3. A dictionary-like introduction and definition of silly, invented hybrid creatures. The creatures are combinations of everyday objects and animals. The objects serve to exaggerate the physical or behavioral characteristics of the normal animal. Surreal imagery, clever use of language. (nonsense words) The illustrations are integral to the poetry. Creatures: The Lynx of Chain, the Circular Sawtoise, BirzarreAlarmadillos,, the Tearful Zipperpotamuses, the Pop-up Toadsters, the Shoehornets, and the Panthermometer.
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5. “The ballpoint penguins, black and white, Do little else but write and write. Although they’ve nothing much to say, They write and write it anyway. The ballpoint penguins do not think, They simply write with endless ink, They write of ice, they write of snow, For that is all they seem to know. At times, these shy and silent birds Will verbally express their words. But mostly they do not recite— They aim their beaks and write and write.”
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8. A teacher in grade school gave him the impression that poetry was the “literary equivalent of liver.”
9. “I was told that it was good for me, but I wasn’t convinced.”
