Blending genres: novels in verse for adolescents

Kliatt, Sept, 2002 by Michele Winship

Glenn builds suspense by giving the reader glimpses into Laura's other life through Tyesha Hicks, a black girl whose initial attempts at friendship turn to distrust and anger. We can almost sense the tragedy that is just around the corner as we see Laura Li losing the battle to hold herself together.

MEL GLENN AND THE AUTHOR'S CRAFT

Having spent 15 years in a high school English classroom myself, I was impressed by Glenn's ability to create such realistic and well-formed contemporary teenage characters, as well as his sensitivity in addressing the difficult issues students experienced in my own classrooms. After reading all his poetry novels, I wanted to know more about how he came to write in this genre and what influence his 31 years in the classroom had on his characters and plot. In an e-mail interview, Glenn was happy to let me in on the process he uses to create a poetry novel. What follows is an edited transcript of our June 2002 conversation:

MW: How did you evolve from writing books of poetry to writing poetry novels?

MG: It is a natural progression. The Class Dismissed series (four books) grew out of a desire to "capture" various students in poems, like a camera, really. The philosophical framework was the American classic, Spoon River Antholoogy, but instead of a graveyard in Illinois, I used a high school in Brooklyn. Then the poems began to weave themselves into stories; connections were made. I do believe I was one of the first authors to do this in the YA field. Later the form was tried by Hesse, Cormier, etc. I feel comfortable with this form. Somehow I "hear" it more insistently in my head than I hear prose.

MW: Where do you start writing your poetry novels--with a character or a plot line or someplace else?

MG: This may sound weird, but often I start off with the ending. I knew first how jump Ball would end before I knew about its beginnings. I knew in a flash why history teacher Weidermeyer held his class hostage (see the opening Ben Jonson poem) and in Mr. Chippendale I knew the murderer would be caught and how. MW: Your characters are very multidimensional, even those that have minor roles. When you are planning a poetry novel, how do you determine who your characters will be and what their roles are in the novel?

MG: Usually, I start off with a character. He has to be clear in my mind. I start out with a main character who is often revealed by what OTHERS say about him/her. A prime example is Laura Li. But if the truth be told, the story line is everything. You want the reader to ask the age-old question, what happens next?

MW: You portray a wide array of cultures within your novels. What specific elements do you use in creating characters with diverse cultural backgrounds?

MG: I think it is important to remember that I taught in a very multicultural high school for 31 years. (At last count 54 countries represented.) It was hot a United Nations school, but a neighborhood school with a diverse population. I try to reflect that in my writing. But given cultural differences; I think many students regardless of their ethnicity, go through the same feelings of adolescence--joy, fear, hope, happiness, etc. For example, Laura Li in Split Image is hot the first teenager ever to have conflicts with her mother. Mr. Chippendale is hot the first teacher to have some students love him, some hate him. Kwame Richards is not the first student to be a victim of racism and stereotypes. I try to be careful about stereotypes, even make fun of stereotyping (see poem "Stereotype I and Il" in Foreign Exchange).