Naomi Shihab Nye

Naomi Shihab Nye is a Palestinian American poet, essayist, and anthologist whose writing often attends to place, family, and ordinary objects. Cast Away: Poems for Our Time, published by Greenwillow Books in 2020, gathers poems prompted by litter, discarded possessions, and the habits that produce waste. The collection grew from years of taking trash walks, and it links close observation with environmental responsibility without abandoning humor or surprise. Nye served as Young People’s Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2021 and received the Wallace Stevens Award in 2024. Her long connection to San Antonio and her Palestinian and American family histories also shape a wider body of poetry for young readers and general audiences.