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George
Washington
Carver
Carver:
A Life in
Poems by
Marilyn Nelson
A Letter of
Discovery by
Sandra L. West
Friends, I must
tell you this.
On January 29th,
Black History
Month opened at
Newark Public
Library (NPL).
The title of the
exhibition is
Dear & Glorious
Physician: The
History of Black
Doctors, Nurses,
and Hospitals in
Newark and
Places Just
Beyond the River.
Mrs. Wilma Grey,
Director of NPL,
introduced me on
this opening
night. She told
the audience
that I had just
been hired in
October and that
already she
could see
changes in the
library. Well, I
have to turn
that around. The
library has
changed me.
I am reading
books that I
would have never
read before, and
feeling them
deep into my
bones.
I am not
reading
more—because
curating takes
so much energy
and time—but I
am reading books
that I would
have never
before picked
up. And, these
books are having
such an impact
on me. These
books I will
never forget.
Sometimes when I
am riding the
bus to work I
close my eyes
and retrace the
beautiful words
I have read the
night before.
These books have
touched me
deeply. They
have given me so
much strength.
The messages are
implanted in my
consciousness.
And, I fairly
float on the
language!
The Ben
Carson Story.
The
Green Collar
Economy.
And now,
Carver: A
Life in Poems
by Marilyn
Nelson.
The cover of the
latter is drawn
deep with
humility: young
George
Washington
Carver, somber
and quiet in a
photo. My
peanut-loving
mother called
him The Peanut
Man. I have a
renewed interest
in him because I
recently
learned—while
researching
Dear & Glorious
Physician—about
the history of
Newark’s Kenney
Memorial
Hospital, for
black patients,
and its founder,
Dr. John Kenney.
Kenney had
worked at
Tuskegee and had
been personal
physician to
both Booker T.
Washington and
Carver. Also, I
was mentoring a
young poet—who
has since died
at age 36—and I
was researching
poetry retreats
for him and came
across one
administered by
Marilyn Nelson.
I had never
heard of her
before but oh, I
know her now.
This is a
history text,
written in
poetic language.
What a wonderful
way to teach.
There is a poem
about Carver in
his job as a
young washerman;
about his first
awful look at a
lynching;
another about
his unassuming
nature; yet
another about
him and his best
friends, and
they are white
men who love
him.
It seems that
George
Washington
Carver was born
a slave, his
mother was owned
by Susan and
Moses Carver.
The mother died
or fled and left
two orphans:
George and his
brother Jim.
Susan and Moses
were childless.
They took the
boys in and
raised them as
their own. This
relationship, as
felt and
imagined by
Nelson, is
astounding.
One of my
favorite poems
speaks to this
very point in
young Carver’s
life:
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Prayer
of
the
Ivory-Handled
Knife
Susan
Carver,
1871
Father,
you
have
given
us,
instead
of
our
own
children,
your
and
Mary’s
orphans,
Jim
and
George.
what
would
you
have
us
make
of
them?
What
kind
of
freedom
can
we
raise
them
to?
They
will
always
be
strangers
in
this
strange,
hate-filled
land.
Jim
is a
big
help
to
Moses:
Thank
you
for
their
joined
laughter
like
morning
mist
over
new-plowed
fields.
And
our
little
plant-doctor:
Now
he’s
crushing
leaves
and
berries
and
painting
sanded
boards.
Thank
you
for
his
profusion
of
roses
on
our
bedroom
wall,
for
his
wildflower
bouquet
in
the
sitting
room,
his
apples
and
pears
beside
the
stove.
He
ran
out
before
breakfast,
saying
he’d
dreamed
last
night
of
that
pocket
knife
he’s
been
asking
us
and
praying
for.
A
few
minutes
later
he
ran
back
up
from
the
garden,
calling
Aunt
Sue!
Aunt
Sue!
He’d
found
it
in a
watermelon,
ivory-handled,
exactly
as
he
had
dreamed.
Seemed
like
he
all
but
flew
into
my
arms.
Oh,
Father,
gracious
Lord:
How
shall
I
thank
you?
Source:
Carver:
A
Life
in
Poems
by
Marilyn
Nelson. |
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George
Washington
Carver
(January
1864–
January
5,
1943),
was
an
American
scientist,
botanist,
educator,
and
inventor
whose
studies
and
teaching
revolutionized
agriculture
in
the
Southern
United
States.
The
day
and
year
of
his
birth
are
unknown;
he
is
believed
to
have
been
born
before
slavery
was
abolished
in
Missouri
in
January
1864.
Much
of
Carver's
fame
is
based
on
his
research
into
and
promotion
of
alternative
crops
to
cotton,
such
as
peanuts
and
sweet
potatoes.
He
wanted
poor
farmers
to
grow
alternative
crops
both
as a
source
of
their
own
food
and
as a
source
of
other
products
to
improve
their
quality
of
life.
The
most
popular
of
his
44
practical
bulletins
for
farmers
contained
105
food
recipes
that
used
peanuts.
He
also
created
or
disseminated
about
100
products
made
from
peanuts
that
were
useful
for
the
house
and
farm,
including
cosmetics,
dyes,
paints,
plastics,
gasoline,
and
nitroglycerin.
Wikipedia
|
 |
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Marilyn
Nelson (aka
Marilyn Nelson
Waniek) was born
in Cleveland,
Ohio, and comes
from a long line
of teachers on
her mother's
side. Her father
was a career Air
Force officer
who wrote poetry
and plays.
Marilyn grew up
on air bases all
over the country
and wrote her
first poem at
age 11. She
earned her BA
from the
University of
California,
Davis, and holds
postgraduate
degrees from the
University of
Pennsylvania
(MA, 1970) and
the University
of Minnesota
(Ph.D., 1979)
and honorary
doctorates from
Kutztown
University in
Pennsylvania and
Simpson College
in Iowa. Her
many poetry
books include
Fortune's Bones:
The Manumission
Requiem
(2004),
Carver: A
Life in Poems
(2001), A
Wreath for
Emmett Till
(Houghton
Mifflin, Spring
2005),
The Cachoiera
Tales and Other
Poems
(2005),
The Fields of
Praise: New and
Selected Poems
(1997),
Magnificat:
Poems
(1994)
The Homeplace
(1990),
Mama's Promises
(1985), and
For the Body
(1978).
BoydsMillsPress
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posted 5 March
2009 |
