sorry your collection was rejected, though I have no doubt the poems are great. Thanks for sharing Rebecca’s wonderfully grisly poem. She is one of my favorites too.
Aw, thanks, Iza. Just one of the many tough things about this industry. “Wonderfully grizzly”–exactly!
You’re a good sport and a nice person, Laura. I am sorry your collection was rejected, though I have no doubt the poems are great. Thanks for sharing Rebecca’s wonderfully grisly poem. She is one of my favorites too.
Aw, thanks, Iza. Just one of the many tough things about this industry. “Wonderfully grizzly”–exactly!
Like Iza, I suspect your poems are great, too, Laura. This is wonderful, a secret, & I liked the idea of a different point of view, too. For Rebecca, love the “pockets full of freckles and toes”! Creepy!
Thanks, Linda!
Like Iza, I suspect your poems are great, too, Laura. This is wonderful, a secret, & I liked the idea of a different point of view, too. For Rebecca, love the “pockets full of freckles and toes”! Creepy!
Thanks, Linda!
Yu – IKES. I like this one – it’s gloriously grisly.
Not what you expect from RKS, right? I love seeing this change of pace from her! But with her same trademark vivid language and tight construction.
Yu – IKES. I like this one – it’s gloriously grisly.
Not what you expect from RKS, right? I love seeing this change of pace from her! But with her same trademark vivid language and tight construction.
I love Rebecca’s style, I bet that is a great book. I just received Forest has a Song yesterday and absolutely adore it. Have you ever considered self-publishing a poetry collection, Laura?
I’ve thought about it, but print publishing is just too much to deal with and a money-losing proposition, in general, for a small-sales book. E-collections I’m more interested in, but it’s *really* hard to create a picture book that works well on all formats. I am planning to take some of my unpublished but much loved (by me) manuscripts and share bits of them in pdf form through my Facebook Page at some point (making them available to anyone who Likes my Page). Also thinking about putting together some small units, again in pdf form, that I would sell on TeachersPayTeachers…So, the ideas are there, but there’s a whole lot of work that goes into making a decent one. I don’t want to do a bad job but don’t necessarily want to take on the role of publisher, either. It’s a dilemma. FOREST is definitely adore-able, and GRUMBLES is very nifty!
I love Rebecca’s style, I bet that is a great book. I just received Forest has a Song yesterday and absolutely adore it. Have you ever considered self-publishing a poetry collection, Laura?
I’ve thought about it, but print publishing is just too much to deal with and a money-losing proposition, in general, for a small-sales book. E-collections I’m more interested in, but it’s *really* hard to create a picture book that works well on all formats. I am planning to take some of my unpublished but much loved (by me) manuscripts and share bits of them in pdf form through my Facebook Page at some point (making them available to anyone who Likes my Page). Also thinking about putting together some small units, again in pdf form, that I would sell on TeachersPayTeachers…So, the ideas are there, but there’s a whole lot of work that goes into making a decent one. I don’t want to do a bad job but don’t necessarily want to take on the role of publisher, either. It’s a dilemma. FOREST is definitely adore-able, and GRUMBLES is very nifty!
This is actually the next chapter or continuation if you will of a poem I sent you a few days ago.
DEAR DIARY
Dear diary,
Sorry I haven’t visited you enough,
however, I had to stop by because
I’ve got a secret. I have a crush on
someone. Her name is Indigo. She
was the first person I met at school
today. I was mad because, once again,
I was the new kid. After I kicked a
pine cone in frustration this young lady
walked up to me. She was a bit eccentric
in that, well, she looks like a rainbow
and a fireworks display had a baby. I’m
positive Indigo has never had a moment
of self doubt in her life. She introduces
me to her friends Paula, Junior, Trey,
Todd, Bea and Keri. Each of their
wardrobes are as flamboyant as hers.
They call themselves THE HAPPY CREW.
At lunch when Indigo saw my ham and
cheese sandwich she said, “You know
John, animals have feelings too. I’m
sure they didn’t envision being slaughtered.”
“What about the bread?” I asked. “White
bread is an insult to your belly, there are
better foods to consume.” So I dumped
the sandwich and had a bowl of her
homemade arugula salad, cherry tomatoes,
sliced pears, pine nuts, vegan shredded
cheese (which taste like cheese but didn’t
come from an animal) and a light douse of
oil and vinegar. I gobbled it up, it was tasty.
Who knew? After school she gave me her
cell number said “See you tomorrow,” then
skipped away. I don’t even remember the
classes I had, were there classes? I’ve
never felt this weird combination of
scared and hopeful before like my
heart could rise and fall over the hours
spent waiting until I see her again.
Well diary I’ll keep you posted on
this story as it develops.
(C) Charles Waters 2013 all rights reserved.
This is actually the next chapter or continuation if you will of a poem I sent you a few days ago.
DEAR DIARY
Dear diary,
Sorry I haven’t visited you enough,
however, I had to stop by because
I’ve got a secret. I have a crush on
someone. Her name is Indigo. She
was the first person I met at school
today. I was mad because, once again,
I was the new kid. After I kicked a
pine cone in frustration this young lady
walked up to me. She was a bit eccentric
in that, well, she looks like a rainbow
and a fireworks display had a baby. I’m
positive Indigo has never had a moment
of self doubt in her life. She introduces
me to her friends Paula, Junior, Trey,
Todd, Bea and Keri. Each of their
wardrobes are as flamboyant as hers.
They call themselves THE HAPPY CREW.
At lunch when Indigo saw my ham and
cheese sandwich she said, “You know
John, animals have feelings too. I’m
sure they didn’t envision being slaughtered.”
“What about the bread?” I asked. “White
bread is an insult to your belly, there are
better foods to consume.” So I dumped
the sandwich and had a bowl of her
homemade arugula salad, cherry tomatoes,
sliced pears, pine nuts, vegan shredded
cheese (which taste like cheese but didn’t
come from an animal) and a light douse of
oil and vinegar. I gobbled it up, it was tasty.
Who knew? After school she gave me her
cell number said “See you tomorrow,” then
skipped away. I don’t even remember the
classes I had, were there classes? I’ve
never felt this weird combination of
scared and hopeful before like my
heart could rise and fall over the hours
spent waiting until I see her again.
Well diary I’ll keep you posted on
this story as it develops.
(C) Charles Waters 2013 all rights reserved.
Pockets full of freckles! How great is that! I love this creepy poem. So much sound to savor. 🙂
Pockets full of freckles! How great is that! I love this creepy poem. So much sound to savor. 🙂
Thank you Laura, for your great creepy read. 🙂 You certainly ARE a nice person, as anyone who knows you would say — and such a good poet and champion for poetry, not to mention blogger and now Poem Starter Video Maker-Sharer. Thanks for all these really nice comments, everyone. And Laura, believe me, I know how disappointing it is to hear ‘we’ve just acquired something similar or I might have been interested.’ That almost-not-quite leaves one a bit sad for a moment or two, but send it out again and again. (I have a recent and similar story to share sometime.) Fairy tales are honestly just too delicious for a poet to not want to write poems about.
Oops, something is falling out of Giant’s pocket . . .
Thank you Laura, for your great creepy read. 🙂 You certainly ARE a nice person, as anyone who knows you would say — and such a good poet and champion for poetry, not to mention blogger and now Poem Starter Video Maker-Sharer. Thanks for all these really nice comments, everyone. And Laura, believe me, I know how disappointing it is to hear ‘we’ve just acquired something similar or I might have been interested.’ That almost-not-quite leaves one a bit sad for a moment or two, but send it out again and again. (I have a recent and similar story to share sometime.) Fairy tales are honestly just too delicious for a poet to not want to write poems about.
Oops, something is falling out of Giant’s pocket . . .
No way. That whole post I just wrote got lost. I will try to find and or recreate …
oh there it is 🙂
No way. That whole post I just wrote got lost. I will try to find and or recreate …
oh there it is 🙂
Ooh – loved this selection, and the poem starter has sent me off to write something new! Thanks, Laura!
Excellent!
Ooh – loved this selection, and the poem starter has sent me off to write something new! Thanks, Laura!
Excellent!