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Heartiest congratulations, Kenn! What was your reaction to the announcement of the Children’s Poet Laureateship? Tears (like me), deep breaths, euphoria, a bit o’ the bubbly (like me)?
Thanks, Pat! When the Poetry Foundation called to tell me that they had selected me to be the next Children’s Poet Laureate, I had many reactions, all simultaneously, which can be rather confusing. Of course I was ecstatic to receive this honor, but I was also a little bewildered. There are so many amazing poets that I would have put well ahead of myself on the list of potential laureates that I was astonished to be chosen.
Tell us about your life BCP (Before Children’s Poetry).
I don’t believe I had a life before children’s poetry. Some of my earliest memories are of my parents reading Mother Goose nursery rhymes and the books of Dr. Seuss. Throughout my childhood, my father would recite—from memory—poems by Rudyard Kipling, Robert Service, Ernest Thayer, and many others.
There was, however, a gap. At the age of 15, I discovered computers and taught myself to program, and this consumed me for the next 17 years. I studied computer science in college and worked for many years as a software developer, including a two-year stint at Microsoft, before rediscovering my passion for children’s poetry.
Was the turn to children’s poetry an epiphany for you? Or did you decide early on that this would be your life’s calling as well as your day job?
It started purely as a hobby. While computer programming was my livelihood, I would write poems in the middle of the night just for the fun of it. After all, who in his or her right mind would think that one could have a “day job” as a poet?
Who were your iconic children’s poets of childhood? Or did the idea of writing children’s poetry come much later?
The poet who most fascinated me as a child was Lewis Carroll. I would go to the library and flip through Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass just to read, reread, and memorize the poems. I also memorized a few poems by that greatest of all children’s poets, Anonymous.
Another huge influence on me as a child was MAD magazine. Amongst the comics by Don Martin, Sergio Aragones, Dave Berg, et al were often song parodies that I would sing again and again, probably driving my parents ***zy. I owe a lifelong debt of gratitude to publisher William Gaines for knowing exactly what this 10-year-old boy wanted to read.
You write primarily humorous poetry and nonsense verse. Do subjects such as science, nature, biography, or history ever inspire you?
My entire raison d’
Thanks, Pat! When the Poetry Foundation called to tell me that they had selected me to be the next Children’s Poet Laureate, I had many reactions, all simultaneously, which can be rather confusing. Of course I was ecstatic to receive this honor, but I was also a little bewildered. There are so many amazing poets that I would have put well ahead of myself on the list of potential laureates that I was astonished to be chosen.
Tell us about your life BCP (Before Children’s Poetry).
I don’t believe I had a life before children’s poetry. Some of my earliest memories are of my parents reading Mother Goose nursery rhymes and the books of Dr. Seuss. Throughout my childhood, my father would recite—from memory—poems by Rudyard Kipling, Robert Service, Ernest Thayer, and many others.
There was, however, a gap. At the age of 15, I discovered computers and taught myself to program, and this consumed me for the next 17 years. I studied computer science in college and worked for many years as a software developer, including a two-year stint at Microsoft, before rediscovering my passion for children’s poetry.
Was the turn to children’s poetry an epiphany for you? Or did you decide early on that this would be your life’s calling as well as your day job?
It started purely as a hobby. While computer programming was my livelihood, I would write poems in the middle of the night just for the fun of it. After all, who in his or her right mind would think that one could have a “day job” as a poet?
Who were your iconic children’s poets of childhood? Or did the idea of writing children’s poetry come much later?
The poet who most fascinated me as a child was Lewis Carroll. I would go to the library and flip through Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass just to read, reread, and memorize the poems. I also memorized a few poems by that greatest of all children’s poets, Anonymous.
Another huge influence on me as a child was MAD magazine. Amongst the comics by Don Martin, Sergio Aragones, Dave Berg, et al were often song parodies that I would sing again and again, probably driving my parents ***zy. I owe a lifelong debt of gratitude to publisher William Gaines for knowing exactly what this 10-year-old boy wanted to read.
You write primarily humorous poetry and nonsense verse. Do subjects such as science, nature, biography, or history ever inspire you?
My entire raison d’
