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Leslea Newman

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard Hardcover – September 25, 2012

by Leslea Newman (Author)

101 ratings

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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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 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.
Back matter includes an epilogue, an afterword, explanations of poetic forms, and resources.

Print length

128 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Candlewick
Publication date

September 25, 2012
Grade level

9 - 12
Reading age

14 years and up
Dimensions

5.44 x 0.51 x 9.38 inches
ISBN-10

0763658073
ISBN-13

978-0763658076
Lexile measure

NP
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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

From the Author

  October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard was eleven and a half years in the making.
            The book began on October 12, 1998, the day I flew across the country to give a speech entitled "Heather Has Two Mommies: Homophobia, Censorship, and Family Values" at the University of Wyoming in celebration of National Coming Out Day. But that day, there was little to celebrate. That day, the University of Wyoming campus, the town of Laramie, the state of Wyoming, and the entire nation were all grieving for Matthew Shepard, who had died early that morning from a beating so horrendous, its brutality shocked the world.
            As I stood behind the podium that evening, I caught sight of an empty seat in the very front row. I imagined Matt Shepard, whose picture had been splashed all over the newspapers, sitting there. I knew he had planned on coming to my lecture. I knew he had attended a meeting of the school's Lesbian Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Association to finish planning Gay Awareness Week the night he was attacked. I knew he had been robbed, kidnapped, beaten, and tied to a fence where he remained undiscovered for eighteen hours all because he was gay.
            That night I promised the people attending my lecture that I would do my best to make sure Matthew Shepard was not forgotten. To that end, I wrote an essay entitled "Imagine" and published it in regional LGBT newspapers across the country (a version of this essay appears as an after word in the book). I put together a slide show to go with the essay, and to this day, I begin all my lectures on gay rights with a tribute to Matt's memory. I tucked a photo of Matt inside my wallet, which I still carry with me wherever I go. I traveled to New York to attend The Laramie Project a play that consists of interviews conducted by the Tectonic Theater Project with the people of Laramie shortly after the crime. I attended a lecture given by Judy Shepard at the University of Massachusetts, and afterwards went back stage to greet her. Though I never met Matt Shepard, he became woven into the fabric of my life.
            Flash forward ten years to 2008, when something happened that was critical in the writing of October Mourning: I was appointed the poet laureate of Northampton, MA. This honor inspired me to focus fully on my first literary love, which has always been poetry. In the fall of 2009, near the end of my two-year term, I created a project entitled, "30 Poems in 30 Days" in which I challenged local poets to write a poem a day during the month of November. During the month of October, poets would solicit pledges (ranging from a penny a poem to a dollar a poem) and the money collected would be donated to a local literacy group.
            On October 12, 2009, the eleventh anniversary of Matt Shepard's death, something else happened that was crucial to the writing of my book: the play, The Laramie Project - Ten Years Later: An Epilogue premiered in 100 cities, including Northampton, MA. The Tectonic Theater Project had gone back to Wyoming ten years after Matthew Shepard's murder to interview the people of Laramie once more, to see what had and hadn't changed. The play was riveting, and it opened up something inside me. I remembered my time spent in Laramie vividly. I could see the mountains. I could hear the wind. And I could feel my grief over Matt's death as profoundly as I had on the day that he died.
            When I got into bed that night, I couldn't sleep. Instead, I picked up a pen and wrote the first draft of "Wounded". The next day, I wrote "The Fence (that night)." When November arrived, I knew that my 30 poems would explore Matt's death and its impact on the world.
            The poems poured out of me as if they had been cooped up for years. Always a morning writer, I found myself scribbling in the middle of the night, when I couldn't sleep. I imagined Matt out there in the prairie tied to the fence all alone, and decided to call upon the silent witnesses to the crime to give me their side of the story: the truck, the rope, the moon, the stars, the wind, a deer, Matt's shoes. The "30 Poems in 30 Days" project ended, but I continued writing a poem a day. When I had written 67 poems I felt finished. Almost.
            I had come to the end of the narrative, but it didn't feel like the end of the story. Something was missing. I didn't know what it was, but I knew I had to travel back to Wyoming to find it. A few months later, I flew to Denver, drove to Laramie, and visited the site where Matt's murder had taken place.
            As I walked across the prairie, the land felt spongy under my feet. Though it was April there were still patches of snow all around. The wind was brisk and very cold against my face. The fence was solid under my hand. I said Kaddish, the Jewish mourner's prayer, and placed a stone I had brought from home on the fence. Two hawks flew overhead. I stared at the sky, so big and open, and again wondered what it had witnessed that night more than a decade ago.
            And on April 12, 2010, eleven and a half years to the day Matthew Shepard died, I flew home and wrote the last poem of the book while soaring through the air. "Pilgrimage" takes its form from an ancient Navajo prayer, and incorporates lines from Jewish, Christian, and Buddhist traditions. The poem allows readers to pay their respects to Matt; it also reminds readers of the great beauty of the world and conveys a feeling of hope. My hope is that those who read October Mourning will be inspired to honor Matthew Shepard's legacy by working to replace hate, ignorance, and fear, with peace, compassion, and love.
                                                                                    --Lesléa Newman

About the Author

Lesléa Newman is the author of more than seventy books for children and adults, including the groundbreaking children's classic Heather Has Two Mommies. She has received poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation. She lives in Massachusetts.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick; 33360th edition (September 25, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0763658073
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0763658076
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ NP
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.44 x 0.51 x 9.38 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #928,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #147 in Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Issues
- #210 in Poetry for Teens & Young Adults
- #518 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Social & Family Violence (Books)

Customer Reviews:
101 ratings

About the author

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Leslea Newman

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Lesléa Newman is the author of 75 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, I CARRY MY MOTHER; the short story collection, A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK; and the children's books, A SWEET PASSOVER, THE BOY WHO CRIED FABULOUS, KETZEL, THE CAT WHO COMPOSED, and HEATHER HAS TWO MOMMIES. 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. Her newest poetry collection, I CARRY MY MOTHER is a book-length cycle of poems that explores a daughter's journey through her mother's illness and death. From diagnosis through yahrtzeit (one-year anniversary), the narrator grapples with what it means to lose a mother. The poems, written in a variety of forms (sonnet, pantoum, villanelle, sestina, terza rima, haiku, and others) are finely crafted, completely accessible, and full of startling, poignant, and powerful imagery. These poems will resonant with all who have lost a parent, relative, spouse, friend, or anyone whom they dearly love.

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Top reviews from the United States

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B. J. Neary

October Mourning by Leslea Newman

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2012

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.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

knb

Usually I hate Verse Novels...But...

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2013

Verified Purchase

I love this one. I am a visual artist and do not express myself with words very well. That's one of the reasons I enjoy reading is finding beauty in words and the storytelling. The foreshadowing and mood setting with word choice. This is a different but beautiful art form. Poetry with iambic pentameter and rhyme schemes that I cannot figure out make it hard for me to get the beauty of the roll, the stops of the word. Concrete poems I understand, dual voice poems check, Haikus gotcha. But when it is important to a verse novel for me to understand the rhyming pattern and the emphasis of words, I feel like I lose some of the beauty reading gives me since I miss out on emphasis that I can later going back understand was foreshadowing to set the mood.

This book uses multiple types of poetry to tell basically a single paige point of view of someone or something that was present of affected by this hate crime. And while some do have the elements I don't like, the author has given an index of the poems numbered and described how the poem works in its place and what kind of poem it is. I recommend waiting till the end to look for ones you don't understand. It might breakup the thoughts and flows between poems.

So, this verse novel gives the events of a tragic murder of a gay boy named Matthew Shepard. I begins before he is killed, what he is thinking about in the club, when he is beaten and tied to a fencepost and ultimately dies. Multiple viewpoints are given throughout the book. What the stars saw, what the mothers of others felt for their sons. The fence that so sadly had to hold him up... And the mourning and fall out from a murder of hate. The sentencing, the hate-groups that agree...

It's deeply moving. interweaving different stories like yarn into a coherent start to finish book of what happened that night to the aftermath for the boy, his family, his killers, the community, and the LGBTQ community.

7 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Very Moving Book

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book was a fantastic book, it is written from many different points of view. It is a fast read but is so sad. Brough me to tears reading it. Would recommend this book to 13 y/o and up.

2 people found this helpful

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Kay L. Campbell

Encouraging poems from horrible event

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2013

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.

5 people found this helpful

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Adventure Reader

A wonderful tribute to a tragic incident

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2013

Verified Purchase

Leslea Newman did a fantastic job of creating numerous poems from different points of view, all surrounding the horrific incident in which two college boys murdered a fellow student, Matthew Shepard, by means of deception, kidnapping, and brutal murder, all because Matthew was gay.

Not only is the book creative in its design, but it stands as a device for raising awareness (to all ages) on issues such as LGBTQIA, bigotry/hate crimes, and the ramifications that affect more than just the victims and perpetrators of such ignorant crimes.

I highly recommend this book.

Helpful

Madison Kieffner

I Had to Buy This Book Again After Letting a Friend Borrow It That Couldn’t Let It Go

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2021

Verified Purchase

I loved the unique perspectives the narrator presents, and the honesty within each voice.

It doesn’t take 90 seconds of reading the book for me to be in tears. This is a raw account of exactly what cruelty and love is. This is a book I recommend to anyone I meet. This is an honest autopsy of human nature at both the most evil and pleasant ends.

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2013

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.

6 people found this helpful

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Tyler M

Highly Recommend this Book

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

I haven't had a chance to read the book, but Leslea Newman visited my college and did a reading from this book. I was lucky enough to have her sign my copy. It was a very moving book and the imagery is incredible. I highly recommend the book.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Ian Eagleton

Beautiful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

Beautiful, moving collection of poems!

Pablo Rednine

An astonishingly beautiful and sensitive collection of poetry about a horrific prejudice-motivated ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2016

Verified Purchase

An astonishingly beautiful and sensitive collection of poetry about a horrific prejudice-motivated murder of a young person. Very poignant and life-affirming in the midst of tragedy. Highly recommended.

Bee

Heartbreaking way of writing

Reviewed in Germany on June 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

A true story that made me shed tears over and over again. Might be that the poems in this book aren’t all part of the true story about Matthew, but they could be. This book left me heartbroken and ripped into pieces, but it was necessary and it’ll always be necessary to remember those queer kids that were killed for being queer. We won’t forget about you.

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