A ripple that ruffled feathers: an appreciation of 30 years of Michael Rosen's poetry for children

Abstract

This article is a personal appreciation and analysis of the poetry of Michael Rosen. Drawing on his work over 30 years, the article argues that at the heart of Rosen's work is a passionate belief in aesthetic, political and personal emancipation. Included in the pleasure that his work evokes, is a challenge to a number of preconceived notions about childhood, literature, relationships and living. He questions how children see adults and how adults see children, and with a breathtaking honesty, the whole world of children's literature and its impact on conceptualisations of children is put in the foreground. The article examines Rosen's use of autobiography in his poems, his groundbreaking use of free verse in children's literature and his relation to modernity.