Behind the Wheel: Poems About Driving

“Forget kindergarten, sharing.

Everything you need to know

you learn right here

behind the wheel.”

So begins the title poem of this collection for young adults in which Janet S. Wong looks at driving as a metaphor for life. Through thirty-six poems that range in subject from passing the written driver’s test and borrowing a car, to parallel parking and being pulled over by a cop, to car accidents and parents’ anxieties, the poet succeeds in touching on all the subjects of concern to young people — love, death, hopes and dreams.

Contemporary, honest, and direct, these poems offer a fresh approach to a subject of deep interest to today’s young people.