Next week the UK organisation, the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education will announce this year’s winner of their CLPE Poetry Award. One of the books on the shortlist is Goldilocks on CCTV by John Agard, illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura (Frances Lincoln, 2011) – I haven’t actually seen it yet, but I’m working on it, since they have already shown themselves to be a first-class creative partnership. In fact, their previous collaboration, The Young Inferno won the CLPE Poetry Award in 2009. I blogged about The Young Inferno a couple of years ago (and I refer you to that post for a longer overview) but it’s just come out in paperback, which gives me the perfect excuse to revisit it!
It’s Agard’s Canto 3 that resonates most with me at the moment – as the “Hoodie Hero” steps through the door of the Gate Cinema aka the entrance to Hell, into the unknown – wanting to go forward, but dreading what he is about to discover:
THROUGH ME INTO THE CITY OF TEARS.
A LOVING ARCHITECT MADE ME.
ABANDON HOPE ALL WHO ENTER HERE.
When I saw these words above a gate
I felt a sad and weird sensation.
‘Can we turn back?’ I said. ‘Is it too late?’
My teacher [Aesop] smiled and said, ‘This is Hell, my son.
What do you expect? A red carpet
and bunches of flowers that say Welcome?’
Then holding my hand, he whispered to me,
‘Nothing is more fearsome than your fear.
Just think of Hell as a scary movie.’
And with these words of encouragement
he led me down starless winding stairs.
I could hear voices coming from a basement.
Tantalising? I hope so. Just as would have been the case for Dante’s contemporary audience, this 21st-century update is filled with a blend of characters and stories (many from Aesop’s Fables) that will be both well-known and unfamiliar to today’s young readers. Agard’s powerful, energetic verse and Satoshi Kitamura’s extraordinarily powerful illustrations together pack a rare punch. (Do take a look at our PaperTigers Gallery featuring some of Satoshi’s wonderful artwork) Now to seek out Goldilocks on CCTV …
This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Tara at A Teaching Life, where the title of her post seems to fit perfectly with the style of The Young Inferno! Head on over.
Having immersed myself in Dante at university, and while living in Italy after that, I was intrigued by the notion of John Agard’s The Young Inferno (Frances Lincoln, 2008)… How could it be possible to bring a fourteenth century work of poetry, no matter how seminal, to a young, English-speaking audience, when most of them would never have heard of him? Well, Agard has managed to bring this up-to-date parallel to Dante’s Hell very much alive and, judging by Little Brother’s reaction, they will then want to know about the “Old Inferno” too. The poem is ambitious, exciting and relevant - an exhilarating journey!
There are thirteen cantos of varying lengths, divided into tercets plus a single, climactic line at the end. The young narrator’s guide is Aesop, who leads him through the circles of hell, giving introduction and explanations, and telling a couple of his own fables along the way. Agard’s version of Hell contains a mix of modern and ancient inhabitants - some of whom may be a little surprising at first, like Einstein. And I love the ending, where the boy emerges through the floor of a library, of all places, to come face to face with his Beatrice…
Satoshi Kitamura’s black and white illustrations are, as ever, superb - atmospheric, grotesque, witty - they complement Agard’s verse perfectly. My boys have been intrigued and a bit scared by the whole book and Little Brother (definitely put off Mammon!) has learned a lot about urban culture… we were at our Town Feast last week-end and he stood outside the door announcing that he was going to be a bouncer! It’s no surprise that The Young Inferno won
this year’s UK-based Centre for Literacy in Primary Education Poetry Award; or that is is being adapted for the stage (I’ll be watching its progress with interest…).
Here’s a taster from the ninth and final circle of hell:
‘…History knows me as Attila the Hun
Who ravaged countless cities in the Blakans.
But deep down, I’m still a family man…’
‘That’s enough,’ my teacher said to Attila.
‘Don’t burden the boy with your excuses.
I know we can’t all be Nelson Mandela.
But whatever your race, your shape or your -ism,
I’ve got news for warmongers and tyrants:
Hell’s Ninth Circle will be your five-star prison.”
This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Anastasia Suen over at Picture Book of the Day
Whether you are a professional picture book artist, a student or just want to try your hand at making something for your family, this class will give you tools to bring drama, expression and emotional impact to your work. We will bring in creative tools and exercises learned, invented, collected and developed over years of professional practice as well as materials that we would use ourselves professionally.
We will show you how to work fast to generate characters and bring them to life, using techniques borrowed from theatre as well as drawing games and storytelling exercises. You will learn how to develop your story hands-on to make a well-paced, engaging picture book. This class includes a portfolio/dummy book viewing and discussion in small, friendly groups in the morning, so we can tailor the afternoon book-making lesson to you, personally. This is a workshop for adults, although we may consider talented teenagers. We are charging an introductory rate of £50.
