Poetry Pick: Please Excuse This Poem: 100 New Poets for the Next Generation

Please Excuse This Poem: 100 New Poets for the Next Generation
Brett Fletcher Lauer & Lynn Melnick, editors
Viking
2015
203 pages with About the Poet and Permissions pages
ISBN: 9780670014798

Please Excuse This Poem: 100 New Poets for the Next Generation is not your mama's book of poetry and it's for sure not your grandmother's poetry. This is the poetry of the street: raw, in-your-face, unapologetic and genre defying. Many of the poems throw genre and rules to the winds and take on a prose like look but sound like a defiant street prophet shouting angry verse to unwary pedestrians.

The language is raw and biting, the tone crude and unapologetic, the themes tough and urban. "Yellow Rubber Gloves" and "In Colorado My Father Scoured and Stacked Dishes" takes up the torch for minimum wage workers who are often ignored by the public performing their base jobs like mopping floors and washing dishes. "When at a Certain Party in NYC" comments that a mid-westerner would never fit in with all the "fancy" people who ooze NYC coolness. "There I Was Unrequited" ignites off the pages. The reader can feel the angst and tension in the poet's voice and the steamy rage oozes throughout the poem.

This anthology is for high school and college bound. The language is rough; the poems show a harsher reality than the poetry currently taught in schools. Some of the writing may have been torn from a diary or a scratch piece of paper. These are the thoughts that people cared about--cared enough to write them down for others to read. I would not recommend giving this collection to any person who is in a depressive state.

For a book that touts New Poets for the Next Generation, the cover has an archaic, old school typewriter--and not even an electric typewriter. This is the type of machine Clark Kent may have  used in the news room! I think the title of the book and the cover are at odds with each other. 

Recommended high school and above. Not for the faint  of heart.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

 

Poetry Pick: Outside the Box

Outside the Box
by Karma Wilson
Drawings by Diane Goode
Margaret K. McElderry Books
2014
172 pages
ISBN: 9781416980056

Evocative (on purpose) to Shel Silverstein's books of children's poetry, Karma Wilson dedicates her new book to Silverstein saying, "to Shel S. who encouraged every child to play with words..." Drawings by Diane Goode capture the humor and energy of each poem by Wilson. This book is a treasure trove of what will become a child's most loved poems.

Some poems are concrete like "Outside the Box" and "Inside Joke." Other poems make the reader laugh but then think! One of my favorite short poems is "Dorks and Geeks" which pays homage to all those called dorks, geeks and "artistic freaks" who become the leaders and "...great inventive souls/that make our history."

The poet has a keen eye and a refreshing sense of humor and a childlike wonder when looking at the world. In "Monkey Business," the author reminds us, "You laugh at the monkeys in the zoo,/but the monkeys laugh right back at you./While you giggle, point, and stare,/to them you're a monkey without much hair./ So there."

There is so much to love in this book of poetry. It is likely to be the most checked out book in every library that caters to children. There's something magical about a funny poem. It resonates with our funny bone and makes us feel good. Whether eight or eighty, anyone who loves a poem will love Outside the Box.

Highly, highly recommended all ages and all poetry lovers. A must have for the poetry section of every library.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)