Carver by Marilyn Nelson

Nelson, Marilyn. Carver: a Life in Poems. North Carolina: Front Street, 2001.

ISBN: 9781886910539

“Carver: a Life in Poems” serves as a biography of George Washington Carver entirely in poems.  These poems were written by Marilyn Nelson and thoroughly account Carver’s childhood, professional life, and accomplishments.

The poems are written from a variety of views all about Carver.  The book explores a variety of feelings toward Carver, both positive and negative.  This allows the book to have a non-bias feel which is important in a biography.

My People

Strutting around here acting all humble,

When everybody knows

He’s the only one here

Got a master’s degree

From a white man’s college.

Everybody knows his salary

Is double ours.  He’s got two singles

In Rockefeller Hall; the rest of us

Bachelors share doubles.  The extra room

Is for his “collections.”

A pile of you-know-what,

If you ask me.

All that fake politeness, that white accent.

He thinks he’s better than us.

Wears those mismatched suits every day, too:

White men’s castoffs with the sleeves too short,

The trousers all bagged out at the knees.

His ties look like something

He made himself.

Always some old weed in his lapel,

Like he’s trying to be dapper.

It makes you want to laugh.

Talking all those big words,

Quoting poems at you

In that womanish voice.

So high and mighty,

He must think he’s white.

Wandering around through the fields

Like a fool, holding classes in the dump.

Always on his high horse, as if his

Wasn’t the blackest face on the faculty,

As I he wasn’t a nigger.

This is a tough poem to digest, the negativity is strong.  However, it’s important to understand that people who are regarded as pioneers and ground breakers weren’t always regarded as such in their time or by their peers.  Telling Carver’s story through poems is an effective way to illustrate the harsh truths of the time and explore negative feelings in a non-threatening way.

As a response to the poem biography I’d ask the students to get into pairs.  I’d have them talk to each other, find out what each likes to do for fun, excels at in school or sports, etc.  After a little “get to know you session” I’d ask each student to write a short poem about their partner that might appear in a biography about them!