Cast Away by Naomi Shihab Nye

Cast Away

Poems of Our Time

Naomi Shihab Nye

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · February 9, 2021

“Nye at her engaging, insightful best.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Acclaimed poet and Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than eighty original and never-before-published poems.

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Who it’s for
Poems find wit and feeling in what gets discarded, from wrappers to human burdens.
Themes
Waste and environmental responsibility, Community and connection, Immigration and refugees
Pacing
Reflective

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About this book

“Nye at her engaging, insightful best.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Acclaimed poet and Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than eighty original and never-before-published poems. A deeply moving, sometimes funny, and always provocative poetry collection for all ages. “How much have you thrown away in your lifetime already?

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Do you ever think about it? Where does this plethora of leavings come from? How long does it take you, even one little you, to fill the can by your desk?” ?Naomi Shihab Nye National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Poet Laureate, and devoted trash-picker-upper Naomi Shihab Nye explores these questions and more in this original collection of poetry that features more than eighty new poems. “I couldn’t save the world, but I could pick up trash,” she says in her introduction to this stunning volume. With poems about food wrappers, lost mittens, plastic straws, refugee children, trashy talk, the environment, connection, community, responsibility to the planet, politics, immigration, time, junk mail, trash collectors, garbage trucks, all that we carry and all that we discard, this is a rich, engaging, moving, and sometimes humorous collection for readers ages twelve to adult. Includes ideas for writing, recycling, and reclaiming, and an index.

What We Discard

Poems find wit and feeling in what gets discarded, from wrappers to human burdens.

Come here for

  • Everyday litter alongside questions of responsibility and belonging
  • A balance of humor, provocation, and tenderness

Expect

  • More than eighty original poems
  • Ideas for writing, recycling, and reclaiming

Where it sits

Recycling & Green Living63%
Poetry62%
Protecting the Planet48%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Creative Writing
  • Protecting the Planet
  • Exploring Places
  • Poetry
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Poverty & Homelessness
  • Immigration & Emigration
  • Recycling & Green Living
  • Poetry for Teens
Authors
Naomi Shihab Nye
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
February 9, 2021
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Waste and environmental responsibility · Community and connection · Immigration and refugees
Reading lane
Creative Writing