Catching a Storyfish Page 9

  Haiku

  This Japanese form gives the reader vivid images. Traditionally, American haiku have five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third line. Haiku usually say something about nature and seasonal change. The haiku in this book are closer to senryu, a variation of haiku that focuses more on people. Examples: “Do We Have To?,” “Not Yet,” “Allegra Wonders,” and “Keet Wonders.”

  Narrative Poem

  Narrative poems tell stories. Many of the poems in this book are narrative poems, including “Keet’s Story for Noah” and “Keet’s Story for Grandpa about the Terrible, Horrible, Kid-Eating Dog.”

  Pantoum

  A pantoum repeats the second and fourth line of each quatrain as the first and third line of the following quatrain. (A quatrain is a four-line stanza.) Typically, pantoums have an abab rhyming pattern. “Keet’s Wish” and “Allie-Gator’s Wish” are pantoums but without the rhyme. Poets often experiment with words and poetic forms.

  Prose poem

  A prose poem is an experimental form that has no line breaks. A prose poem can have one or more paragraphs. Although a prose poem looks like prose, it still uses poetic language. Example: “Saturday: Fishing Lesson #6.”

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I especially want to thank my editor, Rebecca Davis, for her enthusiastic support and guidance. Thanks as well to all the people at WordSong, including Cherie Matthews and Lisa Rosinsky. Catching a Storyfish would not have been possible without my extraordinary agent, Stephen Fraser, and my readers: Betsy Hearne, Molly MacRae, and always Robert Dale Parker.

  An Interview with Janice N. Harrington

  Q: “Keet-Keet Parakeet, that story-talking, story-making girl” can “talk the whiskers off a catfish.” What suggestions would you give to kids to help them find a balance between talking and listening?

  A: It can be hard to listen, if you love to talk. But listening is a skill like playing the piano. It takes practice. So I like to go on listening walks. I walk and listen carefully to all the sounds around me. I give myself listening challenges: how long can I let another person talk before I say anything? Or I go on a talking diet and allow myself to pay more attention to listening than to talking. Funny thing—when I talk less, other people talk more. Try a talking diet. See what happens. You might enjoy what you get to hear.

  Q: Moving is difficult even if it’s just a short distance away, but Keet’s family moves from the South to the Midwest. Did you move as a child? If so, what was it like for you? And do you have advice for ways kids can prepare for a move?

  A: My family moved from Alabama to Nebraska. I began third grade in a new school, neighborhood, city, and region of the country. It was hard to leave my grandparents, cousins, and extended family. Just like Keet, I wanted to fit in, and I wanted to make friends. If you move, take lots of pictures of your favorite things, places, and people so that you can remember them in your new home. In a notebook or diary, or even on scraps of paper in a box, keep a record of “Good Things.” Write down the good things that you see or think of as you move from your old home to your new home. Write down the interesting things that you see, taste, feel, hear, or do during the move. Even though moving can feel sad or scary, moving also means getting to do exciting or memorable things. Later, it can be fun to reread your “Good Things” or share them with a friend after you’ve settled into your new home.

  Q: Grandpa’s storytelling is full of humor yet sprinkled with teaching moments. Did you learn storytelling from your grandfather or from someone else in your family?

  A: My mother told me stories about our family and about her own childhood. I draw on her stories as a poet and as a storyteller. My mother and my grandmother often shared proverbs and used them to teach me things that I needed to know: “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” “You can do anything you put your mind to.” “Hold your head up and walk that much higher.” My mother and my grandmother helped me to shape Keet’s grandfather.

  Q: Teasing at school makes Keet self-conscious of her accent and of speaking in general; she loses her desire to tell stories, even to Noah, her dad, and her mom. How do her family’s reactions help Keet to find her voice again?

  A: Keet has a loving family. Keet’s mother pays close attention to her. And in “I Wonder How She Knows?” she can tell that Keet has had a hard day. She comes to Keet’s room to ask about her feelings, to reassure her, and most of all to let Keet know that she cares. Keet can count on her mother. Keet’s father doesn’t talk a lot, but he always shows Keet how much he loves her. He might show it by a squeeze on her shoulder, or his hands stroking her forehead, or just a look of pride. Keet and her father also have special times together when he listens to Keet’s stories, or when they go out to enjoy a cup of moonmilk. Keet’s family loves her. They spend time with her, listen to her, do things with her, and make her feel supported. All that love gives her strength to tackle the challenges of a new life.

  Q: There’s such warmth in Keet’s relationship with Noah, even as they sometimes get on each other’s nerves, as siblings do. Keet shares her storytelling with Noah. What gifts does Noah share with Keet?

  A: Noah is the nosiest, funniest, best little brother ever. He makes Keet laugh, but he’s also curious, and he’s a great listener. Noah is Keet’s best audience. He’s also her shadow. He likes to follow Keet and do what she does. He’s good company, and Keet would feel much lonelier without him.

  Q: Why did you choose to tell Keet’s story as a novel in verse?

  A: I wanted to let young readers know that there are lots of different ways to tell stories. You can perform a story like a storyteller. You can write a story down as prose. But you can also write a story-poem. I hope that after reading Keet’s story, readers will say, “I can do that.” I want readers to think about their own memories and turn them into story-poems of their own.

  Q: In the Poetry Glossary you explain ten different poetic forms that you used to write Catching a Storyfish. Why did you choose these particular forms?

  A: I chose forms that I’ve used and enjoy. But I also tried to use forms that are kidfriendly or that might intrigue young poets. Writing with a poetic form can help to make you a stronger writer because forms can challenge you to use fewer words, or explore new words, and stretch your imagination.

  Q: When did you realize you were a storyteller, and how does storytelling make you feel?

  A: For a short while, I lived with my grandmother, and every morning, as she made breakfast, I told her stories: this-is-what-I-did-stories, this-is-what-I-saw stories, guess-what-happened stories. I could always tell when my grandmother liked my stories because she would knead the dough really hard and blizzard the air with dusty flour. My grandmother gave me the best gift of all: she listened.

  Q: If you could give Keet one piece of advice at the end of this novel, what would it be?

  A: Never stop writing, believe in yourself no matter what, and find a “Writing Superhero.” What’s a Writing Superhero? Someone who believes in you and your talent and helps you succeed. The first story that I ever wrote, my father sent in to a short-story contest and I won an honorable mention. The contest published my name in the paper, and I was so proud. My father was my Writing Superhero. A Writing Superhero can be a parent, a teacher, or a family member. Your superhero might enter your work in a contest, find classes for you to take, or read your work and give you feedback. Your superhero will work to help you make yourself into a stronger writer.

  JANICE HARRINGTON, like Keet, loves telling stories and adores wearing funny socks. As a child, Janice went on weekend fishing trips with her family in Alabama and Nebraska. But unlike Keet, she always let someone else bait her hook. Then she sat with a good book to read while she waited for a fish to bite. She didn’t catch many fish, but she caught a lot of stories. She’s now a poet who also writes children’s books. Harrington teaches at the University of Illinois. janiceharrington.com.

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