Favourite Poet

If you were one of the many who have disliked poetry and writing from young, the last thing you would want to be would be a writer or poet. Well, that is exactly what Jack Prelutsky did.

The reason I chose this poet is because he writes funny and humorous poems (you can see in my previous post) which I enjoy reading and devotes his time to help children. I will elaborate further in the following paragraphs.

Let me give you a brief biography of his life. Jack was born in Brooklyn in 1940. As mentioned earlier, Jack hated poetry through most of his childhood, which I think is quite common in kids these days. However, he rediscovered it later in his life (not so common). This is what he said “I realized poetry was a means of communication, that it could be as exciting or as boring as that person or that experience."

He has written thirty collections of children’s poetry from the 1970s up to now. He now spends most of the time presenting poems to children in schools and libraries. His contribution to children should not be underestimated. He does not stop at writing poems for them. He also teaches them how to write some themselves. You can see some of his work on his website (http://www.jackprelutsky.com/). It is very informative. For example, if you want to know how to write a funny poem click here.

Below are 3 of his poems:

Happy birthday, Mother dearest,
we made breakfast just for you,
a watermelon omelette,
and a dish of popcorn too,
a cup of milk and sugar,
and a slice of blackened toast,
happy birthday, Mother dearest,
you’re the one we love the most.

As soon as Fred gets out of bed,
his underwear goes on his head.
His mother laughs, "Don't put it there,
a head's no place for underwear!"
But near his ears, above his brains,
is where Fred's underwear remains.

At night when Fred goes back to bed,
he deftly plucks it off his head.
His mother switches off the light
and softly croons, "Good night! Good night!"
And then, for reasons no one knows,
Fred's underwear goes on his toes.

My mother says I’m sickening,
my mother says I’m crude,
she says this when she sees me,
playing Ping-Pong with my food,
she doesn’t seem to like it
when I slurp my bowl of stew,
and now she’s got a list of things
she says I mustn’t do-

DO NOT CATAPULT THE CARROTS!
DO NOT JUGGLE GOBS OF FAT!
DO NOT DROP THE MASHED POTATOES
ON THE GERBIL OR THE CAT!
NEVER PUNCH THE PUMPKIN PUDDING!
NEVER TUNNEL THROUGH THE BREAD!
PUT NO PEAS INTO YOUR POCKET!
PLACE NO NOODLES ON YOUR HEAD!
DO NOT SQUEEZE THE STEAMED ZUCCHINI!
DO NOT MAKE THE MELON OOZE!
NEVER STUFF VANILLA YOGURT
IN YOUR LITTLE SISTER’S SHOES!
DRAW NO FACES IN THE KETCHUP!
MAKE NO LITTLE GRAVY POOLS!

I wish my mother wouldn’t make
so many useless rules.

From all this we can see how these poems can be easily understood by children and the lyrics are very catchy. The situations are what children can identify with. These poems can easily make children love poetry (but maybe not write.)

In conclusion, I feel that Jack is a great poet. His way of writing truly interacts with his audience—kids.

Citations

www.jackprelutsky.com/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Prelutsky

www.poets.org/jprel/

famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/jack_prelutsky