Poetry Review 1

Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems

by Kristine O’Connell George

Illustrated by Debbie Tilley

Bibliography

George, Kristine O’Connell. Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems. Illustrated by Debbie Tilley, New York: Clarion Books, 2002. ISBN 0618152504.

Summary

Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems is collection of approximately 65 poems that begins with a female narrator’s first day of middle school and follows her throughout the day, weeks, and eventually the year through which you see her observe herself, her experiences, and her peers from varying perspectives important to those who are currently in middle school: decoding locker combinations, feeling lost, navigating the cafeteria, learning to play an instrument, finding adults to trust. The awkwardness and humor weaves throughout the collection to envelop compassion for others, crushes, failing, and relationships. Each poem is easily contained to a page with special font and illustrations that capture the awkward sense of chaos without giving away the plot nor being inappropriate for kids in elementary grades. Throughout the poetry, you see the narrator grow as a student, friend, flute player, and mathematician.

Analysis

While the poems are written in free verse and do not rhyme, children of elementary and middle school will not struggle with vocabulary or an overwhelming volume of text as there is no more than one poem to a page, often brief poems that convey detail with choice diction. The rich imagery and content is appropriate for all who are in middle school, those anticipating going, or those who walk down the halls of memory. Most of the tone is light-hearted and addresses the worries or stressors of middle school students. A few poems strike because they touch on students who struggle to include a girl and boy with special needs and a child who has family difficulties outside of school. The content is real without being too mature or traumatic. 

A number of poems would show a particular typography, using white space and even punctuation to adjust pacing and to emphasize the meaning:

Long Jump

Brittany and Jaleesa cheering,

I run as hard as I can,

Focusing

far beyond the sandpit.

I leap, hold air,

pull with my fingertips,

land solid,

Weight forward,

and know

I can do anything.

All I need

is a running start.

Spotlight Activity

Looking at the poem above, “Long Jump,” students may discuss why the author chose to place the white space and stanzas on the page as she did. What does it add to the poem to do so? How does it contribute to the poem? Students may share the possibility of its typography and diction of words running together up to pauses and spaces where there are leaps across words. In other words, at least one student should suggest the poem is concrete and reveals its subject. If no one suggests this, prompt students with a few questions. Students may think of a subject and write their own concrete poems in which the words and stanzas use typography to visually create the subject of the poem. Concrete poems may be posted around the room or left on Chromebooks for a gallery walk.