AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY

ONE LAST WORD: WISDOM FROM THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Grimes, Nikki. 2017. One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. Ill. By Cozbi A. Cabrera et al. New York: Bloomsbury.  ISBN 9781619635548.

SUMMARY

Nikki Grimes looks to the greats of the Harlem Renaissance to find inspiration and create new poems that relate to our modern-day struggles and experiences.  She opens her book with “Emergency Measures,” a poem in which a young girl tries to come to grips with the way African Americans are negatively perceived in today’s world and then says she, at the recommendation of her teacher, will look for “counsel” in the poems of the Harlem Renaissance. Thereafter, Grimes alternates between poems written by Harlem Renaissance poets and her own poems, written in Golden Shovel poetry form. In the concluding poem, “I Leave the Glory Days,” Grimes brings her opening poem to a closure, finally having gained inspiration from Harlem Renaissance poets to help her cope with life’s struggles.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poets

Grimes includes fourteen poems written by eight famous, notable Harlem Renaissance poets. She taps into Jean Toomer, Clara Ann Thompson, Countee Cullen, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Waring Cuney and unearths some of their best-known, exemplary works that have been previously published in other collections, such as Hughes’ first published poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, and Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask,” a poem that is read widely even today and perhaps the poem he is best known for.  Grimes balances both male and female poets, emphasizing the role of women and their contributions to this historic time of African American literary proliferation, which often tends to be overlooked.  Grimes use the Golden Shovel poetry from to take a striking line or stanza from each of the featured Harlem Renaissance poem and then creates her own original, never before published poem, exemplifying her poetic abilities.

Layout

Nikki provides a Preface, introductory notes on the Harlem Renaissance, an Author’s note, and a Poetry Form explanation at the beginning of her collection. All of this helps readers understand her intention in creating this collection as well as makes reader familiar with the Harlem Renaissance and with the Golden Shovel form she adopts in her own poems. Since Grimes’ purpose is to educate the modern generation on the Harlem Renaissance, it is appropriate that she dedicated some space to explaining what it is and the impact it has had and can continue to have in our world. The collection is then divided into three parts: Part 1, Emergency Measures, Part 2, Calling Dreams, and Part 3, To a Dark Girl.  Grimes’ introductory poem, “Emergency Measures,” does not follow the Golden Shovel poem but instead, along with her concluding poem “I leave the Glory Days Behind,” creates a frame for all the other poems within the collection. In this poem, Grimes introduces the Harlem Renaissance by way of a young girl questioning society’s negativity and, consequently, “dip[ping her] spoon/into the bowl of [the Harlem Renaissance] years” to find ways to help her understand the world around her. Grimes then introduces a poem by a Harlem Renaissance master, bolding a striking line or inspiring stanza, and follows that by an original poem of her own, taking each word from the striking line or stanza and placing each at the end of her own lines. Each of Grimes’ poems is followed by an original artwork by prominent children’s literature artists like Cozbi A. Cabrera, Briank Pinkney, and Pat Cummings. The pieces of art truly enrich the poems, embracing the crux of the themes of overcoming racism and struggles in bold, vivid colors that bring out each artist’s technique. Grimes also includes additional resources such as poet and artist biographies as well as acknowledgements, sources, and an index at the end of her collection to help promote knowledge and awareness of and pride in African Americans and their great contributions to the world as we know it today. A Table of Contents at the very beginning of the book makes it easy for readers to locate information and follow along.

Poetic Elements

Grimes skillfully intertwines her voice with those of the Harlem Renaissance by way of the Golden Shovel form. Due to the nature of the form, Grimes’ poems follow a free verse format that does not rely on rhyme or meter. What she lacks in these two elements, however, she more than makes up for in other poetic techniques. In “Crucible of Champions,” for instance, Grimes uses sensory imagery to help bring the concerns and aspirations of six speakers alive, such as when she describes Jamar’s “sharp-bladed question” as he ponders if his life might be cut short.  This helps readers see abstract concepts in concrete ways so as to truly immerse themselves in the speakers’ mind. Grimes also uses sound elements like alliteration, giving her poems a musical quality that will ring in listeners’ ears and bringing out the essence of hope in her poems.  The opening line of “A Safe Place”—“Dream-killers daily stalk the streets you and I/travel”—uses the alliterative “d” and “s” sounds to emphasize the harsh experience of having to overcome people who try to “trip us up.” Another technique found in Grimes’ poems is metaphor, as she uses this to help express the ideas and emotions that cannot be adequately expressed in the words of the English language.  In “On Bully Patrol,” the speaker states that she “shape[s] my love like fingers, pluck[s] the splinters of hate, one by/one, until my child smiles again.” By using comparisons, she makes her emotions come to life, making them vivid images that can almost be felt and seen.

Appeal

One Last Word presents concerns that are immediate and relatable to young people, whether they are of African American identity or not. The poems included here center on themes of dealing with racism, overcoming challenges, and fulfilling dreams, all of which will leave readers feeling positive about life and their position in it. Readers will be able to relate to many emotions expressed in these poems, as they’ll see themselves in experiences narrated through them.  They, too, will experience the journey towards self-discovery through the uncovering of old wisdom just as the young female speaker in the introductory poem. Grimes’ aim to teacher our modern generation about their past will also appeal to readers, as they will immerse themselves in words of their past and will further enrich their knowledge with the author biographies provided at the end of the book. The language and subject matter will best appeal to older children, as writers use sophisticated words, but young readers will enjoy hearing these poems for their poetic quality and will also be able to identify with their content. Readers will also appreciate Grimes’ use of the Golden Shovel form and be inspired to create some of their own.

Overall Quality

All the poems in One Last Word beautifully capture the African American experience in rich, vivid imagery and poetic techniques that are particular to each Harlem Renaissance master. Grimes’ own poems are also consistent in quality, as she masterfully interweaves her words with those of the original poems and creates something entirely new. While most of the featured poets’ works center on the African American struggle of their days, Grimes balances that out with her own poems which revolve around a triumphant feel. “Truth,” for instance, a poem that uses a line of Jean Toomer’s “Storm Ending,” urges readers to “Claim that cloud with the silver lining,” and in “The Sculptor,” Grimes takes a line from “Calling Dreams” by Georgia Douglas Johnson to affirm that “hard work is the clay dreams/are molded from.” Overall, Grimes’ message and mood are repeatedly made clear, such as she claims in “In Search of a Superpower”: “The power you seek is in/sight. Look in the mirror. Own yourself. You are that entity.”

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Emergency Measures” by Nikki Grimes

My sister and I watch

the five-o’clock news,

which spells out

our worth in the world.

According to reports,

it’s somewhere on the minus side.

That may only be hearsay,

but how can I live long enough

to disprove the lie?

How can I stay strong

ina world where fear and hate

wait outside my door?

My teacher tells me

to go in search of counsel,

back, back, back

to the Harlem Renaissance,

when poetry burst like a dam

and a river of wisdom-words

rushed through the streets

I call home.

Can I really find

fuel for the future

in the past?

Less sure than desperate,

I dip my spoon

into the bowl of years,

stir till I reach the Renaissance

and find a few choice lines

to chew on,

and I think:

We’ll see.

We’ll see.

In this poem, Grimes simultaneously sets a frame for the poems that ensue and sets a purpose for readers. Her intent is to educate readers about poets of the Harlem Renaissance, to celebrate their experiences, works, and contributions to our past, present, and future, and to help us understand  “how to make the most of freedom, despite living in a nation that had not, and has not yet, fully realized its promise of freedom and justice for all.” “Emergency Measures” makes readers stop and think about how our past can influence our present and future. This poem then allows readers to understand Grimes’ poetic form as well as the layout of her book, making it easier for students to understand the overarching themes presented in it.

I would introduce this poem by asking students to think of where the search for or whom the go to for advice when they face problems. I would ask questions such as, “Have you ever experiences a problem or challenge in life? Who do you go to for advice? Where can you search for answers? What helps you overcome these problems?” Then, I would tell students that the poem we will read, “Emergency Measures” by Nikki Grimes, talks about a young girl who is searching for a way to address her problem. During reading, I would stop and ask students what problems the speaker in the poem is facing, what advice she is given, and how she feels about the advice she is given. During reading, I would also stop to emphasize Grimes’ use of similes and metaphors to help with comprehension and highlight Grimes’ poetic techniques. After reading, I would ask students to predict what the speaker will find out as she takes her teachers’ advice.