National Poetry Month Begins April 1—

Poetry For The Younger Audience

By Shannon Hicks

RIDGEFIELD — When her mother was about to turn 80 over a decade ago, Thalia Marakas was having a terrible time trying to decide what to present to her as a birthday gift.

Born in Thessaloniki, Mrs Marakas’ biological mother died while giving birth to a sibling. Thalia was then adopted by Katherine and John Emanuel, and joined the Greek-American family in its Cleveland, Ohio, home. It was Katherine Emanuel’s birthday that was giving Thalia such a daunting time.

“I didn’t know what to get her,” Mrs Marakas said from her Ridgefield home earlier this week. “It was a huge birthday and my mother had everything, so I didn’t know what to do. I decided to write a poem.

“Because I am adopted, I wanted to tell my mother how much her love and wonderful upbringing meant to me,” continued Mrs Marakas. “That work reawakened a love of poetry writing I had had as a child during elementary school. It had laid dormant all these years.”

After writing the birthday poem for her mother, Mrs Marakas realized she had had so much fun she wanted to continue writing regularly. A mother of two college-age children and a former elementary school teacher, Mrs Marakas followed one of the oldest rules of writing — write what you know — and has written a collection of poetry for children.

Just in time for the 6th Annual National Poetry Month, it seems a good time to take a look at Thalia Marakas’ recently published book, If Gumdrops Fell Like Raindrops… a collection of poems (TM Publishing, Ridgefield, Conn., October 2000; 96 pages, hardcover $19.95).

“The gift of a poem is a phenomenal thing to do,” Mrs Marakas said in describing her hope to transfer her own love of poetry to some of today’s younger generations. “A lot of people don’t think about it. It doesn’t have to be a perfect, great, rhyming poem. Anything that comes from the heart is wonderful, and that’s what I try to get across to children.

“Poetry,” she continued, “is really a great way of expressing your feelings.”

For this reason, If Gumdrops Fell Like Raindrops… is a book that can absolutely be read and enjoyed by all ages. For adults, whether parents, teachers, or even grown-up friends, the subjects range from silly to serious.

Gumdrops allows children to revel in the sensation of eating ice cream (“Quiver / Shiver, / Down to the bone — / I just ate an ice cream cone!”), balloons (“Balloons of many colors / Sailing across the sky / As we watch with wonder — / How far will they fly?” from the poem “Balloons of Many Colors”), even lollipops and snowflakes.

On the other hand, Gumdrops also offers fodder for teachers and parents to open discussions concerning the uniqueness of everyone, talking through sadness, adoption, new babies, and even the death of pets, as seen in “My Pet Died.”

I had a pet,

And it died,

And I was very sad.

I cried and cried

For many days,

And I got

Really mad!

 

But then one day

I had a thought —

Why am I so mad?

Another pet

Will need a home,

And then I won’t

Be sad!

 

So now, you see,

I’m busy

Looking for a pet.

And what about

The one that died?

Oh, I never

Will forget!

 

A lot of the writing came from ideas her children, Vanessa and Nick, provided.

“Vanessa was very tired of her brother one day, and that led into ‘Brothers!’” Mrs Marakas shared. In that poem, the protagonist is so tired of his or her brother that he or she requests the brother be packed up and sent to Mars.

Another Vanessa episode led to the writing of “I Want My Teacher Fired.”

“Vanessa came home from school one afternoon very exasperated with her teacher. She went on and on for 15 minutes, finally closing with ‘Oh they should just get rid of her,’” Mrs Marakas recalled. “And really, what child doesn’t get tired of their teacher at some point? We can all remember feeling like that at one point or another. Students at all levels still feel like that sometimes today.” The upshot of that conversation between Vanessa and her mother led to the writing of “I Want My Teacher Fired.”

Ridgefield resident Ben Griffin handled the illustration duties for Mrs Marakas’ book. The faceless character who appears in each of the book’s line drawings is named Wilson. The character was an outgrowth of doodlings Mr Griffin, now a sophomore at Colby College in Maine, did while in high school.

In looking for an illustrator for her book, Mrs Marakas went through a number of searches before approaching the art department of Ridgefield High School. Her initial idea was to conduct a contest while working with the art teachers, but the school’s curriculum was already set up. The school did, however, allow Mrs Marakas to post notices announcing her search.

Ben Griffin contacted Mrs Marakas, showed her his portfolio, and the search was over. Her writing and his illustrations are the perfect complement for each other. It was also a good continuation of Mrs Marakas’ wish to reach younger readers.

“I wanted a young person to do the drawings, someone who could relate to the youngsters of today,” Mrs Marakas explained. “Children are so bombarded by visuals from video games, television, and computers, they are so inundated with these visuals, that you have to do something to stand out. I thought someone young could relate to that.

“This also says to children,” she continued, “that it doesn’t matter what your age is, if you are talented, that is what’s important. You don’t have to be older to get something published. If this can happen for an 18-year old, it can certainly happen to you.”

Thalia Marakas will be a guest during the Connecticut Library Association Conference, which is being held at the Sheraton Waterbury April 2 through 4. She has book signings scheduled all month including visits to Waldenbooks in Manchester on April 7 from 11 am to 1 pm, and then Waldenbooks in Farmington that afternoon from 2 to 4 pm.

On April 21 she will be at the Waldenbooks store in Trumbull from noon to 2 pm for book signings. Then there is a reading scheduled at Danbury Library on April 25 at 6:30 pm, and then a program at Barnes & Noble in Danbury Square on April 27 at 10 am. There is also a book signing planned for Waldenbooks in Waterbury on May 26 beginning at 3 pm.

On Saturday, April 28, Mrs Marakas will be in New York City to read in Claire’s Corner, a new land of make-believe in the fifth floor children’s department of Lord & Taylor. The store is presenting a series of weekly programs where storytellers bring their favorite characters to life. Other special guests, such as dancers with the New York City Ballet and School of American Ballet, present similar programs for children.

If Gumdrops Fell Like Raindrops has been placed by Barnes & Noble into 114 of its stores across the country. This is a great coup for the first-time author because by having the book in a major chain, every time a copy of the book sells it will almost automatically be reordered and replaced on the shelves. Since October, over 1,500 copies of If Gumdrops have sold.