Celebrate National Poetry Month!
by Sherelle Harris

April is National Poetry Month. First celebrated in 1996, the Academy of American Poets chose to advocate for a month-long celebration in order to highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets and to introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry.

One of the key mechanisms used in the creation of poetry is the metaphor. This literary device is usually introduced to students at the elementary school level. The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms explains the metaphor as “a figure of speech in which the qualities of one thing are carried over to another thing, the way furniture from one house is moved by truck to another house.” Judith Steinbergh’s article “Mastering Metaphor through Poetry” explains that “discussing metaphors in literature and creating metaphor in original writing offer students a powerful tool that supports their intellectual, emotional, and creative development.”

The possibilities of metaphorically comparing different things in the various disciplines are endless. In Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art, Belinda Rochelle couples the artwork of known and unknown African American artists with the poetry of known and unknown African American poets. Paul B. Janeczko’s selection of concrete poems in Poke in the I appeals to children who are linguistically and visually creative because the words and a closely related visual design of the words are created by each poet. Maureen W. Armour’s poem “Giraffe,” for instance, is written in the shape of a giraffe. Jon Scieszka’s Science Verse utilizes a comedic way to combine science and poetry through the eyes of a child cursed with seeing science (planets, dinosaurs, the human body, etc.) in verses that parody poems, nursery rhymes and fairytales.

Poets may use various methods to reach younger readers. Shel Silverstein gets into the child’s world of fun and silliness. A good example is his book Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook. Translated, the title is “Bunny Rabbit: A Silly Book.” His poem, “Ploppy Sig Reans His Cloom,” when translated, becomes “Sloppy Pig Cleans His Room.” These silly titles intrigue and delight children. These books are loads of family fun.

Fun verse can have more of an air of the traditional. Hilaire Belloc’s The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts...and More Beasts for Worse Children employs light verse and rhythmic language. Mary Ann Hoberman’s You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You series uses an interactive way for parents and children to read together. The lines of the poems are color coded to indicate the lines that are read individually and the lines that are to be read together.

Parents interested in more traditional poets might opt for Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses or the series Poetry for Young People, featuring poetry “picture books” by Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Maya Angelou and other renowned poets. This column features a variety of poets because poetry is about tastes. It is deeply personal.

The question one might ask in the age of iPods and video games, however, is what exactly is traditional? Could it be the voice of J. Patrick Lewis, whose Monumental Verses includes photos from National Geographic and gives the history of some of the earth’s greatest places, such as Easter Island and the Palace of Versailles? Or could it be the voice of Connecticut’s own poet laureate, Marilyn Nelson, who depicts history in disciplined verse?

Events at the South Norwalk Branch Library

The following are some upcoming events taking place at the library:

• Mostly Mother Goose — This story time for two-year-olds takes place on Mondays from 9:45-10:15 a.m. Upcoming programs will be held on April 7, 14, 21 and 28.
• Timeless Tales and Tons of Fun — This story hour for children ages 3-5 takes place on Wednesdays from 10-11 a.m. There will be programs on April 9, 16, 23 and 30.
• Vamos a Lee Juntos en Espanol para Ninos de 3 a 5 Anos De Edad (Come Let Us Read Together in Spanish for Children Ages 3-5) — Programs will take place from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on Mondays, April 7 and 21 and from 11:15 a.m.-noon on Thursdays, April 3 and 17.
• Having Fun with Fossils and Dinosaurs — This program will be held on Tuesday, April 29 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. for children in grades K-5. Dressed for digging and protected by a pith helmet, intrepid fossil hunter Paulette Morin will introduce children to the wonders of dinosaurs and our prehistoric past. A hundred or more fossil specimens will be on hand for children to examine.
• The Music Shop — This performance for children in grades 3-12 will take place on Tuesday, May 20 from 6:45-7:30 p.m. A musical comedy based on the work of Anton Chekov, The Music Shop is multi-layered. Children in the younger grades will enjoy the silliness, while those in the older grades will understand the humor depicted by a husband who has forgotten the title of a song his bossy wife ordered him to find.

The staff at The Music Shop try to jog his memory by singing highlights from well-known operas and Russian folk tunes, but the husband’s concentration is interrupted by visions of his bossy wife. The programs will be held in the Friends of the Norwalk Public Library Community Room on the second floor. The South Norwalk Branch Library is located at 10 Washington Street in the historic district of South Norwalk. For information call 203-899-2790, ext. 3 or visit norwalkpubliclibrary.org/sonokids.