Portsmouth Abbey School Sixth-Form student, Xiaotong (Rose) Yu published her first poetry collection aptly titled Garden of Rose. 

Published by the Periene Project Publishing Company, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing accessible resources for aspiring writers, the book is available for purchase or download from Barnes and Noble. 

“Garden of Rose is my first poetry collection, containing poetry I have written in the past four years. It touches upon many topics, including coming-of-age, social justice, friendship, nostalgia and many others,” said Yu.  

Working with editor Audrey Thorne, a Harvard-educated instructor, ELA teacher and experienced podcaster along with associates Hadley Debello and N. L. Sweeney, Yu’s collection emphasizes the range of emotion one might expect from a more youthful poet while highlighting her skills and artistry. The deeper meaning of each entry is clearly present. The book was illustrated by Katy Greskovich.

Sharing one’s words, thoughts and emotions with the world through poetry can in many ways be cathartic, and it is certainly courageous. Garden of Rose is the first of what we hope will be many publications from this Abbey raven.