October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard [Hardcover]

Leslea Newman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 25, 2012

WINNER OF A 2013 STONEWALL HONOR!

A masterful poetic exploration of the impact of Matthew Shepard’s murder on the world.

On the night of October 6, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old college student named Matthew Shepard was lured 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* On October 6, 1998, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was lured into a truck, driven into the country, savagely beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die—which he did, five days later. In the 68 poems that make up this novel-in-verse, Newman re-creates the events and circumstances surrounding this unspeakably vile hate crime and offers a moving tribute to a young man she regards as a martyr. Her poems are told from multiple points of view, including that of the fence, the rope that bound the boy, and a doe that stood watch over him. The beautifully realized selections are also written in a variety of forms, ranging from haiku to villanelle, from concrete poetry to rhymed couplets. Each form (discussed in an appendix) matches the tone and mood of its content, creating an almost musical effect that is both intellectually and aesthetically engaging. Written with love, anger, regret, and other profound emotions, this is a truly important book that deserves the widest readership, not only among independent readers but among students in a classroom setting, as well. Most importantly, the book will introduce Matthew Shepard to a generation too young to remember the tragic circumstances of his death. Grades 8-12. --Michael Cart

Review

"This is the one book I've reviewed so far this year that I believe must be read by everyone ages 14 and up. It takes less than an hour to read; but it will likely stay with the reader for a long time to come. Highly recommended for both YA and adult poetry collections." -- Ingram News and Reviews for the Youth Librarian

Written with love, anger, regret, and other profound emotions, this is a truly important book that deserves the widest readership, not only among independent readers but among students in a classroom setting, as well. Most importantly, the book will introduce Matthew Shepard to a generation too young to remember the tragic circumstances of hisdeath.
—Booklist (starred review)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (September 25, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763658073
• ISBN-13: 978-0763658076
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.5 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Gay

More About the Author

Lesléa Newman is the author of 64 books for readers of all ages including the teen novel in verse, OCTOBER MOURNING: A SONG FOR MATTHEW SHEPARD; the middle grade novel, HACHIKO WAITS; the poetry collection, STILL LIFE WITH BUDDY; the short story collection, A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK; and the children's books, A SWEET PASSOVER, THE BOY WHO CRIED FABULOUS, THE BEST CAT IN THE WORLD, RUNAWAY DREIDEL! and MATZO BALL MOON. Her literary awards include poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation. OCTOBER MOURNING: A SONG FOR MATTHEW SHEPARD was named an American Library Association 2013 Stonewall Honor Book, and A SWEET PASSOVER was named a 2013 Sydney Taylor Honor as well. A past poet laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts, she is a faculty member of Spalding University's brief-residency MFA in Writing program.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must October 24, 2012

By haleylj

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a collection that everyone should read. Moving, informative, powerful. I was very young when Matthew Shepard's murder occurred and I think it is imperative that people my age and younger read this book. Things need to change and they cannot without knowledge. Read this collection and pass it on.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Perfect. May 21, 2013

By AeonDolphin

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this product for a theatre project and it one of the greatest books I've ever read related to LGBT issues. It's thoughful, artistic, and lists it's resources in full so the reader can do plenty of independent study.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging poems from horrible event March 25, 2013

By Kay L. Campbell

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Newman's diary of poems runs up and down the dial of viewpoints and emotions telling the feeling of many people -- and some other beings and non-beings as well -- surrounding the torture and murder of Matthew Shepard, the young gay student. But here's the deal: These poem spring out of horror, and I would never have purchased the book had I not had the opportunity to look through it first (a friend's copy). One finishes the collection (which can also be read piecemeal) feeling more encouraged and empowered than horrified. Bravo to Newman for accomplishing the impossible and demonstrating how something beautiful can come out of something unspeakable.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars October Mourning February 20, 2013

By Jenni French

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wow. I almost wish I was still teaching so I could use this book during Poetry Month. Not only has Newman written some beautiful poems, but she also used a wide variety of poetic forms and styles. Wow. This book was so amazingly excellent. I'm undecided about whether I should donate this book so others can share in it, or if I should just keep it under my pillow.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving and haunting collection of poems January 9, 2013

By Hilary Hyland

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This slim volume of verse depicts various points of view and a powerful reminder of the tragic murder of Matthew Shepard. It's a book that should be shared with everyone.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars October Mourning is difficult to read, but you must January 5, 2013

By kbgressitt

Format:Hardcover

Why do we write poetry? Is it for ourselves as much as for others, a way to confront, explore, capture a fragment of enlightenment? Do we write poetry to cleanse us of corruption, remind us of our limitations, celebrate our vision, our diversity, to reveal a human tragedy in art?

In Lesléa Newman's new collection of poems, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard, published by Candlewick Press, she does all of these things, to great effect and with aching sorrow.

Newman is an award-winning poet and author of such iconic books as Heather Has Two Mommies, and nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists.

In October Mourning, she shares the results of her years-long struggle to understand what happened to gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard on a deadly October night in 1998, outside Laramie, Wyo.

Newman had struggled to understand why Matthew was beaten, tied to a split-rail fence, and abandoned to death. To understand how two young men became brutal murderers, and what impacts the murders had on the world. To understand why a doe settled nearby Matthew and waited with the dying, why mothers tell their children not to talk to strangers. To understand what thoughts the prosecutor and defense attorney harbored, what groceries the $20 stolen from Matthew would have bought, why the fence was there, what Matthew might have done in the 18 hours that passed before he was found....

WHAT YOU CAN DO IN EIGHTEEN HOURS

By Lesléa Newman

Write a term paper
Cram for a final

Fly across the ocean
Drive cross-country

Scale a mountain
Run a marathon

Deliver a baby
Read War and Peace

Fall in love
Fall out of love

See the moon disappear
Watch the sun rise and set

Wait to be discovered
lashed to a fence

Shivering under a blanket
of stars

Newman pursued understanding of it all through poetry. But some might challenge whether poetry can help us to understand the confluence of events and actions, of experience and prejudice, that became the death of Matthew--because it is all just too difficult.

Indeed, Matthew's death was difficult for the nation to imagine. It was difficult for the LGBT community to imagine. It was difficult to imagine what any one of those involved in the murder was doing, much less thinking. And this is what Newman's poetry offers readers: She has done the imagining for us, with diverse poetic form and wrenching insight.

"I have tried my hardest to imagine the last hours of Matthew Shepard's life before he lost consciousness," Newman wrote in the book's afterward. "It is impossible to fathom the raw fear he surely felt as he begged for his life. As a poet, I know it's part of my job to use my imagination. It's part of my job as a human being, too. Because only if each of us imagines that what happened to Matthew Shepard could happen to any one of us will we be motivated to do something. And something must be done."

October Mourning is difficult to read, but this is why you must, because something must be done, still, after all these years. And, because you must read October Mourning, you will want to pause between each poem, resist the image Newman has artfully created, then allow it in, feel what she felt, perhaps what Matthew felt, put the book down, weep, pick it up again, read the next poem, repeat the above.

And, as Newman hopes, "Be inspired to make a difference." Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars October Mourning by Leslea Newman November 16, 2012

By B. J. Neary

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I want to thank Lauren S. for this wonderful gift to our library and with it her advice that it is a must read for young adults. I wholeheartedly concur; in 68 poems in this spare, yet piercing novel in verse, the author was scheduled to speak at Matthew Shepard's college and found out just before about the savage beating this young man received. Leslea Newman kept her keynote engagement and spoke and wept at the sheer horror of this hate crime toward an innocent victim who succumbs to death 5 days later. Newman has taken many elements of Matthew Shepard's last hours and imagined what may have been; the road, the fence he was lashed to, the biker, the murderers, the pistol, the deer and so much more. This book is a tribute to Matthew Shepard who died as a result of a hate crime at the hands of gay haters. This book is also a history lesson that every child, young adult and reader needs to explore because in the reading of this book, you will be changed. This book needs to be read by everyone.
I especially gained even more knowledge through the author's introduction, her epilogue, her afterword, notes, explanation of poetic forms and resources. Newman brings sympathy, anger, sorrow, and compassion to each and every word in this book. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible surprise November 6, 2012

By hillary

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As someone who does not regularly enjoy poetry outside the kinds of Shel Silverstein, I was hesitant to read October Mourning. However, after reading just the first entry I was blown away. Needless to say I finished it in one sitting and since have returned time and time again to re-examine my favorite poems. Newman does an incredible job taking on different perspectives and it raises the book to another level of creativity and effectiveness. As someone who was very young at the time of Matthew Shepard's death after reading October Mourning I was ashamed I had never heard of him. Everyone needs to read this book, whether you like poetry or not, and especially if you do not know Matthew Shepard's story- it is a must!!!