In this compelling tale, the “little general” heads an army called the Realists. Every day he and his troops practice battle formations on a field while the Dreamers use it to play strange, peaceful games. The little general's soldiers include Sergeant Samantha, who is very tall and wishes the general would pay attention to her, and Lieutenant Lyle, an imaginative fellow who always seems to get into trouble. One day the little general sees a giant snowflake hovering in his garden and realizes he is suffering from a disease of the imagination. He is very ashamed and pretends not to see it, but eventually he discovers that everyone in his army has a similar problem. What magical message is the snowflake trying to bring to the general, and to the world? In a time of violent military solutions to global problems, this illustrated allegory by a leading poet has a particular, powerful resonance.
Matthea Harvey's most recent book of poetry, Modern Life, won the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and was a New York Times Notable Book of 2008 as well as a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is the author of two previous books of poetry, Sad Little Breathing Machine and Pity the Bathtub Its Forced Embrace of the Human Form, as well as a forthcoming children's book, The Little General and the Giant Snowflake, illustrated by Elizabeth Zechel. A contributing editor to jubilat, BOMB and Meatpaper, she teaches poetry at Sarah Lawrence and lives in Brooklyn.
