Poetry Friday: The Child Poet
Can children write poems? Of course! It’s true we don’t normally associate children with writing poetry so much as we do with reading it (or reading it to them,) but children can often display a knack for the language that is fresh and startling. Witness the work of young New Zealand poet, Laura Ranger in this excerpt from ‘Two Word Poem’:
The toad sat on a red stool
it was a toadstool.
The rain tied a bow
in the cloud’s hair
it was a rainbow.
Which witch put sand
in my sandwich?
Laura was seven when she wrote this. Precocious to be sure, the poetry nontheless remains delightfully childish at the same time. I discovered Laura Ranger’s work in a little book called Laura’s Poems tucked away in the back corner of a children’s bookstore in Wigtown, Scotland. Published in 1995 by a small press called Godwit Publishing Ltd. in New Zealand, the book is likely out-of-print and hard to acquire. What struck me about Laura’s book was not so much the precocity of the verse, but her genuinely child-like desire and ability to express herself in words. Laura apparently wrote out her poems in hand first, and then revised them on a word-processor. Computer technology enabled her to edit which then led to her improving on her initial hand-written impressions. And remember this was 1995! Today, many children have ready access to computers or some even with hand-held devices that allow them to record and edit their words should they have a desire as deep as Laura’s to observe the world and write about it.
Does your child like to write poetry? If so, where can they find outlets to see their words in print? Laura published her poems in the American children’s magazine, Stone Soup. And currently in Britain, there is a poetry contest for young writers called the Foyle Young Poets Award with a deadline for submissions of July 31, 2009.
Today’s Poetry Friday host is Carol at Carol’s Corner.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Maya Gansen is 11. She is a published poet and her talents exceeds anyone’s ideas of a child’s poetry. Her book just released and having interacted a few times with Maya online, I am amazed at her maturity. Find her atAllegro
I’m looking forward to reading her collection. Do check out a sample of her writing.
“At only eleven years old, Maya Ganesan writes poems with humor, grace and insight that invite readers of any age into a world rich with detail. While her poems meditate on nature and the little things in life, her work is not simple in the least, but filled with an attentive curiosity and surprising freshness. I am amazed by the talent of this young poet and can only imagine the wonderful things she will bring to the literary world in her future.”
– Kelli Russell Agodon,
Author of Geography and Small Knots
June 19th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Thanks, Susan for the link! Yes, there are also a number of new outlets for child poets on-line as well, as I can see with Maya’s work. That’s great!
June 19th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Wow, thank you for the link to Maya’s blog, Susan…
June 20th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
What talented young girls!
June 24th, 2009 at 10:03 am
To see the work of another young poet, read Marj’s post here.