From Amazon:
An ode to imagination and the power of “if,” this exhilarating poetry collection features the voices of thirty-one diverse poets.
Imagine what you could do with if. Build a tree house, ride your bike back in time, catch a firefly like a tiny star in the palm of your hands and let it go to make a wish—anything, when it starts with if. Because if is where your imagination begins, where the impossible becomes possible, if only you imagine. And if you do, just think of how much better our world could be. Thirty-one poets, selected by “poetic forever friends” and frequent collaborators Irene Latham and Charles Waters, begin each of their poems with the word if and imagine the possibilities the gift of if can hold. Olivia Sua’s cut-paper and painted-mosaic illustrations add warmth and meaning to the poems, allowing the reader’s mind to soar with possibility. In an end note, the anthologists offer insight into their selection process, aimed at gathering a comprehensive and representative collection of poems.
A fresh, appealing anthology that celebrates the freedom inherent in possibility.
Thirty-one poets contemplate all that the word if might portend.
In addition to drawing from previously published works, the anthologists issued an open call for submissions. First-time published poets appear alongside Emily Dickinson, Nikki Grimes, Joseph Bruchac, Janet Wong, and more. The unifying theme yields ruminations both sky-high and intimately observed. The work opens with Latham and Waters’ poem “Welcome,” followed by 29 entries divided into four sections. Amy Ludwig VanDerwater suggests that learning the name, markings, and song of “just one bird” can be transformative. “You will feel big and small at once / if you learn the name of just one bird.” Two poems examine youngsters’ nighttime fears in distinct ways. Siv Cedering’s “If a Bad Dream Comes” reimagines the child’s bed as a protective house, while Teresa Owens Smith’s “Opening Windows” urges an expansive reaction to sleeplessness: “Search the dark sea of the night sky. / Your dreams are hiding there. / …Grab the stars and let moonlight dance inside you.” Lacresha Berry harnesses powerful, self-affirming imagery: “If I imagine / sunlight made me / my soul soars / like a blackbird / chirping in celebration / of my midnight wings / without anyone / telling me / I am too dark / to be related / to the sun.”
Sua’s charming mixed-media illustrations, which make wonderful use of collage, echo and extend the poets’ imagery, depicting oft-joyous children with varied skin tones and hair textures.
