A preschool class at Reykjavík’s Garðaborg Leikskóli will shortly be publishing its own book of poetry, entitled “Now he is a skeleton up in the sky.” The young poets composed their verses during the 2012 – 2013 school year under the direction of their teacher Eygló Ida Gunnarsdottír.
While working on this project, the children learned about poetry construction and how poems can grow out of their own ideas, says the write-up on the City of Reykjavík website. While this project certainly served as an expressive outlet for the children, poetry writing was also thought to be a good medium through which the students could develop their linguistic skills.
In his “Mayor’s Diary” on Facebook, Reykjavík mayor Jón Gnarr enthusiastically praised the book, saying that it is “absolutely fantastic!”
Several poems from the book were posted on the City of Reykjavík website, including the poem from which the book’s title is taken:
Dog
Once / I had a dog. / He was black/ and had a lot of hair/ and feet.
Now he is a skeleton / up in the sky. / Now he is dead.
Poor thing. / He did not want / to be dead.
Author: Kári Víðisson
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