One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

 

1. Bibliography 

Grimes, Nikki, and Cozbi A. Cabrera. One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. New York, NY: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2017.

2. Plot Summary 

Nikki Grimes created a beautiful, powerful, and thought-provoking collection of poems celebrating poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Sitting next to each poem from famous Harlem Renaissance poets are Grimes’ original poems that teach and inspire in the way that poems of the past have before hers. Each original poem is a “Golden Shovel” poem, where lines and sometimes whole poems from the poets are the starting off point for all new poems by Grimes. Readers will enjoy learning about poets from the past, the works of contemporary artists, and fresh poems by Grimes. 

3. Critical Analysis

This unique poetry collection features famous poets from the Harlem Renaissance such as Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Bennett. Nikki Grimes then uses the words of their poems as the last word in new poems about life, self worth, hope, and more. These Golden Shovel poems use whole poems, such Mother to Son by Langston Hughes as the starting off point for her poem Lessons, and other times only a part such as her poem Jabari Unmasked which takes a stanza from We Wear The Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Her free verse poems have an easy rhythm, but powerful words meant to inspire like the simile “The truth is, every day we rise is like thunder-a clap of surprise,” from her poem Truth. Metaphors like “uncut ginger appears an ordinary, worthless root, till opened jars of it infuse the air with a tang so strong, you are bound to blink..” which is compared to a calm demeanor in In Search of a Superpower expresses life advice to her readers that mirrors lessons from the Harlem Renaissance poets. 

Included in this poetry collection, is an introduction to the Harlem Renaissance as well as a section in the back with biographies of the poets featured in the book, providing readers an opportunity to learn more. Poems are paired with original artwork from the artists that are described in the conclusion of the book, including an original piece by Grimes. Readers can flip through and enjoy individual poems and biographies, or read it from cover to cover, enjoying the thematic sections and the educational aspects of this book. Middle grade and young adult readers will love this poetry collection. 

4. Award(s) and Review Excerpt(s)

• 2018 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award
  
• From Kirkus Review: “This striking, passionate anthology reminds young readers and adult fans of poetry alike that while black life remains "no crystal stair," there remains reason to hope and a reserve of courage from which to draw.” 
  
• From School Library Journal: “This unique and extraordinary volume is a first purchase for all middle school poetry collections.” 

5. Connections

Gather other works by Nikki Grimes: 

• Words with Wings. ISBN 9781590789858
  
• Planet Middle School. ISBN 1619630125
  
• Ordinary Hazards. ISBN 1629798819
  

Gather other Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Winners

• Pinkey, Andrea Davis. Martin Rising: Requiem for a King. ISBN 0545702534
• Argueta, Jorge. Somos como las nubes/ We Are Like the Clouds. ISBN 1554988497
• Engle, Margarita. Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir. ISBN 148143523X
• Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. ISBN 0544935209 
  

Have students write their own Golden Shovel poems.

Use as an introduction to a study of the Harlem Renaissance.