Happy Poetry Friday! Thanks to Molly for hosting this week! Please visit Nix the Comfort Zone for Molly’s Wendell Berry prompt as well as this week’s Poetry Friday roundup. Want to know more about Poetry Friday? Check out: What in the World is Poetry Friday.
I am truly enjoying the postcard swap with Poetry Friday friends. Thank you so much for celebrating the year of the Fire Horse by sharing such gorgeous artwork and poetry. Tabetha, Linda M., Mary Lee, and Patricia - you are each an inspiration!
Thank you also to Eerdman’s Books For Young Readers for sharing an advance copy of Poems for Every Season by Bette Westera with illustrations by Henriette Boerendans, translated from Dutch to English by David Colmer. This gentle collection wanders through the year from spring through winter with reflections on a quaint farmhouse and woodland creatures in their seasonal finery.
Each season rolls in on a delicate haiku and meanders through the months with a variety of poetic forms. I spotted a few forms that our Poetry Friday friends have previously posed as writing challenges – such as the month of June's pantoum. A favorite form of mine is, of course, the double dactyl. Because it’s difficult to maintain rhyme, and especially meter, in translated works, David Colmer acknowledges taking some liberties with the translations.
The woodcut illustrations and the beautifully muted color palate capture the mood of each poem. I particularly love the distressed-denim textures of February’s “Frozen Buds.”
Poems for Every Season will be available for purchase on February 17, 2026 online or at a bookseller near you. If you’re looking to buy from a female-owed, indie bookstore, a favorite of mine is Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, MA.