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 Poetry: November 04, 2009 Issue [#3365] |
  Poetry This issue's editor: maranda More Newsletters By This Editor   1. About this Newsletter 2. A Word from our Sponsor 3. Letter from the Editor 4. Editor's Picks 5. A Word from Writing.Com 6. Ask & Answer 7. Removal instructions  My name is maranda and I am excited to be guest writing my very first issue of the Poetry Newsletter! Today, I’d like to focus on writing poetry for children. As some of you may know, I am both a poet and children’s writer. My first published picture book, Angeline Jellybean, is a bouncy, rhyming book with many characteristics of a children’s poem. I’d like to share with you how you can write poetry that children will enjoy, and how that poetry can differ from poetry for adults.    Writing Poetry For Children Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein There is a place where the sidewalk ends And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind. Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black And the dark street winds and bends. Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And watch where the chalk-white arrows go To the place where the sidewalk ends. Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go, For the children, they mark, and the children, they know The place where the sidewalk ends. Most people are probably familiar with Shel Silverstein’s work. He was an accomplished American children’s poet for decades, up until his death in 1999. His poems are imaginative, quirky, and full of fun rhymes and repetition. In short, they epitomize everything poetry for children should be. Whereas many modern poets favor non-rhyming free verse poetry, children’s poetry is usually at its best when it rhymes and contains repetition. This is because children tend to enjoy and remember poetry when it contains predictable and memorable sounds and words. Think of all the songs your kids or grandkids sing over and over again. They most likely contain a repetitive refrain and/or some sort of silly rhyme. Write your poetry so that kids will remember it, too! Unlike poetry for adults, some of the most famous children’s poetry isn’t emotionally introspective or heavy with metaphor. They are fun, light-hearted, and often nonsensical. That doesn’t mean they have to lack a moral or lesson, however. It just means you shouldn’t beat your readers over the head with a moral at the expense of presenting a well-written poem. Overly moral poetry tends to sound didactic and boring, and won’t sell to a publisher if it is only about the moral. Consider Silverstein’s poem above. What is the underlining message in “Where the Sidewalk Ends”? To me, it represents escaping the boring, mundane life in the city and letting your imagination take you to a place where “the sun burns crimson bright” and anything is possible. If you decide to try writing poetry for children, consider letting your own mind travel to “where the sidewalk ends” and embrace whatever silly, strange of offbeat things you find there. 
An excellent poem full of rhythm and unique sound. Fun to read aloud!
A fun, rhyming poem children and adults alike will love.
A simple but fun poem in the voice of a child.
A gentle bedtime poem for the parents out there.
An example of a poem with a well-done moral.
Laugh out loud funny.
This ABC poem about zoo animals shows how fun it can be to write an educational poem.
A well-written poem that tells a unique style in traditional verse.
Beautiful language, simple images, and childhood memories.
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