Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

I think this was the perfect time for me to have read this book. As someone who can write a paper but has never felt the urge to write for pleasure, I’ve been thinking a lot about why writers write this week. Between reading Rylant’s autobiographical But I’ll Be Back Again and Waiting to Waltz to thinking about Beth’s post about VA Tech, to our discussion in class, I’ve been thinking. Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson is written from the perspective of a boy, nicknamed Locomotion, who learns to deal with the loss of his parents and sister through poetry. In fact, the book is written as poetry. So, many of the poems discuss how poetry is giving him a voice for his pain.

As an avid reader, it never occurred to me to actually try writing myself. But, after this I think the seed has been planted. Maybe I can use writing to help me in times of great emotion. I think Locomotion would be a perfect way to introduce kids to the idea that writing can be just for you and doesn’t have to be for school.

In some ways, Locomotion reminded me of another book I read this semester—Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. Both are written about loss in a poetic form. However, Locomotion is a contemporary kid living in a city. While the girl in Out of the Dust lives during the dustbowl in the rural Midwest.

At first a lot of the poems explain poetry. One named “Line Break Poem” tells how Lonnie’s teacher explained the purpose of line breaks. The early poems revolve around the memories of his family. But, as the book progresses, I was able to see how he was healing. Many poems still involve memories of his family, but his friends at school and new memories with his sister take on a more important role. I enjoyed witnessing his progression in the subtle form of poetry. There was more for me to figure out than with prose.

I do wonder, though, why is this one classified as poetry and Out of the Dust as fiction?