Exploring A Universe of Rainbows: Poetry Meets Science with Matt Forrest Esenwine

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Happy Poetry Month!

This week we welcome Matt Forrest Esenwine, poetry's champion and ambassador, to the podcast to talk about his new anthology, A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World. 

What do Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring, Peru's Vinicunca mountain, the star Betelgeuse, and a drop of water have in common? Rainbows!

Are you looking for a poetry anthology with kid appeal that also packs in fascinating science about all sorts of rainbows from sundogs to rainbow lorikeets, rainbow eucalyptus, and rainbow nebula? If so, check out A Universe of Rainbows, released this week and featuring contributions from such greats as 

• Nikki Grimes 
• Matt Forrest Esenwine 
• Renee M. LaTulippe 
• Joyce Sidman 
• Irene Latham 
• David L. Harrison 
• Heidi E. Y. Stemple & Jane Yolen 
• Amy Ludwig VanDerwater 
• Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy 
• Rebecca Kai Dotlich 
• Marilyn Singer 
• Charles Waters 
• Laura Purdie Salas 
• Charles Ghigna 
• Lee Wardlaw 
• Janet Wong 
• Allan Wolf 
• Georgia Heard

Each selection explores a new rainbow--and not just the ones in the sky. In haiku, free verse, and other forms, the poets capture marvels like crystals, pilot glories, Gouldian finches, and marble caves. Acclaimed illustrator Jamey Christoph brings each rainbow to life in brilliant color and playful detail. 

Book Giveaway

Email [email protected] by 4/11/25 for your chance to win a copy of A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World

Links

• Matt Forrest Esenwine's Website
• Get to Know Matt Forrest Esenwine on Ep 12 of the Adventures in Learning Podcast
• Order Matt's books

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*Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.