I agree with you whole-heartedly on the topic of children's poetry. Perhaps the word childish was a not so great word choice is my original sentence, as it implies an association that I did not intend (that they are lesser poems because they are written for children). I did intend to capture a larger misunderstanding/societal view, that these poems sometimes call up, but neglected to note that the notion is a misnomer. I occasionally got some flack for still loving things like Shel Silverstein and Dr. Suess even as I got older, and felt like I had to be quiet about liking these things. I get the feeling from others that the social concept of "leaving behind childish things" (a concept that I often disagree with, considering that whimsy, imagination, play and fun are integral to our well being) pushes people to disassociate from the poetry they loved growing up and leads to bad connotations with poetry in general (i.e. an assumption that rhyming forms are inherently silly and childish, which is something I was once told by a creative writing teacher in high school). These are false notions, but they are sadly common.
Many of my favorite poets and inspiration come directly from those books. I still believe that children's books and poetry as well as middle reader and young adult books and poetry as just as valuable to the adult as to the child. But thank you for pointing that out more succinctly and in depth.
You hit the nail on the head regarding ways to draw non-enthusiasts to poetry. It is very important to pick topics and writers that the reader will identify with. And placing poetry where people are more likely to see it is a fabulous idea. I rather like the idea of guerrilla poetry (poetry posted in elevators and other interesting spaces).
Re: Thoughts
I agree with you whole-heartedly on the topic of children's poetry. Perhaps the word childish was a not so great word choice is my original sentence, as it implies an association that I did not intend (that they are lesser poems because they are written for children). I did intend to capture a larger misunderstanding/societal view, that these poems sometimes call up, but neglected to note that the notion is a misnomer. I occasionally got some flack for still loving things like Shel Silverstein and Dr. Suess even as I got older, and felt like I had to be quiet about liking these things. I get the feeling from others that the social concept of "leaving behind childish things" (a concept that I often disagree with, considering that whimsy, imagination, play and fun are integral to our well being) pushes people to disassociate from the poetry they loved growing up and leads to bad connotations with poetry in general (i.e. an assumption that rhyming forms are inherently silly and childish, which is something I was once told by a creative writing teacher in high school). These are false notions, but they are sadly common.
Many of my favorite poets and inspiration come directly from those books. I still believe that children's books and poetry as well as middle reader and young adult books and poetry as just as valuable to the adult as to the child. But thank you for pointing that out more succinctly and in depth.
You hit the nail on the head regarding ways to draw non-enthusiasts to poetry. It is very important to pick topics and writers that the reader will identify with. And placing poetry where people are more likely to see it is a fabulous idea. I rather like the idea of guerrilla poetry (poetry posted in elevators and other interesting spaces).