LatinosUSA

Thanks so much to Lesley for illustrating the cover of “Bro Ken Rengay: Unruly Poetry!” This is a reblog of her post:

Broken Rengay Anthology: my book cover illustration

Book Illustration

Just thought I’d show off my cover for the brand-new release of Broken Rengay, a poetry collection by the brilliant trio Nolcha Fox, Melissa Lemay, and Barbara Leonhard—published by Prolific Pulse Press LLC [@prolificpulsellc]. I feel deeply honoured to have been invited to illustrate it.

The poems are atmospheric and absorbing. I pick the book up thinking I’ll just read one… and then I find I have to read another! It’s the kind of collection you can open at random and place a finger down—wherever you land, you’ll discover something that enraptures with mystery, drama, everyday beauty, and magical imagination.

All three poets write in a modern take on the rengay form—with just a touch of rule-breaking. They are, after all, an “unruly” trio. If you enjoy collaborative poetry with flair and feeling, you’ll love this book.

The opening poem Off the Rails is the poem that inspired me to create the cover with stanzas such as these excerpts: 

“the vagrant clouds hitch a ride
on an empty train car
headed to Who Knows Where”

and

“the station disappears…
a three-headed dragon
                                     emerges”

You can read an interview of the three poets, Nolcha Fox, Melissa Lemay, and Barbara Leonhard here:
https://latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com/2025/09/16/lisa-tomey-zonneveld-interviews-barbara-leonhard-melissa-lemay-and-nolcha-fox-about-bro-ken-rengay-unruly-poetry/

The book is published by Prolific Pulse Press LLC and features a rebellious take on the traditional rengay form—thirty-six poems that bend the rules with humour, raw emotion, and poetic synergy.

You can order the book at prolificpulse.com or buy it on Amazon here.