One Last Word

Module 5: Hopkins Award Poetry

Bibliography:

Grimes, Nikki. One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2017.

Summary:

This award winning collection of poems by Nikki Grimes gives the reader so much to appreciate in one book. Nikki Grimes adds 16 original poems to accompany poems from amazing poets of the Harlem Renaissance. She highlights poems from greats such as Langston Hughes and Clara Ann Thompson. Grimes follows a method called the Golden Shovel in which she writes the words from an inspired poet down the right margin and creates an original work around that. The book also features original artwork from today’s most exciting African American illustrators. There is truely something for everyone.

Analysis:

I was so impressed with this book. It was the first time I have ever heard of the poetry form called The Golden Shovel. It was so masterfully done. The book first catches the reader’s attention with the beautiful mosaic on the cover page. The artist used dark rich colors to set a mood. The book has a quote of praise from notable writer, Kwame Alexander. This familiar name will draw young readers in. The book includes a Table of Contents that is broken into 3 parts and includes resources. The preface is written by Nikki Grimes and sets the tone for the book. The next section titled, The Harlem Renaissance explains how the book came to be her her purpose when writing it. I appreciate that she took the time to explain the poetry form. It is so unusual that it might be missed if it weren’t explained with examples.

The entire book is a celebration of poets from the past. Grimes highlights a poem and uses either a line, and paragraph or the entire poem to create a poem of her own. The new poem is a reflection of the original work, they share themes. Although the poems share words and ideas, each can stand alone. Even paired poems have their own titles. It really is a masterpiece of a book.

The resource section in the back of the book includes poet biographies, artist biographies, acknowledgments, sources and an index. I think students will be very surprised to see the ages of the original poets. It is a true testament to the ageless beauty of poems.

This book of poems is best used with 5th grade and up.

Excerpt:

Activity:

One Last Word is a book that needs to be shared visually. The pair of poems should both be projected. As a class read and analyze the first selection and discuss themes and style. Next, read the poem by Nikki Grimes and compare. Read both selections again but have the students read the last word on each line of the second poem with you. Show how the first poem lives in the second one. Discuss the poetry form and provide examples for the students to explore.