Two young Latino college students from backgrounds of poverty, with divergent life stories and roots, made vows to live life together--vows buffeted through five decades as their children were born and the couple's careers unfolded, vows tested as they evolved in their values and perspectives on matters miniscule and mighty. But the most vital of all held constant: their commitment to their family and one another. Thus is the foundation of Dearest Papa: A Memoir in Poems, by nationally-recognized author and former Poet Laureate Thelma T. Reyna. The sudden death in minor surgery of Reyna's husband, eight months after their golden wedding anniversary, stirred deep despair well-documented in this book, but also reinforced the author's regret that, in our hurried lives, we often take one another for granted, failing to soulfully, regularly profess to our loved ones how precious they are to us. In this memoir, Reyna pays tribute to her husband (affectionately called Papa by their family and friends): his suffering when his health declined in his last years of life, his unmitigated devotion to his family, and the endearing goodness and excellence that defined his life and career.

Dearest Papa: A Memoir in Poems

Reyna, Thelma T.

Parenting & Relationships

Golden Foothills Press

A collection of poems presenting a gallery of people you know or would want to know: some real and famous, some infamous, some mythical, and many others like those we encounter in our daily lives. Reyna, an award-winning writer, presents the Pope, poets, soldiers, killers, lovers, immigrants, celebrities, the mentally ill, artists, and more. She shows us the human side of everyone in vivid verbal snapshots that grab us and leave us thinking long afterward.

Rising, Falling, All of Us: New & Collected Poems

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

A ground-breaking anthology of over 35 distinguished American contemporary poets and prose writers, written in real time in the first seven months of the historic, evastating coronavirus COVID-19 invasion of America in 2020. In heart-wrenching, wide-eyed observations, firsthand events, tragedies, and reflections, these 44 top authors from 10 states across America document for us the horrors, grief, and heroism of friends, family, neighbors as we watched the disease unfold. Here are moments of hope and togetherness as well, seeking respite and balms. This gathering of Poets Laureate, national award winners, poet leaders,essayists, academics, and short fiction writers is a collection to treasure and a touchstone for generationsto come.

When the Virus Came Calling: COVID-19 Strikes America

If you enjoy Jhumpa Lahiri's short stories, or Sandra Cisneros' ability to portray ordinary Hispanic characters with engaging authenticity and universality, you'll enjoy Thelma Reyna's twelve stories in this thoughtful, moving, sensitive book. From the sheer poetry of the title story, to the complex depiction of a comatose woman and her guilt-ridden unfaithful husband, Reyna exposes the private griefs and losses we all experience in life and imbues her motley cast of characters with deep humanity, courage, and perseverance . Reyna's style is alternately quiet and intense, yet always insightful, poetic, and literary. Have a box of Kleenex and a dictionary by your side. She'll leave you thinking and discovering multiple layers of meanings in her stories long after you've read them. A Hispanic-American author, Reyna's stories speak to all of us, across ethnicities, age, gender, and social status.

The Heavens Weep for Us: And Other Stories

Short Stories & Anthologies

Outskirts Press

YEAR 2: COVID-19. The pandemic continues to rage worldwide—with the loss of human life in the U.S. alone 
surpassing 800,000 in less than 24 months. 
After the once-in-a-century invasion of the coronavirus hit the United States in 2020, our nation was weary and battered, with schools, churches, public places shut down and the economy sputtering. In the second year of the COVID-19 outbreak, the heroism and devotion of U.S. healthcare workers stood strong-- despite burnout, despite assaults by virus-deniers, anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, despite purveyors of misinformation that hobbled our nation’s recovery. In this ground-breaking anthology, 26 poets and essayists—physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, private caregivers, holistic practitioners, medical school students, and a hospital chaplain—share their personal experiences navigating the pandemic and our changed lives, tending to patients, dealing with loss, uncertainty, grief, and isolation, surviving in a world turned topsy-turvy, continuing the fight to save lives through resilience, selflessness, and the eternal flame of hope.

Doctor Poets & Other Healers: COVID in Their Own Words

United States

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Reyna, Thelma T.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Reyna, Thelma T.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Reyna, Thelma T.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Dearest Papa: A Memoir in Poems

Rising, Falling, All of Us: New & Collected Poems

Dearest Papa: A Memoir in Poems

When the Virus Came Calling: COVID-19 Strikes America

The Heavens Weep for Us: And Other Stories

Doctor Poets & Other Healers: COVID in Their Own Words