Starting Poetry Month with Wise Up! Wise Down!

What two poets on different continents do when asked questions.

It is National Poetry Month. That means that it’s time to see the recent releases of poetry collections and books showing the power of verse. It also means seeing which kids need to be introduced to the horrors of Edgar Allan Poe or the absurdity of William Carlos Williams. But for now, let’s focus on the new and established blood releasing their works into the world.

Most of the children’s poetry I read aims for nonsense and humor. There is plenty of that in the collaboration Wise Up! Wise Down! Authors John Agard and JonArnor Lawson have many questions to answer while exploring the world with free verse. One writes from England and the other writes from Canada. Fun from both countries arrives, along with meanderings about today’s world and how it is.

Wise Up! Wise Down!: A Poetic Conversation By John Agard and JonArno Lawson, Illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura

Both JAs, as they call themselves, pile on joy and nonsense. Each writes a poem about a certain silly or serious subject, with the second poem sometimes being a response to the first. A few are conversations, and one pair actually shows letters exchanged over…