Richie's Picks: BLUE LIPSTICK: CONCRETE POEMS by John Grandits, Clarion, May 2007, ISBN: 0-618-56860-3 (hardcover) 0-618-85132-1 (paperback).

Three years after its publication, I continue to regularly turn middle school students onto John Grandits' first, incredibly fun book of concrete poems. That first book, TECHNICALLY, IT'S NOT MY FAULT, which is made up of a series of poems that are created through an interplay of text and graphics, involves the exploits of a boy named Robert. The fun begins on the front cover with the title poem in which Robert explains how he has duplicated Galileo's discovery of the constancy of gravity by dropping a tomato and a concrete block out of the attic window with unforeseen results.

"...Boy, did I ever learn a lesson -- and that's the important thing, isn't it? I mean, even if you know something for a fact, like heavy stuff falls faster than light stuff, it's best to check it with a carefully planned scientific experiment. Oh, yeah, and I also learned not to drop concrete blocks out of the attic window. But in my opinion, the experiment was totally worth doing. There was just a slight mix-up, one tiny detail that went wrong, so even though the car has a concrete block sticking out of the roof, technically, IT'S NOT MY FAULT"

Creatively employing QuarkXPress software, Photoshop, and dozens of typefaces I'd never previously encountered, Grandits creates such memorable shaped poems as "Just Mow the Lawn," "The Thank-You Letter" (with exceptionally rude footnotes), "TyrannosaurBus Rex," and (my favorite) "The Autobiography of Murray the Fart."

From several of the concrete poems found in TECHNICALLY, IT'S NOT MY FAULT, we learn about Robert's big sister, Jessie. For instance, in "My Sister is Crazy," Robert quotes Jessie's explanation for her wearing a "little pyramid-shaped hat" (It involves the Egyptians and the Aztecs...or maybe it's the Incas.), in "It's Not Fair" Robert wraps Jessie's algebra homework around a bottle rocket and lights the fuse, and in "Bloodcurdling Screams" Robert demonstrates (with a very long, red, spiral-shaped line of text) how, "My sister makes this cool noise when she's in the shower and I flush the toilet."

Now, in BLUE LIPSTICK, Grandits' second collection of concrete poems, Jessie is given her chance to respond. In addition to such tragic and poetic tales as "Bad Hair Day" (It's suddenly blue like the lipstick.), "point A to point B (a plea for a ride to school)," and "My Absolutely Bad Cranky Day," we get to witness Robert's comeuppance in poems like "Talking to My Stupid Younger Brother Is Like Swimming Upstream in a River to Nowhere," and "Tattoo and Tongue Stud" (a poem in the shape of a tongue with the stud in the middle):

"I walk into the kitchen. Robert is at the
table, eating ice cream. I sit down beside him
and casually push up my sleeve so he'll see it:
My new tattoo. It says, 'Sex, Drugs, & Rock 'n'
Roll' in spiky goth letters. 'What the heck is
that?' he screams. I smile. This is working out
just fine. 'It'th a tattoo,' I say, all innocent-
like. 'What's wrong with you?' he demands.
'Why are you lisping?' I stick out my tongue,
and there it is: a perfect little silver stud,
right in the center. Robert starts pumping
his arm like he just won a million bucks.
' Yessss! You are in soooo much trouble,' he
says. 'Wait till Mom and Dad see this. Dad will
kill you, and then Mom will ground you for
life.' I give him a big yawn. 'Who care'th?'
I say. 'You will, when I tell them,' he says.
'They;re at the neighbors', and I'm going to go
get them.' He takes off, and I can hear him
yelling, 'Mom! Dad!' all the way down the street.
How perfect is this? I slide off the magnetic
tongue stud. I wash off the temporary tattoo.
And while I wait for my parents to come rushing
home, I practice saying, 'I don't know
what Robert is talking about. Maybe
he needs counseling.' This is going
to be great."

This stuff is so much fun (and so evil) that you've got to believe students will be looking to take a crack at developing some of their own concrete poems. And when they do, it will definitely liven up the visuals of a classroom or teen section poetry wall.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
Moderator, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_...
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
http://www.myspace.com/richiespicks ( )

these were sweet poems which read more like narratives to me. i am new to the non rhyming poetry, but, found these to be fun and very relatable to children grade school and middle school age.

Delightful concrete poetry from teenage girl's perspective on school and familty

Snort, snort! This book was a hoot! I have FOUR teenage daughters, and found this to be a hysterically realistic accounting of the 'fairer' sex. The poems were fresh and fun, winding and twisting throughout the book touching on many aspects that are of importance to a teen girl. My favorite poem was 'Bad Hair Day', as this really did happen in our house this last week! ha! My middle school daughter let her older sister 'try something new' and it went awry. She actually refused to go to school on Monday! We made her go on Tuesday, and imagine her surprise when her friends thought the new look was 'really cool'! I am giving this book to my daughters to see if they think it is funny. They may just roll their eyes! At any rate, I look forward to reading John Grandits' other book of poetry from the male perspective 'Technically It's Not My Fault'. Great fun!

Not, by far, your typical “novel.” Blue Lipstick is a composition of “concrete poetry,” or poems that form a picture or follow the line of some shape. More interestingly, these poems chronicle the life of 15-year-old Jesse as she goes through a typical and not so typical day.
From the start of her day waking up with a brain full of mush “Jesse! Wake up! Eat your cereal. What’s wrong with you? You look totally out of it. Didn’t you sleep well last night?” to talking to her stupid little brother which “is like swimming upstream in a river to nowhere,” and a chart of her emotional day which hobbles up and down with her various activities. I loved this book and these poems. They reminded me of what it was to be 15 and the ups and downs of her emotions made me laugh. I had never heard of concrete poetry before this and the concept was incredibly interesting and made me want to try my hand at it myself. (Not so good). The language was simple and honest and I found it did a better job of sounding like the character was in high school than some other YA books. Or at least it was more true to how I was in early high school. ( )