"The Cremation of Sam McGee" and me
I recently saw a post on Facebook about stories as songs. In the comments, someone shared a link to the poem The Highwayman set to music, which made me think about Robert Service’s poem The Cremation of Sam McGee, which led to a quick Google search to see if anyone had ever set that poem to music. Apparently not, but I did find a recording of Johnny Cash reading it, which is absolute gold.
My mother used to read that poem to me and my siblings when we were kids. She read many other poems and rhyming texts as well, but that one stands out to me. I often say that my mother is the voice of poetry in my mind, and it’s mainly because of that poem. Not just the poem itself, but the way she read it. She delighted in it. In the language, the imagery, the strange spookiness of the story. I did too. And I think The Cremation of Sam McGee was influencing me as a reader and a writer long before I realized it.
There was something about it that little me couldn’t understand or appreciate, but I knew it was there. When I re-read it now, I know what it is. It’s the way the verses flow so smoothly, the internal rhymes and alliteration that delight the ears, the word play, the humor, the atmosphere, the imagery that draws you in and almost makes you feel the cold. The Cremation of Sam McGee gives me what they refer to these days as “all the feels.”
This is the kind of writing I’m drawn to as a reader, and what I aim to create as a writer. Rhyme (well-written rhyme, that is) is still my favorite thing to read aloud, but it’s the other things that truly move me. It doesn’t matter if it’s a short rhyme in a children’s book or an epic fantasy novel. Give me “all the feels” (or at least one big feel) in a text that is pleasant to read, and I will give you a place on my shelf.
Compared to the countless books I’ve read (especially picture books), there are precious few that have earned a permanent home on my shelf. Or maybe more accurately considering the price of books, a home in my heart. Here are some of them:
BEAR SNORES ON by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman
WINTER BEES & OTHER POEMS OF THE COLD by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen. My favorite poem in this book is Big Brown Moose.
THE FORGETFUL KNIGHT by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Fred Blunt
LOVE THAT DOG by Sharon Creech
THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander
THE WIND SINGER by William Nicholson
UNWIND by Neal Shusterman
THE WAY OF KINGS by Brandon Sanderson
What books exemplify the best of writing for you?
Sketch of the week:
One of my favorite drawings from the 100 Day Project in 2018, during which I illustrated 100 poems.
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