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\nToday, I’m celebrating two things \u2014 the fact that the Poetry Foundation named poet Naomi Shihab Nye the 2019\u20132021 Young People\u2019s Poet Laureate<\/a><\/strong> and<\/em> the art of Melissa Sweet<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n
When Melissa heard the news about Naomi this week, she was inspired and created this collage above. (I saw it on Melissa’s Instagram feed<\/a><\/strong>, squealed, and secured her permission to share it here today.) This is an excerpt from Naomi’s poem, “Famous.” You can read the poem in its entirety here<\/a><\/strong>, which I highly recommend. It’s always been one of my favorite poems by her (and, really, simply one of my favorite poems). Naomi’s work has meant so much to me over the years \u2014 as a reader, as a librarian, as a writer, and as a parent. I’m thrilled she’s the next Young People’s Poet Laureate. She will do good work. <\/p>\n I thank Melissa for sharing. She says she’d like to be a buttonhole (or a button!). Yes. Me too. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.<\/p>\n 1)<\/strong><\/font> Seeing Sam Phillips<\/a><\/strong> live in L.A. last week was a bucket-list kind of happiness. The show was incredible, and it meant a lot to me that my daughters finally got to see her live. Afterwards, Sam came out to say hi to her fans, and we all got to chat for a moment. <\/p>\n 2)<\/strong><\/font> We also had dinner before the show with other super Sam-fans (one who flew in from New Zealand!), whom I know from the online world. It was great to meet them in person. <\/p>\n 3)<\/strong><\/font> We also saw some museums in L.A. and rode a Ferris wheel on the shore in Santa Monica. <\/p>\n 4)<\/strong><\/font> For my birthday last week, my 13-year-old drew me a picture of one of my favorite song lyrics from Neko Case<\/a><\/strong> (a lyric from the song “Winnie”<\/a><\/strong>). After I got Ada’s permission to share part of the drawing on Twitter (because I figured Neko Case might appreciate it), she (Neko, that is) responded happily that she enjoyed seeing the drawing. Well, here it is: How can it ever get better than this? \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\ude2d https:\/\/t.co\/E3vh8ssLeD<\/a><\/p>\n — Neko Case (@NekoCase) May 7, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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