A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems

by Paul B. Janeczko (Editor), Chris Raschka (Illustrator)

Overview

"These aren't poems to read aloud, but to look at and laugh at together, with young children and especially older readers, who will enjoy the surprise of what words look like and what can be done with them." — Booklist (starred review)

Concrete poems startle and delight the eye and mind. The size and arrangement of words and letters can add or alter meaning — forming a poem that takes the shape of crows that fly off the page or becoming a balloon filled with rhyme, drifting away from outstretched hands. Here, in a single extraordinary volume, are thirty poems from some of the world's finest visual poets, including John Hollander, Emmett Williams, Maureen W. Armour, and Douglas Florian. Tucked inside the front cover are tips, guidelines, and inspiration for writing your own concrete poems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763623760
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/03/2005
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	348,507
Product dimensions:	9.88(w) x 9.88(h) x 0.21(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

 

Editorial Reviews

Raschka's restrained collages of calligraphic watercolor lines and torn paper leave most everything to the poems. He and Janeczko provide an uncluttered, meditative space for the picturesque language.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This book's playful vision that 'the arrangement of letters or words on the page, the typefaces chosen, and the way space is used, add meaning to the poem beyond that contained in the actual words' never wavers.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

These aren't poems to read aloud, but to look at and laugh at together, with young children and especially with older readers, who will enjoy the surprise of what words look like and what can be done with them.
—Booklist (starred review)

Every one of these poems is a winner, and each stimulates a kind of mental acrobatics that is as exhilarating as the exuberant art, and as refreshing and fun as the poems themselves. Truly a tour de force.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

. . . kids will have little trouble figuring out what they are all about, or trying out their own. Beautiful and playful, this title should find use in storytimes, in the classroom, and just for pleasure anywhere.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

Who can resist a concrete poem, a poem that visually reflects its subject? This elegant collection brings together thirty clever examples of them. Some form images, like a giraffe or a popsicle, while others vary the size of typeface to make a point. The table of contents, for instance, is shaped like a table. Brightly colored collage illustrations, which enhance some of the poems but almost overwhelm others, have the same playful spirit as the poetry itself.
—Kristin Kloberdanz

On this book's cover, a winking man nudges a letter "I" with his umbrella. This multilayered image, with its homonym and visual game, provides a stimulating introduction to 30 concrete poems by various authors. Throughout the volume, crisp black words on spotless backgrounds do double-duty as concepts and physical objects. Raschka (Waffle, reviewed below) works in tandem with each poem's design; for example, he fashions the palindrome "eyeleveleye" as a bar across three faces, with each pair of "E's" standing for eyes, and the giddy eat-it-before-it-melts "Popsicle" presents a block of words atop vertical letters spelling "sticky," as a nearby ice cream vendor gazes out from the page. Other poems contradict top-to-bottom reading conventions. The phrases of "Sky Day Dream" ("Once I saw/ some crows/ fly off...") ascend the page, diminishing in size as though growing distant. For the spread "Tennis Anyone?" words and artwork suggest a tennis court with the gutter as the net, so that readers glance from side to side as though watching a volley. Janeczko (Very Best [almost] Friends) selects economical works that allow plenty of space for reflection. "Whee" offers a slope of six single-syllable words ("Packed snow steep hill fast sled") and a scattered group of rag-doll figures; another piece simply joins "merging" to "traffic." Raschka's restrained collages of calligraphic watercolor lines and torn paper leave most everything to the shaped poems. He and Janeczko provide an uncluttered, meditative space for the picturesque language. All ages. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 3-6-Starting with a contents page shaped like a table, clever design and illustration bring out the best in Janeczko's selections. Thirty concrete poems of all shapes and sizes are carefully laid on large white spreads, extended by Raschka's quirky watercolor and paper-collage illustrations. Some of the poems bend or turn or fall down the page, some are shaped like an object. Some evoke a sound or an emotion or a landscape. Kids with a taste for the unusual and tricky will have no end of fun with these puzzlers. The effectiveness of the poems is clear when you consider that the one in German needs no translation. Reinhard D hl's "Pattern Poem with an Elusive Intruder" is a rounded block of text consisting of the word "Apfel" repeated over and over, except in one place, where there's a "Wurm." Janeczko's brief "Notes from the Editor" (laid out in radiating lines like music blasting from a saxophone) serves as a quick introduction to concrete poems, but kids will have little trouble figuring out what they are all about, or trying out their own. Beautiful and playful, this title should find use in storytimes, in the classroom, and just for pleasure anywhere.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Not only a "poke in the I" but a tickle in the ego, some giggles and ah's and ha's await readers of this collection of concrete poetry, gloriously enhanced by Raschka's colorful torn-paper, watercolor, and ink images. Even the table of contents, the flap copy, and the front and back matter take concrete forms. As the introduction points out, "The arrangement of letters or words on the page, the typefaces chosen, and the way space is used, add meaning to the poem beyond that contained in the actual words." This means that some of these poems are difficult to read aloud because much of their impact comes from seeing them on the page, but the playful presentation will inspire readers of all ages not only to read them, but to create concrete poetry of their own. Raschka has outdone himself here; see, for example, his own poem, "Cat Chair." Scraps of floral paper shape a chair with the single word "cat" resting in the seat. Throughout, his brilliant take on each poem adds humor and meaning. In addition to their visual appeal, some of the poems do read aloud splendidly. Joan Bransfield Graham's "Popsicle" is "tickle tongue fun" indeed. Every one of these poems is a winner, and each stimulates a kind of mental acrobatics that is as exhilarating as the exuberant art, and as refreshing and fun as the poems themselves. Truly a tour de force. (Picture book/poetry. 5+)

Kirkus Reviews