YPPL Naomi Shihab Nye’s January Pick | Poetry Foundation

Young People’s Poet Laureate Book Pick

Another World Poetry & Art by Young People
From the Poetry Studio
Edited by Ann Gengarelly and Tony Gengarelly
Foreword by Chard DeNiord
Luminare Press, 2021

 

It’s another year, so let’s have Another World. Perhaps featuring two books from Vermont back-to-back in this column is unseemly, but celebrating the voices and visions of young people will never be unseemly. This gorgeous volume sings of inspiration and hope; it’s a new year anthem all its own. The Gengarellys have devoted themselves to working with young writers and artists of all ages for many decades. They offer after-school and summer workshops through the Poetry Studio at their home and garden in Marlboro and teach widely in schools and universities. In her poem “Blossoming Words,” Erin LeBlanc, 12, asks, “What if every flower bloomed a word? / What if each stalk was a sentence?” The poem ends, “words meant to fill a garden, / words that were always there, / waiting for a listener.” Teachers will find these poems by young writers very helpful in classrooms, triggering happy writing contagion. Ann describes a recent conversation with her grandson, in which he called her a different kind of social worker, saying, “You get people to express their emotions.” Through wide, clean pages; a large, appealing font; and many imaginative full-color works of visual art, Another World carries readers away to better places. Happy 2022!