A WRITING KIND OF DAY

In 27 new, mostly free verses, Fletcher takes a young writer’s voice, ruminating on metaphors, plagiarism and other writerly concepts, battling writer’s block, or connecting one entry to the next. The thought, for instance, that a baby’s “little bald head / reminds me of the planet Earth” might later turn into a poem not only “feels like money in the bank,” but turns up again on the next page: “She’s bald on top / so on her North Pole / there’s mostly Arctic tundra.” Other entries picture lost poems scurrying beneath the floorboards, or fret about a grandma with a failing memory, school issues (“Bad Weather” begins: “They’re predicting a big term paper / due to arrive on Monday morning”), or whether a “Squished Squirrel” is a suitable subject. Black and white illustrations, in a range of styles from simple line drawings to what look like processed photos, add drab but atmospheric notes; the poet’s simple language and wide variety of moods and topics may help to get young writers off the stick. (Poetry. 8-10)