Paint Me a Poem: Poems Inspired by Masterpieces of Art
Grade 1-4–Rowder responded to 14 paintings that she saw at the National Gallery of Art by writing a poem about each one. Jan Greenberg'sHeart to Heart(Abrams, 2001) similarly asked modern poets to write in response to modern paintings. That book works brilliantly while this one falls flat. The selections here don't really seem to reflect the tone and mood of the art that inspired them. For example, an enigmatic da Vinci portrait,Ginevra de' Benci, elicits nothing more than comments about her hairstyle: Twirling/Curls twirling/Like water/Whirling,/Swirling;/Chasing/Racing/Curlicues. Alfred Sisley'sMeadowis reduced to The sky is full/Of fuzzy white polka dots…. The reproductions of the paintings are good and the book concludes with notes about the artists, but both the art and artists deserve much more.–Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, MECopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.