Paul Janeczko Book Review

A POKE IN THE I



Janeczko, Paul. A POKE IN THE I: a collection of concrete poems. Raschka, Chris, ill. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2001.


Concrete poems are often hard to read and I usually avoid them. Paul Janeczko's A POKE IN THE I didn't change my mind. It is a collection of thirty delightful eye catching poems that young readers will find irresistible.



The collection includes one word poems instilled in poetic illustrations. STOWAWAY by Robert Carola, and CAT CHAIR by Chris Rachka are two examples. A concrete poem can also be a selection of words arranged into a particular shape like an ESKIMO PIE written by John
Hollander.






I enjoyed SKIPPING ROPE SPELL by John Agard. The torn paper art work of the girls as poetry spins in circles between them captured the excitement of recess. Chris Raschka's stunning illustrations are poetic and could almost stand alone.





Skipping Rope Spell
By John Agard

Turn rope turn,
Don’t trip my feet,
Turn rope turn,
For my skipping feet.

Turn rope turn,
Turn round and round,
Turn in the air,
Turn on the ground.

One for your high,
One for your low,
Turn rope turn,
Not too fast,
Not too slow.

Turn rope turn,
Turn to the north,
Turn to the south,
But pleased rope, please,Don’t make me out.



A POKE IN THE I presents a well selected group of concrete poems written by some of the world's finest visual poets. These are good examples of how the use of space and the arrangement of words and letters add meaning to poems. It's a collection of playful poems which will entice children and adults.



Publishers Weekly



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. ........... 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.