Playing to a mixed audience

Hi everyone,

I don’t know all of you who visit me here equally well. I’ve tried in the past to figure out how my visitor-ship breaks down among authors, poets, artists, teachers, librarians, administrators, professors, agents, young people, parents, friends, family, and supporters of literature in general and children’s literature in particular. I wish I did know but most days I can only go by raw numbers: X number of visitors clicked on my blog.

What makes me think of this is the humorous poem published on my blog yesterday by poet Bryn Strudwick. Gentleman that he is, he was kind enough to ask in advance if I would be comfortable publishing it. I decided it would be okay because the poem isn’t about prurient sex and because the animal kingdom abounds in stories of reproduction and death. If by chance I have some young reader who spots that poem, my question to myself was whether the reader would be exposed to anything his or her parents might find objectionable. I voted for humor.

But I turn to you for input on this subject. A number of you have, over the years, offered poems seasoned with slang that I’ve asked you to rephrase and you — ever so sweetly — have readily complied. If you are a classroom teacher preparing to throw my daily post onto the wall, I trust that you check it out before you do. BUT, if you happen to be in a hurry and trust the blog to be classroom friendly, would this cross a line?

Thanks for helping me out with this.

David