Baca passionately explores the troubled years of his youth, from which he emerged with heightened awareness of his ethnic identify as a Chicano, his role as a witness for the misunderstood tribal life of the barrio, and his redemptive vocation as a poet.

Fueled by faith and powered by a strong work ethic, Tyler Lockett's debut book of poetry is a reflective and uplifting journey through topics such as identity, sports, race, relationships, and how to live a purposeful life. As an NFL All-Pro wide receiver and return specialist for the Seattle Seahawks, Lockett draws on his unique perspective as a professional athlete to address life's many challenges, temptations, and rewards. From reminding young people to pursue their dreams, to pleading with a friend not to take his own life, Lockett's poetry encourages readers to stay positive even when confronting impossible odds. In addition to never-before-published poems, Reflection also includes workshop questions, notes, and inspirational messages that give readers an opportunity to reflect on their own lives as well.

From Newbery Medal winner Patricia MacLachlan comes a poignant story about two children, a poet, and a dog and how they help one another survive loss and recapture love. 3 starred reviews. "Just what I needed," raves Brightly. "It's a heart-warming story of loss and love that filled me with hope for a better future and renewed my belief in good." Teddy is a gifted dog. Raised in a cabin by a poet named Sylvan, he grew up listening to sonnets read aloud and the comforting clicking of a keyboard. Although Teddy understands words, Sylvan always told him there are only two kinds of people in the world who can hear Teddy speak: poets and children. Then one day Teddy learns that Sylvan was right. When Teddy finds Nickel and Flora trapped in a snowstorm, he tells them that he will bring them home—and they understand him. The children are afraid of the howling wind, but not of Teddy’s words. They follow him to a cabin in the woods, where the dog used to live with Sylvan . . . only now his owner is gone. As they hole up in the cabin for shelter, Teddy is flooded with memories of Sylvan. What will Teddy do when his new friends go home? Can they help one another find what they have lost?

A collection of essays by poet Wesley McNair.

The Pushcart Prize–winning poet’s memoir of his criminal youth and years in prison: a “brave and heartbreaking” tale of triumph over brutal adversity (The Nation). Jimmy Santiago Baca’s “astonishing narrative” of his life before, during, and immediately after the years he spent in the maximum-security prison garnered tremendous critical acclaim. An important chronicle that “affirms the triumph of the human spirit,” it went on to win the prestigious 2001 International Prize (Arizona Daily Star). Long considered one of the best poets in America today, Baca was illiterate at the age of twenty-one when he was sentenced to five years in Florence State Prison for selling drugs in Arizona. This raw, unflinching memoir is the remarkable tale of how he emerged after his years in the penitentiary—much of it spent in isolation—with the ability to read and a passion for writing poetry. “Proof there is always hope in even the most desperate lives.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram “A hell of a book, quite literally. You won’t soon forget it.” —The San Diego U-T “This book will have a permanent place in American letters.” —Jim Harrison, New York Times–bestselling author of A Good Day to Die

Here are modern poems chosen for their individual excellence and their special appeal to young people. Exciting photographs accent the contemporary tone of the collection. From lighthearted Phyllis Mc-Ginley to pessimistic Ezra Pound; from the lyricism of Edna St. Vincent Millay to the vigor of Lawrence Ferlinghette; from Carl Sandburg on loneliness to Paul Dehn on the bomb -- such is the range. The little known or unknown poet and the widely recognized appear side by siide. Whatever the subject matter -- pheasant or flying saucer; lapping lake water or sonic boom; a deer hunt, a basketball, or a bud -- it is all poetry reflecting today's images and today's moods. The editors spent several years bringing together 1200 poems they considered fine enough to include, then slowly and carefully sifted out of 114 which appear in the book. Readers of Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle . . . and Other Modern Verse may well be tempted by Eve Merriam's suggestion in "How to Eat a Poem" center Don't be polite Bite in. Pick it up with your fingers and lick The juice that may run down your chin. It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.