Poisoned Apples is a poetry collection written by Christine Heppermann. Her poems are based on the lives and experiences of modern day teenage girls within a fairy tale world. The collection has a range of serious and funny poems. From eating disorders, to discussing how tampons would be advertised for men.
The collection taught me that metaphors can be made into a whole new world. Heppermann builds a world crossed with modern day problems teenage girls face and the fairy tale worlds created by little girls. Therefore, she is romanticizing and glorifying the disturbing realities that girls have. An example is a modern day Snow White not eating the apple due to her struggle with anorexia. Using this technique I learned that you can convey a strong purpose in a non-direct way through using a metaphor.
I learned that the length and the positioning style of a poem can convey a purpose as well. This is something I have not thought about with my poetry. It is easy to focus on the content but the look of a poem can prove a point as well. An example is Heppermann's "Photoshopped Poem". All of her poems have pictures with them, but not this one. The poem is only one stanza and the words are compact, bringing the attention to just the poem. The poem is short and blunt which equally brings the purpose across rather than creating a two page long poem. This is something I would love to try--a short and blunt poem that explains a serious purpose.
Lastly, I discovered that there can be character building in a poem. Heppermann's Prince Charming poem creates a image of a perfect man in a woman's view. The man gets along with the woman's family, he creates an innocent act. When the man is alone with the woman he treats her in an awful way and sexualizes her. I have not tried characterization in my poems. I usually use my point of view of an experience that doesn't include interactions with other people. I would love to try to build in outside character in my poems.
The collection taught me that metaphors can be made into a whole new world. Heppermann builds a world crossed with modern day problems teenage girls face and the fairy tale worlds created by little girls. Therefore, she is romanticizing and glorifying the disturbing realities that girls have. An example is a modern day Snow White not eating the apple due to her struggle with anorexia. Using this technique I learned that you can convey a strong purpose in a non-direct way through using a metaphor.
I learned that the length and the positioning style of a poem can convey a purpose as well. This is something I have not thought about with my poetry. It is easy to focus on the content but the look of a poem can prove a point as well. An example is Heppermann's "Photoshopped Poem". All of her poems have pictures with them, but not this one. The poem is only one stanza and the words are compact, bringing the attention to just the poem. The poem is short and blunt which equally brings the purpose across rather than creating a two page long poem. This is something I would love to try--a short and blunt poem that explains a serious purpose.
Lastly, I discovered that there can be character building in a poem. Heppermann's Prince Charming poem creates a image of a perfect man in a woman's view. The man gets along with the woman's family, he creates an innocent act. When the man is alone with the woman he treats her in an awful way and sexualizes her. I have not tried characterization in my poems. I usually use my point of view of an experience that doesn't include interactions with other people. I would love to try to build in outside character in my poems.