 | |
| Author | Marilyn Nelson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Front Street, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press |
Publication date | 1997 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 103 pp |
Carver: A Life in Poems is a 1997 collection of poems written by the American poet Marilyn Nelson about George Washington Carver.
Carver was an American inventor and educator; he was first born a slave in Diamond, Missouri, in about 1864. He lived with many struggles growing up while being raised by a white couple who owned his mother. Carver's life as a slave is described in poems written by those who once knew him during his lifetime, such as his friends and family all in one book.
The book was first published on April 23, 1997. It received positive reviews and was awarded with the John Newbery Medal. The author of the book, Marilyn Nelson, is an American award-winning writer. Nelson was born on April 26, 1946, in Cleveland, Ohio. [1] She began writing in elementary school and attended the schools, the University of Minnesota and the University of Pennsylvania. [1]
Critics have found Carver: A Life in Poems to be a great portrayal of George Washington Carver's life. Nina Lindsay, of School Library Journal, found Carver: A Life in Poems to be “a beautiful and intricate interior biography of a man whom many readers will be familiar with from much drier introductions." [3] Alison Follos, of School Library Journal, writes off Nelson's collection of Carver's poems to have “eloquent verses told in different voices that come together as a tight-knit documentary." [4] "Marilyn Nelson has engaged the extraordinary George Washington Carver as a biographical subject in a book which renews our appreciation of his creative legacy." [5]
Newbery Medal [6] Honor Book in 2002.
George Washington Carver was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century.
Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Born in West Africa, she was kidnapped and subsequently sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America, where she was bought by the Wheatley family of Boston. After she learned to read and write, they encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.
Philip Edward Thomas was a British writer of poetry and prose. He is sometimes considered a war poet, although few of his poems deal directly with his war experiences. He only started writing poetry at the age of 36, but by that time he had already been a prolific critic, biographer, nature writer and travel writer for two decades. In 1915, he enlisted in the British Army to fight in the First World War and was killed in action during the Battle of Arras in 1917, soon after he arrived in France.
Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Award winner in 1970, and the recipient of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1976. Dwight Garner argued in 2018 that she was perhaps "the most purely gifted poet of the 20th century". She was also a painter, and her poetry is noted for its careful attention to detail; Ernest Hilbert wrote “Bishop’s poetics is one distinguished by tranquil observation, craft-like accuracy, care for the small things of the world, a miniaturist’s discretion and attention."
Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. He published his first collection of stories, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, in 1976. His breakout collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (1981), received immediate acclaim and established Carver as an important figure in the literary world. It was followed by Cathedral (1983), which Carver considered his watershed and is widely regarded as his masterpiece. The definitive collection of his stories, Where I'm Calling From, was published shortly before his death in 1988. In their 1989 nomination of Carver for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the jury concluded, "The revival in recent years of the short story is attributable in great measure to Carver's mastery of the form."
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