THE ARROW FINDS ITS MARK: A BOOK OF FOUND POEMS written by Georgia Heard and illustrated by Antoine Guilloppé

Review by Christi De Leon

a.    BIBLIOGRAPHY

Heard, Georgia. The Arrow Finds its Mark: A Book of Found Poems. Ill. by Antoine Guilloppé. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2012. ISBN 9781596436657

b.    SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this collection of forty poems, numerous contemporary poets participate in finding poetry in their surroundings. This concise anthology includes poems encouraged by signs, media, notes, lists, bookshelves, and much more.

In The Arrow Finds Its Mark: A Book of Found Poems, readers experience found text that has been turned into poems. Some of these poems derive from text found in the oddest of places, such as a Lasertag Results Report. It is important for readers to accept this randomness, especially since the poems are not interconnected as many poetry collections are. Beyond this, these poems have a way of suggesting poetry as part of daily life. By conveying that poetry is all around us, this book shows readers that the process of writing poems can be less intimidating. These poems have the potential to inspire elementary or middle school students to think like poets and see with “poetry vision.” This collection is definitely different from a typical book of poetry, but well worth reading!

The illustrations in this book are drawings in black and white. These illustrations complement the text but do not seem to enhance the poems. There is clearly a stronger focus on the words themselves. Prior to each poem, information on who found it and where it was found is given. The name of each poem is shown in bolded text and all caps. Various forms of poetry complete this collection including haikus, free verse, end rhymes, sonnets, and brief narratives. The Table of Contents is a useful feature in locating specific poems and the Introduction provides some key background information on the creation of these found poems. Overall, the idea for this collection of poetry is a clever one, and it incorporates tons of creativity.

c.    POEM TO SPOTLIGHT & SHARE

“Book Haunting”

Found by Lara Anderson from book titles on her daughter’s bedroom bookshelf

Giants

Ghosts

And Goblins

Wait til the moon is

Over the house in the night.

Frankenstein

Makes a sandwich;

Monster soup for the ghost

(a splendid friend, indeed)

that had to go…

where the wild things are.

This poem called “Book Haunting” is a fun example of the creativity of this collection. Consisting of book titles from the shelves in her daughter’s bedroom, poet Lara Anderson pieces together a themed poem perfect for sharing around Halloween. As mentioned in the analysis, poems like this one show children how poetry can be found anywhere. “Book Haunting” is written in free verse with line breaks and is uniquely presented in an engaging way.

Reading this poem aloud would be a great way to share the idea that although this poem may be "scary," writing poems does not have to be. This can lead into an activity in which they discover poetry in their surroundings and write their own found poems. This can be done in the library with titles of books, for instance. Encouraging students to stick to a theme, like in the poem “Book Haunting,” may be helpful in narrowing their search in order to successfully create a poem they will love.