Diverse Reads
April 2022

Poetry Contest

April 1 – 30

Join us for our 23rd Annual Poetry Contest for 3rd grade students to adults!
 
Poems will be judged by talented, local professionals and our winners will be celebrated at an in-person Awards Ceremony in June.
 
Learn more here: https://www.fresnolibrarypoetry.org/

eBooks & Audiobooks

Libby

To explore digital books for National Poetry Month, visit this link.
 
Enjoy these and thousands of additional titles in the free Libby app, available for Android and iOS mobile devices. Or, use Libby in your web browser at libbyapp.com.

Kids' Books

The Poetry of US
by J. Patrick Lewis (editor)

What's inside: More than 200 inspiring poems and photos celebrating the culture, diversity, and history of America.

Featuring: Selections by such luminaries as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walt Whitman, and more.
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth; illustrated by Ekua Holmes

What's inside: Original poems that pay homage to twenty famed poets who have made the authors' hearts sing and their minds wonder.

Don't miss: Bold mixed-media paintings by Caldecott honoree Ekua Holmes complement each poem.
I Am Loved
by Nikki Giovanni; illustrated by Ashley Bryan

What it is: An energetic treasury of poems that conveys to young readers how much they are loved regardless of age and circumstance.

Reviewers say: "A vibrant burst of positivity for readers of any age" (School Library Journal).
And the People Stayed Home
by Kitty O'Meara; illustrated by Stefano Di Cristofaro and Paul Pereda

What it is: A hopeful poem about the pandemic, quarantine, and endurance.

Did you know? O'Meara originally shared these words in March 2020 on Facebook and the poem quickly went viral.
Lullaby (For a Black Mother)
by Langston Hughes; illustrated by Sean Qualls

What it's about: Langston Hughes's beloved poem celebrates the endearing love between a mother and a baby.

Reviewers say: "Hughes's classic lullaby gets a loving lift with Qualls's graceful artwork" (Booklist).
No More Poems! A Book in Verse That Just Gets Worse
by Rhett Miller; illustrated by Dan Santat

What it's about: In the tradition of Shel Silverstein, these poems bring a fresh new twist to the classic dilemmas of childhood.

Reviewers say: "Miller and Santat's fun, eminently contemporary collaboration will charm both kids and the adults reading with them" (Kirkus).
Teen Books

Ain't Burned All the Bright
by Jason Reynolds; illustrated by Jason Griffin

What it is: A poetic exploration of recent events in America told in three parts, or "breaths."

About the author: Jason Reynolds's award-winning books for teens include Long Way Down, Stamped, All American Boys, and more.
Inheritance: A Visual Poem
by Elizabeth Acevedo; illustrated by Andrea Pippins

What it is: An illustrated celebration of Black hair, with frank commentary on prejudice.

Don't miss: Pippins's vibrant, full-color illustrations complement the poem and feature a diverse Black and Afro-Latin American cast.
And We Rise: The Civil Rights Movement in Poems
by Erica Martin

What it is: A powerful, eye-opening journey that explores the Civil Rights Movement in spare and evocative verse, with historical photos interspersed throughout.

Supplemental materials: The back matter includes a timeline of the events covered throughout the book and the full text of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
Call Us What We Carry: Poems
by Amanda Gorman

The presidential inaugural poet — and an unforgettable new voice in American poetry — presents a breakout collection of poems.

Want a taste?
"This book is a message in a bottle.
This book is a letter.
This book does not let up.
This book is awake.
This book is a wake.
For what is a record but a reckoning?"
Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School
by Hanif Abdurraqib, Franny Choi, Dan Sullivan, and Peter Kahn (editors)

What it's about: Curated by nationally recognized poets, this wide-ranging anthology offers a tender, intimate portrait of American life.

What sets it apart: Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School's Spoken Word Club is responsible for over 20 years of award-winning poetry, and this book collects a variety of the Club's work.
Adult Books

The Sunflower Cast a Spell to Save Us from the Void
by Jackie Wang

What it is: A spellbinding, dream-like collection of poetry.

Book buzz: This debut collection from Jackie Wang was a 2021 National Book Award finalist.
Floaters: Poems
by Martín Espada

What's inside: Masterfully crafted narratives of protest, grief, and love.

About the author: Espada is a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has received numerous awards for his poetry.
Black Girl, Call Home
by Jasmine Mans

What it's about: From spoken word poet Jasmine Mans comes an unforgettable poetry collection about race, feminism, and queer identity.

Don't miss: The Libby audiobook version of this title comes with narration by the author.
Scar and Flower
by Lee Herrick

What it's about: These poems, alternately gritty and transcendent, find the spirit in our stark, hardscrabble lives.

About the author: Lee Herrick was Fresno Poet Laureate from 2015-2017 and teaches at Fresno City College.
The Tradition
by Jericho Brown

What it is: A poetry anthology that passionately explores race, religion, and social responsibility.

What sets it apart: This collection features the duplex, a poetic form invented by Brown that combines the sonnet, the blues, and the ghazal.

Book buzz: The Tradition was the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Poetry.
So Far So Good
by Ursula K. Le Guin

What it's about: In this collection (written shortly before the author's death in 2018), Le Guin immerses herself in the natural world, ruminates on the mysteries of dying, and considers the simple, redemptive lessons of the earth.

Did you know? While Le Guin is famous for her fantasy and science fiction novels, she began her career as a poet.
Fiction DVDs



Bright Star


What it's about:
Poet John Keats and his muse Fanny Brawne fall in love but cannot marry.


Poetic Justice


What it's about:
The poetry of Maya Angelou is at the heart of Boyz N the Hood director John Singleton's second film. Janet Jackson makes her film debut as Justice, a hairdresser who becomes emotionally withdrawn after her boyfriend is fatally shot.

Much Ado About Nothing


What it's about:
A loving couple are torn apart by a false accusation and a bickering couple are brought together by friendly plotting.

Neruda


What it's about:
After Chilean poet and communist Pablo Neruda criticizes the president, he becomes the target of a manhunt led by a fascist police prefect and needs to go into hiding.


Macbeth


What it's about:
Ambitious lord Macbeth tries to take the throne with the help of his ruthless wife, which leads to his downfall.


A Quiet Passion


What it's about:
Tells the life story of American poet, Emily Dickinson.

Kill Your Darlings


What it's about:
In 1944 New York City, the lives of young writers Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac are forever impacted when the older lover of hedonistic rebel Lucien Carr is found dead.


Paterson


What it's about:
Follows a bus driver's life in Paterson, New Jersey, with his Iranian-American wife and his secret passion for writing poety.

Fresno County Public Library
2420 Mariposa St.
Fresno, California 93721
559-600-READ (7323)

www.fresnolibrary.org