Valerie Bloom – Children's Poetry Summit

Andrea Reece: The CLiPPA, Proving Poetry is a Must For Every Child

After a two-year absence, the CLiPPA, CLPE Children’s Poetry Award, stormed into the South Bank on 8 July, filling the Queen Elizabeth Hall with children’s poetry, children’s poets, and children. Even compared to previous CLiPPA ceremonies, the 2022 award had a special momentum; this wasn’t the first celebration of the year, but the third.

CLiPPA Shortlisted poets, Manjeet Mann, Laura Mucha, Kate Wakeling, compère Nikita Gill, Matt Goodfellow, Liz Brownlee and Valerie Bloom, with children who performed last year’s CLiPPA Poems. Image: Poppie Skold

The excitement began in May with the announcement of the shortlist at the Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University, hosted by Kaye Tew and Becky Swain. Four of the six shortlisted poets took part, Valerie Bloom, Matt Goodfellow, Laura Mucha, and Kate Wakeling.

Valerie Bloom, Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University. Image: Mike Frisbee

They were joined by classes of children from local schools, who had been reading the shortlisted collections and were partisan in their championing of their favourites. Here’s Poyvaz of Lily Lane Primary School summing up Being Me by Liz Brownlee, Matt Goodfellow and Laura Mucha perfectly, ‘I think this book should get an award because it is thought-inducing and it opens your eyes to the people around you. This book gives a voice to the people who don’t have a voice.’ Louise Fazackerley, Poet-in-Residence at Lily Lane, explains just what a special event it was, ‘The children were enthralled by the words of the world-class poets at this event. They loved visiting the university and feeling that their opinions about books are important. We saw the confidence of the children grow as they took their place onstage, just like their writing heroes.’

CLiPPA shortlisted poets: Laura Mucha, Manjeet Mann, Matt Goodfellow, Kate Wakeling, Valerie Bloom, Liz Brownlee (and Paddy, assistance dog). Image: Poppie Skold

From Manchester, next stop was The Globe in June, a CLiPPA showcase for the Poetry By Heart finals. All six shortlisted poets were able to take part, Liz Brownlee and Manjeet Mann joining Valerie, Matt, Laura and Kate. There too, of course, children were at the heart of the programme, ten-year-old Alfie giving a solo performance of Water from Michael Rosen’s 2021 CLiPPA-winner, On the Move,

Alfie, who performed from Michael Rosen’s 2021 CLiPPA winning *On the Move*, Walker Books.
Image: Sam Strickland

and eight-year-olds Jozef, Giulia and Muneef from Swaffield Primary School, Wandsworth giving a spirited performance of Cheers from Matt Goodfellow’s Bright Bursts of Colour. Swaffield are Shadowing regulars, teacher Jean Bennett says, ‘Our whole school waits in anticipation for the Shadowing scheme to be launched. There is a buzz of energy from Years 1 – 6, every class wanting their representatives to be selected.’

Jozef, Giulia and Muneef, Swaffield Primary School, performing from Matt Goodfellow’s CLIPPA 2021 shortlisted *Bright Bursts of* *Colour,* Otter-Barry Books. Image: Sam Strickland

And then on 8 July the CLiPPA rolled into the Queen Elizabeth Hall, bringing old and new friends together. Valerie, Liz, Matt, Manjeet, Laura and Kate were joined by Michael Rosen as show host. Chris Riddell returned to take up his pen and live-draw proceedings. Excitement levels rose as the Shadowing winners arrived, including the entire Reception year from Churchend Primary Academy, Tilehurst, who would wow the audience with their performance of Caterpillar Cake, title poem in Matt Goodfellow’s shortlisted collection; and eight students from Levenshulme High School, Manchester, stars of the shortlist event, who moved many to tears with their sensitive interpretation of 336 Days Before from Manjeet Mann’s The Crossing. An audience of 800 watched in person, while across the country, schools were glued to the livestream – CLPE estimate as many as 9,000 viewers in total.

Valerie Bloom, winner of the CLiPPA 2022 Poetry Prize for *Stars with Flaming Tails*, Otter-Barry Books. Image: Ellie Kurttz

That party that began in March in Manchester finally ended with huge, joyful applause for Valerie Bloom, announced as winner of the 2022 CLiPPA for her collection Stars with Flaming Tails, described by Philip Gross as ‘poetry that can go anywhere’. (Isaac in Manchester will be pleased, he made a strong case for Valerie being ‘one of the greatest poets in history’). Except we all know that’s not the end, because the experience of taking part, of reading poetry, learning poetry, and writing their own poetry, will enrich the lives of all the thousands of CLiPPA participants for ever.

Valerie Bloom with her winning book *Stars with Flaming Tails* and some starstruck poetry performers. Image: Ellie Kurttz

Andrea Reece

Andrea Reece worked as publicist on the CLiPPA 2022. She is editor of Books for Keeps, she reviews for Lovereading4kids and is director of the children’s programme of the FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival. She runs the Klaus Flugge Prize and also works on the Branford Boase Award.

Children's Poet and Educator

Val Bloom: Poetry as a Mirror

Poetry as a Mirror

I was in a school for the first time since lockdown at the beginning of October. One of the teachers recounted a lesson she’d had with some disenchanted young boys in a former school. She’d told them they were going to be doing poetry and was bombarded with groans and cries of “Boring!” So she challenged them.

“I bet I can make you change your mind.”

They were not convinced.

She then brought out one of my books and at the end of the lesson one of the boys came up to her and confessed that she’d changed his mind about poetry. He was now an enthusiast.

I was reminded of an experience I had as a newly qualified English teacher in Jamaica. I went back to teach English in my old school, where the classes were streamed, with A being the most academically gifted. One of my classes was 9V.

In the first lesson, I found myself talking to the walls as the ‘children’ who were mostly boys and mostly bigger than I was, jumped on the desks, threw things at each other, climbed the walls and completely ignored me. The second class went more or less the same way.

In desperation I took in a copy of Jamaica Labrish, a book of poems by the late Honourable Louise Bennett (Miss Lou), written in Jamaican. I stood at the front of the class and started to read one of the poems. One by one they returned to their seats and sat listening in silence, except for bursts of laughter at the comic sections. Afterwards, they clamoured for more but, thinking on my feet I said, “No, it’s your time.”

I divided the poem among them and formed an impromptu speech choir. They were brilliant. So brilliant that I conceived of a plan to enter them in the National Speech Festival. They won a gold medal and became the toast of the school. The next year many of them were promoted to the A stream.

A few years later I returned to Jamaica and met one of those young men in Kingston. He was on his way to the National Gallery where he was mounting an exhibition of his work.

“It’s all because of you, Miss,” he said.

But he was wrong. It was all because of Miss Lou and her poetry.

Two of my poems were included in the NEAB GCSE syllabus. Both were written in Jamaican. Sometime afterwards I was performing in Leicester when a young lady approached me.

“I had to come and say thank you,” she said. “For helping me to pass my English exam.”

At my puzzled look she explained that she’d had no interest in English, that she couldn’t understand any of it until she saw my poem. She was convinced she would not have passed her exam but for the poem written in Jamaican.

The common thread in these episodes is that in all instances the children could see themselves in the poems. So many of my fellow writers have said they started writing because they couldn’t see themselves in the books that were available to them. It’s getting better, but the importance of letting children see themselves in poetry books cannot be stressed enough.

Stars with Flaming Tails, to be published in January 2021

Poetry helps us make sense of our world. It’s harder to make sense of a world that’s unrecognisable. When the poem mirrors a child’s experience, the child can place herself in the poem. Conversely, if she can’t see herself in the poetry books, she’ll feel those books belong to others, but not to her.

Poems are not just mirrors. They’re windows through which we look into others’ lives, so diversity in poetry benefits everyone. As well as seeing themselves, children benefit from learning about and understanding other cultures, other experiences. In order to help our children become well-rounded adults, respecting others, we need to help them look into the mirrors and through the windows of diverse poetry books.

Val Bloom

Valerie Bloom MBE was born and grew up in Jamaica. She is the author of several volumes of poetry for adults and children, picture books, pre-teen and teenage novels and stories for children, and has edited a number of collections of poetry for children. Val has presented poetry programmes for the BBC, and has contributed to various radio and television programmes. She performs her poetry, runs writing workshops, and conducts training courses for teachers worldwide.

Book Magazine Editor

Andrea Reece: P is for … Reasons to be Cheerful

P is for … Reasons to be Cheerful

The last time I wrote a blog for the Poetry Summit it was January, eight months and a different world ago. Who would have thought way back then, that the ‘p’ word defining 2020 would not be poetry but pandemic? My diary (I’m old-school and use a paper one, don’t @ me) is full of crossings-out: the whole of the Oxford Literary Festival including events I’d organised on the children’s and young people’s programme with (gulp) Nikita Gill, Rakaya Fetuga, Jinhao Xie, Troy Cabida, and another with (gulp again) Allie Esiri, Samuel West, Diana Quick, Hugh Ross and Gina Bellman; a big scribble blots out 13 July, which should have been the date for the joyful and inspiring extravaganza that is the CLiPPA award ceremony at the National Theatre.

Looking back though, even if our year has been marked by a peculiar silence, for me as for many I’m sure, it has been punctuated by poetry. Moments I’ll remember include sitting in the garden listening to Roger Robinson’s new recordings for the Poetry Archive; the brilliant Forward Meet the Poet sessions featuring readings from the ten books shortlisted for the Forward Prizes and question and answer sessions with the shortlisted poets; Laura Mucha’s Dear Key Workers thank you poem to the NHS, created with the help of children cheered me hugely (and still does).

Now though, after all the cancellations and postponements, there are real reasons to be cheerful, amongst them the news that the CLiPPA Show will go on. Thanks to a new partnership between CLPE and The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, the CLiPPA will be celebrated in the Festival’s programme for schools and families, and the winner announced in a very special Festival Poetry Show on Friday 9 October. The Poetry Show will be introduced live by CLiPPA judges, Valerie Bloom and Steven Camden, and will feature performances by the shortlisted poets. Schools across the UK and beyond will be able to watch the show for free, and then, thoroughly inspired, join in a special post-event shadowing scheme and create their own poetry performances. By the way, the shortlist will be announced on National Poetry Day, 1 October, another big date that’s certainly not going to be crossed out.

If that isn’t enough, just take a look at the autumn poetry publication schedules – there are some extraordinarily good collections coming out. Many of my favourites are highlighted in the National Poetry Day recommended lists, including The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice by A F Harrold and Mini Grey, SLAM!, the collection we were so excited to celebrate at the Oxford Literary Festival, and She Will Soar, a superb new collection edited by Ana Sampson, but The Girl Who Became a Tree (Otter-Barry Books) by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Klaus Flugge Prize winner Kate Milner, is heart-stoppingly powerful, a mesmerising exploration of grief and renewal, while I haven’t stopped thinking about Punching the Air by Yusef Salaam and Ibi Zobo since I read it this summer. HarperCollins will publish in the UK on 1 September, make sure you get a copy.

And one other thing that’s making me happy: in my last blog on here, I’d suggested that as part of the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of Books for Keeps, the UK’s leading children’s books review journal, we might create a new BfK Poetry Guide, and we’ve decided to do just that. It will be published on National Poetry Day – when else? – and will be packed full of features, interviews with poets and of course reviews of the outstanding new poetry being published for children. You can get in touch to find out more or with feature suggestions (andrea@booksforkeeps.co.uk), and sign up for our newsletter to get it delivered to your inbox on National Poetry Day. (PS if you missed our July issue, there’s a great interview with Joshua Seigal by Liz Brownlee that I highly recommend).

Andrea Reece

Andrea Reece is Managing Editor of Books for Keeps.

Professor of Children's Poetry

Morag Styles: Early Children’s Poetry at the British Library

Of Rossetti, Robins and Rhymes: Early Children’s Poetry at the British Library

Tom Thumb’s Pretty Song Book, c1744, Children’s Chapbook, Public Domain, Held by British Library

My head has been deep in the British Library collection of early children’s poetry, some of which has been digitised and is soon to be showcased on a forthcoming website. To be able to see Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book of 1744 in all its glory on the screen is a rare treat. And likely to please young readers as it is full of delightful rhymes and illustrations – and rude in parts!

Little robin red breast

Sitting on a pole

Niddle, noddle,

Went his head,

And poop went his hole.

I haven’t yet looked online at Christina Rossetti’s manuscript copy of Sing-Song: a Nursery Rhyme Book, 1872, but as I have actually held it carefully in white gloved hands I can tell you it is quite wonderful to see her handwriting and her own little pencil-drawn illustrations. Even better is to witness some of the small changes she made to her text. This exceptional collection is not as well known as it ought to be with its tender and lively variety of poetry for young readers.

‘Sing Song’: a volume of 121 nursery rhymes, 1868/70, Christina Rossetti, Copyright Unknown, Held by British Library.

Something must have been in the air as Lear’s brilliant Nonsense Songs and Stories was published the same year as Sing-Song and Carroll’s inspired parody of Jane Taylor’s The Star just a few years earlier in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:

Twinkle, twinkle little bat

How I wonder what you’re at…

Even now, hard to beat those two great humorists in verse.

Songs of Innocence and Experience [A facsimile of a coloured and gilded copy of the first edition], 1923, William Blake, Held by The British Library, Public Domain.

I’ve also been revisiting Blake’s dazzling Songs of Innocence of 1789, Browning’s Pied Piper of Hamelin, 1842, his tragic and thrilling tale of mayhem, madness and mendacity, and A.A. Milne’s much loved When We Were Very Young, 1924, with E.H. Shepard’s outstanding illustrations. So many poems in these volumes are still winners with the young. If you haven’t looked at them for a while, they are more than worthy of your attention on the British Library’s website. The new Discovering Children’s Books site will launch in late February 2020.

I was delighted to be asked to write about these works in the context of making connections with contemporary poets writing for children, especially if the British Library or Seven Stories, with whom they have worked in partnership, hold their manuscripts. John Agard, James Berry, Valerie Bloom, Jackie Kay, Roger McGough, Grace Nichols, Michael Rosen, Benjamin Zephaniah and others come into this category and are perfect choices for considering links and contrasts with early poetry when talking about nursery rhymes, humour and storytelling in verse. Many themes that work in children’s poetry are timeless and one of those is the natural world. Poets have always served children well in drawing environmental issues to their attention in a way that makes them care. Never more important than now.

Morag Styles

Morag Styles is Emeritus Professor of Children’s Poetry and the author of From the Garden to the Street: 300 years of poetry for children. She has written many books and articles on children’s poetry, edited several volumes on children’s literature, and is editor of numerous anthologies of poetry for children.