“Do you think / if you left your house / emily dickinson / your poems would have titles?” (“do you think …,” by Chase Berggrun). “There has never been a shortage of hope and change for young artists and writers,” notes poet Naomi Shihab Nye in her introduction to this anthology. “It’s their currency—to experiment, penetrate layers and realms and eras and elements, participate in many directions, discover what is coming next.” The work of twenty-six* poets under the age of twenty-five comprises this collection that offers a handful of carefully crafted poems on wide-ranging subjects from each writer. Some writers are world travelers whose works reflect those perspectives and experiences; others have traversed cultural landscapes within their own families and communities. Some write about the intimate; others the internal. All bring a poet’s eye and voice to personal experiences from traumatic to bittersweet to joyous. This volume may serve as inspiration to young writers, but the poems should be read and enjoyed for what they offer us all. (*Nye notes her aptitude for language exceeds her aptitude for math.) (Age 14 and older)

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.