How children’s poetry has changed, again

Hi everyone,

I recently started work on a new collection of poems, even though I have no reason to think it will find a home in today’s publishing world. Why? Because the poems are funny. Traditionally, poems for children tended to be rather serious and didactic. Along came Silverstein and Prelutsky and changed all that. They gave poets permission to be funny, even silly, because children want, need, and delight in be tickled. I owe both of those poets my gratitude. I began my career with a number of collections of humorous poems. The first one, Somebody Catch My Homework, sold the first printing in weeks and was into its third printing in months.

I followed Somebody Catch My Homework with The Boy Who Counted Stars, A Thousand Cousins, and The Alligator in the Closet, all filled with funny poems. During the years since then, I’ve seen a swing back toward poems that teach. These days we tend to write to fit into classroom lessons, to advance a child’s education. The poetry can be well done and much of it is, but I’d guess that the number of books written mostly to amuse and encourage a desire to read more books is a smaller percentage of the whole than it was for a while.

LIFE’S NOT FAIR!
(from Alligator in the Closet)

I changed the roll 
An hour ago
So there’d be plenty there.

I’m telling you
The roll was new,
We even had a spare.

So now I go,
And don’t you know,
The roll’s completely bare.

I have to yelp
And cry for help!
Life just isn’t fair!

THE TROUBLE WITH MY HOUSE
(from The Boy Who Counted Stars)

I haven’t any windows
And I haven’t any doors,
I haven’t any ceilings
And I haven’t any floors,
I haven’t got an attic
And I haven’t any halls,
I haven’t got a basement
And I haven’t any walls,
I haven’t got a roof
And that’s the reason, I suppose,
Why rain keeps falling on my head
And dripping off my nose.

WHAT MAKES IT ALL WORTHWHILE
(from A Thousand Cousins)

I do my homework every night,
I climb in bed by nine,
I say, “Yes, ma’am” and “No, sir,”
And I never beg or whine.
I make my bed
And clean my room
And hang my clothes away.
I shine my shoes
And wash my hair
And shower every day.
Mama says that I’m as good
As any son could be,
And Daddy tells my brother
To try to be more like me.
Which makes my brother crazy,
Which makes me sweetly smile,
Which makes him scream,
“I’ll get you for this!”
Which makes being good worthwhile. 

I miss those days and want to be funny again, if I remember how, even though it may be harder to find an editor who can find a place for it. Even if I can’t, I will still love writing funny poems for an audience of children who may or may not ever hear them.

Young Company aces it with, Somebody Catch My Homework

Hi everyone,

That’s the headline of the article by JULIA MCKAY in the Pembroke Observer in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I told you the other day about this most recent production of SANDY ASHER’S play, Somebody Catch My Homework, inspired by my poetry. The reporter for the Observer goes on to say,

Somebody Catch My Homework, is a heartwarming story for kids about being lost and found and the joys that come along the way. A play written by Sandra Fenichel Asher (and inspired by the poetry of David L Harrison), it is the second production put on by the new incarnation of the Young Company and is more than worth the effort to get out to see.

The community at large has one more opportunity to see it (on) Saturday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m.. There will also be a celebration performance which is by invitation only on the 16th in the evening. Altogether “the show will be performed for 780 elementary school students from various schools across the (Upper Canada District School Board) and other local boards,” said Gananoque Intermediate and Secondary School (GISS) teacher, Robyn Abelson.

Way to go, Sandy. Way to go, us. Way to go, kids!

A poem per week

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I received a note from ANGELA KNIGHT, librarian at David Harrison Elementary School and a good friend of mine. She told me that from the first of the year she has been reading one of my poems to the student body each week. I didn’t know that and was delighted by her news.

“We started with Somebody Catch My Homework,” she told me, “and will move to The Mouse Was Out At Recess.  My goal is to have 25 poems read by the end of May, and if we multiply that by the number of students…that would be over 8,000 poetry exposures since January 1^st.” 

I plan to talk to Angela soon to ask if she knows of other schools in the district with similar programs of reading a poem each week to their student bodies. Not my poems, although that would be great fun. Just a poem selected from the vast resources of work published by poems around the world, past and present. Wouldn’t that be nice? Son Jeff urged me to pursue the idea as a new project. He may be right. I’ll let you know what I learn. Meanwhile, you can tell me if you know about programs like this in your areas.

Playing around

Hi everyone,

I received my royalty statement from Dramatic Publishing the other day. I have two entries in their catalog, both thanks to my multi-talented friend SANDY ASHER. In 2004, she wrote SOMEBODY CATCH MY HOMEWORK, a play inspired by various poems from my work, both published and un-. A few years later she and I teamed to write a long story in free verse, JESSE AND GRACE, A BEST FRIENDS STORY, also published by Dramatic.

JESSE AND GRACE has done well and Sandy won two coveted awards for it — AATE Distinguished Play Award and The Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award. It wasn’t produced during the past six reporting months but SOMEBODY CATCH MY HOMEWORK was. I was pleased to see in this new statement that it has recently appeared in Missoula Children’s Theatre (Missoula, Montana), Oak Farm Montessori School (Avilla, Indiana), and Saint Thomas More High School (Milwaukee, Wisconsin).

Think of a story about a new girl in a 4th grade class that has a lot going on. It’s sort of like a musical (really does have music) but when kids stop to perform, my poems come out of their mouths instead of songs. Is that cool? I think so!

New production of SOMEBODY CATCH MY HOMEWORK

Hi everyone,

SANDY ASHER sent word that a new production of SOMEBODY CATCH MY HOMEWORK is coming up in Indiana. Details to follow. Of the many projects that Sandy and I have tackled together over the years, this play has been the most enduring. Our other play together is JESSE AND GRACE, A BEST FRIENDS STORY.

Somebody Catch My Homework

By Sandra Fenichel Asher. Inspired by the poetry of David L. Harrison. Optional incidental music by Ric Averill.

• One-act Play
• Comedy
• Cast size: 2m., 2w., 1 either gender. Expandable to 13 roles, plus extras as desired.
• Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
• Awards: The Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award

Synopsis

A light-hearted, high-energy look at one eventful day in the life of fourth-grader Samantha, the new girl in town, who has lost her beloved cat, Corky. At the bus stop, Samantha meets three wacky new friends who welcome her into their class, which just happens to be studying the animal kingdom. Their search for essay topics takes them from a dinner table’s chicken thighs to the pasture of a bull not pleased to see visitors. A wayward wad of bubble gum, tuba practice and a sticky baby sister later, the busy day finally peaks with the rescue of Corky. Nineteen humorous—and sometimes serious—poems by David L. Harrison are woven into the script as dialogue. Instead of bursting into song, the characters break out into poetry! Incidental music composed especially for this play is available. Highly tourable by five actors. Somebody Catch My Homework also offers creative opportunities for a larger cast and/or audience participation.