Performance Poetry - Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

Fleischman, P.  (1988).  Joyful noise:  Poems for two voices.  Ill. E. Beddows.  New York, NY:  Harper Trophy.  ISBN 0-06-021852-5.

This is the perfect volume of poetry for children who like to perform.  Filled with poems meant to be read aloud by two readers, Joyful Noise:  Poems for Two Voices offers a format that makes reading by two readers, or two groups of readers, easy and fun.  In a Note at the beginning of the book, Fleischman explains, “The following poems were written to be read aloud by two readers at once, one taking the left-hand part, the other taking the right-hand part.  The poems should be read from top to bottom, the two parts meshing as in a musical duet.  When both readers have lines at the same horizontal level, those lines are to be spoken simultaneously.” 

Some practice might be needed by the readers to get used to doing solo reading as well as simultaneous reading on the various lines.  These poems were definitely meant to be heard.  They have various rhyme schemes and rhythm patterns, and they have a delightful flow to them that makes them amazing to hear.  Students’ oral reading will benefit through the practice necessary to read them aloud so that those rhythm and rhyme patterns are evident.  But once they have it, they should feel a great sense of accomplishment in a performance well done.

The poems are told in first person by insect narrators.  Grasshoppers, Mayflies, Cicadas, Honeybees and others tell their stories through poetry that highlights a characteristic they are known for.  My favorite is “Book Lice” which starts like this:

            I was born in a

            fine old edition of Schiller

                                                            While I started life

                                                            In a private eye thriller

            We’re book lice                         We’re book lice

            who dwell                                  who dwell

in these dusty bookshelves.       In these dusty bookshelves.

Later I lodged in

Scott’s works – volume 50

                                                 While I passed my youth

                                                 in an Agatha Christie

We’re book lice                          We’re book lice

attached                                    attached

despite contrasting pasts.           despite contrasting pasts.

This pair continues to explain how they met and came to be mates – Mr. Book Lice on the left and Mrs. Book Lice on the right. 

Students might enjoy writing their own poems for two voices after reading these.  Along with being perfect for use in the English classroom, this volume of poetry would be a great addition to a speech or drama class for elementary students.  Costumes would enhance the fun.  Be sure to give students plenty of time to rehearse their lines separately and then together with their partners before performing the poems, then let the performances begin!  Science classes would also benefit from a creative presentation of information from the insect world.  Fleischman’s observations of the various characteristics of the insects in his poems create a great springboard for observing small creatures in the world around us. 

Although Joyful Noise:  Poems for Two Voices has been around for a while, the poems are not dated.  It won the 1989 Newbery Award for best children’s book and rightly so.  The writing is creative and truly poetic (not just rhyming word play), and the reading and performing is a good experience for upper elementary readers.