You might think that an anthology of poems about poetry could not be fascinating—until you read this one. A SLOW FLASH OF LIGHT was assembled by poet-teacher Jack Collom, who over a 25-year period gave his students surprising and inspiring ways to write poems about poetry. Collom’s students came from various socio-economic backgrounds, ranged in age from first grade through twelfth, and lived in big cities such as New York and in rural towns such as Salmon, Idaho. But amidst all these differences, the wonderful thing is that great many of these young writers had one ting in common: personal and illuminating visions of poetry, visions that are fresh and sometimes dazzlingly original. From the third grader who described poetry as “a dangerous associated system that I love” to the fourth grader’s “Poetry is like the alphabet all talking at once” to the sixth grader’s “Poetry is all-colored an turned-around and overlapping” to the highschooler’s “You write with / a pencil tip bending lines / into your thoughts,” the 200 poems I this anthology offer a source of pleasure and inspiration to anyone who likes poetry, and an entertaining invitation t those that don’t—yet.
