Follow Follow by Marilyn Singer

Singer, Marilyn. Illustrated by Josee Masse. Follow Follow. New York: Penguin, 2013.

ISBN: 9780803737693

“Follow Follow” is a collection of poems which are written as pairs based on classic folktales including: Aladdin, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Golden Goose, The Tortoise and the Hair, and more.  The poetry form is called reverso and is created by Marilyn Singer.  Singer explains that the reverso is “made up of two poems”.  When you “read the first down it says one thing…read it back up with changes only in punctuation and capitalization and it means something completely different.”  Sometimes the second poem has an implied different narrator, which also affects the meaning.

The Little Mermaid’s Choice

For love,

Give up your voice.

Don’t

Think twice.

On the shore,

Be his shadow.

Don’t

Keep your home

In the unruly sea.

Be docile.

You can’t

Catch him

Playing

“You’ll never catch me!”

You’ll never catch me

Playing

“Catch him.”

You can’t

Be docile

In the unruly sea.

Keep your home.

Don’t be his shadow

On the shore.

Think twice!

Don’t

Give up your voice

For love.

The two poems are identical in words.  The differences between the two poems are the phrasing and the punctuation.  However, the same words manage to convey a completely different meaning.

If I were to introduce this collection to a class, I would explain the concept of the reverso form first.  Singer combines the new poetic form with well-known folktales which helps the reader to more easily embrace the new style.  Before introducing “The Little Mermaid’s Choice” I’d make sure that the class was all familiar with the fairy tale.  Next, I’d ask the students to explain the two different viewpoints expressed in the poems for comprehension purposes.  Next I’d ask the students to think about a folktale not mentioned in the book.  After selecting a folktale, I’d ask the class to come up with two possible viewpoints within the story.  Finally, we’d take a stab at writing a reverso of our own as a class!  It’s not the perfect product that matters, it’s the effort!