Legacy*The review below is being done on a Netgalley Advanced Reader's Copy of Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance. This review is my own, and I have written it in my honest opinion.
Happy New Year!! My first read for the year I was so lucky to get Nikki Grimes' ARC on poets from the Harlem Renaissance. Personally, I am not too familiar with authors from the Harlem Renaissance; I did have one class in college that thematically revolved around the texts, but my knowledge ends there. Because of this, I felt that Grimes' book was a perfect reintroduction to the movement and the female poets that have fallen off my radar. One thing to know about this book of poetry is that it written in the "Golden Shovel" format. Grimes does a great job in explaining what the format is, but to paraphrase the Golden Shovel Poem is created using a line from another poem; once you have that line, the words in that poem must be used as the last word of each line in your poem. What I enjoyed about this is that even before we get into the readings, Grimes explains and gives an example of what this will look like. I find that to be so helpful and something that can be used in the classroom. On to the book- some things that I fully enjoyed about the book is that each poem by the Harlem Renaissance authors is thematically connected to Grimes' Shovel Poem. For example, if the poem is speaking towards societal standards for women Grimes will also keep that theme and recreate a new poem as a response or as a continuation. Reading both sets was something empowering because the themes encouraged readers to be more than what society tells us to be. In addition to beautiful works of poetry, visual artist were included in the process because at the end of each poem set there is a related image done by an illustrator/artist. No piece is a duplicate, and they each bring out the mental image that represented the poetry. Legacy is an amazing addition to any collection because it mixes modes of art as well as timelines in a seamless manner. I would love to see another addition to this book in the form of a series, and I can honestly say that Nikki Grimes did not disappoint. You can get your copy below, the book will be released on January 5, 2021: Amazon Barnes and Noble Powell's
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