Poetry Friday: let’s join in some Animal Antics
When I interviewed poet Debjani Chatterjee back in 2006, she told me all about her time as Poet-in-Residence at Sheffield Hospital. Out of that experience came a delightful book of poems called Animal Antics (Penine Press, 2000). The poems are mostly short, snappy and memorable. There are poems like “Dancing Ganapti”, “Vishnu’s Eagle” and “Mela Menagerie” which draw on Debjani’s Indian heritage; and there are others whose characters are recognizable in fairy tales and nursery rhymes.
We love the snake-shaped “Aching Bones” that begins:
“There’s nothing badder
than an adder
with aching bones.”
but for Poetry Friday at the PaperTigers Blog, how can I resist… yes, “Paper Tigers”. Here’s the first half:
The paper tigers are news deciders,
travelling hither,
travelling thither,
tyrants of the Tigris river.
Married to the tigeresses
owning trigger happy presses,
their hides are bound with
papyrii,
their brains embalmed with
stimuli.
Don’t you just love it? This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by A Wrung Sponge – head on over.
October 22nd, 2010 at 7:45 am
This sounds like a fun read for kids. Thanks for sharing.
October 22nd, 2010 at 7:59 am
Oh, I wish I could find this book! There are very few Debjani Chatterjee titles here at our local library.