George Ella Lyon

In George Ella Lyon's new collection of poems, Back to the Light, the poet traces the course of a woman's life from girlhood, with its breakages and consequent denials of voice and story, to recovery of those powers and mature feminine wisdom. The purpose of the book is described within the pages between the title and the introductory poem: a young girl's need for the speaker's reassurance. In turn, the collection serves as a map to guide her -- and us. Faced with the story of this female character and the denial of that same story by the world around her, the speaker turns to the Great Mother -- rather than the personal mother -- to reach new depths normally left in the shadows, beneath the surface. In doing so, the speaker reaches beyond the personal to the transpersonal. It is this transition that begins the healing process and helps the audience -- and the young girl -- situate the single story within the larger human story while forcefully reminding us that we are not alone as we make our way through the difficult passages of life. Accessible yet bracing, George Ella Lyon's Back to the Light stands to serve as yet another example of the Kentucky poet's ability to speak to her readers at the intersection of that which is both innately personal and politically powerful. This collection will be another excellent addition to the Press' poetry list.

Poems

Back to the Light

Stephanie Fizer Coleman

Time to Fly

Jennifer M. Potter

Poems about People Working for a Better World

Voices of Justice

Many-Storied House

Doubles are good for lots of things—double scoops of ice cream, double features at the movies. But double vision is NOT a good kind of double. In fact, it can make kindergarten kind of hard. Ginny sees double chairs at reading circle and double words in her books. She knows that only half of what she sees is real, but which half? The solution to her problem is wondrously simple: an eye patch! Ginny becomes the pirate of kindergarten.With the help of her pirate patch, Ginny can read, run, and even snip her scissors with double the speed! Vibrant illustrations from Lynne Avril capture the realities of what Ginny sees both before and after.

The Pirate of Kindergarten

A Novel

With a Hammer for My Heart

Benn Lyon

We’ve already learned that trucks roll, planes fly, and boats float. Now, all aboard for the fourth book in George Ella Lyon’s transportation series, and this time learn all about trains! Train travels down the track— all day gone all night back. Trains run! From steam engines to subways, from the locomotive to the caboose, this story stays right on track, exploring all different kinds of trains and what they do in a day.

Trains Run!

The whole community comes together to help Sharonda and Mama build their house!

You and Me and Home Sweet Home

In rhyming text the reader is introduced to all the different kinds of boats floating on rivers, lakes, oceans, and ponds.

Boats Float!

Born in the small, eastern Kentucky coal-mining town of Harlan, George Ella Lyon began her career with Mountain, a chapbook of poems. She has since published many more books in multiple genres and for readers of all ages, but poetry remains at the heart of her work. Many-Storied House is her fifth collection. While teaching aspiring writers, Lyon asked her students to write a poem based on memories rooted in a house where they had lived. Working on the assignment herself, Lyon began a personal journey, writing many poems for each room. In this intimate book, she strives to answer lingering questions about herself and her family: "Here I stand, at the beginning," she writes in the opening lines of the volume, "with more questions than / answers." Collectively, the poems tell the sixty-eight-year-long story of the house, beginning with its construction by Lyon's grandfather and culminating with the poet's memories of bidding farewell to it after her mother's death. Moving, provocative, and heartfelt, Lyon's poetic excavations evoke more than just stock and stone; they explore the nature of memory and relationships, as well as the innermost architecture of love, family, and community. A poignant memoir in poems, Many-Storied House is a personal and revealing addition to George Ella Lyon's body of work.

Silas House

Steven Borsman

Brittany Buchanan

Crystal Collett

Keri N. Collins

Danny Dyar

Katie Frensley

Yvonne Godfrey

Ethan Hamblin

Megan Rebecckiah Jones

Liz Kilburn

Zoe Minton

Kia L. Missamore

Desirae Negron

Marcus Plumlee

Emily Grace Sarver-Wolf

Lesley Sneed

Cassie Walters

Lucy Weakley

"In the Fall of 2010 I gave an assignment in my Appalachian Literature class at Berea College, telling my students to write their own version of "Where I'm From" poem based on the writing prompt and poem by George Ella Lyon, one of the preeminent Appalachian poets. I was so impressed by the results of the assignment that I felt the poems needed to be preserved in a bound document. Thus, this little book. These students completely captured the complexities of this region and their poems contain all the joys and sorrows of living in Appalachia. I am proud that they were my students and I am very proud that together we produced this record of contemporary Appalachian Life" -- Silas House

Poems from Students of Appalachian Literature

Where I'm from

All the Water in the World

Dazzled, a little girl listens to her old neighbor's story of following a falling star when he was a boy. He found it, too. He put it in her hands. But that's not all the starfinder has to tell. One day something found him. It's a story too good to keep. See for yourself.

My Friend, the Starfinder

The rhyming verse presents all sorts of "appetizing" meals to be had outdoors, including "puddle ink to drink," "gravel crunch for lunch, and "worms and dirt for dessert."

The Outside Inn

Even though their trailer is destroyed by a tornado, a young boy's family is grateful because they find his baby sister alive.

One Lucky Girl

From the author of Trucks Roll!, an up-in-the-clouds exploration of all things airplane. World’s mighty big but there’s just one sky and it’s yours to travel. Planes fly! Take to the skies with this fun, rhyming book about all that planes do! From jet planes to puddle jumpers, from the cockpit to the rudders, this book explores it all—and the bright, dynamic illustrations will keep even the youngest of readers engaged.

with audio recording

Planes Fly!

Lyon and Anderson deliver this beautifully rendered picture book that shows the process of how a tapestry comes to life--from the wool sheared from prize-winning sheep to being dyed to put on the loom. Full color.

Weaving the Rainbow

Offers the true-life story of Helen Delaney Martini, a woman who reared baby Bengal tigers, as well as other exotic animals, in her small Bronx apartment with the assistance of her zoo keeper husband.

Mother to Tigers

A celebration of holiday poetry, fiction, essays, recipes, and songs by more than sixty of the Bluegrass state's finest writers. Gathered here are writings from some of the legendary voices of Kentucky -- and the nation -- as well as original Christmas stories and poetry from some of the state's emerging talents. Among the contributors to this handsome collection are Kentucky's visionaries, storytellers, historians, singers, cooks, children's authors, and poets, including all five Kentucky Poet Laureates. A delight for anyone interested in Kentucky literature, history, or traditions, A Kentucky Christmas promises to be a wonderful holiday gift, a treasured family keepsake, and a necessary addition for libraries and for personal collections.

George Ella Lyon

About

Books

Join the club