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I, too, sing America : three centuries of African-American poetry
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J 811.008 I
Houghton Mifflin,, 1998.
128 p. : col. ill. ; 30 cm.
 
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Howe Library J 811.008 I Children's nonfiction Available
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A collection of poems by African-American writers, including Lucy Terry, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Alice Walker.

Syndetic Solutions - Kirkus Review for ISBN Number 0395895995
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
by Clinton, Catherine; Alcorn, Stephen (Illustrator)
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Kirkus Review

I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry

Kirkus Reviews


Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A splendid, rattling good collection of African-American poetry. Represented are 25 poets (and 35 poems), some of whom are household namesŽW.E.B. Du Bois, Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, and Langston Hughes. There are examples of the influential Harlem Renaissance poetsŽAngelina Weld Grimké, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Jean Toomer, for exampleŽand the first known poem composed by an African-American, Lucy Terry's ``Bars Fight.'' The brimming anger of James M. Whitfield comes through, along with the injustice of lines that had to be transcribed by others because African- Americans were denied by law the right to put poetry to paper. Clinton includes short biographical sketches and critical snippets on every poet, and these only further the impact of the tragic, warm, sad, and ferocious voices of great presence that survived beyond all odds. Acorn's elegant illustrations have an expressiveness that honors the words. (Poetry. 10+)

Syndetic Solutions - Library Journal Review for ISBN Number 0395895995
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
by Clinton, Catherine; Alcorn, Stephen (Illustrator)
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Library Journal Review

I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry

Library Journal


(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This book includes 25 poets, from Lucy Terry to Rita Dove, with a total of 36 poems. The poems are performed, not narrated, by Ashley Bryan and Ren‚e Joshua Porter. Prefacing each work are the poets' biographies and information about the poems. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Syndetic Solutions - The Horn Book Review for ISBN Number 0395895995
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
by Clinton, Catherine; Alcorn, Stephen (Illustrator)
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The Horn Book Review

I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry

The Horn Book


(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This chronological collection includes work by such poets as Phillis Wheatley, W. E. B. Du Bois, Arna Bontemps, Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, along with twenty others. The verses, introduced with biographical information, reflect the African-American struggle for equality from the early 1800s to the present. The textured illustrations, done in muted tones, capture the drama and strength of each poem. From HORN BOOK Spring 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Syndetic Solutions - School Library Journal Review for ISBN Number 0395895995
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
by Clinton, Catherine; Alcorn, Stephen (Illustrator)
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School Library Journal Review

I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry

School Library Journal


(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 5 Up-How do three centuries of African-American poetry fit into 128 pages? With a firm editorial hand, as exhibited in this volume. Clinton has selected one poem (or occasionally a few) by 25 prominent poets from the 1700s to the present. A page of brief biographical and critical text introduces each poet's work. The result is introductory and broad. Readers will need other resources to explore these writers more fully, but this collection should "touch the imagination," as the author hopes. Each poem is illustrated on the facing page with one of Alcorn's strong, colorful, and imagistic paintings (reminiscent of the work of Aaron Douglas and the Harlem Renaissance). This artwork as well as the taupe patterned block prints make this book a truly beautiful visual interpretation of the collection. This title could serve as an introduction to Arnold Adoff's The Poetry of Black America (Harper, 1973) and I Am the Darker Brother (S & S, 1997) or stand alone in any collection.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Syndetic Solutions - Publishers Weekly Review for ISBN Number 0395895995
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
by Clinton, Catherine; Alcorn, Stephen (Illustrator)
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Publishers Weekly Review

I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry

Publishers Weekly


(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In this well-chosen collection, Clinton, an author and editor of women's history books for adults, chronologically presents work by 25 poets, from Lucy Terry and Phillis Wheatley to Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen to Maya Angelou and Alice Walker. Because only six of the poets are represented by more than one poem, however, readers are unlikely to get a strong sense of any one poet, despite the biographical entry on each. Alcorn's (Langston Hughes: An Illustrated Edition) abstract mixed-media illustrations on grainy, almost linenlike paper recalls Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas and, at times, the kaleidoscopic space of Marc Chagall. Each illustration is a complex response to the poem, inviting readers to both study the artwork and muse over the text. Facing each biographical note is a full page of taupe-and-white pattern, however, which quickly grows monotonous, particularly in comparison with the striking forms and splintered spaces of the full-color art. Rather than relegating the artwork to a supporting role, this book places the paintings on at least the same level as the classic poems. While those who love poetry may wish there were more poems, the strong selections that are included here‘coupled with the dramatic paintings they have inspired‘are likely to put readers on the trail to the poets' further works. All ages. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Syndetic Solutions - BookList Review for ISBN Number 0395895995
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry
by Clinton, Catherine; Alcorn, Stephen (Illustrator)
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BookList Review

I, Too, Sing America : Three Centuries of African American Poetry

Booklist


From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

Gr. 6^-10. The title of this anthology is from a stirring poem by Langston Hughes, the same poem that gave Arnold Adoff the title for his landmark anthology, I Am the Darker Brother (1968; rev. ed., 1997). Adoff brought the best modern African American poets to young readers in a small, accessible paperback. This handsome, large-size, illustrated collection goes back to the first black poets in the early eighteenth century--the African-born, enslaved women Lucy Terry and Phyllis Wheatley--and ends with contemporary poets, such as Amiri Baraka and Rita Dove. With just 36 poems by 25 poets, it does not attempt to be comprehensive, but rather to show the best of the African American poetic tradition. For each poet, Clinton provides a biography and a brief, insightful commentary on the poem(s) she has chosen, including a discussion of political as well as literary connections. Alcorn's dramatic, full-page, full-color illustrations opposite each poem evoke the quiltlike patterns and rhythmic figures of folk art. The spacious design, on high-quality paper, will draw browsers to read one great poem at a time, and the historical sweep and commentary make this a fine volume to use across the curriculum. --Hazel Rochman

 
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