I just finished The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, which is a verse novel that won the Newberry Award this year for young adult fiction. It’s good, and I can see how the appeal of the poem/story (a teenage boy and his twin brother, both basketball stars, and their father, a fading sports star) will resonate with kids, particular those athletes with an eye on the game, and maybe show them some potential of poetry as a freeing way to tell a story.
Alexander’s book inspired me to try my own poem this morning about a song I have not been able to write because something keeps eluding me:
Peace (in the shape of the story),
Kevin
This is beautiful, Kevin. I like “I hold the leash to give it room” especially. The presentation, too, is awesome.
The Crossover is such a goldmine of mentor text. Your words seem to gel nicely in this format. Perhaps unleashing the music you are looking for.