Author Spotlight: June Jordan, Poet of the People
Celebrate Pride with These Poetry Collections!
Leigh, School Outreach Librarian, School Outreach Librarian
Here is a brief list of books from the last year-ish that transcend Pride Month, and presents a more nuanced, representative and resonant experience of queerness than what is often front and center this time of year. Homie by Danez Smith (Graywolf) These are poems for and about queer black community, friendship, and queer black poet elders. Crossfire: A Litany for Survival by Staceyann Chin (Haymarket) The first full-length collection of Chin’s poems spanning 21 years of work, with a subtitle that references Audre Lorde. NDN Coping Mechanisms: Notes From the Field by Billy-Ray…
Poem in Your Pocket Day!
Did you know that Poem in Your Pocket Day is every April 30? On this day, folks carry a favorite poem in their pocket to share with anyone they meet. But how do we celebrate when we are keeping our distance and we can’t go to the library and check out the poetry section? There are lots of fun ways to celebrate together with friends and family near and far. Here are a few ideas from the American Academy of Poets and Brooklyn Public Library staff… As a family, select a poem and share it on social media using the hashtag #pocketpoem or just share it with your family. Don’t yet have a…
Announcing the 2020 Teen Writing Contest & Ned Vizzini Prize Winners
Karen, Coordinator of Young Adult Services , Coordinator of Young Adult Services
We received hundreds of submissions, and the Teen Writing Contest Committee is pleased to announce the following prizes, honors, and selections for the 2020 Teen Writing Contest & Ned Vizzini Teen Writing Prize. Poetry Middle School First Place: Here’s To La Ciencia Emigrante by Iago Macknik-Conde Second Place: Blue Hands by Vaikuntha Tamayo Honorable Mention: Ode by Ihshan Jaman Honorable Mention: Basketball Game by Aidan Lebron Honorable Mention: All Might by Naomi Schulz High School First Place: The Roach In My Bed by Thisbe Wu Second Place (Tie):…
Earth Day Poetry Recommendations from a Former Hater
My reading appetite is insatiable, an annual sixty-course feast of literary fiction, mysteries and romantic comedies, the occasional nonfiction book tacked on like the green juice you choke down after a gluttonous vacation. I am willing to read anything, but until two years ago, I would have described myself as poetry averse. Why look to corny, rhyming couplets for the meaning of life when I could instead reflect on the emo lyrics of my teen angst? But then something happened: I got hooked on a weekly column about poetry and lipstick and caregiving written by a British cookbook author named…