A Universe of Poets – Creating a Debut Anthology

Guest Post by Matt Forrest Esenwine

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a type-A kind of person or if it’s because I’m too ignorant for my own good – but when it comes to writing, I never shy away from a challenge or an opportunity.

Or a challenging opportunity.

Take, for instance, my decision to try to publish my very own poetry anthology.

Please understand, this idea was not entirely out of my comfort zone. I’ve contributed poems to numerous anthologies over the years, such as Lee Bennett Hopkins’ NCTE-Notable “Construction People” (Wordsong, 2020) and J. Patrick Lewis’ “The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry (N.G. Kids, 2015) – but had never created one from scratch!

Fortunately, I have an overabundance of self-confidence; that, along with a phone conversation with Lee helped solidify the project that would eventually become my debut poetry anthology:
“A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored poems for a Multicolored World,” from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers!

The concept originally came to me while brainstorming potential picture book ideas during Tara Lazar’s “Storystorm” event back in Jan. 2019. I thought a poetry collection about rainbows – from normal rainbows we see in the sky to phenomena like pilot’s glories, animals like the Gouldian finch, and even the Rainbow Nebula in the constellation Orion – might have potential.

But the more I thought about it – about rainbows being symbols of hope and inclusion – the more I realized an anthology that brought together lots of diverse voices and styles could be just the ticket!

Lee and I discussed my plan a couple of weeks later and he agreed I might have a solid concept on my hands. He also agreed to write a poem for it. Alas, that following August, Lee’s friends learned he had passed away. But I had already begun submitting the proposal and I was still going to move forward!

Working without an agent, I knew if I was going to attempt to add ‘anthologist’ to my resume, the book needed to be as good as possible. I figured that by inviting poet friends like Nikki Grimes, Charles Ghigna, Charles Waters, Joyce Sidman, Jane Yolen, and others it would be!

So I “front-loaded” the anthology, so to speak – that is, I included 4 or 5 completed poems a handful of poets and I had written, along with a near-complete list of all the contributors and subjects. This way, prospective editors would know I was fully capable of pulling off a debut anthology comprised of some of the most highly-esteemed names in children’s poetry.

After suffering a couple of rejections, I was thrilled when editor Kathleen Merz at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers – who had previously worked with Lee on several of his anthologies – told me she loved the premise of my book and wanted to pick it up!

I immediately began contacting all the contributors to let them know they could begin working on their poems.

As part of my proposal, I had explained that sidebars would accompany the poems; however, I held off on writing any of them until I after I’d worked on revisions with some of the poets and nailed down the final versions of the poems.

You see, I wanted to keep the poetry as the focus of the book. Yes, there would be multiple layers to the book like sidebars providing a scientific angle, a glossary, and a page of links for additional info – but I really wanted the poems to be poems, and not science lessons.

I’ll be honest here:  I absolutely detest poems that are didactic or fact-heavy; whether they are rhyming or not, formal or free verse, I want poetry for poetry’s sake. If the poems for my book were too detail-oriented, they would feel dry and lifeless and there’d be no need for sidebars. Conversely, if the poems were full of imagery and emotion but the sidebars were too heavy, the book might not feel cohesive.

So by first allowing the poets to write their poems however they wanted, and then writing the sidebars, I was able to tie everything together.

Speaking of tying things together, have you seen Jamey Christoph’s incredible illustrations? Every page jumps out at you with color, life, and fluidity. I couldn’t be happier!

I’m eager to share “A Universe of Rainbows” with the world and see what others think; so far, positive reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus are a good sign my process seemed to work. I have another future anthology coming out from Eerdmans and a third anthology from another publisher (both likely 3 years or more out, alas), so who knows where this new career path will lead.

I only wish Lee could see this book, as every contributor was a friend and collaborator of his. But as the dedication states, his colorful spirit lives on in each of us – and there is no better proof of that than this very book!