As the Crow Flies: “Rainbow Crow” by Megan Willome and Hasani Browne

Some years back, my small suburb of St. Louis waged war against crows. 

Residents were required to place household trash in plastic bags at the curb. The city even furnished the black plastic bags free of charge. We’d dutifully put out the bagged trash – only to see flocks of crows gather for the attack. Some would artfully bore a hole in a bag of trash and extract whatever might be available. Other crows would bludgeon the bags with great rips and tears, distributing garbage all over the grass and street.

 

Neighbors held meetings. Advice was shared. Suggestions were made. Scarecrows were a non-starter. Spraying Lysol on the bags was only a very temporary deterrent. Running out and yelling at the birds worked as long as you physically guarded your garbage. Admitting defeat, we knew the crows had won. They don’t call a flock a murder of crows for no good reason.

 

I was reminded of our crow wars when I read Rainbow Crow: poems in and out of form by Megan Willome and Hasani Browne, a beautifully illustrated book for young readers that introduces various poetic forms. And it does so with poems about crows. Remembering the scenes of my garbage strewn about my lawn, I will admit to a nostalgic feeling of wanting to strangle a crow as I read this delightful book.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

The First Poetry for Children: “Divine Emblems” by John Bunyan

During his lifetime, the English Puritan minister and writer John Bunyan (1628-1688) wrote some 60 works, mostly collections of his sermons. After the death of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) and the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660, Bunyan spent 12 years in prison for refusing to stop preaching.

John Bunyan

It was during his imprisonment that he began work on his best-known work, still in print today, the allegory Pilgrim’s Progress. The work wasn’t published until 1978, six years after his release from prison.

Bunyan also wrote poetry. Specifically, he wrote poetry for children. First published in 1686, his A Book for Boys and Girls, or, Country Rhimes for Children is considered to be the oldest book of poetry for children. In 1724, the work was renamed Divine Emblems, which makes it sound less for children and more for religious adults.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Top illustration: two pages from the original Divine Emblems.

Poets and Poems: Wendell Berry and “Terrapin”

Writer Wendell Berry is known for many things – poetry, novels, short stories, essays, his longstanding opposition to what he calls industrial agriculture, his regional depictions of Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley. Berry is not generally known as a children’s poet, although his poetry, especially his poems about the natural world, have a childlike simplicity and appeal about them.

For years, illustrator Tom Pohrt had been gathering those Berry poems that might appeal to children. Pohrt had written and illustrated numerous children’s books, including Crow and Weasel by Barry Lopez and Careless Rambles by John Clare, both selections of their writings or poems that might appeal to children. A correspondence between Pohrt and Berry began, long-time Berry book designer David Bullen joined in, and the result was Terrapin and Other Poems.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.