Lesléa Newman, author of Heather Has Two Mommies and more than 80 other books, has a very personal connection to Matthew Shepard, the young man murdered in 1998 because he was gay. Her moving and powerful new volume explores his life and legacy.
On October 12, 1998, Newman was headed to the University of Wyoming, where Matt was a student, to give the keynote speech for the school’s Gay Awareness Week, she explains in an Author’s Note at the end of her new book, Always Matt (Abrams). It was the day he died. The coincidence—and a promise to his friends—led her to her “lifelong mission” to make the world better for LGBTQ youth. “It is my responsibility, as well as my privilege to speak out as a way to honor his memory,” she writes.
Her first book about Matt, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard (2012), was a cycle of 68 poems that reflected on his death, from a variety of perspectives. It was an impactful volume and won a Stonewall Honor.
Now, she turns to Matt again, starting not with his death but with his life, painting a portrait of him that begins in infancy and humanizes the figure who has become an icon:
Matt was born with muddy blue eyes
and blond peach-fuzz hair
on a windy Wyoming December day
Newman’s poetic skills are evident in the spare words and carefully chosen moments that illuminate Matt’s life and legacy. Unlike October Mourning with its varied poetic forms, however, Always Matt is free verse, without meter or rhyme, and could be read as prose but for the careful groupings of three lines at a time into powerful snapshots of a life. We meet a boy who loved his stuffed rabbit and reading Where the Wild Things Are; who loved his family and hoped someday “to fall in love with a man and start a family of his own.” He wanted to make a better world for everyone.
In college, Matt made many friends, some who were out and gay like him. He was happy to talk with the two strangers who approached him on the night of his death, because he “loved people.” But the men instead “hurt him,” and tied him to a fence “under the wide Wyoming sky.” A mountain biker found Matt, who then struggled vainly to stay alive in the hospital. People around the world gathered to hold hands and pray for him.
After Matt’s funeral, his parents wanted to do something to create change, asking themselves, “What would Matt do?” He would work to make the world a better, kinder place, they knew, so they now travel around the world to share about their son and his message. Millions have heard his story and are helping to fulfill his dream. Newman concludes, however, by reminding us that behind the inspiration is a family grieving the loss of a son, grandson, and brother, to whom “he will always be Matt.”
Illustrator Brian Britigan provides gorgeous illustrations for each verse—soft and warm details of Matt and his family; stark and poignant images of the fence where he was tied; and moving ones of the many people influenced by Matt’s story. (The image of Matt tied to the fence shows him only from behind, and the images of him in the hospital likewise avoid showing his face, granting him privacy and skillfully keeping the book from sensationalizing his death.) The dusty teal blue pages, terracotta end papers, and heavy stock give the book a beauty and weightiness that feel fitting as well.
Jason Collins, the first openly gay active player in the NBA, provides the forward to the volume. Collins was born two years before Matt and was scared into the closet by news of Matt’s death, he tells us. When he finally did come out, Judy Shepard was one of the first people to call him, offering protective support. Collins later chose to wear the number 98 on his jersey in honor of Matt.
An Epilogue gives more details of Newman’s experience in Wyoming immediately after Matt’s death, and her promise to work for LGBTQ rights as a way to honor his memory. There are also profiles of just a few of the many people who have been inspired by his story: his parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, and the foundation they created to erase hate; Bishop Gene Robinson, who interred Matt in the Washington National Cathedral; Moisés Kaufman, writer of The Laramie Project, a play about the reaction to Matt’s murder; Barack Obama, who signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law; and Michele Josue, creator of the film Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine. Backmatter includes author and artist notes and a resource list.
Despite being fully illustrated, the subject matter and length (nearly 60 pages, even without the epilogue) make this a book more for older children than young ones. The publisher says age 14 and up, though I think there is little here that would be inappropriate for most middle-schoolers, who likely already have a sense of homophobia and other injustices—that’s why I’m making a rare exception and including this young-adult-leaning book in my Database of LGBTQ Family Books, which usually only covers through middle grade. Adults as always should use their own judgments based on the specific young people in their lives.
A highly recommended volume that should find a place on many shelves in homes, schools, and libraries.
I cannot end this post without noting that anti-LGBTQ violence still exists, and the targets are often young trans women of color. Their deaths are often unreported or far less reported than that of Matthew Shepard (although some journalists, like the independent blogger Sue Kerr of Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, are making efforts to change this). Thanks to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and all others who are working to stop hate crimes and other forms of violence wherever it is found.