Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art

Awarded the Michael L. Printz Honor Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art offers an original way to approach poetry and art—with works by distinguished American poets, specially commissioned for this book by editor Jan Greenberg.

What do we feel when we look at a great work of art? What does a poet feel?

Prompted by paintings, sculpture, prints, and photographs by American artists working in the 20th century, the poems in this collection lend a new meaning to “art appreciation” and make each page of Heart to Heart an exciting discovery.

Join such poets as Jane Yolen, Nancy Willard, X. J. Kennedy, Naomi Shihab Nye, David Mura, and Angela Johnson as they reveal a personal, heartfelt response to works by Thomas Hart Benton, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Grandma Moses, Faith Ringgold, Man Ray, Georgia O’Keeffe, and many others.

Whether the poems are playful, challenging, tender, mocking, humorous, sad, or sensual, each work of art, seen through the eyes of a poet, allows readers to look at the world with new insight.