Children’s poetry is like the price of gold

Children and Young Adults Service of Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) – Sayeh Barin: While children’s and young adult poetry in Iran has seen an expansion of festivals, an increase in the number of poets, and a more prominent presence in the cultural space in recent years, many experts still speak of a lack of quality, an absence of a specialized approach, and weak support infrastructures. IBNA is investigating the causes of these weaknesses in its children’s and young adult poetry dossier, and in this section, it has sat down with Kamal Shafiei, a well-known poet in the field of children’s and young adult literature.

Shafiei, in this analytical interview with a pathological view of the field of children’s and young adult poetry, has spoken about qualitative challenges, the role of cultural institutions, and the necessity for poets to be up-to-date to connect with today’s generation. Let’s read the interview with this children’s and young adult poet together:

Multiplicity of Poets Despite Obvious Weaknesses

Kamal Shafiei, referring to the developments of recent decades in the field of children’s and young adult poetry, said: The number of children’s and young adult poets has increased significantly compared to the past. If in the 60s or 70s there were only 20 to 30 active poets in this field, today more than 200 poets are active in children’s and young adult poetry; from experienced masters to newcomers and a new generation who have also been successful in festivals and literary awards.

He added: The space today has become more diverse, more festivals are held, but there are also weaknesses. Many young people use the experiences of their predecessors but lack the courage to innovate, and their works are similar to each other.

This children’s and young adult poet, by raising the question of why, despite quantitative growth, the expected impact has not materialized in children’s and young adult poetry, pointed to the underlying reasons for this situation and said: In the past, we had many magazines and publications that were considered sources of children’s poetry, but today virtual space and applications have replaced them. On the other hand, the paper crisis and the economic policies of publishers have given popular and commercial works a better chance of being published than authentic works.

Structural and Economic Problems of Children’s Publishing

Shafiei considered one of the fundamental problems to be the economic approach of new publishers and explained: Some mediocre poets pay money to publish their books. This issue has damaged children’s literature and has caused families not to correctly recognize the qualitative and artistic differences between works. Today, any book of any quality level is published, while many of them do not meet the standards of children’s literature.

He continued: 70 to 80 percent of the produced books suffer from qualitative weaknesses. One of the reasons is the wide gap between today’s children’s poets and the new generation; a generation we call ‘Generation Z.’ A children’s poet must be familiar with sociological and psychological methods for children, understand the world of anime and animation, and grasp the impact of virtual space on children’s behavioral patterns. A poet who used to play with bows and arrows cannot establish a deep connection with a child growing up with a tablet.

Shafiei emphasized: A poet’s understanding of their own childhood is not enough to create children’s poetry today. A children’s poet must constantly study and monitor the daily needs of children and young adults. Children’s poetry is like the price of gold; if you are neglectful, you will fall behind the caravan.

The Necessity of a Specialized Approach and Scientific Criticism in Children’s Literature

He added: A large part of the damage comes from the fact that many poets have entered this field from adult poetry and consider their experience sufficient. While children’s poetry is an important specialization, and mere poetic talent is not enough for it.

According to this poet, institutions play an important role in this field: If we want a bright future for children’s and young adult poetry, the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, the Ministry of Education, and the media must play an active role. While the children’s and young adult TV network does not operate scientifically and professionally and mostly uses popular works.

He criticized the absence of specialized criticism and added: When there is no serious criticism, it means we have entrusted the future of our children to negligence. If we care about the future of our country, we must take children’s and young adult literature seriously. Families should know what authentic literature is and distinguish it from yellow journalism and commercial works, because usually parents are the ones who choose children’s books.

Shafiei emphasized the necessity of creating specialized platforms and said: We must have critical discussion tables, dialogues, and analytical programs for children’s literature. In the field of cinema, criticism and roundtables are regularly held, but such a structured program does not exist in children’s literature. Even on television, children’s programs are merely entertaining and do not pay attention to educational and artistic aspects.

The Dynamic Future of Children’s and Young Adult Poetry

Referring to the current situation of literary productions, he added: In the future, children’s and young adult poetry will continue to be dynamic, but many prominent poets of today may gradually be forgotten. Some still create valuable works, but they get lost amidst the clamor of commercial books.

This children’s and young adult poet also spoke about the interest of the new generation and stated: Today, we have teenagers who read dozens of poetry books in the summer and even write reviews, whereas in our youth, only two people in each school were interested in literature. Now the situation has improved, because 90 percent of parents are educated and books form part of their children’s intellectual nourishment.

Shafiei added: In our time, fewer children bought books, but today there are children’s books in almost every household. This is a sign of growth. Although book circulations have decreased, the diversity of publishers has increased significantly, and today we have over two thousand children’s and young adult publishers.

He concluded: Children’s and young adult literature, like all literature, is a living and fertile entity. Children’s poetry will become more scientific and professional in the future, and those who fall behind the caravan of knowledge and understanding will automatically be eliminated. Ultimately, the true winners of this field will be authentic children’s and young adult literature.