New Review: POETRY PUDDING

As the Summer Olympics begin on this auspicious date, 08/08/08, our attention is focused across the globe. I thought it might be appropriate to spend a moment on an international poem collection, Poetry Pudding, from New Zealand. I first found out about this gem from a CHILD_LIT listserv posting this spring. The Storylines Children’s Literature Trust selects an annual list of New Zealand’s notable books for children chosen by a panel of children’s literature professionals including past and present members of the Storylines management committee, all of whom have a wealth of experience and knowledge in the field of children’s literature. Many have served as judges for the New Zealand Post Book Awards (and its previous incarnations) and the LIANZA children’s book awards.

The list (launched in 1999) comprises 10 books in each of four categories – picture books, junior and young adult fiction and nonfiction. These books represent the very best books for young people published in New Zealand during the previous year (2007).

Of course I peruse every “best” list for the inclusion of poetry, thus I was so pleased to find one title in the “Young Adult Fiction” category:
Poetry Pudding: A Delicious Collection of Rhyme and Wit edited by Jenny Argante, illustrated by Debbie Tipuna, published by Reed, now Raupo Publishing

I immediately went online to get myself a copy which was a bit more challenging than I expected, of course. Eventually, I ordered it through Raupo directly and was so excited to get my very own copy from across the planet. (I LOVE seeking out poetry from countries outside the U.S., particularly when it’s in English.)

Poetry Pudding did not disappoint. Its small trim size (roughly 4.5 x 6.5 inches) is fun and handy, easy to tote and tuck into a bookbag, purse, or pocket, and it contains over 100 poems from 44 contributors from some of New Zealand’s best and most interesting poets: Cliff Fell, David Hill, Jack Ross, James Brown, Paula Green, Jessica Le Bas, James Norcliffe, and many others. In her introduction, Jenny Argante explains that her aim was to collect poems by “Kiwi poets for Kiwi kids” organized around the alphabet, A to Z, but it didn’t quite work out. She writes, “In poetry… where you start from is not as important as where you end up” (p. 11). Love that line! The selections represent an amazing range, including poems by Maori poets. I found it impossible to select just one example, so I’ll be posting my favorites over the next three days, just for fun. Here are three gems to show the contrast in tone, style, and form in this excellent anthology.

Keeping the Peace
by Lee Dowrick

Peace
is hard to keep
if you’re a lion
at heart.

You will need to know
when not to roar.

when to stay in your den,
and how
to lie quietly
beside
a tempting lamb.

p. 45


List
by Philippa Werry

eggs
cheese
margarine
frozen peas
frozen beans

bread
coffee
marmalade
jelly! toffee!
lemonade!

popcorn!
pizza!
cheerios!
pasta and
pistachios!

corn chips!
cornflakes!
pink iced buns!
chocolate! cheesecake!
bubblegum!

peaches!
cherries!
nectarines!
hokey-pokey
ice cream!

Hey, just a minute,
what’s all this?
Who’s been writing
on my shopping list???

p. 114-115


The Long-Wait Queue
by Tracey Bingham

High I.Q.
Low I.Q.
We all still queue
in the long-wait queue.

In the bus queue
the tip-top queue
the lunch queue
the chip-shop queue.

In the grocery queue
the bank queue
the library queue
the endless queue.

High I.Q.
Low I.Q.
We all still queue
in the long-wait queue…

p. 143

Argante, Jenny. Ed. 2007. Poetry Pudding; A Delicious Collection of Rhyme and Wit. Ill. by Debbie Tipuna. Auckland, NZ: Reed Publishing.

I have extensive listings of international poetry for young people in my April 30, 2007 posting. And of course the shining star in this area is Naomi Shihab Nye, who has gathered gorgeous anthologies of poetry by voices around the world, including:
This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World (Four Winds Press, 1992)
The Tree is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems and Stories from Mexico (Simon & Schuster, 1995)
The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems and Paintings From the Middle East (Simon & Schuster, 1998) [adapted as The Flag of Childhood: Poems from the Middle East (Aladdin, 2002)]

Poetry Friday is hosted by my former student, Becky Laney, this week at Becky's Book Reviews. Go, Becky!

P.S. My apologies for being AWOL last Friday. I was being checked by the SpamBlocking police at Blogspot and finally passed muster! :-)

Picture credit: mairangibay.blogspot.com