Janeczko Collection

JANECZKO COLLECTION

THE DEATH OF THE HAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF POETRY IN 50 OBJECTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Janeczko, Paul B. , ed. 2015. The Death of the Hat: a Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects. Ills. by Chris Raschka.  Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763669638.

SUMMARY
In this collection, Janeczko compiles 50 poems about various throughout history. From grass to cobwebs, these objects represent specific time periods in history.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poets
Paul B. Janeczko, who compiled this collection, is a well-known American poet and anthologist. In this collection, he traces poetic history through the poems of greats such as Rumi, William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Frost, and Pablo Neruda. As such, the collection provides a variety of notable poems written by both traditional and contemporary poets, many of which, due to their fame, appear in other books.

Layout
This collection is broken up into 9 sections: Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages, The Renaissance, The Enlightenment, Romantic Period, Victorian Period, Modern Period, Postmodern Period, and Contemporary.  These major literary periods serve as an organizational structure for the book, and each period includes several poems by a variety of representative poets of that time period.  A Contents page is included in the beginning of the novel to easy readers’ navigation of the collection.

Janeczko provides a general Introduction in the beginning of the book in which he explains the challenges he faced in putting together this collection as well as a brief overview of each literary period and its characteristics.  Ultimately, his goal is to give readers an idea of how poetry evolved throughout history. With the aid of Chris Raschka’s playful watercolor illustrations, readers will certainly gain a clear understanding of a survey of poetry throughout history.

Poetic Elements
As this collection of poems revolves around objects, many of the poems center on concrete meaning and display a wide array of tone and mood, which will appeal to various readers’ interests.  Some, however, do venture into abstract meaning, such as Rumi’s “A Just-Finishing Candle,” which literally describes a candle’s last flickers and, more deeply, discusses the philosophical meaning of life and human nature. 

Virtually every poem in The Death of the Hat displays some sort of poetic rhythmic and sound technique. The excerpt from “Mercutio’s Queen Mad Speech,” for example, highlights Shakespeare’s excellent iambic pentameter technique, and “A Burtn Ship” by John Donne, for instance, uses exact rhyme in an abbacc rhyme scheme.  In “Street Lanterns,” Mary Elizabeth Coleridge exhibits alliteration when she writes that “An unwonted silence steals”  and that, “Lit, throughout the lengthy night,/By the little lantern’s light,” appealing to reader’s sense of hearing and helping create a calm tone.

Appeal
The Death of the Hat will certainly appeal to readers of all ages. Young children will enjoy the poetic elements displayed throughout the collection while older readers and adults will enjoy the familiarity of many of the poems included.  Most of the poems’ subjects will resound with the reader, as readers will connect to topics such as roses, stars, city trees, and summer days—everyday objects that people encounter on a daily basis. Even more so, readers will appreciate the multi-dimensional aspect of these poems, as they go far beyond simple descriptions of objects and venture into metaphorical, philosophical musings that will make readers think about life.  Thus, while the language used in the poems is easy and accessible, it provides avenues for further contemplation and stimulates the emotions and imaginations of readers.

Overall Quality
The poems in this collection are undeniably consistent in quality.  All of the poets featured in this book are well-known poets and their works are well-known works. The poets selected for each literary period are certainly greats of those periods, reinforcing Janeczko’s purpose to present a historical evolution of poems.  In the end, readers will get a sense of not only the evolution of poems but, most importantly, a great appreciation of poetry.


SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES
A spotlight poem that I would use from this collection would be “Things” by Eloise Greenfield.  This poem serves as a perfect introduction to this collection because it presents the overarching theme of objects as well as drives the idea that poems outlast material objects.

“Things” by Eloise Greenfield

Went to the corner

Walked in the store

Bought me some candy

Ain’t got it no more

Ain’t got it no more

Went to the beach

Played on the shore

Built me a sandhouse

Ain’t got it no more

Ain’t got it no more

Went to the kitchen

Lay down on the floor

Made me a poem

Still got it

Still got it

Before reading this poem, I would lead a class discussion on the longevity of things. I would ask the students questions such as, “What items do you find joy in? Are they items that last forever? How long do they last? In what way can we make items last forever?” I would then project the poem on a screen and invite students to read the poem with me by reading the lines that are repeated (lines 4 and 5, lines 9 and 10, lines 14 and 15).  Then, I would ask students what they think the poet means when she writes that she “Made me a poem/Still got it/Still got it.” I would also ask them if they agree that poems or other forms of writing last longer than other material objects. As a culminating activity, I would have students write a poem about an item or object they want to immortalize through writing.