October mourning - Rambling Readers

Hardcover, 128 pages

English language

Published Nov. 15, 2012 by Candlewick.

ISBN:: 978-0-7636-5807-6

(1 review)

On the night of October 6, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old college student named Matthew Shepard was kidnapped from a Wyoming bar by two young men, savagely beaten, tied to a remote fence, and left to die. Gay Awareness Week was beginning at the University of Wyoming, and the keynote speaker was Lesléa Newman, discussing her book Heather Has Two Mommies. Shaken, the author addressed the large audience that gathered, but she remained haunted by Matthew’s murder. October Mourning, a novel in verse, is her deeply felt response to the events of that tragic day.

Using her poetic imagination, the author creates fictitious monologues from various points of view, including the fence Matthew was tied to, the stars that watched over him, the deer that kept him company, and Matthew himself. More than a decade later, this stunning cycle of sixty-eight poems serves as an illumination for readers too young to …

On the night of October 6, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old college student named Matthew Shepard was kidnapped from a Wyoming bar by two young men, savagely beaten, tied to a remote fence, and left to die. Gay Awareness Week was beginning at the University of Wyoming, and the keynote speaker was Lesléa Newman, discussing her book Heather Has Two Mommies. Shaken, the author addressed the large audience that gathered, but she remained haunted by Matthew’s murder. October Mourning, a novel in verse, is her deeply felt response to the events of that tragic day.

Using her poetic imagination, the author creates fictitious monologues from various points of view, including the fence Matthew was tied to, the stars that watched over him, the deer that kept him company, and Matthew himself. More than a decade later, this stunning cycle of sixty-eight poems serves as an illumination for readers too young to remember, and as a powerful, enduring tribute to Matthew Shepard’s life.

4 editions

Stephanie Jane reviewed October mourning by Lesléa Newman

A meaningful memorial

3 stars

I downloaded October Mourning from AudioSYNC having previously not been aware of either the book or its tragic inspiration. Leslea Newman was obviously profoundly traumatised by Matthew Shepherd's murder and hearing her words about meeting and speaking for his college friends and classmates is very moving. The poems themselves are simple in form with many using, or perhaps overusing, repetition or listing to make their points. I liked the idea of the variety of viewpoints, human, animal and object and found myself having an unexpectedly emotional response to the poem of the fence. None of the poems stand strongly on their own, but as a collection I think this book is a meaningful memorial. I was surprised by how many poems described more violence being the demanded result of the murder. The father's poem was obviously meant ironically, but the prison guard's 'bang their heads together' and the appalling behaviour …

I downloaded October Mourning from AudioSYNC having previously not been aware of either the book or its tragic inspiration. Leslea Newman was obviously profoundly traumatised by Matthew Shepherd's murder and hearing her words about meeting and speaking for his college friends and classmates is very moving. The poems themselves are simple in form with many using, or perhaps overusing, repetition or listing to make their points. I liked the idea of the variety of viewpoints, human, animal and object and found myself having an unexpectedly emotional response to the poem of the fence. None of the poems stand strongly on their own, but as a collection I think this book is a meaningful memorial. I was surprised by how many poems described more violence being the demanded result of the murder. The father's poem was obviously meant ironically, but the prison guard's 'bang their heads together' and the appalling behaviour of the Christians at Matthew's funeral made me nervous for the future. Solving violence with hatred and more violence is never a good answer.

Subjects

Murder
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Law & Crime
Juvenile fiction
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Social Issues / Homosexuality
Fiction
Gays
Hate crimes
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Poetry / General
Novels in verse

Places

Laramie (Wyo.)