Poetry Review 17 

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems

selected by Paul B. Janeczko

Illustrations by Melissa Sweet

Bibliography

Janeczko, P.B. (2014). Firefly July: A year of very short poems. (M. Sweet, Illus.). Candlewick Press.

Summary

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems is a collection of 36 brief poems, many by classic, well-renowned, or award-winning authors. A table of contents details poem titles and indicates the organization of the short poems via seasonal categories. All poems are about nature and the natural world even if they are not all about nature. Most pages contain a single poem, although there are a few with one poem per spread. Images, rich with color and texture, almost depict a kind of layered collage (while remaining 2-dimensional). A variety of poems, predominantly free verse, share stanzas, rhymes, and so few words, such carefully chosen diction.

Analysis

Probably the most intriguing thing about many of these selected poems is the change in perspective, often brought about by personification. The wind tears itself on barbed wire. Moonlit gables become hands folded in prayer. A water lily tastes delicious mud. Rain and roots meet and join one another. Suns roar. A wheelbarrow becomes a provider. A patch of moonlight on the floor is a welcome mat for bed.

A Happy Meeting

Rain meets dust:

soft, cinnamon kisses.

Quick, noisy courtship,

then marriage: mud.

–Joyce Sidman

Spotlight Activity

Poets have long been inspired by the muse of the natural world, whether flower, weather, or beast. Students may think of how to personify something in the natural world, considering its perspective, its likes, its dislikes, its experience just being. One way would be to consider the four seasons and a phenomenon worth observing, describing with imagery, and bringing to life.