With that in mind, I am delighted to share with you my newest collection of poems: THIS POEM IS A NEST, illustrations by Johanna Wright, brought to us by the Wordsong imprint of Boyds Mills & Kane.
Here's the publisher's description:
This beautiful poetry collection introduces readers to the art of found poetry as the poet writes a 37-line poem, "Nest," then finds 160 smaller poems within it.
What can you find in a poem about a robin's nest? Irene Latham masterfully discovers "nestlings" or smaller poems about an astonishing variety of subjects--emotions, wild animals, natural landmarks on all seven continents, even planets and constellations. Each poem is a glorious spark of wonder that will prompt readers to look at the world afresh. The book includes an introduction detailing the principles of found poetry and blackout poetry, and a section of tips at the end. The joyous creativity in this volume is certain to inspire budding poets.
Of all the books I've worked on, this one is the most unabashedly ME. And that's because editor Rebecca Davis took a chance on a unique concept, fought for it in-house, and then gave me the freedom to let it grow and grow from 30 poems to 60 poems to 100 to 120 to 160 and finally 161 poems! Writers dream of having this kind of nurturing and trust in an editorial relationship, and the resulting book is magical and whimsical and meaningful, and I just want to hug it all the time! A big part of that magic is thanks to Johanna Wright -- be sure to check out this video about her process illustrating NEST. I'm so, so grateful.
Many books' pub dates were delayed this year due to the pandemic, so this fall it's positively raining books! Trade reviews can't possibly keep up, so I don't have the usual line-up of reviews to share with you. But I do have one... a ★ STARRED REVIEW from Kirkus:
"A gifted poet demonstrates the remarkable versatility of words through one kind of found poetry.... Delightful."
Can you see me blushing over here?! Yep. Such kind words.
Many thanks to some wonderful bloggers who've already shared about NEST. I'm talking about you, Linda @ TeacherDance, Buffy Silverman, Linda @ A Word Edgewise, Rebecca G. Aguilar, Mary Lee @ A Year of Reading, Margaret @ Reflections on the Teche, Mary Lee @ A Year of Reading, and Tabatha @ The Opposite of Indifference (which includes a free printable NEST-inspired zine!).
If you'd like to help me get the news out about the book, you can post reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, share on social media, or simply tell someone about the book! THANK YOU!
