New Releases

Writing as Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler has led several generations of young readers into that special and curious space of being hopelessly lost, and joyfully finding yourself, in the essential strangeness of literature. The wondrous and perilous journey of the Baudelaire orphans sprung from the author’s own path, from his childhood discovery of Baudelaire’s poetry through the countless peculiarities of his pursuit of a literary life—abject failure and startling success, breakthrough and breakdown, concordance and controversy—lit along the way by the books and culture he loved best.

This quick-listen audiobook contains an abundance of ideas to help beginners "fire up the poet" in them or help poets fire up their thought processes so that they can continue to be creative. Subjects include poetic inspiration, the importance of creating a poem title, and the revision process. Some of these ideas can also pertain to other forms of writing. So take a few minutes away from your busy day or frustrating mental block and absorb some information that can "fire up the poet" in you.

Most of us want to choose inclusive, respectful, and empowering language when communicating with or about others. But language—and how we use it—continually evolves, along with cultural norms. When contradictory opinions muddle our purpose, how do we align our word choices with our beliefs? Who has the final say when people disagree? And why is it so hard to let go of certain words? Afraid of getting something wrong or offending, we too often treat words as right or wrong, regardless of context and nuance.

In "Secrets of the Shadows," haunting verses capture listeners into a realm where the humans and ghosts intertwine. In this collection of poems, I have worked with an enigmatic world of ghosts unraveling the veiled narrative that lingers between the two realms. With poignant imagery and a ghostly elegance, the collection transcended the boundaries of the known and the unknown.