Book + Gift = Happy Holidays! (2020 Gift Guide)

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Carol's Corner for Roundup.

2020 has been some kind of year, hasn't it? I'm incredibly thankful to have had 4 books release this year. And since it's Black Friday, I'll be buying books for friends -- and  perhaps you will be, too! With that in mind, I thought I'd offer some shopping suggestions.

To pair with THE CAT MAN OF ALEPPO, how about some cat-themed memo pads? Or adopt one of these adorable crochet kitties! Or (my favorite), these cat socks?

For DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD, I am loving this "Together We are Better" poster from SeasideShedStudio. (If you've read the last poem in the book --  a byte entitled "The Etymology of Progress," you'll know that's what Charles and I learned from our experience creating this book! Art by Mehrdokht Amini.)

To pair with THIS POEM IS A NEST, might I suggest this "Found Poem" t-shirt, available from TourDeBookshop which, when I discovered it, I promptly gifted myself?

Finally, for NINE: A BOOK OF NONET POEMS, try Play Nine (a card game!) and... if the recipient happens to be a 9-year-old child, you can't beat this "Nine Years/108 months/3,287 days/78,894 hours/4,733,640 minutes/284,018,400 seconds of Being Awesome" t-shirt available at Vintagestylearts! (Add to the fun by checking the math!)

And now, the latest installment of ArtSpeak: RED... inspired by another one of Richard Jones' illustrations! I was thinking about how the holidays can be difficult for many -- and for me, honestly  -- and I wanted to write a poem for us. Savvy readers will also notice that it's a tricube: 3 3-line stanzas, in which each line has 3 syllables.

Bear's Promise

When day bends
burnt yellow,
bear with me.

When red heart
hollows blue,
bear with me—

tomorrow,
paintsplash skies
will arrive!

- Irene Latham