POETRY

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” – George Washington Carver

Carver: a Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson.  A man far beyond his time, George Washington Carver was born to slave parents but went on in a quiet and determined way to become one of the 20th century’s most influential scientists.  His accomplishments include developing crop-rotation methods that moved the south beyond its dependence on the cotton industry, revolutionizing the use of the peanut and other crops, as well as numerous other undertakings.  He used his gifts to forge a path for African Americans through the resistant forest of higher education, but made clear that his goal was to benefit all humanity.  Many biographies found in school libraries are either dry and informational or flowery and childish, usually nothing that would really appeal to middle school students.  Marilyn Nelson uses a different approach, telling Carver’s story through a series of poems that show us all aspects of the man as artist, inventor, writer, teacher and more.  The poems offer a rich opportunity to teach about inference and poetic images that capture the dignity, humility and faith of a man who moved mountains of social injustice through his accomplishments.   Photos and short explanatory notes are also included to draw the reader in to learn more.  In this clever way, Nelson documents the many obstacles Carver faced from all directions.  The book testifies of a true hero whose virtuous life offers an example of courage and perseverance to any young person of any time.