Books for Jewish American Heritage Month
In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month in May, we are sharing books by authors who share their individual stories, experiences, and lives. Find our full collection of books here.
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"And like all great poets, Ward lays bare his soul."
—Jacqueline Cutler, journalist and book reviewer for NJ.com
“A new voice: welcome it. BJ Ward’s, with a new idiom, new accents, new rhythms. Speaking to and for a new generation.… This is where it’s at now, he says, and he’s right. Singing and squawking. It’s beautiful to hear, encouraging to see.”
—Hayden Carruth, award-winning poet and literary critic
“In the chaos of my library I have my top book shelf of about thirty books of contemporary poets that I find jumpstart me when I have trouble writing. This book is on there. BJ Ward is part of my generation of poets (born in 1965 or after), but he has somehow fallen through the seams. He should be present in the canon forming anthologies but isn’t. This is a shame … The honest and seemingly simple texture and metaphor of his poems offer us much to help us live our lives.”
—Sean Thomas Dougherty, poet and author of nine books including Nightshift Belonging to Lorca
“In poems that both honor and transcend his blue collar roots, BJ Ward blends poignancy and humor with downright good story telling, and takes his place among the bright up-and-coming voices of his generation.”
—Stephen Dunn, poet and author of Different Hours, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
“BJ Ward knows about keeping the soul’s song alive against the things that hold down the sons of the world, including the sons who must forgive and the fathers who must reinvent themselves. These poems ache with the love of women, a delight in language, and a surety that self can be soldered out of the rebar and remnants of a closely observed internal landscape, one colored not so much with elegy, but ‘what might be called generosity.’ These poems have a humor that can be owned only after close attention to pain, giving way to a kind of heroic grace.”
—Laura McCullough, poet and author of Panic, winner of the Kinereth Gensler Award
"And like all great poets, Ward lays bare his soul."
—Jacqueline Cutler, journalist and book reviewer for NJ.com
“A new voice: welcome it. BJ Ward’s, with a new idiom, new accents, new rhythms. Speaking to and for a new generation.… This is where it’s at now, he says, and he’s right. Singing and squawking. It’s beautiful to hear, encouraging to see.”
—Hayden Carruth, award-winning poet and literary critic
“In the chaos of my library I have my top book shelf of about thirty books of contemporary poets that I find jumpstart me when I have trouble writing. This book is on there. BJ Ward is part of my generation of poets (born in 1965 or after), but he has somehow fallen through the seams. He should be present in the canon forming anthologies but isn’t. This is a shame … The honest and seemingly simple texture and metaphor of his poems offer us much to help us live our lives.”
—Sean Thomas Dougherty, poet and author of nine books including Nightshift Belonging to Lorca
“In poems that both honor and transcend his blue collar roots, BJ Ward blends poignancy and humor with downright good story telling, and takes his place among the bright up-and-coming voices of his generation.”
—Stephen Dunn, poet and author of Different Hours, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
“BJ Ward knows about keeping the soul’s song alive against the things that hold down the sons of the world, including the sons who must forgive and the fathers who must reinvent themselves. These poems ache with the love of women, a delight in language, and a surety that self can be soldered out of the rebar and remnants of a closely observed internal landscape, one colored not so much with elegy, but ‘what might be called generosity.’ These poems have a humor that can be owned only after close attention to pain, giving way to a kind of heroic grace.”
—Laura McCullough, poet and author of Panic, winner of the Kinereth Gensler Award
In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month in May, we are sharing books by authors who share their individual stories, experiences, and lives. Find our full collection of books here.
For Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we are sharing books to educate and raise awareness about mental health and the various factors that may affect it, and to provide tools and resources for student wellness. Find our full collection of titles here.
Each May, we honor the stories, histories, and cultures of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Below is a selection of acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators to share with your students this month and throughout the year. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.
