Inheritance a visual poem

Available from OverDrive (4)

 

Unavailable from OverDrive (1)

Something

Summary

They tell me to "fix" my hair.And by fix, they mean straighten, they mean whiten;but how do you fix this shipwreckedhistory of hair? In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the complexities of Black hair and Afro-Latinidad--the history, pain, pride, and powerful love of that inheritance. Paired with full-color illustrations by artist Andrea Pippins in a format that will appeal to fans of Mahogany L. Browne's Black Girl Magic or Jason Reynolds's For Everyone, this poem can now be read in a vibrant package, making it the ideal gift, treasure, or inspiration for readers of any age.

Published Reviews

Booklist Review: "Acevedo's poem "Hair," which was written for a thesis in 2009 and went viral with her spoken-word performance in 2014, has now been beautifully adapted as a visual poem with the help of Pippins in Inheritance. In this small book, every square inch of every page is full of color and visual depictions of the poem's evocative lines. The palette in Pippins' illustrations--every shade of brown and warm terra-cotta earth tones--echoes the poem's sentiments. When Acevedo writes of hair strangling the air, the page seems to be swallowed by curls. A Dominican hair salon, a person with straightened hair shining like the sun, two people coming together "like sugarcane" and creating babies with beautiful hair whom they will teach to love themselves are all literally and figuratively illustrated in a combination of traditional hand-drawn and digital paintings. The poem tackles generational trauma and posits the powerful question, "Did our ancestors imagine that their great-grandchildren would look like us? And would try to escape them how we do?" It closes with the empowering declaration that what was never broken cannot be fixed. This beautiful, inviting presentation of Acevedo's poem can be appreciated by readers with a wide range of ages and interests.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Best-selling, award-winning Acevedo got her start with poetry, and her many fans will be eager for this new presentation of one of her most beloved works."
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "In spoken-word lines that explicate the tension between what people say and what they mean, Acevedo (Clap When You Land) confronts the cultural specter of hair-related prejudice through the lens of colonial history and Afro-Dominican identity. "Some people tell me to 'fix' my hair. And by fix, they mean straighten; they mean whiten"--but, the poem's speaker intones, "how do you fix this shipwrecked history of hair?" Centering figures with brown skin of varying tones, Pippins's (Young Gifted and Black) bold-hued, unlined art portrays curls, coils, and elaborate road map cornrows, including a design with a ship at its center. A subsequent spread centers a salon offering blowouts and roller sets: "We're told Dominicans do the best hair. We can wash, set, flatten the spring in any lock." But the context behind those words, the lines indicate, aligns with colonial beauty standards: "What they mean is: Why would you date a Black man?" and "Have you thought about your daughter's hair?" Embracing the beauty of Afro-Latinidad hair exactly as it is, Acevedo affirms, "Our children will be beautiful... Oh, how I will braid pride down their backs, and from the moment they leave the womb, they will be born in love with themselves." Ages 13--up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (May)"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Additional Information

Subjects	Children's poetry, American African Americans Poetry African Americans Social conditions Poetry Dominican Americans Poetry Dominican Americans Social conditions Poetry Hair Poetry Black people Race identity Poetry American poetry Poetry Young Adult Fiction Poetry.
Publisher	[Place of publication not identified] :HarperCollins,2022 HarperCollins2022
Edition	First edition.
Contributors	Pippins, Andrea, illustrator. OverDrive, Inc.
Audience	Young adult.
Language	English
System Details	Mode of access: World Wide Web. Format: Kindle Book Format: OverDrive Read Requires Amazon Kindle
Description	1 online resource
ISBN	9780062931955 0062931954
Other	Classic View