Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not Quite Poems

Essence

“One of her best collections to date.”

Booklist

“An embracing, uplifting, and sustaining voice.”

VOYA

Giovanni's latest poetry book must have been written for just for this reviewer. Its subject matter, its regional views, and its political agenda are aimed in this direction. Arranged in six untitled sections whose themes are not self-evident, the poems take an artifact from life and examine its cultural impact. For example, Giovanni captures her grandmother's wisdom through the image of a colander full of blackberries. Likewise, she laments the tragedy of September 11 through the loss felt by unattended pets of the victims. Whether the poem is about things, such as a park in Knoxville, a robin's nest in snow, the latest Harry Potter movie, or people, such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Williams (father of Serena and Venus), and Aretha Franklin, the poet examines the culture surrounding them. Her poems are eulogies and proclamations. For example, in "In the Spirit of Martin," she writes, "How much pressure / does the Earth exert on carbon / to make a diamond / This is a sacred poem / open your arms / turn your palms up / feel the Spirit of Greatness / and be redeemed." It will be easy for any reader to find himself or herself in Giovanni's work. As she says in her poem to Emerson Edward Rudd, "Thank you for finding yourself in my poetry." VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2002, HarperCollins, 110p, Reddy-Damon

Library Journal

Particularly in light of the recent deaths of June Jordan and Gwendolyn Brooks, readers might well look to Giovanni as spokeswoman for the black experience. And, at times, she captures it, effectively representing "all the women who said Baby, Baby, Baby I know you didn't mean to lose your job...I know you didn't mean to gamble the rentmoney I know you didn't mean to hit me." A recent poem, "Have Dinner with Me," written after the World Trade Center collapsed, is a modern masterpiece. Unfortunately, too many of these poems, though themselves strong, seem intent on rehashing the 1950s political climate. And the "Not Quite Poems" predominate. These proselike pieces include childhood memoirs that draw the reader clearly into her experiences, and there is a delightful spoof on what the movie of Harry Potter should have been, but elegiac tributes and political diatribes fare less well. "I keep trying to learn something new so I can share what I am learning," she writes in a letter-poem to a convict on death row. While the effort is to be praised, she too often comes up with insights readers have absorbed a long time ago. For larger collections.-Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Booklist

"An embracing, uplifting, and sustaining voice."

Essence

"One of her best collections to date."