Module 4 - Biographical Poetry

Photo Source:  Amazon. www.amazon.com (accessed March 16, 2011).

Summary: This is one of the most amazing books I have read in any of my classes at TWU.  I am so glad I was exposed to this unique piece of literature. I am not alone in thinking it is awesome.  This book was a 2002 Newberry Medal Honor Book and was a 2002 Coretta Scott King Award Honor book.  The book begins to explain Carver’s life when he is an infant (1864) and ends when he is an infirm, old man (1943).  I admit to not knowing much about George W. Carver’s life but this book teaches me a lot.  For example, he had a brother named Jim, he believed in God and reincarnation, his nickname was Doc, and much, much more.

One very helpful aspect of the book is the photographs that often appear at the end of a poem.  These photographs provide a timeline of the events of George W. Carver’s life.  Additionally, they provide information to help clarify a poem which might otherwise not make sense to someone unfamiliar with Mr. Carver’s life.

Quality: The book consists of poems that are free verse, for the most part.  There is not a lot of rhythm or beat to the poems but such is not necessary for the enjoyment of this book.  I assume most of these poems were stand alone poems when originally published but Ms. Nelson has woven the poems together in such a way I have a hard time imagining the poems on their own. All of the poems are of great quality with vocabulary that can be easily understood.  As an overall book, I was very impressed with the poem quality for children from grades 4 and up.  I was, however, disappointed that one particular poem, “Goliath”, was included in the book.  The addition of this poem makes it difficult, if not impossible, to recommend this book to younger children.  This poem vividly describes the lynching of a black man where his penis is cut off and stuffed into his mouth. This creates a mental image that is simply too much for young children, in my opinion.

I wish there had been more information about each of the poems and how the concept of this book came about.  It is hard to determine if this is merely a compilation of poems by Ms. Nelson or if it is a partial compilation with original poems written to “fill in the blanks” to create a full biography. There is a list of poems in the back of the book along with a statement of when various poems were first published.  From this, I can determine that 36 of the 59 poems in the book were previously published.  One would assume that any of the poems not previously published are written by Ms. Nelson but some of the poems indicate that the author might be someone else.  I wish Ms. Nelson had written a preface to the book to explain more about the origin of the poems and which, if any, of the poems are written by her. This would be the one thing that could have made this great book even greater.

Appeal: This book will appeal to students who are reluctant readers in the same way verse novels appeal to these students.  There is a lot of white space so it will appear to students to be easier reading.  It provides a lot of information in a limited amount of words.  It will appeal to teachers because it provides so much more information about George Washington Carver than the typical biography that seems to focus only on his work with peanuts.  This book provides the true picture of the man as well as those around him.  One poem, “My People”, gives the reader a good visual description of George Washington Carver.  It also tells the reader how others felt about him and the prejudice that he must have lived with.  Here is only the first portion of the poem.  It is my favorite in the book.

My People

Strutting around here acting all humble,

when everybody knows

he’s the only one here

got a master’s degree

from a white man’s college.

Everybody knows his salary

is double ours. He’s got two singles

in Rockefeller Hall; the rest of us

bachelors share doubles. The extra room

is for his “collections.”

A pile of you-know-what,

if you ask me.

All that face politeness, that white accent.

He thinks he’s better than us.

Wears those mismatched suits every day, too:

white men’s castoffs with the sleeves too short,

the trousers all bagged out at the knees.

Use: In addition to using this book for a biography report, a teacher could use this book during any units on subjects such as slavery, civil rights, black history month, and famous American scientists.

• An entire class could do choral reading of the entire book with students being given one or two poems each to read aloud.  A class discussion could follow many of these readings.
• Students could follow each reading but placing pins on the map where certain events took place.
• Students could do additional research about various topics mentioned in the poems, such as research into the Ku Klux Klan, Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee Airment, Chicago’s World Fair, and other things
• It would be a great challenge for high school students to create a book similar.  They could write a book of poems describing their own lives.  They could do interviews with grandparents or other individuals and write a poetry book describing the lives of those individuals.  For the really bright and bold, students could attempt to find other poetry to be woven together to tell the biographical story of some historical figure.

References:

American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/recipients.cfm (accessed March 18, 2011).

Nelson, Marilyn. 2001.Carver: a life in poems. Ashville, NC: Front Street. ISBN: 1-886910-53-7.