One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance (hardcover)
by Nikki Grimes
I’m getting off to an awfully slow start this school year. I think it’s because I moved the week before I had to be back, so I’ve been unpacking and settling in. I also have 2 kids in school now, and my almost 10 month old is a mama’s boy and has to be near me all the time. Today I decided it was time to finish this book I’d been nursing since last Monday, so I took it into the pool and sat in a big round donut until I’d read the last word (ironically, part of the title).
One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance is both a collection of poems written by African American poets about the Harlem Renaissance, and a play on those poems by Nikki Grimes. Grimes takes a line (or many lines) from poems by other poets and makes each word the last word in her original poems. It’s a style of poetry I’ve never heard of, called Golden Shovel. I really enjoyed learning about this form, because I enjoy structure, and it’s new to me. Grimes’ poetry touched on several relevant subjects African American youth face, such as police brutality, interracial couples, and self-image. She writes to her own children, which was what I found the most touching.
What I liked about this book was the carefully selected poems. Although the Renaissance was nearly 100 years ago, many of the conflicts faced then are still very relevant today, unfortunately, although different. I think it would be a meaningful book for our youth looking for poetry they could relate to. I can only appreciate it.
What I didn’t like about this book was that it wasn’t my favorite genre, but that isn’t a fault of the book. While I enjoy novels written in verse, poetry in general is something I have always had to work hard to understand and enjoy. I know this is a high quality novel, but it isn’t something I’d say I read for fun. Although, readers sometimes read out of their comfort zones, right? A lesson for my students.
