New Releases by Naomi Shihab Nye

Written by internationally beloved poet Naomi Shihab Nye, Sidekick stands as a testament to poetry''s enduring power to bear witness. With each poem, Nye affirms a truth that feels more urgent than ever: every human being deserves safety, dignity, and peace. Drawing on her family''s deep roots in Palestine, Nye writes with both abiding love and immeasurable heartbreak, offering intimate reflections that illuminate the human cost of conflict. Long a champion of dialogue across borders and divides, she crafts poems that are direct, conversational, and unafraid to confront the systems and structures that perpetuate harm. Through her signature blend of candor, lyrical grace, and careful attention to everyday lives, Nye offers a collection that urges readers to look more closely, feel more deeply, and imagine a world in which we refuse to turn away from one another.

Journal of Catholic Poetry, reviews, interviews, and translations

With themes of family, love, kindness, empathy, grief, growing up, and resilience, these one hundred never-before-published poems by the beloved poet, speaker, and teacher Naomi Shihab Nye will resonate with a wide audience. National Book Award finalist and former Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye’s Grace Notes: Poems about Families celebrates family and community. This rich collection of one hundred never-before-published poems is also the poet’s most personal work to date. With poems about her own childhood and school years, her parents and grandparents, and the people who have touched and shaped her life in so many ways, this is an emotional and sparkling collection to savor, share, and read again and again.

Le livre raconte une expérience que l''autrice a vécue à l''aéroport international d''Albuquerque au Nouveau-Mexique et qui a affirmé son espoir dans l''humanité.

A Young People''s Poet Laureate''s "striking use of everyday images and timely themes makes this free verse collection meaningful, memorable, and accessible" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review). This celebratory book collects in one volume award-winning and beloved poet Naomi Shihab Nye''s most popular poems. Featuring new, never-before-published poems; an introduction by bestselling poet and author Edward Hirsch, as well as a foreword and writing tips by the poet; and stunning artwork by bestselling artist Rafael López, Everything Comes Next is essential for poetry readers, classroom teachers, and library collections. Everything Comes Next is a treasure chest of Naomi Shihab Nye''s most beloved poems, and features favorites such as "Famous" and "A Valentine for Ernest Mann," as well as widely shared pieces such as "Kindness" and "Gate A-4." The book is an introduction to the poet''s work for new readers, as well as a comprehensive edition for classroom and family sharing. Writing prompts and tips by the award-winning poet make this an outstanding choice for aspiring poets of all ages. "The poet''s voice is, as always, distinct and inquisitive and hopeful, sometimes playful, sometimes tender, sometimes both . . . Compelling." — Bulletin of the Center for Children''s Books "A substantial volume of poems by Nye . . . A pleasure on many fronts. . . . Warm, welcoming, [and] inclusive . . . Lucky the reader who would have this collection lying around for visiting and revisiting." — Horn Book Magazine "A brilliant collection of poems about the essence of human connection....A spectacular book for all collections. An essential purchase. — School Library Journal

From the acclaimed poet and National Book Award finalist, "a sparkling book of travel and childhood: born on the bridge between two cultures" (Paulette Jiles, New York Times–bestselling author). In Never in a Hurry the poet Naomi Shihab Nye resist the American inclination to "leave toward places when we barely had time enough to get there." Instead she travels the world at an observant pace, talking to strangers and introducing readers to an endearing assemblage of eccentric neighbors, Filipina faith healers, dry-cleaning proprietors, and other quirky characters. A Palestinian-American who lives in a Mexican-American neighborhood, Nye speaks for the mix of people and places that can be called the "American Experience." From St. Louis, the symbolic "Gateway to the West," she embarks on a westward migration to examine America, past and present, and to glimpse into the lives of its latest outsiders—illegal immigrants from Mexico and troubled inner-city children. In other essays Nye ventures beyond North America''s bounds, telling of a year in her childhood spent in Palestine and of an adulthood filled with cross-cultural quests. Whether recounting the purchase of a car on the island of Oahu or a camel-back ride through India''s Thar Desert, Nye writes in wry, refreshing tones about themes that transcend borders and about the journey that remains the greatest of all—the journey from outside to in as the world enters each one of us, as we learn to see. "The generous gift of a writer at the top of her form, a book jammed with vivid sights and pungent tastes and wonderful stories." —Marion Winik, author of Above Us Only Sky

Internationally celebrated poet places her Palestinian-American identity center stage, putting a human face on war, honoring courage, praying for peace.

“Nye once again deftly charts the world through verse.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A beautifully constructed, thoughtful, and inspiring collection.”—School Library Journal (starred review) Young People’s Poet Laureate and National Book Award Finalist Naomi Shihab Nye’s uncommon and unforgettable voice offers readers peace, humor, inspiration, and solace. This volume of almost one hundred original poems is a stunning and engaging tribute to the diverse voices past and present that comfort us, compel us, lead us, and give us hope. “I think the air is full of voices. If we slow down and practice listening, we hear those voices better. They live on in us. Inspiration? We need it every day. We deserve it. It is essential, like food, water, clean air, shelter. Here are some poems celebrating the voices that have changed my life and continue to do so.”—Naomi Shihab Nye, Award-winning poet and author Voices in the Air is a collection of almost one hundred original poems written by the award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye in honor of the artists, writers, poets, historical figures, ordinary people, and diverse luminaries from past and present who inspire her and us. Full of words of encouragement, solace, and hope, this collection offers a message of peace and empathy. Voices in the Air focuses on the inspirational people who strengthen and motivate us to create, to open our hearts, and to live rewarding and graceful lives. With short informational bios about the influential figures behind each poem, and a transcendent introduction by the poet, this is a collection to cherish, read again and again, and share with others. Featuring black-and-white spot art throughout, as well as brief bios of the “voices,” an index, and an introduction by the author.

When Aref, a third-grader who lives in Muscat, Oman, refuses to pack his suitcase and prepare to move to Michigan, his mother asks for help from his grandfather, his Siddi, who takes Aref around the country, storing up memories he can carry with him

Naomi Shihab Nye focuses on ordinary people and ordinary situations, which, when rendered through the poems in Fuel, become remarkable. The poet imagines the border families of southern Texas, small ferns and forgotten books, Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East. Nye has written, "Lives unlike mine, you save me."

Shares stories about growing up in diverse homes or communities, from an Asian youth who gains temporary popularity by making up a false background, to a biracial girl whose father clears subway seats by calmly sitting between two prejudiced women.

A stellar collection from Newbery medalists and bestselling authors written to benefit Darfuri refugees With contributions from some of the best talent writing for children today, What You Wish For is a compelling collection of affecting, inspiring, creepy, and oft-times funny short stories and poems all linked by the universal power of a wish - the abstract things we all wish for - home, family, safety and love. From the exchange of letters between two girls who have never met but are both struggling with the unexpected curves of life, to the stunning sacrifice one dying girl makes for another, to the mermaid who trades her tail for legs, to the boy who unwittingly steals an imp''s house, and to the chilling retelling of Cinderella, What You Wish For brings together a potent international roster of authors of note to remember and celebrate the Darfuri refugees and their incredible story of survival and hope.

"In the current literary scene, one of the most heartening influences is the work of Naomi Shihab Nye. Her poems combine transcendent liveliness and sparkle along with warmth and human insight. She is a champion of the literature of encouragement and heart. Reading her work enhances life."-- William Stafford Dusk where is the name no one answered to gone off to live by itself beneath the pine trees separating the houses without a friend or a bed without a father to tell it stories how hard was the path it walked on all those years belonging to none of our struggles drifting under the calendar page elusive as residue when someone said how have you been it was strangely that name that tried to answer Naomi Shihab Nye has spent thirty-five years traveling the world to lead writing workshops and inspire students of all ages. In her newest collection Transfer she draws on her Palestinian American heritage, the cultural diversity of her home in Texas, and her extensive travel experiences to create a poetry collection that attests to our shared humanity. Among her awards, Naomi Shihab Nye has been a Lannan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Witter Bynner Fellow. She has received a Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, and four Pushcart prizes. In January 2010, she was elected to the board of chancellors of the Academy of American Poets.

They are inspiring talented stunning remarkable wise They are also fearless depressed hilarious impatient in love out of love pissed off And they want you to let them in.

"Many years ago, during a particularly hard stretch at work, a friend slipped me a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye. That poem really found me--it spoke to my condition. So I began my fortunate acquaintance with Naomi''s work. What a joy it has been to make this book!"--Colophon.

“Nye’s sheer joy in communicating, creativity, and caring shine through.”—Kirkus Reviews A moving and celebratory poetry collection from Young People’s Poet Laureate and National Book Award Finalist Naomi Shihab Nye. This resonant volume explores the similarities we share with the people around us—family, friends, and complete strangers. Honey. Beeswax. Pollinate. Hive. Colony. Work. Dance. Communicate. Industrious. Buzz. Sting. Cooperate. Where would we be without honeybees? Where would we be without one another? In eighty-two poems and paragraphs (including the renowned Gate A-4), Naomi Shihab Nye alights on the essentials of our time—our loved ones, our dense air, our wars, our memories, our planet—and leaves us feeling curiously sweeter and profoundly soothed. Includes an introduction by the poet.

"I am a poet," I said. "It is my destiny to do strange things." My father gripped the wheel of his car. "I am the chauffeur for foolishness." We said no more. Foolhardy missions. Life-altering conversations. Gifts—given and received. Loss. Getting lost. Wisdom delivered before dawn and deep into the night. Love and kissing (not necessarily in that order). Laughter. Rides on the edge. Roses. Ghosts. As a traveling poet and visiting teacher, Naomi Shihab Nye has spent a considerable amount of time in cars, both driving and being driven. Her observations, stories, encounters, and escapades—and the kernels of truth she gathers from them—are laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving, and unforgettable. Buckle up.

A multicultural anthology of poems represents the poetic voices, observations, traditions, and stories of people from some sixty countries around the world.

"Naomi Shihab Nye is a wandering poet. For over 30 years she has travelled America and the world to read and teach. Born in Missouri to a Palestinian father and an American mother, she grew up in St Louis, Jerusalem and San Antonio. Drawing on her Palestinian-American background, the cultural diversity of Texas, and her experiences in Asia, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Middle East, her poetry ''reflects this textured heritage, which endowed her with an openness to the experiences of others and a sense of continuity across borders'' (Bill Moyers). Through her empathetic use of poetic language, she reveals the shining nature of our daily lives, whether writing about local life in her inner-city Texan neighbourhood or the daily rituals of Jews and Palestinians in the war-torn Middle East.Probing the fragile connection between language and meaning, she shows how lives are marked by tragedy, inequity and misunderstanding, and that our best chance of surviving losses and shortcomings is to be acutely aware of the sacred in all things"--

Florrie''s favorite coffee shop, with its open mike night, dreamy candles, and cute waiters ... Going? The mysterious little hut selling fresh lemon ice on the west side of town ... Going? The boutique featuring clothes you don''t find at the mall, allowing you to look like ... an interesting person ... Going? Individuality. Originality. Quality. Independence. Opportunity. Going, going, gone. What''s a girl to do?

Life is a tangle of twisting paths. Some short. Some long. There are dead ends. And there are choices. And wrong turns, and detours, and yield signs, and instruction booklets, and star maps, and happiness, and loneliness. And friends. And sisters. And love. And poetry. Life is a maze. You are a maze. Amazed. And amazing.

EM"Tell me how to live so many lives at once ..."/em Fowzi, who beats everyone at dominoes; Ibtisam, who wanted to be a doctor; Abu Mahmoud, who knows every eggplant and peach in his West Bank garden; mysterious Uncle Mohammed, who moved to the mountain; a girl in a red sweater dangling a book bag; children in velvet dresses who haunt the candy bowl at the party; Baba Kamalyari, age 71; Mr. Dajani and his swans; Sitti Khadra, who never lost her peace inside. EMMaybe they have something to tell us./em Naomi Shihab Nye has been writing about being Arab-American, about Jerusalem, about the West Bank, about family all her life. These new and collected poems of the Middle East -- sixty in all -- appear together here for the first time.