Prelutsky Is First Children’s Poet Laureate

We can’t say that’s exactly what transpired in September when members of the Poetry Foundation met and appointed Jack Prelutsky the first children’s poet laureate, but it sounds right. With 35 books to his credit, including The New Kid on the Block (1984), A Pizza the Size of the Sun (1996), and It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles (2000, all HarperCollins)—from which the excerpt of “The Yaks Convened a Meeting” comes—Prelutsky has long been thought the preeminent poet for the underage set. “I’m tickled by this whole thing,” Prelutsky says. “I think it gives [children’s poetry] more validation as a form. It’s always taken a backseat to adult poetry, but children’s poetry books outsell adult poetry books.”

The Poetry Foundation (formerly the Modern Poetry Association) publishes Poetry Magazine, the oldest Enlish-language magazine on the subject, and sponsors multiple awards for poets. The foundation created a second poet laureate post—the first is currently held by Donald Hall—to promote the idea that children are innately receptive to the musicality and imagery of poetry, particularly when it’s written specifically for them.

“Generations of children have learned to love poetry through Jack Prelutsky’s work,” says John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation. “His extraordinary service to an important branch of literature makes him the perfect first recipient.”

Prelutsky has an active agenda for his two-year term, which comes with a $25,000 award. “I’d like to do something on the Poetry Foundation Web site—a monthly feature about other children’s poets,” he says. “I’d choose two or three poems a month. I’d also like to have a contest for child poets on my Web site (www.jackprelutsky.com).” Prelutsky’s also considering talking to a Seattle public radio station about starting a weekly commentary on children’s books. He had the idea years ago, “but I didn’t think I had the cachet to do it then.”

Prelutsky’s work is known for its wit, humor, rhythm, and rhyme. He clearly loves to play with language (say aloud “onions run races with noodles and spoons”—it feels good). Yet for someone who pens clever verse with apparent ease, “writing is hard,” he says. “I still have days when I stare at the computer. But I have a talent: I can make anything rhyme. The trick was to take the thing I do and work at it—become not just adept, but professional. Just because you can make things rhyme doesn’t mean you have anything to say.”

Prelutsky thinks it’s possible that the sudden spotlight on children’s poetry could create a Harry Potter phenomenon in which adults start reading children’s poetry. He also plans to make a leap to adult audiences with his next work, a book about birds that incorporates more mature content, challenging puzzles, and more than 200 poems—twice as many as he’s ever included in a single book. He’s also working on a book of lullabies for adults to sing to babies.