One Step Forward,  Poetry Friday

Poetry Friday: Cover Reveal for ONE STEP FORWARD

February 15, 2024 /
Margaret at Reflections on the Teche is our host today. Hop on over there for the roundup. 
 
 

Cover Reveal

I’m so excited today to reveal the cover of my forthcoming verse novel ONE STEP FORWARD.
 
This gorgeous cover art was done by Babeth Lafon. The details in this cover are just perfect.
 
ONE STEP FORWARD is coming out from Versify on September 10, 2024 and is now available for pre-order.
 
 
Places to preorder:
 
 
It’s the story of Matilda Young, the youngest suffragist to be jailed for protesting in front of the White House. She was imprisoned at Occoquan Workhouse, just a few miles from my house. She lived in Washington, DC her whole life. At Occoquan, she was one of the women (a teen at the time) who suffered violence at the workhouse on the Night of Terror in 1917.
 
Photo Credit: Library of Congress
 
It’s a young adult, historical fiction verse novel, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
 
 

Haiku of the Week

 
I walk among trees
they listen to my whispers—
Votes for Women
 
Photo Taken: Meridian Hill Park, Washington, DC 2019 
Haiku Written: February 14, 2024
 
 
I don’t usually try to explain my haiku, but I think today’s deserves a bit of an explanation. When I was writing the book, I took the walk that Matilda Young would have taken from Central High School (now Cardoza High School) to her family’s home near Adams Morgan.
 
I know this is where she went to high school because I was able to get ahold of her high school yearbooks thanks to DC Public Library’s Washingtonia Collection.
 
I took pictures of the row houses and the Meridian Hill Park which she likely walked past on her way home. The property has belonged to the U.S. Government since 1910. Matilda graduated from Central High School in 1916.
 
This photo was taken at Meridian Hill Park, and I like to think Matilda Young talked to the trees.

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