Showing titles in Poetry

This is a true story of growing up, breaking down, and coming to grips with a psychological disorder. When Samantha Schutz first left home for college, she was excited by the possibilities - freedom from parents, freedom from a boyfriend who was reckless with her affections, freedom from the person she was supposed to be. At first, she revelled in the independence...but as pressures increased, she began to suffer anxiety attacks that would leave her mentally shaken and physically incapacitated.

The history of jazz is presented in a series of 15 poems that are read and sung, against a backdrop of original music that sets the appropriate mood and tone for each of the varied pieces. The result is a celebration through poetry and music that reflects the heart and soul of the many styles of jazz in a glowing tribute to a truly American art form.

In Light Filters In, Caroline Kaufman - known as @poeticpoison - does what she does best: reflects our own experiences back at us and makes us feel less alone, one exquisite and insightful piece at a time. She writes about giving up too much of yourself to someone else, not fitting in, endlessly Googling “how to be happy”, and ultimately figuring out who you are.

When the World Didn’t End is a vivid account of trying to find a path forward while reckoning with the pain of the past, embracing imperfection, and unlearning the language of self-criticism. It’s an ode to the awkward silence between goodbye and hanging up, to hearts that continue to beat after they’re broken, to the empty spaces that depression leaves behind. With vulnerability and insight, this powerful collection of short poems holds up a mirror to the doubt and longing inside us all.

Concrete Kids is an exploration of love and loss, melody and bloodshed. Musician, playwright, and educator Amyra León takes us on a poetic journey through her childhood in Harlem, as she navigates the intricacies of foster care, mourning, self-love, and resilience. In her signature free-verse style, she invites us all to dream with abandon - and to recognize the privilege it is to dream at all.

Amar es transformarse, transformar al otro y con ello al mundo que nos rodea. El amor es una forma de resistencia, un modo de plantar cara a las injusticias, es luchar por un mundo distinto, mejor. Y, en Mi chica revolucionaria, Diego Ojeda lucha contra todo porque está enamorado desde los dedos meñiques de los pies hasta el revés del alma. Diego Ojeda es sentimiento desbordante, es afecto desatado. Y precisamente es ese desajuste entre la utopía del amor que vive en él y la realidad de este país sumido en crisis y expoliado por sus propios gobernantes, abonado a corruptelas.

This Coretta Scott King Honor book for young adults from best-selling and award-winning author Nikki Grimes uses free-verse poetry to tell the dual stories of Sam, a teen whose dad leaves him and his mother for another woman, and Ishmael, the son of Abraham, who must deal with a different type of rejection when Isaac arrives.

Jesse-Ray Lewis, 19, enters a West Virginia "safe house" with few possessions beyond the kerchiefs that identify him as a gang member. An age-out foster child, he lands in Bluefield, where a charity gives him food. What follows is the personal, dramatic story of two people who intervene in the life of a homeless, drug-abusing teen with a background of violence and neglect. In their next-door suite called the safe house, they impose three rules: "No alcohol or drugs. You have to work. You have to go to school." Jesse-Ray expresses gratitude. But what does he want? The couple struggles to determine his true motives....

For Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School's Spoken Word Club, there is one phrase that reigns supreme: Respect the Mic. It's been the club's call to arms since its inception in 1999. As its founder Peter Kahn says, "It's a call of pride and history and tradition and hope." This vivid new collection of poetry and prose - curated by award-winning and bestselling poets Hanif Abdurraqib, Franny Choi, Peter Kahn, and Dan "Sully" Sullivan - illuminates just that, uplifting the incredible legacy this community has cultivated.

The Girl with a Thousand Eyes takes the YA listener, bordering on the verge of adulthood, through a poignant journey of life’s unexpected, spirit-lifting triumphs and trials of personal transformation. From New York City club life and LGBTQ love poems to existential reflections on transmigration, Ji Strangeway’s poetic verses reveal a heartfelt narrative of self-discovery. Alliterative lines, bold stanzas, and lulling metaphors awaken the dreaming psyche with promise and lead us poem by poem, toward the heart of the divine.

Follow a group of seven teenage misfits from various backgrounds as they fight the ills of the world, rising to reign supreme in their sovereignty over life’s events, watched over–quietly, faithfully–by three adults who offer words of encouragement. Celebrate with them all as they step into the world with pride for who they are as children of God and the Universe.

Some romance and self-love and deep, inspirational poems that I hope you all can enjoy.

Nikki Grimes, a best-selling author known for titles such as Dark Sons, Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope, and Voices of Christmas has written a gripping book from the perspective of a girl named Mister (Mary Rudine), who finds herself momentarily distracted from her faith commitment to purity by a handsome boy named Trey. After one night of weakness, Mister finds her entire life has changed, even if she can’t yet accept all the changes occurring within her are real.

This rockin' collection of 24 dynamic, original poems vividly captures a variety of musical experiences from the teen perspective. From playing in the school band to playing air guitar, from performing a favorite song to dreaming of stardom, the power of music is explored in passionate poetry and performance. The rhythm and language of each poem reflect a different musical genre, including classical, hip-hop, jazz, folk, and reggae.

Wherever your home is, it’s probably not as tough as Gary, Indiana. Gary has been called a lot of things. The Armpit of Chicago. The Land of Robbing Hoods. Hell. For the children of Gary, living often boils down to surviving. Maybe these kids get caught up in games of gin rummy. Maybe they spin tops as a way to scratch something fun out of their desperation. Maybe they stand by helplessly as their tenement buildings go up in flames. Or maybe they get held up at gunpoint by somebody who wants more money than he could steal from his church collection box.

Em 2017, Bruna Vieira fez as malas, deixou a vida no Brasil de lado e foi escrever uma nova história em outro país, vestida de coragem e guiada por um sentimento que sempre foi sua maior prioridade: o amor. Com o tempo, porém, os dias foram ficando cada vez mais longos e solitários. Era como se naquele lugar o amor tivesse perdido o equilíbrio e se tornado uma obrigação. Foi bem perto do fim e de jeito mais frio que ela finalmente se deu conta: é impossível ser "nós" sozinha.

One girl's wild journey of strength, beauty and growth as she discovers who she really is. Lyrical wonder, spiritual revelation and revolution meet with epic mythical landscapes in this deeply intimate coming-of-age story, one that teaches us all, no matter how small we feel, to become the masters of our own destiny. Meet Paro. A girl with a strong will, a full heart and much to learn. Born into a family reeling from the ruptures of Partition, follow her as she crosses the precarious lines between childhood, teenage discovery and realising her adult self.

A vida é uma história. Sem rascunho. Não pare no passado. Viva o futuro. A cada minuto. De sua vida.

Poems of forging an American life. In 1910 Anastasius, in defiance of his father, immigrates from Greece to the United States. Diaspora speaks powerfully of the aftermath. Poverty, wars, miscommunications, new roles for women emerge. The family struggles to bridge the challenges of time and distance in the age before modern technology knit the world together. The word “diaspora” comes from the Greek term for “to scatter.”

While society often assigns the label “knucklehead” to kids with attitude problems, this brilliant and electric poetry collection by spoken word poet and hip-hop educator Tony Keith Jr. subverts that narrow way of thinking and empathizes with young people who are misunderstood and unheard.