POEMS [FOR, ABOUT, BECAUSE] MY FRIENDS (paperback)

Hattie Jean Hayes is a writer and comedian, originally from a small town in Missouri, who now lives in New York. Her writing has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Hattie completed a SAFTA residency in September 2022. This is her first collection of poems. Right now, she is working on a full-length poetry collection, as well as her first novel.

“Reading this collection, I was reminded of the Georgia O'Keeffe quote: ‘nobody sees a flower—really—it is so small—and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time.’ These poems are little studies of time – spending it, passing it, cherishing it, wasting it—and as a whole it's an exuberant examination of youthful allegiances, and bruised and tender feelings, of hopes and disappointments and reinventions and the courage to try again. ‘Love is work, sometimes.’ Brava in finding such inspiration from the everyday—this is what a true poet does!”

— Elizabeth Bales Frank, author of "Censorettes"

“Hattie Jean Hayes’s ‘Poems [for, about, because] My Friends’ is a remarkable debut collection that navigates the complexities of its big ideas (friendship, life’s search for meaning) with subtlety, heart, and an eye for the small and wonderful. The hands of a clock: ‘They can only give me so much at once.’ A newly purchased hat: ‘I know it will be better, not to have anything of yours to give back.’ Within the accumulation of its observant detail, Hayes’s collection succeeds again and again, growing more universal and impactful with each page. ‘Poems [for, about, because] My Friends’ reaffirms one of the greatest gifts of poetry: a recalibration of the heart and mind. I finished this collection a bit more hopeful, a bit more open, and a bit more closely attuned to the present. Cherish these poems as you would a dear friend."

— David Byron Queen, founder and publisher, word west press

“Hattie Hayes's beautiful debut collection is an absolutely stunning, vivid and emotional journey full of vibrant poems on the myriad ways friendship creates its own map on life's terrain. A fantastic debut, very excited to see what comes next!”

— Ellyn Maybe, poet/musician/lyricist