Carver

A Life in Poems
by Marilyn Nelson

Nelson, Marilyn. Carver : a Life in Poems. New York, NY: Scholastic, 2001.

ISBN 9780439456739

This book is written by one poet, Marilyn Nelson. Marilyn is a renowned author and poet who has received numerous awards and recognition in her life.This book itself has received many acknowledgments including the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, being a Newberry Honor Book, and a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. A good amount of the poems in this collection have been included in other poetry books and publications.

Before the book starts, Nelson presents three quotes by George Washington Carver, one by Leo Tolstoy, and one by Albert Einstein. There is no table of contents but there is a list of poems in the back of the book that acts like an index. The book also contains a page with acknowledgments from the author and publisher. Credits for the photographs throughout the book are given in the back of the book along with a page containing notes on the first publication of poems. The photographs in this book represent real pictures of people and items that resemble pieces of Carver's life. They definitely enhance the historical theme of the story. The arrangement of the poems is important because they tell the story of George Washington Carver from birth to death. 

Carver : a life in poems is basically an eloquent biography written in poems about George Washington Carver. This representation of his life is done in fifty-nine poems. Readers will definitely have a better understanding of what life was like for an African American born slave who grew up to become a botanist, inventor, scholar, and incredible man. The poems are not too sentimental, but the reader will experience emotions as they read through this book. Readers will be amazed and enlightened by the challenges, obstacles, and accomplishments Carver goes through in his lifetime. He achieved a great deal for an African American in the 19th and 20th centuries. The poetic elements for this book focus on emotional impact and sense imagery. 

One poem that I would choose to highlight from this book is "1905". A good place to use this poem is in a history class to show how Carver initiates the Jesup wagon which includes taking his agricultural teachings to the poor who live in rural areas. The teacher will ask for volunteers to read aloud the five different stanzas of the poem, and have a class discussion after reading aloud. 

Excerpt from 1905 by Marilyn Nelson

(first two stanzas)

Looking out of the front page, a wild-haired,

gentle-eyed young German man stands

before a blackboard of incomprehensible equations.

Meanwhile, back in the quotidian,

Carver takes the school to the poor.

He outfits an open truck

with shelves for his jars

of canned fruit and compost,

bins for his croker sacks of seeds.

He travels roads barely discernible 

on the county map,

teaching former field-slaves

how to weave ditch weeds

into pretty table place mats,

how to keep their sweet potatoes form rotting

before winter hunger sets in,

how to make preacher-pleasing

mock fried chicken

without slaughtering a laying hen.

He notes patches of wild chicory

the farmers could collect

to free themselves form their taste

for high-priced imported caffeine.