Trellises & Thorns - Paperback

by Pam Laskin (Author), Elissa Cohen (Artist)

Indeed, there is much to fill our hearts with grief, post-covid: two wars, in Ukraine and the Middle East; a virus which just won't go away; people whose lives have been shattered by illness, politics and loneliness. These are the "thorns" of our existence, and they have pierced the hearts of humanity. The greatness of any garden is as weeds take over and plants die, what grows in its place is often new, beautiful and different. These are the "trellises" which continue to bloom and grow: friends; family; the connections which ultimately bind us to this world. TRELLISES AND THORNS does a superb job of exploring the grief and elegance in this world, both of which are inextricably bound.

Author Biography

Pamela L. Laskin is a lecturer in the English Department at City College, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate Children's Writing, and directs the Poetry Outreach Center. Several of her children's and poetry books have been published. Ronit And Jamil, A Palestinian/Israeli Romeo And Juliet in verse was published by Harper Collins in 2017, and was named among the 35 books to have on your radar for 2017. Bea, a picture book, was a finalist for the Katherine Paterson Prize for Children's Fiction in 2018. She is the winner of the 2018 International Fiction Prize from Leapfrog Press, and Why No Goodbye?, an epistolary novel about the Rohingya Muslims, was published in 2019. The Operating System published a bilingual picture book, Monster Maria / Marisol y El Huracán María (2018), which is about Hurricane Maria, and is being used as a fundraiser for after-school programs in Puerto Rico. Linus Press published MY SECRET WISH about families seeking asylum, and is also being used as a fundraiser for Immigrant Families Together. Cervena Barva Press just published WORDS UNWHISPERED (2023), her first book of ghazals. The Lost Language Of Crazy, a middle grade-novel, was published in November, 2021 (Atmosphere Press). She is currently at work with Ukrainian author Vasyl Makhno on a YA novel in verse, WISTERIA AND WEEDS, whose focus is on the war in the Ukraine, and what it means for the lives of teens. Finally, she is this year's (2023) recipient of Judith's Room Freedom Through Literacy Board option prize for her current novel.