Longtime Brookline Poet Barbara Helfgott Hyett Releasing 6th Book

BROOKLINE, MA — With the help of her former students, award-winning Brookline poet Barbara Helfgott Hyett is publishing her sixth poetry collection,Come Thunder, on Sunday, Oct. 9.

Hyett, who taught and led workshops for nearly 40 years, had the manuscript for Come Thunder ready to go when she was diagnosed with an illness and became unable to teach or represent her work. Her students took it upon themselves to finish the project and publish it through Lily Poetry Review Books.

In Come Thunder, Hyett tells the story of the formative events in her life, from her childhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey to what changed her as an adult. Her students describe the book as inquisitive, honest, and perhaps her best work.

“The poems just flow,” said Alexis Ivy, one of Hyett’s former students who became a guaranteed reader for her events. “They’re lyrical and narrative and psychological, she really looks at her life in such depth and you really see how the chapters mirror one another and how important moments are. She’s really putting herself out there in a really wonderful way that makes other writers feel more comfortable sharing their stories after reading it.”

Ivy started working with Hyett in the early 2000s, she said. As Ivy became more of an esteemed poet, Hyett started coming to her for advice and the pair would meet every other week to discuss their work.

“It was really powerful to have my mentor want my advice to know what I thought of her work,” Ivy said. "I learned so much from her. The fact that she thought I was good enough to look at her work meant a lot to me and gave me a lot of confidence as a writer."

"As a teacher she was tough as hell and I definitely learned how to whip my poetry into shape,” Ivy added. "The hard work she does with her own writing and the expectation she had for her students was the same, you can see why she pushed people. She was struggling just like the rest of us were in her writing and the humility she had that she shared with her mentees was why people loved working with her.

Ivy said Come Thunder is so special because Hyett hasn’t written such a personal book before.

"It didn’t require research it required internal monologues,” Ivy said. "It made it difficult for her to know if these poems were really finished. There are poems about her sons, her friends, and herself, and they reflect her perspective on trying to understand and see the world. It goes from childhood to adulthood in a way that is so powerful."

In the spirit of Hyett’s dedication to the causes she cared most about, all profits form the sale of Come Thunder will be donated to the Jewish Women’s Archive.

Come Thunder will be available for purchase here, on Amazon, and at local bookstores, including Brookline Booksmith.