by Neal Whitman, Poetry Prof
Last month, this feature got a comment from Charles Ghigna, known as Father Goose. Since then I learned how to pronounce his name: with a hard G, Geen-ya. I also visited the two blogs he posted. On charlesghigna.blogspot.com I found a new poem each week for teachers, librarians, parents, and kids. On bald-ego.blogspot.com I found quips and quote for authors and arists. On his inaurgural page, December 9, 2009, he wrote: “Be Mused”
The art and craft of poetry
Are not so far apart;
The craft comes from the cunning,
The rest comes from the heart.
A former high school teacher, Ghigna has made a career writing and reading poetry for children: “My office is in the attic. I call it my ‘tree house.’ When I look out the window I see the tops of trees: elm, oak, pine, hackberry and sweet gum. My writing desk faces out that window. I have been writing poems here in my tree house for more than 30 years.”
I don’t know if he will be the next Childrens Poet Laureate, but it would not surprise me. Childrens Poet Laureate? When I first heard of it, I thought of a 1975 skit from Saturday Night Live where Laraine Newman plays a child psychiatrist. Yes, she is a child and a board-certified psychiatrist.
In 2006, childrens poetry got a little respect when the Poetry Foundation established a $25,000 prize and a two-year post, Childrens Poet Laureate, with hopes to raise awareness that children have a natural receptivity to poetry and are an appreciative audience, though their first choice admitted that he once hated poetry. The first Childrens Poet Laureate, Jack Prelutsky, says that his elementary school teacher gave him the impression that “poetry was the literary equivalent of chopped liver.” Hmmm… I admit that I like chopped liver on a slice of crusty pumpernickel. Plus, let me put in a plug for the legion of teachers who bring poetry alive in the school classroom.
Now, you may not believe me, but after writing this intro, I went to Jack’s website jackprelutsky.com and there is his excerpt from “Bleezer’s Ice Cream”
Butter Brickle Pepper Pickle
Pomegranate Pumpernickel
Peach Pimento Pizza Plum
Peanut Pumpkin Bubblegum
The second Children Poet Laureate, chosen in 2008, is Mary Ann Hoberman. She has spent a lifetime teaching writing and literature to children and adults, but since her first book was published in 1957, All My Shoes Come in Two’s, her profession has been to write poetry for children. Her website, like Jack’s, offers much to delight maryannhoberman.com.
In making this appointment, the Poetry Foundation noted that she is “a consummate channeler of children’s sensibilities.” What I loved about this choice is that Hoberman reminds us that children’s poetry need not be funny and may even handle subjects that parents are terrified to introduce to their children, such as death. All of us in the Getting Something Read family are dealing with the sudden loss of our senior editor, Cleo George. Gone? How can that be? In “Mayfly,” Hoberman shows the reader the life of this insect as it unfolds in only one day. She concludes:
The daylight dies and darkness grows
A single day
How fast it flies
A mayfly’s life
How fast it goes.
Her poem gives me cause to pause — as the Poetry Foundation promises: “The grace and taste and wit of a good children’s poem can provide a genuine frisson for those of us over 10.” I was delighted with her selection, and, of course, so was Mary: “During this time I will be doing what I’ve been doing for over fifty years, but more so and with a much wider forum! As I see it, my mission is to spread the delight of children’s poetry and poetry in general, to be a sort of Pied Piper for children’s poetry.”
In additon to the honor and cash, the Childrens Poet Laureate gets a secret decoder ring. No, only kidding. But, there is a medallion with the inscription taken from Emily Dickinson: “Permit a child to join.” I profess my belief that poetry written for any age should be an invitation. I abhor contemp(t) poetry that makes an offer I can’t understand. Whether it is the Godfather or Father Goose, no need to dumb it down for me. Just, do not dumbfound me. As promised by an “invitational” poet, Kenneth Koch, “When you first read a good poet’s work, it’s like meeting a strange and interesting friend. Discovering a new friend — or a new kind of poetry — is like is a pleasure.” And, make a note: I’ve got two bucks on Ghigna to win, place, and show: Childrens Poet Laureate in 2010.