Whatcom County Library System Publishes Teen Poetry Anthology

A Forest of Words is an annual publication that includes poems by teens in 6th through 12th grades from throughout the county. WCLS invites students to submit their original poems to their local library or online from January through mid-March each year. Poems are then selected by WCLS staff based on their strength, content and originality.

In her introduction to this year’s anthology, WCLS Teen Services Coordinator Tamar Clarke writes, “In these pages, you can travel the length of a window as a raindrop, mend broken friendships, say hello to an octopus, and learn to love oneself.”

The collection features work from 95 teen poets representing eight WCLS branches, the WCLS Bookmobile and the Bellingham Public Library. The poems address a wide range of topics including space, the mountains, friendship and identity. Here is one example from Cobin Cole who is a Blaine Library patron.

CAT

Cats are solar panels

Sitting in the sun

Gaining energy

Never moving

Strangest places

Inconvenient at best

Everywhere now

You can’t escape them

This is the 14th edition of A Forest of Words. Each year, the cover art is selected from artwork submitted for publication in WCLS’s teen art anthology, Whatcomics. This year, teen artist Caitlin Scott’s artwork, Radioactive Night Glow, was chosen for the cover. Scott’s painting was created during a Teen Art Night at the North Fork Community Library. View the original version of the painting in Whatcomics 2023, available to check out at any library in the county.

The editorial team was led by Clarke and included Youth Services Assistant Jim Pettinger and Communications Specialist Cynthia French, who also designed the publication for print. WCLS Teen Intern Bibi Brown helped with the selection process for both the poetry and the cover design. She shared, “It was fun to read all the poems (there were over 170 submissions) and see everyone’s perspectives. It was cool to be a part of the selection process and to see that a poem didn’t have to be perfect if it was original or said something in a unique way.”

Each contributing poet will receive a copy of the anthology to keep. Members of the public may borrow A Forest of Words from any local library. The publication and other teen resources are also available online at wcls.org/teens. Poems from the collection will also be posted to the Instagram account @wcls_teens.

About the Whatcom County Library System

Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) connects people with information, ideas and community. WCLS circulates more than 2 million items annually through 10 branches, the bookmobile and a Library Express location on Northwest Drive. Residents have access to WCLS’s rich collection, including books in print and digital formats, music and movies and online digital services. Library system staff plan and host inspiring events for every age. Experience “The Power of Sharing” by visiting in person or online at WCLS.org.

We acknowledge that Whatcom County is located on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples. They cared for the lands that included what we’d call the Puget Sound region, Vancouver Island and British Columbia since time immemorial. This gives us the great obligation and opportunity to learn how to care for our surrounding areas and all the natural and human resources we require to live. We express our deepest respect and gratitude for our indigenous neighbors, the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe, for their enduring care and protection of our shared lands and waterways.