LEVY, Constance 1931-

PERSONAL: Born May 8, 1931, in St. Louis, MO; daughter of Samuel (a clothing store proprietor) and Esther (a homemaker; maiden name, Seigel) Kling; married Monroe D. Levy (a physicist), February 15, 1953; children: Robert, Carol Levy Charles, Kenneth, Donald, Edward. Education: Washington University (St. Louis, MO), B.A., 1952, M.A., 1974. Politics: Independent. Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES: Home—58 Frontenac Estates, St. Louis, MO 63131.

CAREER: Webster Groves School District, Webster Groves, MO, teacher, 1952-53; Ritenour School District, St. Louis, MO, teacher, 1953-54; Washington University, St. Louis, MO, supervisor of student teachers, 1974-75; Missouri Arts Council, Writers in the Schools program, St. Louis, children's poet, 1975-81; Harris-Stowe State College, St. Louis, MO, adjunct instructor of children's literature, 1980-82. Freelance poet in schools, 1981-92; member of commission board, Brodsky St. Louis Jewish Library, 1989-93; guest speaker in schools and educational conferences, 1991—.

MEMBER: International Reading Association, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, American Library Association, National Council of Teacher of English, Authors Guild.

WRITINGS:

I'm Going to Pet a Worm Today and Other Poems, illustrated by Ronald Himler, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1991.

A Tree Place and Other Poems, illustrated by Robert Sabuda, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1994.

When Whales Exhale, and Other Poems, illustrated by Judy LaBrasca, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1996.

A Crack in the Clouds and Other Poems, illustrated by Robin Bell Corfield, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Splash!: Poems of Our Watery World, illustrated by David Soman, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Story of Red Rubber Ball, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), in press.

Work represented in several periodicals, including Cricket and Instructor, and anthologies, including Puddle Wonderful, Twentieth-Century American Poetry, edited by Jack Prelutsky, Knock at a Star, revised edition, edited by X. J. Kennedy, and Opening Days: Sports Poems, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

SIDELIGHTS: Like many poets, Constance Levy takes writing poetry seriously; thus her verse for children, published in a handful of collections, reflects both her talent for choosing topics that appeal to young readers and her careful attention to external and internal rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, and assonance. As her book titles suggest, Levy's poems often deal with nature. A Crack in the Clouds and Other Poems deals with things a person can observe overhead, while Splash!: Poems of Our Watery World treats water in all its guises. Although the topics are commonplace, Levy's treatment is not trite, claim reviewers. By drawing on her own childhood encounters, she reexperiences these things and events through verse in the fresh and exuberant ways that children perceive natural objects and phenomena, often for the first time. Reviewers have consistently praised Levy's poems for their accessible yet creative language. Upon the debut of I'm Going to Pet a Worm Today and Other Poems, a Kirkus Reviews critic praised Levy for her "clear eye," "fresh voice," and "graceful cadences." A Tree Place and Other Poems elicited praise from Horn Book's Nancy Vasilakis, who noted that Levy composes poems "that are accessible without writing down to her young readers," and School Library Journal's Meg Stackpole, who commented positively on the author's "apt metaphors and vivid imagery."

Fireworks, icicles, and comets number among the topics in Levy's A Crack in the Clouds, which, according to John Peters of Booklist, demonstrates the poet's "consistently distinct voice and . . . lively imagination." Likewise, Margaret Bush, writing in School Library Journal, praised the poems' "beauty and humor." With Splash!, Levy gives readers reasons to celebrate water in what Booklist's Shelle Rosenfeld dubbed "an accessible, charming collection." Perhaps School Library Journal's Kathleen Whalin summed up the appeal of Levy's verse best in her review of When Whales Exhale and Other Poems: "To read Levy is to see the wonder of the everyday world."

About her career as a poet of children's verse, Levy once told CA, "I'm both a new author and an old one, a grandmother with a first book published in 1991 and an 'old,' occasionally published poet with poems in teacher's educational journals, Cricket magazine, and anthologies.

"I would never have wondered about how I became a poet except that children I meet as a visiting poet frequently ask that question. And the only answer I can provide, for them and for myself, is that I don't really know, but I think I always was. As a child I was drawn to poetry and loved hearing my mother recite poems for me that she learned when she was young. It always seemed that the poem I read or listened to was speaking to me. I could see it and feel it. The words made music and danced and played games with each other and stirred my senses. I have never stopped loving poetry, especially poetry for children. Poems are habit-forming, you know. Once you have a good taste of a flavor that suits you, you want more and more, and the pleasures stay with you always.

"My writing years began, as I recall, the day I was able to write the words, at around age six; I was at my creative best from ages six through ten or eleven. It was so easy then. Poems seemed to turn themselves on and bubble and flow onto the paper. The wonderful feeling of getting a poem 'right' nourished my spirit then as it does now. Through high school and college I enjoyed reading poetry but did little writing. Becoming a primary grade teacher and then a mother helped turn the spigot back on. Of course, it has never again been so easy to please myself or catch the 'flow' as it was in those early years when children all possess that special magic. I work slowly now and I'm a stern editor of my own work, often working and reworking even a small poem until it begs for mercy, and I have to put it aside for another time.

"Many years after that 'magic' time of childhood, when I received my master's degree in education, I was determined to do my part to keep that magic from fading and to use it to enrich the educational process. Instead of becoming a reading specialist as planned, I became a poet in the schools for the Missouri Arts Council and engaged children and teachers in poetry workshops. It was obvious that children of all abilities thrived on this kind of reading, writing, and talking in poetry workshops. Teachers who continued incorporating poetry in the curriculum were enthusiastic and well rewarded for their efforts. After leaving the Arts Council program, I continued as a freelance poet in the schools, and am continuing to share poetry now as a published poet. I still go into the schools as an author and teach occasional workshops. I sometimes feel that I am a 'Johnny Appleseed' for poetry (a 'Connie' Appleseed?).

"When you read a poet's work, you peek inside her or him, and I am no exception. As a writer I reveal myself in my poems, not intentionally, but because poetry is a natural expression of what the poet thinks, feels, and observes. It is me as silly, thoughtful, wondering, playing, discovering. If curiosity really 'killed', I'd be long gone, because I like to poke around to find the how and why of things, never tire of watching bugs go about their bug business and, yes, I really did 'pet' a worm. I love the out of doors and am constantly discovering and rediscovering it, as children do. I feel a special rapport with children and especially enjoy writing about the kinds of things they respond to, ordinary things that adults sometimes don't really 'see' for all our modern distractions."

Reflecting on the experience of sharing her poetry with children and adult audiences, Levy once told CA: "The children (and adults) enjoy the sharing of observations, feelings, and sometimes technique, all of which serves to bring them closer to my poems and how poetry is made, and stimulates them to write their own. My poems are 'me,' and I want them to be 'them' and to feel free to play with ideas and words and join in the 'game' of language."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Volume 22, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1996.

periodicals

Booklist, September 1, 1994, Carolyn Phelan, review of A Tree Place and Other Poems, p. 38; December 15, 1996, Hazel Rochman, review of When Whales Exhale and Other Poems, p. 723; January 1, 1999, John Peters, review of A Crack in the Clouds and Other Poems, p. 860; April 1, 2002, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of Splash! Poems of Our Watery World, p. 1322.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February, 1992, Betsy Hearne, review of I'm Going to Pet a Worm Today and Other Poems, p. 161; March, 1994, Betsy Hearne, review of The Tree Place and Other Poems, p. 225.

Horn Book, May, 1994, Nancy Vasilakis, review of A Tree Place and Other Poems, pp. 329-330; July, 2002, Roger Sutton, review of Splash!, p. 479.

Horn Book Guide, spring, 1997, review of When Whales Exhale and Other Poems, p. 153.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 1991, review of I'm Going to Pet a Worm Today, p. 1162; April 1, 1994, review of A Tree Place and Other Poems, p. 481.

School Library Journal, April, 1994, Meg Stackpole, review of A Tree Place and Other Poems, p. 140; December, 1996, Kathleen Whalin, review of When Whales Exhale and Other Poems, p. 131; December, 1998, Margaret Bush, review of A Crack in the Clouds and Other Poems, p. 139; May, 2002, Jane Marino, review of Splash!, pp. 139-140.