Poetry for a Change: A National Poetry Day Anthology

This year, National Poetry Day (NPD) falls on October 4th and, for the first time, a special anthology has been collated on behalf of the Forward Arts Foundation (the charity that funds NPD). Its focus is this year's theme - change. The book's format is distinctive: top children's poets have been invited to contribute one of their own poems and also to choose a further poem, typically by a classic poet, which reverberates with the theme of change. There are illuminating commentaries from each poet articulating their choices. It is a collection of many and varied voices: so much packed in to such a slim volume. The collection opens with the powerful 'Front Door' (p.7) by award-winning poet Imtiaz Dharker. Reflecting on how we change as we move between our homes and the outside world, it's an apt and thought provoking start: Wherever I have lived, / walking out of the front door / every morning / means crossing over / to a foreign country.// This theme of change is an empowering and flexible one. The potential that these talented poets mine will be inspirational for teachers and the children they teach. Liz Brownlee's 'Snow Fox' (p.11) ponders on the seasonal changes in the fox's fur. This is juxtaposed with her choice of 'Something told the Wild Geese' (p.14) by Rachel Field (1894 - 1942): 'Something told the wild geese / It was time to fly, - / Summer sun was on their wings, / Winter in their cry.//. Both poems will enrich children's understanding of the natural world and lend themselves to art work and performance. The talented Joseph Coehlo offers a thoughtful take on the idea that a problem shared is a problem halved: he equates the problem with 'Secret Eating' (p.19): 'The first nibble of the secret / was tasteless, / like a burnt chip of ice.// But, once the problem is shared 'I felt the secret quake, / felt its snow storm swirl, / I opened my chattering teeth, // and finally 'breathed in the toasty warmth of your hug.//. His chosen poem from another poet is 'The Seedling' by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), one of the first influential black poets in American literature. This delightful poem will be a warm accompaniment to the many 'pots of soil' that Coehlo has observed in school 'as part of projects on growth and change'. Dunbar is also Remi Graves' choice with the moving 'Spring Fever' (p.42) written in 'African American' dialect. Chrissie Gittins' offerings are economical but by no means sparse. 'The Dilruba Player and the Boy' (p.34) holds a miniature narrative in the form of a 'dialogue' between the player ('dilruba' is a Persian word meaning 'heart stealer') and a listening child in a wheelchair: 'Moving his bow over the strings / he echoes the cries of the boy. // The boy cries once more, the musician replies, / the boy silently smiles.//. Robert Herrick's (1591-1674) perfect two-liner follows: 'Here we all are, by day: by night we're hurled / By dreams, each one, into a several world'. // Chie Hosaka is NPD's official illustrator. As well as the 'Poetry for a Change' logo and the front cover of this collection, her black and white illustrations are scattered through the book. Her depiction of Liz Brownlee's snow fox perfectly echoes the poem's description: 'the cloud-grey fox / listens for prey... grizzled and still... his senses vivid /. In a different vein, light-hearted seedlings for Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem show three seeds: one thriving with a smile on its face, one still asleep and one just stirring, one eye open. The book includes useful ideas for activities and talking about poems. It includes the all-important reminder that 'there is right or wrong answer, not is the poem a problem to be solved'. This can never be said enough! The care with which the poets have both composed and chosen such apt poems runs throughout the anthology. Some are very special and it is good to see space given to poets children may not have encountered before. Lola Ridge (1873 - 1941) is one such poet. Her poem 'Interim' (p.82) is Kate Wakeling's choice and her illuminating commentary brings the book to a fitting close. Ridge was an indefatigable campaigner for workers' rights and Wakeling comments that the poem 'feels to me like a depiction of the work on the brink of change, perhaps the sort of change that Ridge fought and hoped for across her life': 'The earth is motionless / And poised in space.../. 96 pages / Ages 9+ / Reviewed by Alison Kelly, consultant.

Suggested Reading Age 9+