Jane Yolen's new collection of 55 poems about politics and power, her compassionate "songs of protest", confront our most tragic contemporary and historical human experiences: the Holocaust, the Boston Marathon bombings, Newtown, and Aurora massacres, global warming, endless Middle East violence--each poem is a plea for justice and a statement of moral imperative. These powerful poems, born from wisdom and composed with assured artistry, stand as bold and memorable witnesses to our troubling and troubled times.
From "Listening to the News Reminds Me of Yeats"
. . . Yeats set it all down first:
that bloody tide of change and not-change,
that bloody intensity of right and not-right,
the beast stalking the presidency
down the twisty, blackened capitol streets.
We were warned, we did not listen,
and the teeth are at the back of our necks.
Soon they will be at the front.
In "Fahrenheit," Yolen protests the burning of her book because a character is gay:
Before the arson could be stopped,
a year of my writing went up in flames.
Far away on the East Coast of America
I felt the heat of it burning my cheeks.
Somewhere in Germany, an old man dances.
Jane Yolen, often called "the Hans Christian Andersen of America," is the author of over 340 books, including Owl Moon and The Devil's Arithmetic. Her writing has won many awards--two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, a Caldecott, the Golden Kite Award, three Mythopoetic awards, two Christopher Medals, and the Jewish Book Award, among others. She is also the winner (for body of work) of the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Catholic Library's Regina Award.
