Yes. This. Exactly This.

[kellyrfineman]

That was my comment in response to Nikki Grimes's post about verse novels.

Go. Read. Discuss.

Comments

[liz_scanlon]

I read it, nodding and mm-hmmming.
I'm in TOTAL agreement...

[kellyrfineman]

I'm wondering if anyone's gonna holler about her opinion - there are certainly a fair number of books in broken prose out there calling themselves verse novels!

[wordsrmylife]

Those broken prose novels are out there, but in all seriousness I agree with Nikki Grimes: Unless attention is paid to poetic devices and poetic language, they aren't truly in verse.

[kellyrfineman]

Sadly, more free verse novels than not are of the broken prose variety. And they can be good stories, but they are not actually verse.

[kellyrfineman]

I kind of resent using the label "verse novel" to apply to a piece of prose that has been hacked up to leave lots of white space on the page, and that isn't, in fact, poetry at all. Yet more things that are called verse novels seem to fit that category than do actual novels in verse.

while i agree...

[delzey]

i am also torn by the fact that sometimes these pseudo-verse hacked prose arrangements are exactly what draws in reluctant readers. on another front, i think there are a number of editors who might not know the difference between "true" poetry and prose-in-verse or simply don't care.

Re: while i agree...

[kellyrfineman]

I agree that the broken-prose books are a boon for reluctant readers. All that white space makes a book feel very accessible (and in truth, the lack of actual poetry may be a help as well - the language isn't as dense or complex as actual poetry in most cases, and the resulting book is kinda like a hi/lo (high grade level content/lower reading level)).

You are quite possibly correct about at least some editors, although I hope not. Still, I understand the appeal of these books, even if I don't love them sharing the moniker of "verse novel" with actual poetry.