Summary: This book is an award winning compilation of poems from 11 poets. It won the 1998 Coretta Scott King Award which is awarded to African American authors and illustrators (ALA). A short biographical notation about each poet is found at the back of the book and shows the variety of authors. Many have won awards and most, although not all, are previously published. As indicated by the title, all of the poems in this book describe, or are in some way about, African American fathers. There is a lot of reference in the poems to the South and to the African heritage of the fathers for whom the poem is about. I have a mixed review of this book. Several of the poems I found to be very appealing, especially poems like “Tickle Tickle”, “The Things in Black Men’s Closets” and “Her Daddy’s Hands”.
Quality: The poems do not, for the most part, rhyme. Most have nice beats to them and produce sensory images for the reader. There were a few poems where I, personally, had a hard time with a sensory image of my own and was thankful for the artist’s illustrations. These poems include “Lightning Jumpshot”, “Black Father Man” and “Seeds”. I must confess that even with the artist’s illustrations, I was unable to truly connect emotionally with these poems and I dare say that intellectually I have a hard time understanding “Black Father Man” and “Seeds”. I believe it may be because I am Caucasian. I may be totally off track and I hope this doesn’t come across as sounding racist because I don’t mean it that way. But I believe that this book is a good example of how a reader’s perspective plays a vital role in how poetry affects him or her. I have a strong feeling that a person of African descent would better understand and connect with poems like “Black Father Man”, “Seeds” and “My Father’ Eyes” than readers whose forefathers were not enslaved in this country.
Appeal: For all of these reasons, I believe this poetry book is very appealing for a middle school or high school audience. The language of the poems could be easily understood by this level of student. The topics of many of these poems are within the realm of prior knowledge and understanding of the student and those that aren’t are something that could be explored further in the classroom. This book would be useful in a history class or sociology when discussing the era of Civil War or the Civil Rights movement. In a diverse classroom, I can see where this book could lead to some very candid and emotional conversation among children.
Use: The one poem I really liked and would use for a discussion on how different people from different backgrounds might have different rituals would be “The Things in Black Men’s Closets” by E. Ethelbert Miller.
The things in Black Men’s Closets
On the top shelf
other closet
is the hat my father
wears on special occasions
it rests next to the large jar
he saves his pennies in
his head is always bare
when I see him walking
in the street
I once sat in his bedroom
watching him search
between sweaters and suits
looking for something missing
a tie perhaps
then he stopped
and slowly walked to the closet
took the hat from the shelf
I sat on the bed
studying his back
waiting for him to turn
and tell me who died
Introductory and Follow-Up Activity: Prior to reading this poem, I would give the students a homework assignment: talk to your father (or some significant man in the family) about an item of personal significance in his closet; bring that item to school, if possible. I would read the poem and then lead a class discussion about the items of significance students brought or discussed with their fathers. I’d then lead the discussion to find out how different families let their children know about deaths in the family. My primary goal: for students to realize the diversity among people while at the same time realizing that all people share similar experiences and feelings.
References:
American Library Association (ALA). http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/index.cfm (accessed January 29, 2011)
Steptoe, Javaka, ed. 1997. In Daddy's arms I am tall: African-Americans celebrating fathers. Ill. Javaka Steptoe. New York: Lee & Low Books.
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