A F Harrold – Poetry Roundabout

A. F. Harrold: Favourite Poetry Books

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Liz Brownlee

A.F. Harrold is a children’s author and children’s poet who writes and performs for both grown ups and children. He can often be found in school halls pointing at children and sharing his poems, and even more often in the bath, thinking them up… His latest wonderful poetry book is Midnight Feasts, illustrated by Katy Riddell, and Things You Find in a Poet’s Beard, illustrated by Chris Riddell is in my favourite colour. A. F.’s Website is here and Twitter here.

Come Hither, ed. Walter de la Mare (1923) – a delicious and delightful anthology (obviously somewhat dated now!), made superbly special by de la Mare’s glosses, essays and unrelated rambles in the notes which make up a full half of the book.

Silly Verse for Kids, Spike Milligan (1959) – one of the few books I still own from my own childhood. The most memorable nonsense and wordplay, enlivened by Milligan’s own drawings.

The Gloomster, Ludwig Bechstein (translated by Julia Donaldson), illustrated by Axel Scheffler – just one poem, and not a particularly long one, but a beautiful melancholy-funny one. Scheffler and Donaldson’s magic continues to work, even here, in 19^th century German poetry.

Cloud Busting, Malorie Blackman (2004), illustrated by Helen van Vliet – a verse novel that is moving, wise, not for aimed at older readers and actually made of poems for a reason. It’s about friends and being weird and loss and all the things books are about, and deserves to be read in one sitting.

If You Could See Laughter, Mandy Coe (2010) – a very fine poet, this, her first children’s collection, is full of poems firing off in all directions, sparky and lively and filled with a deft raft of poet’s-eye imagery. Good stuff.

Midnight Feasts, ed. A.F. Harrold (2019) – I put together this collection of poems all themed around food and drink because it was the sort of thing I wanted to read. I think it’s a good spread of delciousness.

A.F. Harrold.

A to Z Challenge 2019

#AtoZ Challenge, U is for Useless by A F Harrold

Posted on April 24, 2019April 21, 2019 by Liz Brownlee

A.F. Harrold is a children’s author and children’s poet who writes and performs for both grown ups and children. He can often be found in school halls pointing at children and sharing his poems, and even more often in the bath, thinking them up… His latest wonderful poetry book is Things You Find in a Poet’s Beard, illustrated by Chris Riddell in my favourite colour. A. F.’s Website is here and Twitter here.

Here is the brilliant poem beginning with ‘U’ that A. F. has sent for the Poetry Feast:

Useless

I feel as useful as a kipper that’s been kept in a kettle,

as useful as a conker in your socks,

as useful as a top hat that’s been stuffed with orange jelly

and then balanced on the head of a fox.

I feel as useful as an ostrich on the number eighteen bus,

as useful as a desert in a pool,

as useful as a sausage that you’ve asked for assistance

with the homework that you’ve brought home from school.

I feel as useful as a cabbage that’s learnt to play cricket,

as useful as a llama on the moon,

as useful as a trifle that is sitting on the sideboard

saying ‘Eat me’ out of sight of a spoon.

But enough about me,

let’s talk about you…

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Famous children's poets

The Three Types of Poem by A. F. Harrold (and – How to Pass Poetry Exams)

Posted on August 23, 2018August 23, 2018 by Liz Brownlee

How to describe A. F. Harrold? Well, he has a beard. His poems are brilliant and sometimes wonderfully weird. And he’s fun. Some of his poems, and his book, Things You Find in a Poet’s Beard, are illustrated by the amazingly talented Chris Riddell, who did the fabulous pirate illustration to go with the poem at the end of the article. Here A. F. describes the three types of poem – and how to pass a poetry exam!

The Three Types of Poem

There’s an old story I just made up about a woman who goes for a walk in the woods and discovers, there on the ground in the middle of the path, a carrot.

It’s an odd place for there to be a carrot, she thinks.

Carrots normally appear on plates, or in saucepans, or places like that… not on paths.

So she picks the carrot up and looks at it.

And it turns out it’s not a carrot after all, but a wolf-in-disguise.

And the woman gets eaten by the wolf and learns an important lesson.

‘Now,’ I say, ‘a poem is like the character in the story.’

‘But which character?’ the imaginary voice in my head asks.

‘Let me explain,’ I say. And I do…

Some poems are like the woman: they wander into the woods and they pick things up and look at them.

Some poems, on the other hand, are like wolves-in-disguise: they look like they’re going to be one thing, but they turn out to be quite unexpected. (Sometimes you, the reader, escape them, sometimes you end up inside them.)

And some poems are like carrots.

So, if you’re ever set a test or exam or quiz about poems, just take your answer sheet and write: ‘woman,’ ‘wolf,’ or ‘carrot’ in nice big, neat, clear handwriting and you’re bound to get full marks. Guaranteed. For sure.

There’s no need to thank me.

A following example poem, by me, is a carrot.

Pirate

The vegetarian pirate

has a carrot instead of a parrot,

which doesn’t make much sense

but is handy if he ever needs

a nutritious snack halfway through the day.

(Poem and illustration (by Chris Riddell) from Things You Find in a Poet’s Beard: www.afharroldkids.com/poetry)

A to Z Blog Challenge 2018

H is for Children’s Poet and Author A. F. Harrold, #AtoZChallenge, #ZtoA

Posted on April 21, 2018April 21, 2018 by Liz Brownlee

A. F. Harrold

A.F. Harrold is a children’s author and children’s poet who writes and performs for both grown ups and children. He can often be found in school halls pointing at children and sharing his poems, and even more often in the bath, thinking them up… though he’d rather you didn’t come in, thank you, because that would be weird. Just be patient. His latest poetry book is Things You Find in a Poet’s Beard, illustrated by Chris Riddell. A. F.’s Website is here and Twitter here.

He has kindly sent a poem beautifully illustrated by the wonderful illustrator and British Children’s Laureate 2017, Chris Riddell. It happens to be a picture of A. F. himself.

Click on the title of the post if you are on the home page to be taken to the post’s page where you will be able to comment! Thank you!

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