October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard

by Leslea Newman
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard

by Leslea Newman

Hardcover

$16.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by Thursday, March 21
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

A masterful poetic exploration of the impact of Matthew Shepard’s murder on the world.

On the night of October 6, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old college student named Matthew Shepard was kidnapped from a Wyoming bar by two young men, savagely beaten, tied to a remote fence, and left to die. Gay Awareness Week was beginning at the University of Wyoming, and the keynote speaker was Lesléa Newman, discussing her book Heather Has Two Mommies. Shaken, the author addressed the large audience that gathered, but she remained haunted by Matthew’s murder. October Mourning, a novel in verse, is her deeply felt response to the events of that tragic day. Using her poetic imagination, the author creates fictitious monologues from various points of view, including the fence Matthew was tied to, the stars that watched over him, the deer that kept him company, and Matthew himself. More than a decade later, this stunning cycle of sixty-eight poems serves as an illumination for readers too young to remember, and as a powerful, enduring tribute to Matthew Shepard’s life.
Back matter includes an epilogue, an afterword, explanations of poetic forms, and resources.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780763658076
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication date: 09/25/2012
Pages: 128
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range: 14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Lesléa Newman is the author of more than seventy books for children and adults, including the groundbreaking children's classic Heather Has Two Mommies. She has received poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation. She lives in Massachusetts.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Written with love, anger, regret, and other profound emotions, this is a truly important book that deserves the widest readership, not only among independent readers but among students in a classroom setting, as well. Most importantly, the book will introduce Matthew Shepard to a generation too young to remember the tragic circumstances of hisdeath.
—Booklist

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews