I'm proud to showcase the nine authors who collaborated with me on OPEN MIC: RIFFS ON LIFE BETWEEN CULTURES IN TEN VOICES (an anthology published by Candlewick Press). The Horn Book had this to say about our book:"... In her preface to this nicely compact collection, Perkins suggests that humor can help smooth the way in discussions about race — if it’s used carefully, laughing with, not at ... Naomi Shihab Nye offers an eloquent poem about her Arab American dad, whose open friendliness made him 'Facebook before it existed.' ..."It is always a delight to share that the brilliant, award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye is a contributor. Here are a few lines from "Lexicon," an original OPEN MIC poem, that illustrate her ability to "combine transcendent liveliness and sparkle along with warmth and human insight," as the poet William Stafford once said:
... Remembering my father's daily sweetness,
the way some people make you better
just by stepping into a room.
He loved the freshness of anything—
crisp cucumbers, the swell of a new day.
The way skin feels after being washed.
I'm happy to see you!
The day just got happier ...
Naomi's award-winning books for children include Habibi, Sitti's Secrets, 19 Varieties of Gazelle, and the forthcoming The Turtle of Oman (HarperCollins, August 2014). I can't wait to read this newest novel.
Naomi's father was a Palestinian refugee, and she grew up in Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas, where she still lives and works. "Writing is the great friend that never moves away," she says. Find out more about Naomi and her work at the Steven Barclay Agency.