Crossing the Line: Considering the Dual Accessibility of the Verse Narrative for Reluctant Readers and Young People with Mental Health Problems

What might the philosophy of “nothing about us without us” mean for the verse novel? Edward Davies considers this question.

Abstract

As the child literacy crisis deepens, and young people’s mental health collectively worsens, the barriers to reading I observed as a teenager growing up in the North East of England have only increased. Simultaneously, the verse narrative has been hailed as an accessible format in YA fiction. My article asks: accessible for who?

I identify barriers that both vulnerable readers and reluctant readers can face in accessing important issue-based verse narratives and discuss potential accommodations. These include considering reading age, lowering the risk of imitative suicide, and writing representation that follows the philosophy of “nothing about us without us”. I also discuss the specific features of my own verse narrative project in terms of accessibility, including vocabulary, white space, and episodic poems. The poems discussed in the article are included as an appendix.

Historically, mental health problems and barriers to reading have been treated as disparate issues. My article brings them together to demonstrate that the verse narrative has unique potential to include both of these disadvantaged groups, in the hope that YA authors can use the form to intentionally reach a wider range of readers.