Overview

A collection of three powerful poems that take on racism and Black resistance in America by New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander. Includes an introduction by the author. AUTHOR: Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and the New York Times Bestselling author of more than 35 books, including Rebound, the follow-up to his, Newbery medal-winning middle grade novel, The Crossover. Some of his other works include Booked, which was longlisted for the National Book Award, The Playbook: 52 Rules to Help You Aim, Shoot, and Score in this Game of Life, Swing, and the picture books, Out of Wonder and The Undefeated, which was longlisted for the National Book Award, and won the Caldecott Medal, a Newbery Honor, and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.

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9780358539414

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The widely acclaimed author of nearly three dozen books for children, Alexander turns his poetic attention to three milestones in recent U.S. history: the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, the kneeling protests of Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem before NFL games, and the election of Barack Obama. Alexander works through these events in reverse chronological order, committing one long poem apiece to each of the three turning points. The poems are defined as much by their direct language and stark imagery ( we can't hold a gun / we can't stop that whip / we can't wear this skin ) as by the highly stylized typography: much of the text appears on yellow banners against black backgrounds, mimicking police tape at crime scenes. Other pages include broken chains in grayscale and the American flag with its stars replaced by X's. One of the most powerful passages occurs when Alexander lists the names of Black individuals murdered by police and white vigilantes and stirs his readers to action. A brave intervention by a talented writer of conviction...Alexander's uniquely designed poems offer a useful entry point for conversations about racism in America. --Booklist

Author Information

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and New York Times best-selling author of more than 30 books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American literature for Children, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Paterson Poetry Prize. He is also the author of THE UNDEFEATED which garnered a Caldecott Medal, Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award and was on NBA longlist. He is a regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition currently serving as their poet ambassador. He lives with his family in the UK. Visit his website at www.kwamealexander.com.

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