LS5663 - Module 1 - African American Poetry - Book Review

Smith, Hope Anita. 2008. Keeping the night watch. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Illustrations by E.B. Lewis. ISBN 9780805072020.

This is an extremely powerful book of narrative poetry. Each poem gives a further detail of the story, but they all fit together to deliver an incredible punch of emotion.

This is the story of a 13-year old African American boy who struggles with a father who left the family temporarily, and has now returned. The entire family has very strong emotions of anger, hope, fear, and abandonment. The narrative poetry is organized by seasons of the year, starting with fall. Not only does C.J. have family issues to deal with, but life goes on with school, friends, and a girlfriend.

This book is written in a free style, and the poems focus on lots of emotions, from incredibly sad to laugh out loud. The words of the poems are so carefully chosen that in just a few short words, a beautiful story is told that is easily understandable by kids and adults. Almost everyone has had to struggle with some issue discussed in this book, and it is easy to make connections.

The poet uses poetic elements of sound, figuarative language, sensory imagery, and emotional impact to create the desired effect. I believe that this story will appeal to a variety of middle and high school readers, girls and boys, if suggested and encouraged in a booktalk.

One of the lighter moments in this book is a poem called "Tongue-Tied"

One digit

dialing

seven digits.

That's all it takes to

make my voice

reach across the miles.

The receiver is my fortress.

Behind it, I can say anything.

My words walk with a sure step.

They are cocky,

strut across the telephone lines,

and never look down.

Until Maya picks up.

Then the first word stops,

abruptly,

getting caught in my throat.

And every word that comes after

plows into the one in front of it.

Fifty-two-word pile up.

Right smack dab

in the middle of

our conversation.

I love the mental image that I get when I read that poem. I have been there and so have many other people. It is just one of those rites of passage in having a boy-girl relationship. It is horrible and laughable all at the same time. Teens will relate to this poem and it will make for a great discussion, and as a way to introduce this poetry book. Kids will be able to immediately see that this book is fun and serious, and that is what life is all about. Everyone has problems, and sometimes we deal with them in a good way, and sometimes we try to avoid dealing with them at all. This would also be a good time to show other novels with similar stories, with short booktalks as well. Students usually like hearing about additional titles carrying a common theme.