Wrapping up National Poetry Month

Also this week: Dustin Lance Black's mama memoir, Myla Goldberg's latest, and picks from our critics [Poets Kaveh Akbar, Fatimah Asghar, Ada Limon, Hieu Minh Nguyen and Ashley M. Jones.]( Illustration by LA Johnson/NPR National Poetry Month is over -- but we're wrapping it up in style with a bouquet of poets from our pals at Code Switch. Their work covers everything from immigrants' lives to connecting with animals to the ache of a mother lost too young. They're are spread all across the country, and have roots all over the world. [Dip in, find the poem -- or the excerpt of the poem -- that speaks to you.]( [Mama's Boy, by Dustin Lance Black]( Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black's new memoir is the story of two Americas, told through the lens of his relationship with his beloved mother, Anne. She grew up in the rural South, survived polio and, despite all odds, raised three boys, practically by herself. She was also deeply religious, and converted to Mormonism. Black was just as devoted -- until he realized he was gay. "I loved the food, I loved the community, I loved the security of the faith, even, but it also meant I had a lot of words, pejorative words to define being gay, by about the age of six. [Check out his conversation with NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro here.]( [Feast Your Eyes, by Myla Goldberg]( Myla Goldberg's new novel, Feast Your Eyes, takes the form of a catalogue accompanying a posthumous exhibition of work by the photographer Lillian Preston. The supposed catalogue describes 118 photos — but we don't see a single one, because Preston is fictional. But, says Goldberg, a lot of the photos in the book are based on descriptions of real images by the street photographers she spent years studying. "The wonderful thing about describing a photograph is you don't need the rights to it, because you're not putting the actual picture in the book," [she tells NPR's Ari Shapiro.]( Finally this week, critic Heller McAlpin says Spring -- the latest volume in Ali Smith's seasonal chronicle -- "[uncoils strikingly, like a vernal fern.]( NPR's own Malaka Gharib has [a new graphic memoir]( about growing up in California with a Filipino American and Egyptian family. And Denny S. Bryce says no matter what you think about football, Alexa Martin's sporty romance Fumbled [scores big.]( [Spring, by Ali Smith]( [I Was Their American Dream, by Malaka Gharib]( [Fumbled, by Alexa Martin]( -- Happy reading! --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [books@npr.org](mailto:books@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Pop Culture, Code Switch and more! [Facebook]( [Twitter]( You received this message because you're subscribed to our Books emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]