Roger Stevens Interview
Andrea's Guest Poet is ROGER STEVENS.
He is a brilliant children's poet and you can read his interview and some poems on this page.
He is a brilliant children's poet and you can read his interview and some poems on this page.
A: When did you start writing poetry?
R: I started writing poems in 1954 when I was six. Then again in 1959 when I was 11.In fact, I kept writing poems right up until 1993 when "Haiku" was published in "My First Has Gone Bonkers" edited by Brian Moses (Blackie)
R: I started writing poems in 1954 when I was six. Then again in 1959 when I was 11.In fact, I kept writing poems right up until 1993 when "Haiku" was published in "My First Has Gone Bonkers" edited by Brian Moses (Blackie)
A: Do you ever get stuck?
R: When I write haiku
I always seem to have one
Syllable left o-
ver
A: Who are your favourite poets?
R: My favourite poets are Adrian Mitchell, Roger McGough, Shel Silverstein, John Coldwell and John Hegley. Definitely my favourite poet is Andrea Shavick.
A: And which are your favourite poems?
R:I have lots of favourite poems but some are:
Dog In The Playground by Allan Ahlberg
The Jumblies by Edward Lear
Fishing by Gerard Benson
Thirteen Questions You Should Be Prepared To Answer
If You Lose Your Ears At School by John Coldwell
That one about carrying chairs around by Michael Rosen
The Cowpat Contest by Brian Moses
How To Successfully persuade Your Parents To Give You More Pocket Money by Andrea Shavick
A: Thanks, Roger. Now tell me where you get your ideas from.
R: I get my ideas for writing poetry from an Ideas Shop. I'm lucky enough to live in a big city and we have an Ideas Supermarket. If I want to write a poem or a story I simply go round the shelves with my Writing Trolley and fill it up. I like the Adjectives section, near the check-out, but my favourite is the Hyperbole counter. It's truly, awesomely, mega-fantastic!
A: Sounds like a great place, can I come along too? Where can we all read your work?
R: I have lots of poems in anthologies and a big poetry website called The Poetry Zone (where you can write your own poems and have them published) and where you can also buy my books including A Mean Fish Smile, and
Taking Your Human for a Walk.
Taking Your Human for a Walk.
A: Before you go, can we read some of your poems?
R: Sure. This is for all school children, everywhere.
TEACHERS by Roger Stevens
Teachers are happy
All of the while
Teachers are cheery
Teachers all smile
Teachers have eyes
In the back of their heads
Teachers remember
The good things you said
Teachers are friendly
Teachers are kind
Teachers can always
See into your mind
Teachers will help
If you’re stuck with your sums
Teachers like stillness
But not wriggle-bums
Teachers are visitors
From Outer Space
Teachers play Scrabble
But never kiss chase
Teachers like writing
Their writing is neat
Teachers are honest
Teachers don’t cheat
Teachers walk or ride bikes
(They don’t have much choice
They can’t afford cars
And they’d love a Rolls Royce)
Teachers eat salad
And stinky old cheese
Teachers have patches on jackets
And knees
Teachers are fair
Though they can give cross looks
Teachers have hobbies
And they love marking books
I want to be a teacher
When I leave school
Or else a Rock Star
Which is equally cool
Hallowe’en by Roger Stevens
Darren’s got a pumpkin
Hollowed out a treat
He put it in the window
It scared half the street
I wish I had a pumpkin
But I’ve not and it’s a shame
I’ve got a scary carrot
But it’s not the same
Escape Plan by Roger Stevens
As I, Stegosaurus
stand motionless
in the museum
I am secretly planning
my escape.
At noon
Tyrannosaurus Rex
will cause a diversion
by wheeling around the museum’s high ceilings
and diving at the curators and museum staff
while I
quietly slip out of the fire exit
and melt
into the London crowds
Please Note
(after William Carlos Williams) by Roger Stevens
(after William Carlos Williams) by Roger Stevens
Who has eaten
the plums
that were in
the fridge?
I was
going to take them
to school
for my break
Keep your
thieving hands off.
The bar of chocolate
is mine also.
Items in The Edward Lear Museum by Roger Stevens
A runcible spoon and ticket (first class)
Thirty nine bottles of Ring Bo Ree
A scarlet flannel, a crockery jar
A sieve that has travelled the Western Sea
Some oblong oysters (just their shells) and the hat
Of Mr Quangle Wangle Quee
And in pride of place, in a crumbobblious case
A branch from the old Bong Tree
Some waterproof clothes, the beard and a nose
And a branch of the old Bong Tree
A scarlet flannel, a crockery jar
A sieve that has travelled the Western Sea
Some oblong oysters (just their shells) and the hat
Of Mr Quangle Wangle Quee
And in pride of place, in a crumbobblious case
A branch from the old Bong Tree
Some waterproof clothes, the beard and a nose
And a branch of the old Bong Tree
Finally, here are a couple of Roger's poems for grown-ups!
Sonnet Number One by Roger Stevens
The moon doth shine as bright as in the day
I sit upon the sea-saw wondering why
She left me. Boys and girls come out to play.
But I’m bereft. I think I’m going to cry.
I gave her chocolate and praised her skill
At skateboarding and football not to mention
Arm wrestling. As we slowly climbed the hill
To fetch some water, did I sense a tension?
She seemed pre-occupied. She hardly spoke
And as we turned the handle to the well
I asked her, Jill, please tell me it’s a joke.
She said, I’ve found another bloke. I fell,
I rolled, head over heels into the dark
Down to the bottom where I broke my heart
Gherkin Car by Roger Stevenss
I am the Picasso of Poetry
Ear nose blue pink eye spoon
Burnt ochre
Sienna
Five walnuts
Vienna
A six-year-old child could write this
Exclamation mark
Wonky
Donkey
Burnt ochre
Sienna
Five walnuts
Vienna
A six-year-old child could write this
Exclamation mark
Wonky
Donkey
You can visit Roger's website Poetry Zonew here you can write your own poems and have them published, read interviews with other poets and enter competitions. Please note all Roger's poems are copyright - if you want to use or publish anything please email me (use the Contact Andrea page) for permission)
