Poetry
Goldenrod : poems
Maggie Smith
811.6 /Smith
Poetry
"With her breakout bestseller Keep Moving, Maggie Smith captured the nation with her "meditations on kindness and hope" (NPR). Now, with Goldenrod, the award-winning poet returns with a powerful collection of poems that look at parenthood, solitude, love, and memory. Pulling objects from everyday life--a hallway mirror, a rock found in her son's pocket, a field of goldenrods at the side of the road--she reveals the magic of the present moment. Only Maggie Smith could turn an autocorrect mistake into a line of poetry, musing that her phone "doesn't observe / the high holidays, autocorrecting / shana tova to shaman tobacco, / Rosh Hashanah to rose has hands" -- Amazon.
When the light of the world was subdued, our songs came through : a Norton anthology of Native nations poetry
811.6080897 /When
Read Woke, Poetry
"United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo gathers the work of more than 160 poets, representing nearly 100 indigenous nations, into the first historically comprehensive Native poetry anthology. This landmark anthology celebrates the indigenous peoples of North America, the first poets of this country, whose literary traditions stretch back centuries. Opening with a blessing from Pulitzer Prize-winner N. Scott Momaday, the book contains powerful introductions from contributing editors who represent the five geographically organized sections. Each section begins with a poem from traditional oral literatures and closes with emerging poets, ranging from Eleazar, a seventeenth-century Native student at Harvard, to Jake Skeets, a young Diné poet born in 1991, and including renowned writers such as Luci Tapahanso, Natalie Diaz, Layli Long Soldier, and Ray Young Bear. When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through offers the extraordinary sweep of Native literature, without which no study of American poetry is complete"--
For me, poetry anthologies are evergreen. I always find something new to enjoy upon a revisit. I am particularly excited about revisiting this lovely anthology edited by Joy Harjo. -Casey
Is was
Deborah (Deborah Jane) Freedman
jE Freedman
Picture Books, Poetry
Takes a look at change, from the innocent and everyday to the gigantic and irreversible, as well as how some things remain the same.
This is a high concept book presented in the most accessible of ways, and I can't wait to share it in storytimes. Be sure to read the dedication at the end, as the poetry and illustrations come together fully realizing the larger concept here. Simply lovely. -Casey
Say her name
Zetta Elliott
811.6 /Elliott
Poetry
"Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists insisting that Black Lives Matter. Elliott engages poets from the past two centuries to create a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls." -- amazon.com
Added by Beth
The Hill We Climb: an Inaugural Poem for the Country
Amanda Gorman
811.6 /Gorman
Poetry, Black Lives Matter
"On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet, at age twenty-two, to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Her inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb," is now available to cherish in this special edition."--
I missed the live reading of "the Hill We Climb", but when I watched the video after it was one of the few that lived up to the Twitter hype. I had not felt that sort of hope in a LONG time. Reading the text is a great way to revisit what might have been an initial flood of emotions, sit with them, and digest the words with thorough consideration. -Frannie
Second space : new poems
Czesław Miłosz
891.85 /Milosz
Poetry
I'll likely sit with Milosz more than once this spring. Maybe some of his larger collected works too. -Casey
An American sunrise : poems
Joy Harjo
A stunning new volume from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States, informed by her tribal history and connection to the land.
Celebrate National Poetry Month! This collection is simply wonderful, I'm looking forward to finding and being found within it again. -Casey
Our little kitchen
Jillian Tamaki
jE Tamaki
Picture Books, Diverse Characters, Poetry
"A crew of resourceful neighbors comes together to prepare a meal for their community. Includes a recipe and an author's note about the volunteering experience that inspired the book"--
Picture book perfection, made to be shared! -Casey
The crossover : a basketball novel
Kwame Alexander
eBOOK
Black Lives Matter, Read Woke, Sports, Poetry
Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
Poetry that is devastatingly beautiful and fabulous storytelling make this 2014 Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winner a powerful read. Pick this one up, you'll be glad you did. -Casey
Brown girl dreaming
Jacqueline Woodson
jBIOGRAPHY Woodson, Jacqueline
Black Lives Matter, Read Woke, Biographies, Poetry, Literary Nonfiction, Memoir
"The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South"--
Pick this one up, especially now, even if you've read it before. Woodson's story resonates with quiet truth, resiliency, and hope. -Casey
This has been a difficult year for all of us. With that in mind, I related to many beautiful lines in the poems of Goldenrod. Smith has a way of expressing doubt and misgivings, an unsureness when one is grappling with grief or fear. -Anne M