October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard

These poems are sure to instill much-needed empathy and awareness to gay issues in today's teens.

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.

Just days after 21-year-old Matthew Shepard was killed in 1998, Newman (Heather Has Two Mommies) visited his school, the University of Wyoming, as the keynote speaker for its Gay Awareness Week. Writing from this personal viewpoint, Newman crafts 68 poems, imagining the perspectives of Shepard, his convicted killers, the stars above, the fence to which he was tied, a nearby deer, and many more. Despite the variety of voices and poetic forms Newman uses (haiku, pantoum, villanelle, and others), the poems read as a somewhat repetitive chorus of rage, shame, and disgust ("I can take anything/ I'm tough as time/ But when I saw him/ between the two of them/ trapped in that truck/ it made me want to heave," says the road). It's a visceral, painful read, but it's difficult to say how singsongy couplets from Shepard's cat ("Where is the boy? Will he ever be back?/ I'm cold and I'm lonely and I need a snack") or a punny offering from the rope used to bind him ("They roped me in/ I was fit to be tied") make this tragedy more real. Ages 14-up. (Sept.)

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 9 Up--Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, died nearly 14 years ago, of wounds inflicted during a violent beating. Just before his brutal attack, he and other students had been planning a Gay Awareness Week; Newman was the keynote speaker at this event, which took place a week after the assault. Through 68 poems, she captures facets of the event that were likely never uncovered before. The poems' fictitious narrators, ranging from Matthew's cat to hateful frat boys at nearby Colorado State to the fence on which Shepard was abandoned, appear and then return later as the narrative unfolds. What impact will the depiction of such an event have on today's teens, many of whom were just born at the time of its occurrence? Put simply-a tremendous impact. Newman's verse is both masterful and steady-handed. Each poem is beautiful in its subtle sophistication. The overarching narrative will be appreciated most by readers who have read a brief overview of what happened to Matthew, but those who haven't will certainly be inspired to do so immediately following. Many teens will see how very far we've come, while others will see how far we still have to go. Either way, the book will be a valuable addition to poetry and fiction collections.Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Newman deploys a wide range of poetic forms, including pantoums, villanelles, haiku, and concrete poems, but all share jagged rhythms and a biting sense of grief and helplessness.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This title is perfect for any secondary library; it is a brilliant example of various poetic forms and deals with several issues from a variety of perspectives. This book is incredibly thought-provoking and will have a gut-wrenching impact on the reader and discussion groups alike.
—Library Media Connection (highly recommended) 

Newman is an impressive poet, and the collection, in addition to memorializing Matthew Shepard, is a call to action to let go of hatred and make sure nothing like this ever happens again. The book packs an emotional punch, and the skillfully crafted poems will make me never doubt Newman's ability to handle a subject this brutal again. I think that she may be a genius.
—The Hub (YALSA blog)

Does the work of preserving the atrocities of history while firmly offering a vision of choosing life. Refusing to let Shepard fade into oblivion, abstraction, statistic, or symbol, Newman here reminds us that the impulse to repair the world requires imagination as well as concrete memory.
—Lilith Magazine

OCTOBER MOURNING is a stunning, poignant collection of poems that paints a picture of an event that none of us can ever afford to turn away from.
—ALAN YA blog

This is a stunning reminder of what is lost as the result of bigotry and hatred.
—The ALAN Review