EXTRA! EXTRA! Calef Brown and UP VERSES DOWN

It's time for another behind-the-scenes glimpse at a new 2019 poetry book for my EXTRA EXTRA feature. This time, poet and artist Calef Brown has been kind enough to share a bunch of poems from previous works that helps set the stage for his newest book, UP VERSES DOWN. Plus, he shares a glimpse into a very personal work-in-progress. Check it out! 

CALEF WRITES:

Hello!

I’m happy to be here on Extra Extra! 

Since my first book was published in 1998, I’ve especially enjoyed writing poems inspired by various kinds of mash-ups – combinations of ideas, characters and words. Here are a few examples :  

Tattlesnake,  from Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers, Houghton Mifflin 2000:

An odd little creature

that every kid fears

is a snake

with unusual stripes

and big ears.

It spies on you,

tells on you,

then disappears.

Leaving the house

with your parents in tears.
Now because of that snake,

and one small mistake,

you’re in trouble 

for sixty or seventy years.

Allicatter Gatorpillar from Flamingos on the Roof,  Houghton Hifflin 2006:

Allicatter Gatorpillar

chews a leaf

shows his teeth.

Allicatter Gatorpillar

sings a song

then he’s gone.

Allicatter Gatorpillar

by and by

my oh my!

Allibutter Gatorfly

The Vumpire, and The Ooompachupa Loompacabra from Hallowilloween, Houghton Hifflin 2010:

The Oompachupa Loompacabra

The Oompachupa Loompacabra
roams the western plains.
On moonless nights
it captures goats
and gobbles up their brains.
“It lures its prey
with chocolate bars,”
a local man explains,
“horns and hooves
and candy wrappers –
little else remains.”

The Vumpire

He only works night games.
His signals are creepy.
When managers argue,
he makes them feel sleepy.
He never appears
in the photos we snap.
A widow’s peak peeks out
from under his cap
when he takes a nap
in the dugout.
His eyes bug out
and he hisses like a frightened cat
at the sight of a broken bat.
How weird is that?
Once, while waiting on deck,
I caught him staring
at the back of the catcher’s neck.

My book Hypnotize a Tiger – Poems About Just About Everything, Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt 2015  included a section of portmanteau poems called “Word Crashes”. This one is called Yak and Woody:

Observe the MELLOWOODCHUCK 

and the NERVOUSMELLYAK. 

Guess which one
will soon become
a TYRANNOSAURUSNACK. 

My latest effort,  Up Verses Down – Poems, Paintings and Serious Nonsense, is an 80 page picture book with 55 poems published by Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt this past June. 

When I first gathered together a group of poems for this collection,  there were a couple that fell into the mash-up category, but were different than any of my poems that had appeared in other books, in that the subjects were real people (plus one fictional monster).

The first one is called The Wright Brothers Grimm. 

The Wright Brothers Grimm

Orville and Jacob and Wilbur and Wilhelm

were known as The Wright Brothers Grimm.

They plotted a flight 

through a forest at night.

Their chances seemed frightfully slim.

The first to attack them 

were witches and trolls.

They flew from the branches

and hopped out of holes.

The Brothers, as pilots,

were nimble and deft.
They zigged to the right

and they zagged to the left.

The monsters that rushed them

and fiendishly laughed

by double propellers 

were quartered and halved.

Down swooped a dragon

determined to strike.

The plane did a loop

and The Brothers yelled “Psych!”

At the edge of the forest was one final tree.

As the foursome flew close to it, 

what did they see?

A passel of spectators

out on a limb,

applauding their heroes –

The Wright Brothers Grimm.
I liked the idea of these four characters piloting The Wright Flyer through a fairytale forest full of witches, trolls and monsters. 

The second was a silly poem called Ben Franklinstein;

Ben Franklinstein

Ben Franklinstein,

once like a kind uncle to us,

is now a giant homunculus,

and quite frightening!

Brought back to life

by kite lightning.

The other poems in the collection naturally fell into broad categories – including a Miscellany section,  but these two didn’t fit with the others, again, because they dealt with actual individuals in a way that I hadn’t approached before. I decided to write some more that were ridiculous takes on real people – historical figures and other famous types. Here are two:

Albert E.

A now-famous genius

when only a tot,

was partial to numbers

and math, quite a lot.

His parents encouraged

their smart little guy.

His nickname?

Albert Einszweidrei.

Moz & Bee

Mozart, in truth,

was a wolfgangly youth,

with a neck like a baby giraffe.

A musical stickler. 

An ivory tickler.

He loved to make elephants laugh.

Beethoven too–

he knew what to do

to encourage a pachyderm giggle.

He danced on his toes

while a tune he composed

was performed with a squirm and a wriggle.

Despite doing some initial sketches, at this point it was clear that these poems, and this approach, wasn’t right for Up Verses Down. Aside from being different from my other work, they posed questions about how I might expand on this concept of using historical and cultural figures in a kind of gentle to pithy satire. I feel comfortable having a bit of snarky nonsensical fun at the expense of notable white male European and American subjects, but not anyone outside of that. After mulling it over for a while, I thought I would foreground that constraint, and maybe this could just be a personal project done for my own amusement. So, over the past couple years, in spare moments,  I wrote a bunch more in this vein, and compiled them into a collection of 26 poems titled: 

I try to make my picture books appeal to folks of all ages, but this was a first for me – a collection specifically aimed at adults (although there is nothing inappropriate for older kids and teenagers who may also appreciate it). I approached writing the rest of the poems with a similar process to the way I employ rhyme and wordplay in my children’s books, but aimed at a different audience. Perhaps that audience is just me. As with the examples above, they spin off nonsensical scenarios involving historical and notable figures from various eras. From ancient history to pop culture. From Nostradamus to Sid Vicious. The “And some who never were” part of the subtitle refers to a few fictional dudes who also pop up in the collection, including the afore-referenced Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, Dorian Gray and  Ebenezer Scrooge. They are “about” the subjects to various degrees, including not at all,  but are mostly just spun out of associative wordplay and a particular kind of absurdist and obtuse satire. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

The House of Nostradamus

No one, 

as a prognosticator,

has a legacy greater

than Nostradamus,

who made his offspring promise

to refer to their home

in a reverent tone

as “The Nostradomicile”.

They refused and were evicted.

This was all predicted.

René and Friends

René Descartes  

first got his start

as a sitcom songwriter.

He would strum a guitar

and sip strong cider,

until, enraptured,

he totally captured

the vibe of the show.

A consummate pro.

This is his opus 

that all of us know,

(or most of us do):

I’ll be, 

therefore, you.

Vic V.

Sid's brother - Vic Vicious,

despite being fictitious,
was known to kiss pigeons 

and lick fishes.

Pablo Goes Low

Pablo Picasso
was no basso profundo.
He sang for fun, though,
and once hit a note so low
with his a cappella group
it made a fella poop. 

Mea Draculpa

My behavior was feckless.

It was impromptu.

Very reckless.

Sorry I chomped you.

And lastly, the author of Twelfth Night channels (or should I say chunnels) the author of Naked Lunch:

Dig the Bard

William S. burrows 

and tunnels away.

Masterful digging,

I do have to say.

A noble endeavor

that, unlike a play,

will serve every citizen

day after day.

People will travel

and go where they may.

He started in Dover.

His goal is Calais.

I’ve started on some sketches, and will be illustrating the collection with black and white ink wash drawings. What happens after that, I’m not sure, but it’s been fun so far. 

Thank you Sylvia, for inviting me to share some of my nonsense on Extra Extra!

Sylvia; Thank YOU, Calef, for sharing so generously! It's always fascinating to me to see how a poet AND artist works and the decisions you make along the way. It's so cool to see BOTH poems and illustrations that you decided NOT to use in the final book. And it's interesting to see how those "outtakes" lead to yet another project! 

Now head on over to Live Your Poem where the lovely poet Irene Latham is gathering all our Poetry Friday posts!