True confession: although I write poetry and really enjoy reading juvenile and YA novels in verse I don't gravitate to regular poetry. I have very little patience for the genre. In my nearly fourteen years of creating content for this blog in which I've reviewed slightly over 2,800 books you can count the poetry ones I've reviewed on your fingers and have some left over. In other words it is the extremely rare poetry book that keeps me engaged til the end...
...Renee Watson's Black Girl You Are Atlas is one of these exceptional books. I was first grabbed by it's total gorgeousness. Ekua Holmes's collage based illustrations are not just on the cover, but placed throughout the volume. They're the kind of rich, vibrant textured art you can get lost in, that skimming or skipping would be a sin.
The poetry they adorn is also rich and evocative. It's the story of a Black girl growing up in
"...that side of town
Where the media only comes for bloodshed."
Where the intersectionality of race, class, and gender constitutes danger.
"Black girls seeking help
can't knock on doors at nighttime
or else they could die
and by die I mean be killed
mistaken for breaking in"
But it's also the story of a Black girl growing up in a strong network of extended family and community.
"Where I'm from the whole neighborhood is your family:
ladies sit on their porches looking out for you,
Shooin' away boys like flies,
callin' your mama to tell her what you did
before you can go home and lie about it."
Black Girl You Are Atlas is a really eye opening, thought provoking, discussion inspiring treasure. It would be great for a mother and daughter book club.
On a purrrsonal note, last Wednesday my right ankle started hurting. By Friday it was agonizing every time I took a step. I elevated, iced, and heated. No help. Monday an unintended consequence of my thrifting adventure was pain beyond what I could stand. So Wednesday I went in to our campus health center. They wanted to send me for an x ray. Doctors and dentists conveniently forget how some of us don't have that kind of money lying around. You know? I talked them into waiting a week and trying this ugly boot thing which you don't need to see. My ankle already feels better. This country needs a system under which everyone has access to quality health care. You know? Like civilized nations.
But I have some SUPER AWESOME NEWS which I'll reveal tomorrow.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who are working on health care access for all.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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