There were so many pieces I had to leave out because the editors were looking for a collection for primary aged pupils and they might have been too mature. I fought for some stay, such as No Beef, an anti-violence piece that deals with important messages. I see this as a coming-of-age book. The first bit is about the childhood memories then, as the book progresses, it gets a bit more complex and into meatier issues. I also think that adults can get a lot out of the book; to me it’s like a Pixar movie, kids can connect with it and then there’s a layer for the adult to look into themselves and get something from it too.
How do you see the impact of your poetry on the children you visit?
I have a philosophy that poetry is written to be spoken. I wanted to make sure that I am a fresh voice that the reader can identify with and that the poetry in the book was as alive on the page as if I was standing in front of them performing it. I’ve seen the effect my performances have on children when I visit schools. I really want to show that rap is a valid form of literature; when I perform, I can really see their minds opening to the idea that rap is poetry and that poetry is wider than they thought it could be. I’m taking all the literary devices
they are learning about, simile, metaphor,
onomatopoeia, hyperbole and I’m feeding it back to them through rap. It both validates their own experience and affirms what they are learning in school. Then, when I throw the writing challenge back at them, what they produce is amazing. They understand the themes in my poems and it inspires them to write about what’s important to them in their own authentic voice; I’ve seen them write about mental health, the impact of social media, real and important things they are going through. One day I’d like to be able to capture the poems the children write themselves and put them into a book, they really are that good.
And finally, what more can we expect from Karl Nova the poet in the future?
I’ve already started putting together some poems for a new collection that is just starting to come together. I’m writing all the time, on my phone, when I’m working with schools, when I’m doing events, poems are coming all the time. I’m also working on a new fiction title, an adventure. Imagine a rapper, a hip hop guy writing adventure fiction, drawing from what’s great about books like Harry Potter mixed with hip hop, that’s what it’s going to be. And I’m definitely excited about judging on next year’s CLiPPA!
Rhythm and Poetry, Caboodle, 9780995488540, £5.99
Charlotte Hacking is the Learning Programmes Leader and member of the CLiPPA judging panel at CLPE, an independent UK charity dedicated to helping schools develop literacy learning that transforms lives.
About CLPE and our work with poetry:
Established in 2003, the Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award (CLiPPA) is the only award to recognise excellence in published poetry for children in the UK. It encourages and celebrates outstanding new children’s poetry and is presented annually for a book of poetry by a single poet or collection of children’s poetry published in the preceding year.
2018 celebrated the 4th year of the hugely popular CLiPPA Shadowing Scheme. Running in schools alongside the CliPPA judging, the shadowing scheme has so far reached more than 600 teachers and 14,000 children. As part of its commitment to support teachers to teach poetry in an exciting and creative way, CLPE creates teaching materials for all shortlisted books. This includes videos of the shortlisted poets, accessible for free on the Poetryline site. Shadowing schools have the opportunity to win copies
of all the shortlisted books and to attend or perform at the CLiPPA 2018 Poetry Show.
CLPE’s Power of Poetry course brings together published poets and an anthologist with teachers to develop their knowledge, confidence and expertise in their own poetry repertoire and the teaching of poetry. Research evaluation from the training shows that poetry provides a means for children to find and develop their own voice bringing a wide range of benefits, particularly development of their own writing. Opportunities to practise and perform poetry adds to the understanding and enjoyment of it and having a performance goal, such as through the CLiPPA shadowing scheme, is a real motivator in children engaging with poetry. The research demonstrates the real need for a focus on poetry as a vehicle for improving children’s engagement in and enjoyment of reading and creative writing in schools.
CLPE’s summary of findings and full evaluation report from the Power of Poetry project can be found at:
https://clpe.org.uk/library-and-resources/ research
The Poetryline website can be accessed at:
https://clpe.org.uk/poetryline Books for Keeps No.231 July 2018 5
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