Whispered Verse is a curated collection of poetry spanning over a century and four generations of one American family. From a hand-bound book written in 1915 to a high school student's powerful reflections in 2009, these poems speak across time-about loss and longing, faith and fear, motherhood and memory.Collected by writer and voice artist Querida Funck, Whispered Verse brings together the voices of a great-grandmother, a grandmother, a mother, and a son. Their lives-rural and urban, handwritten and digital-are captured through devotional poems, playful childhood rhymes, quiet reflections on grief, and raw, unflinching explorations of social injustice and identity.With its blend of archival beauty and modern emotional depth, this book invites readers to witness a family in lyrical conversation. It's a celebration of everyday lives, a tribute to quiet voices, and a reminder that the stories we leave behind-sometimes tucked in drawers or scribbled on school pages-are often the most enduring.Perfect for lovers of intergenerational memoir, reflective poetry, or American history seen through personal lens. "From a very early age, I was taught that there were stories in art, and an art to telling stories."
Querida grew up in Monroe, Wisconsin (USA). She learned to draw from her mother who was an accomplished landscape artist, and began selling portraits while still a teenager.
She turned to cartooning as a college student and wrote home in comic strip format with "The Adventures of Jacky and Sir" using the family dogs as a substitute for her adventures. While home on break, she created pen and watercolor fashion plates for a local boutique in Monroe, Wisconsin.
After college, she became known as "Sally" the pen-named political cartoonish of "Two Cents Worth" for the Wisconsin Counties Magazine. Her picture books was "The Christmas Leprechaun," written as a Christmas present for her father-in-law and his grandchildren. Years later, she would study with Caldecott Medal Winner, David McLiman, and venture into creating stories for her own grandchildren.
