Have You Heard? Poetry and Novels in Verse

From literary greats like Emily Dickinson to modern poets writing novels in verse, check out these 30 books available now at Plano Public Library.

Below you’ll find audiobook recommendations from the Plano Public Library. This is just a sample of the audiobooks in our collection, and you can visit a library location for assistance in finding personalized recommendations.

Adult:

Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong, narrated by Ocean Vuong. In concert with the themes of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, as Vuong continues, through his work, his profound exploration of personal trauma, of what it means to be the product of an American war in America, and how to circle these fragmented tragedies to find not a restoration, but the epicenter of the break. Print / eAudiobook.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer, narrated by Kate Baer. A collection of erasure poems created from notes she received from followers, supporters and detractors—an art form that reclaims the vitriol from online trolls and inspires readers to transform what is ugly or painful in their own lives into something beautiful. Print / eAudiobook.

I Would Leave me if I Could by Halsey, narrated by Halsey. Grammy Award-nominated, platinum-selling musician Halsey is heralded as one of the most compelling voices of their generation. In I Would Leave Me If I Could, they reveal never-before-seen poetry of longing, love, and the nuances of bipolar disorder. Print / eAudiobook.

Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan, narrated by Sarah Crossan. After her lover is killed in an accident, estate lawyer Ana seeks friendship with the one person who shares her pain: his widow, Rebecca. Print / eAudiobook / eBook.

Make me Rain by Nikki Giovanni, narrated by Nikki Giovanni. The seven-time NAACP Image Award-winning poet unapologetically celebrates her heritage in a deeply personal collection of verse that speaks to the injustices of society and the depths of her own heart. Print / eAudiobook.

Beowulf: A new Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley, narrated by JD Jackson. A man seeks to prove himself as a hero. A monster seeks silence in his territory. A warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. A dragon ends it all. The familiar elements of the epic poem are seen with a novelist’s eye toward gender, genre, and history. eAudiobook / eBook.

Poet Warrior: a Memoir by Joy Harjo, narrated by Joy Harjo. In the second memoir from the first Native American to serve as US poet laureate, Joy Harjo invites us to travel along the heartaches, losses, and humble realizations of her “poet-warrior” road. Print / Playaway / eBook / Large print.

Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson. Volume I by Emily Dickinson, read by Meryl Streep, Stephanie Beacham, Glenda Jackson, and Staron Stone. Beginning always with particulars of personal experience, Emily Dickinson’s poems encompass life and death, love and longing, joyfulness and sorrow. With sparse, precise language, she conveys a penetrating vision of the natural world and an acute understanding of the most profound human truths. Playaway.

Metamorphoses by Ovid, read by Barry Kraft. Metamorphoses, the best-known poem by one of the wittiest poets of classical antiquity, takes as its theme change and transformation, as illustrated by Greco-Roman myth and legend. Print / Playaway.

The Aeneid by Virgil, read by Frederick Davidson. Fleeing the ruins of Troy, Aeneas must fight his battles with little notion that Jupiter has ordained that the Trojan champion shall promulgate a race that will be the forebears of Rome. Print / Playaway.

Teen:

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo. Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. Print / Playaway / Book on CD / eAudiobook / eBook / Large print.

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman, narrated by Amanda Gorman. On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet, at age twenty-two, to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Her inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb,” is now available to cherish in this special edition. Print/ eAudiobook / eBook / Spanish.

The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices of the Donner Party by Allan Wolf, read by various narrators. A novel in verse by the author of The Watch That Ends the Night recounts the chilling survival tale of the Donner party during the 1846-1847 winter from the perspectives of its leaders, a scholarly wife, two Miwok guides, the Reed children, and other historical figures. Print / Playaway / Book on CD.

Bull by David Elliott, narrated by Cheris Boothe and Korey Jackson. A modern twist on the Theseus and Minotaur myth, told in verse. Print / Playaway.

To Stay Alive: Mary Ann Graves and the Tragic Journey of the Donner Party by Skila Brown, narrated by Lauren Ezzo. A young survivor of the tragic Donner Party of 1846 describes how her family and others became victims of freezing temperatures and starvation. Print / Playaway.

Ordinary Hazards: a Memoir by Nikki Grimes, narrated by the author. In her own voice, acclaimed author and poet Nikki Grimes explores the truth of a harrowing childhood in a compelling and moving memoir in verse. Print / Playaway / eAudiobook / eBook.

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi with Yusef Salaam, read by Ethan Herisse. From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. Print / eAudiobook / eBook.

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta, read by the author. A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed poet and performer Dean Atta. Print / eAudiobook / eBook.

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough, read by Xe Sands. In Renaissance Italy, Artemisia Gentileschi endures the subjugation of women that allows her father to take credit for her extraordinary paintings, rape and the ensuing trial, and torture, buoyed by her deceased mother’s stories of strong women of the Bible. Print / eAudiobook.

Vinyl Moon by Mahogany L. Browne, narrated by Bahni Turpin. A teen girl hiding the scars of a past relationship finds home and healing in the words of strong Black writers. Print / eAudiobook.

Children’s:

Angels Ride Bikes and Other Fall Poems = Los ángeles andan en bicicleta y otros poemas de otoño by Francisco X. Alarcón. A bilingual collection of poems in which the renowned Mexican American poet revisits and celebrates his childhood memories of fall in the city and growing up in Los Angeles. Print / Wonderbook.

The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling, narrated by Casey Holloway. A year after the death of her mother in a restaurant shooting, Nora is left struggling to stay alive when a climbing trip with her father goes terribly wrong. Print / Playaway / eAudiobook / eBook / Large print.

Rebound by Kwame Alexander, narrated by Ron Butler. In the summer of 1988, twelve-year-old Chuck Bell is sent to stay with his grandparents, where he discovers jazz and basketball and learns more about his family’s past. Print / Playaway / eAudiobook / eBook / Large print.

Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes, narrated by James Shippy and Imani Parks. When sensitive and unathletic Garvey joins the choir, he finds his voice, his confidence, and a connection with his sports-minded father. Print / Playaway / eBook.

Inside out & back Again by Thanhha Lai, narrated by Doan Ly. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama. Print / Playaway / eAudiobook / eBook / Chinese / Large print.

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga, read by Vaneh Assadourian. Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative’s home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members who were left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises. Print / Playaway / eAudiobook / eBook.

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca, narrated by Priya Ayyar. A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia. Print / eAudiobook.

Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins, narrated by Dan Bittner and Brittany Pressley. Told in two voices, sixth-grade cousins Hannah and Cal learn a lot about family when circumstances throw them together under one roof and Hannah’s love of order clashes with Cal’s chaotic behavior. Print / eAudiobook / eBook.

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise our Voices edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, read by various narrators. What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice to young activists. Print / eAudiobook.

In the Beautiful Country by Jane Kuo, narrated by Sura Siu. Arriving in America, the so-called beautiful country, Anna, a young Taiwanese girl, finds it anything but beautiful as she and her family struggle to make a place for themselves in this world and learn the true meaning of home. Print / eAudiobook / eBook.