Selections from Nancy Willardโs acclaimed volumes of poetry and prose
This diverse collection features some of Nancy Willardโs most critically lauded poetryโincluding works from her Newbery Medalโwinning volume,ย A Visit to William Blakeโs Innโas well as her short fiction and four unconventional essays on writing.
Hens, children, magic bottles, and the moon are just some of the characters running through the luminous musings gathered here. โHow to Stuff a Pepperโ becomes a heady discourse on the thoughts and sleeping habits of peppers. โThe Doctrine of the Leather-Stocking Jesusโ and โThe Hucklebone of a Saintโ are tales about the power of superstition to shape our lives. Other stories showcase favorite Willard themes about God, religion, and the magic and mysticism in everyday lifeโand the ancestors, guardians, saints, and spirits who, in Willardโs words, come back โonce in a while to keep an eye on us, the living.โ
A paean to the power of storytelling,ย A Nancy Willard Readerย is an essential volume for poetry and fiction lovers.