''A Writing Kind of Day: Poems for Young Poets'' is a
young adult book of poetry by
Ralph Fletcher, illustrated by
April Ward. It was first published in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
.
Summary
A young writer's experiences are described in twenty seven mostly
free verse poems. Topics included are
roadkill
Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mi ...
,
Venus Flytraps, and a grandmothers
senility. Others discuss
snow angels, little brothers, and "Ma".
Reception
Sharon R. Strock in her review for
Library Media Connection
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...
said "Powerful words. Thinking words. Poetic words. As readers go through Ralph
Fletcher’s book, they step into worlds far away—worlds found in their imaginations, their memories, and their hearts." And that "the poems are enhanced with equally intriguing b&w photos and drawings that are simple, curious, humorous, and magical. The cover with the only color found in the
book doesn’t match the content, which is disappointing."
Jennifer Mattson in her review for
Booklist said that the poems in the book "subvert the notion that poetry requires lofty themes and rarified language; many satire the dry, technical manner in which the genre is often taught, involving rote memorization of forms (which the narrator imagines getting munched by a poem-gobbler whose ingestion of
haiku,
cinquain Cinquain is a class of poetic forms that employ a 5-line pattern. Earlier used to describe any five-line form, it now refers to one of several forms that are defined by specific rules and guidelines.
American cinquain
The modern form, known as Am ...
s, and
sonnet
A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
s require "some
onomatopoeia / to cure diarrhea." and that "some readers may wish for flashier visuals than the understated, black-and-white drawings and photos, but others will find inspiration here to declare, like Fletcher's confident your writer, that "poems are not extinct"."
Lee Bock in his review for
School Library Journal said "what emerges is a picture of a young writer at work, looking closely at the world, making connections, and seeing the depth and beauty of everyday events and people. Ward's black-and-white illustrations use a variety of mediums, including pencil, photography, computer-generated images, and ink. Many aspiring poets will see the reflection of their own creative spirits and aspirations in this lovely collection."
Notes
External links
Ralph Fletcher's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Writing Kind of Day
2005 poetry books
American poetry collections