Good afternoon!
Is anyone else excited for April? ‘Cause I sure am! I am hoping to start some gardening projects soon, and I look forward to showers and flowers, hopefully. Here in Florida we get tons of rain, but I kindof like it. It’s peaceful, and having been raised in California, it’s different, for me.
Today we’re going to talk about famous writer Jane Yolen. Since she’s already well-known, I wasn’t sure whether I could keep this as part of my “discovering writers” blog post series. But, not everyone will be familiar with her. Plus, I’ve decided to focus on her poetry in this post, rather than the books she’s more known for.
A Little Intro
Yolen grew up in New York and California, eldest child of a cafe journalist father and a mother who wrote crossword puzzles, short stories and acrostics. She wrote in school and created a newspaper with her brother. She grew up and went to Smith College, and graduated and became an editor. She says she thought of herself as a journalist and editor, but surprised herself by publishing a children’s book – her first at 22, Pirates in Petticoats.
She is known for weaving history and fairy tales into her children’s tales, creating a mystical and inviting realm. One of her most popular books is The Devil’s Arithmetic, about a Jewish girl in New York who is sent back in time to the Holocaust.
Her Poetry
What grabbed my attention recently was her poetry, as it appeared in the recent fairytale-focused edition of Enchanted Living Magazine. I was attracted by how she twines fairytale in with contemporary ideas or morals. Here’s an example, part of a poem – from The Journal of Mythical Arts’ website:
KNIVES
Love can be as sharp
as the point of a knife,
as piercing as a sliver of glass.
My sisters did not know this.
They thought love was an old slipper:
pull it on and it fits.
They did not know this secret of the world:
the wrong one can kill.
It cost them their lives.…
Copyright Jane Yolen, 1999
You may find the rest of the poem here.
Poetry Tips
I’m excited to have found these great tips from Yolen on writing poetry! The tips seem like a poem, too. From 1999:
Five Tips On Writing A Poem
1. Look at the world through metaphor,
seeing one tree in terms of another.
2. Let two words bump up against another
Or seesaw on a single line.
3. Tell the truth inside out
Or on the slant.
4. Remember that grammar can be a good friend
And a mean neighbor.
5. Let the poem rhyme in the heart,
Though not always on the page.
In Conclusion
What do you think of Jane Yolen’s poetry? Is it for you, or not? What kind of poetry do you like?
If you want to see more, please check out her website.
Until next time,
Chaitanya
Typing Madly 