Joseph Kennedy, better known to his readers by the pseudonym X. J. Kennedy, is a selfconfessed "schizophrenic" as regards his writings. Kennedy noted to Contemporary Authors that "I write for three separate audiences: children, college students (who use textbooks), and that small band of people who still read poetry." But there is unity in all of Kennedy's writingsโunderlying it is a love of poetry and meter, a playfulness verging on the absurd, and a fervent regard for the possibilities of language. That "small band" of adults who still read poetry may very well be swelled by Kennedy's verse for childrenโboth nonsensical and serious. By using verse to speak to middle graders, Kennedy is certainly creating a new audience for poetry of all forms.