The Reasons Behind the Rhymes

My passion for poetry can be largely credited to my mother, who raised me in a house full of quality children’s literature, read to me since I was an infant, and began teaching me to read for myself when I was three. Because literature has always been such an integral part of my life, some of my fondest childhood memories include family orations of Phoebe Gilman or Dennis Lee, gathered around the fireplace in the living room. Another perennial favourite of mine was a book of poetry entitled Out and About, by Shirley Hughes, which followed two small children (who coincidentally resembled myself and my younger brother) through four seasons of active and creative play. Later, when I was about nine years old, I discovered the work of Shel Silverstein, through a “poetry in the rounds” event at school. I was instantly enamoured with Mr. Silverstein’s poems, as they featured ordinary children in a variety of scenarios that combined realistic aspects of life with fantasy, while still managing to teach children good values, in a humourous and non-judgemental manner.

One poem that illustrates the aforementioned characteristics perfectly is Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout (Who Would Not Take the Garbage Out), as it chronicles the havoc that ensues when young Sarah refuses to take out the garbage, with increasingly preposterous consequences. Through my own work, I often attempt to impart similar life lessons to children. One prime example of this is Willie and Wanda’s Wax Paper Wings, which teaches children about the value of hard work and co-operation through a hands-on exploration of the migratory patterns of Canada geese. Indeed, although it would be impossible for children to actually fly wearing homemade wings, this poem teaches a powerful lesson about the power of teamwork, as the children work together to create the wings, and then gather in a V-formation for “takeoff,” and learning to adapt to change, as several children are summoned away from the V-formation by their parents. Finally, the poem closes with a message of hope, as the reader is drawn into the wondrous moment when the children “take flight,” although it is left up to the readers’ imagination whether this moment occurs in reality, or merely in the protagonists’ collective minds.
While a small child might take this message literally, it is actually meant to function as a metaphor that dreams can be achieved with patience and persistence. Another one of my poems that uses metaphor to a similar effect is Rachael and the Rainbow, in which young Rachael, fascinated by the beauty of a rainbow, but frustrated by its ephemeral nature, attempts to capture and preserve the rainbow in a glass jar. Although this may seem fanciful, I believe that this poem could be quite effective at comforting a child through his or her first major life change, such as a divorce, a friend moving away, or the death of a loved one.

In addition to educating and socializing children, my poetry for young people serves many other purposes, such as empowerment, validation of childhood fears and fantasies, and of course, entertainment. A recurring theme in my poems is the Robert-Munsch inspired idea that children can be smarter than their parents. In many cases, this message can soften and add humour to the moral tone of a poem. For example, in my poem Victor and the Video Games, young Victor’s mother purchases him a video game console to prevent him from getting dirty and injured playing outside, which is his favourite pastime. Although Victor briefly becomes overly enamoured with the game console, and must be shooed back outside, it is actually his mother who learns the lesson in the end, as she herself realizes the value of active and imaginative outdoor play, in the process of lecturing her young son to that end. The punch line occurs at the end of the poem, when we find Victor’s mother sitting passively in front of the television, transfixed by the video game herself.

Another reason why I am drawn to this underlying theme is because it allows for an almost seamless fusion of reality and fantasy, which enables the readers to see the world through the innocent and unprejudiced eyes of a young child. Two such examples of this phenomenon are Myrna the Mermaid and Allan and the Alligators; the latter of which I wrote as a gift for my brother’s birthday, as it is based on a true story from our childhoods, which stems from a common childhood fear of my brother’s. In this poem, Allan is afraid to go to sleep, because he believes that his house is haunted during by three vicious alligators, who are visible only to himself. Disbelieved by his parents, Allan then asks his older sister Annalise for advice, and she helps him build a complicated trap, in order to catch and videotape the alligators, so that the evidence can be presented to their parents. In the end, Allan succeeds in trapping the alligators, but then feels badly and sets them free. Because of his kind deed, the alligators then befriend Allan, and explain to him that they are indeed real, but only to those who truly believe in them. Since Allan’s parents and sister have outgrown this childlike innocence, they can no longer be a part of this alternative reality, which is as limitless as a child’s imagination. I feel that it is especially important for “youngest” children to be exposed to poems such as this one, because it gives credence to their thoughts and feelings, which they might not be receiving from their families.

Although I have also been exposed to a vast array of excellent children’s prose, I firmly believe that poetry holds a special kind of power that is unique to its genre. Unlike prose, poetry engages both the right and the left sides of the brain, through its use of rhythm and meter, thereby enabling children to develop skills beyond reading the poetry itself. Since I am also an avid musician, having played the clarinet for ten years, I credit a lot of my musical ability to my mother’s constant singing and reciting poetry (both published and made-up) when I was a child. In addition to this, I believe that the act of writing poetry requires considerably more literary creativity than other forms of writing, for several reasons. First of all, the average poem is typically much shorter than most forms of prose, which forces the poet to provide the same impact, and evoke the same emotional reaction in the reader (be it laughter, sadness, compassion, or even political outrage) in less time and space than the traditional author would have. A good poet can achieve this through effective use of poetic devices, such as metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, and allusion, although the latter must be used sparingly in order to avoid confusing the reader. Used properly, these poetic devices can serve to amplify a piece of work, and the rhythm and meter aspects can give a poem an almost musical sensation, which makes it more likely for the poem to become part of the reader’s long-term memory.

Despite the power that poetic devices can add to a piece, one of my favourite things about writing poetry for children is the fact that it isn’t as serious a genre as conventional poetry. Therefore, it is imperative to “keep it light,” and make sure that the use of large words and “heavy” poetic devices (particularly metaphor and allusion) is kept to a minimum. I find that this forces me to be even more creative, and avoid using these devices as a “crutch” of sorts, by offsetting them with references to popular culture, which can be easily understood by readers of all ages. For example, Victor and the Video Games includes a brief reference to the popular children’s television program Power Rangers. I feel that allusions such as this one often give children a sense of connection to my work, as I relate it to the familiar fixtures of their world.

To summarize, my reasons for aspiring to become a professional children’s poet are simple. While it would be easy to attempt to write literature for children in an attempt to make money, that is not what I am attempting to do. In fact, I harbour considerable disdain for children’s authors such as J.K. Rowling, because, although the Harry Potter series is very well-written and engaging in itself, she has allowed its’ original purpose to be lost in her own greed. While she may have begun writing the series in an attempt to encourage literacy in children, the ensuing bombardment of franchising has completely inverted this purpose, as the obscene array of Harry Potter movies, toys, video games, and other licensed products serve only to lead children astray from the books themselves. Instead, my goal in writing poetry for young people is to achieve the exact opposite end, and bring children and their families back to a simpler time, when parents read to their children, creative play was encouraged, and video games were not yet sophisticated enough to compete with reality. Having grown up in the 80’s and early 90’s, the years of my childhood were turbulent ones, as the increasing fear of pedophiles and other “stranger dangers” meant that those days were regarded by many as the “end of an era,” during which children’s unstructured outdoor play was reined in, in the name of “safety.” While it would be impossible to turn back time in order to allow children to enjoy the carefree childhood that I had, I would like to think that my poetry provides something of a window back to that time, so that we can remember the way the world used to be, and carry those memories forward to future generations of children, through the simple power of the printed word, passed from parent to child. Indeed, I believe that, by writing poetry that appeals to both children and their parents, I will be playing an instrumental role in ensuring that the next generation of children will grow up with strong literacy skills and positive values.