In this recording, one of several poetry readings and talks from M.I.T. that aired on WGBH in 1963, John Ciardi offers a number of extemporaneous reflections on the art of children's poetry, reading a handful of original poems geared to children from his recently published collections I Met a Man (1961) and You Read to Me, I'll Read to You (1962) before proceeding to further reflections and selections from his more general work as a poet. Describing the composition of poetry as a form of "intelligence by indirection, Ciardi offers a critique of the educational system, discusses the revision and publication processes, and offers observations on the four major preoccupations of the poet: diction, form, metaphor, and rhythm. In the course of his remarks, Ciardi reads his children's poems I Met a Man Who Was Trying to Whittle, When I Went to Get a Drink, About the Teeth of Sharks, and The Cat Heard The Cat Bird, before turning to three original poems geared to a larger readership: "The Dolls," "An Island Galaxy," and "Goodnight." Summary and select metadata for this record was submitted by Jim Cocola.
