LatinosUSA

Book Description by the Publisher

Bro ken Rengay is a collaborative poetry collection by Barbara Leonhard, Melissa Lemay, and Nolcha Fox. Inspired by the rengay form-created by Garry Gay in 1992 as an alternative to renga and renku-this book follows the six-verse linked structure while playfully breaking its traditional rules.

Originally, Barbara and Nolcha collaborated on Too Much Fun to Be Legal. When Melissa discovered their work, she suggested the three of them write rengay together. The result? A series of poems where humor, anger, and deep emotions intertwine, forming an authentic and dynamic voice.

While honoring the alternating three-line and two-line stanza pattern of rengay, the poets deliberately abandoned strict haiku syllable counts-breaking, bending, and reshaping the form as they wrote. Their creative rebellion led to a collection filled with wit, raw emotion, and a deep poetic synergy so strong they often forgot who wrote which stanza.

We hope you enjoy the laughter, the passion, and the unexpected twists within these pages.

Excerpts

Glitter Lips 
her lips have poof, sparkling proof
that her skin has shimmer too
her bags and shoes have bling 

she’s a bling ding 
only glam and glitter catch her eyes 

she dreams of      islands 
         swimming with dolphins and  
                                   marble butterflies   

with glittering wings that make 
hummingbirds and dragonflies envious 

her goal in life 
is to be 
the envy of her friends 

that’s all she has to show 
             for it when it            ends

Everybody Knows My Name 
baskets of laundry 
hanging out in the hallway 
calling my name
 
I changed my name 
and I don’t speak laundry 

I speak frozen custard, French vanilla 
country drives to count the deer 
beer and pizza on date night 

in the dark, all clothes look the same 
so there’s no such thing as dirty
 
I dress in the dark 
all my clothes are black 
I don’t need to do laundry
 
unless the cat knocks over the beer onto my pizza  and 
dresses me in spilled French vanilla frozen custard
© Nolcha Fox, Melissa Lemay, and Barbara Leonhard

Praise for Bro Ken Rengay: Unruly Poetry

Selma Martin’s Review on Goodreads

It begins …

To grasp the elusive lightness of being, we need more buoyancy like you’ll find in this book.

First, questions: what do you do when you’re living in the best of times, alongside the worst of times? What do you do when the world becomes too loud for comfort, that you kinda forget where your feet stand? I’ll tell you–it’s time you need to allow good literature to ….. (Follow the link below to read on…)

  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7955042981

More Praise

Three poets. One ancient form. Zero rules. Traditional Japanese poetry takes a unique turn in the hands of three poets: Nolcha Fox, Melissa Lemay, and Barbara Leonhard. In this electrifying collection, they discard the rulebook and craft a literary rebellion, creating something entirely new. Thirty interconnected six-stanza poems pulse with raw honesty, sharp wit, and fearless social commentary, determined to surprise the readers.

Munmun «Sam» Samanta, Author of Yellow Chrysanthemum

A non-traditional book blurb: I’m not going to give you any teasers. You’re going to do this the right way, by throwing a dart at the board and seeing where it sticks. And whichever poem it lands on you won’t be disappointed, especially with titles like «Anger Brings Me Donuts» and «You’re the Cream in My Cadaver.» I have interacted with or worked with all three of these poets in one way or another. All three have very different and distinct writing styles, and I’ll be damned if I cannot tell who wrote which stanzas, they come together so effortlessly-that to me is good writing. Pour a drink, sit back in your favorite chair, tune out the world, and just enjoy being immersed in the triple-threat of this poetry collection.

Ken Tomaro, author of Standing Lonely in the Alley & My Mind is a Cherry Pit Withering in the Sun.

While it might imply that the subject matter within these pages is filled with melancholy or angst, this brilliant collaboration from Nolcha Fox, Melissa Lemay, and Barbara Leonhard is far from it! It showcases a diverse range of subjects that encompass the full spectrum of humanity-the good and the bad and everything in between. I was easily pulled in to engage with these pieces, which are flavored with sublime metaphors and such great depth and meaning. One stanza to the next has you identifying, chuckling, or enjoying the rhythm of the emotions. Overall, these pieces show us that there is much to learn from, move forward with, and heal. I’m confident that readers will be unable to put this collection down, but when they do, it will be with some time to reflect on the thoughts in these pieces, and they will return often to glean even more with each reading. Brava – Nolcha, Melissa. and Barbara!

Susi Bocks, Author of Every Day I Pause…: A year in the life of a writer

Bro Ken Rengay is a collection of insightful poems about a variety of social, political, environmental, and economic issues people face on a daily basis. The trio of poets have seamlessly woven their individual thoughts and personalities into each poem making this collection a thought provoking and meaningful read.

Robbie Cheadle, Bestselling Author

Kindle and Paperback Available on Amazon

Authors’ Biographies

Nolcha Fox’s poems have been curated in print and online journals. A best-selling author, her poetry books are available on Amazon and Dancing Girl Press. Nominee for Best Of The Net and Pushcart Prize. Editor of Chewers by Masticadores. You can follow Nolcha at https://writingaddiction2.wordpress.com/, https://nolchafox2.wixsite.com/nolcha-s-written-wor/blog, and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nolcha.fox/.

Melissa Lemay lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with her children and cats. She writes about God, addiction, trauma, healing, motherhood, and many other things. She enjoys spending time with family, drinking good coffee, and being outdoors. She loves animals. Her poem, “Ephemeral”, was chosen as Poetic Publication of the Year for 2023 at Spillwords Press; she was Author of the Month for July 2024 and Author of the Year for 2024. She’s co-author of the Amazon best-seller Broken Rengay: Unruly Poetry. Find her at melissalemay.wordpress, collaborature.blogspot, and at dVerse Poets Pub.

Barbara Harris Leonhard is the author of Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir (2022) and The Lost Book of Zeroth (2025). She is co-author of Too Much Fun to Be Legal (2024) and Broken Rengay: Unruly Poetry (2025). She’s a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. Trending Poets named her Poet of the Year in 2023 and 2024. Her poetry has been translated into Italian, Albanian, and Chinese. She is the Editor for MasticadoresUSA and FEED THE HOLY. And Co-Bookshelf Editor on LatinosUSA. Her blog: Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver.