Poetry Review: TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS by Kristine O'Connell George

George, Kristine O'Connell. 2001. Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems. Ill. by Kate Kiesler. New York: Clarion Books.

Kristine O’Connell George gifts us with a collection of exquisite poems told from the perspective of a young girl on a camping trip with her family. Her imagery catches the very essence of the camping experience, from pitching the tent to pulling up stakes.

George is a genius at transforming simple language into something more, something so grand, the end effect is more sweeping than the simple sum of the words. In one poem, for example, she writes, “River words run / in scallops and scribbles, / scrolls of eddies / and watery ripples.” She arranges everyday words into extraordinary word-pictures.

Rain Shower

It was dry
under these trees,
until a confetti of birds
in the wet leaves
danced
another
rain shower.

Here, form strengthens the image of latent rain drops slipping off the leaves after a rain with dwindling lengths of lines. The single word lines, combined with the connotation of “dance,” evoke the less intense drip of the second “rain.”

Ms. George captures the vastness of the universe we feel when gazing at the depth of a star-filled night sky with the poem “Sleeping Outside,” the naiveté of children, whose imaginations spin a shimmer of fancy even around rusted out jalopies in “Old Truck,” the longing to stay just one more day in "Anchored," and the reluctance to give up memories of a special time in "Flannel."

Metaphors, such as “I’m a caterpillar/ in a cozy cloth cocoon/ that zips” (describing her sleeping bag) show readers the startling connection between ourselves and nature and give us a refreshing view of familiar objects. Alliteration, assonance, and subtle rhyme within lines appeal to the ears, enhancing the fond tone throughout the poems. Even the one poem about a "negative" aspect of camping, mosquitos, shows an odd fondness for the pest in the title, "Mosquito Song." Told from the mosquito's perspective (the only poem NOT in the girl's voice), "Mosquito Song" shows us an endearing little thing wanting nothing more than a bit of dinner.

The softened, almost-impressionist-style illustrations give a sense of wistful reminiscence and wonder, portraying how people look back on fond times, the edges blurred just as memories are blurred with time.

Both children and adults will find sweet marshmallows to toast on this camping trip!