The Poetry of Music: An Interview with Marilyn Nelson
RSSDaryl Grabarek, Curriculum Connections -- School Library Journal, 10/20/2009
TeachingBooks.net resources on this interview »»»
Listen to Marilyn Nelson read her haunting poem "A Wreath for Emmett Till"
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Sweethearts of Rhythm (Nelson) © 2009 by Jerry Pinkney
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Marilyn Nelson has authored several books of poetry for youth including A Wreath for Emmett Till (Houghton, 2005); Fortune’s Bones (Front St., 2004); The Freedom Business (Boyds Mills, 2008); and the National Book Award nominee Carver: A Life in Poems (Front St., 2001). In her latest work, Sweethearts of Rhythm (Dial, 2009), illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, the poet and artist vividly capture the tempo and texture of a celebrated all-female swing band that toured the United States during the late 1930s and 1940s. In the book, the band’s instruments speak to readers from a New Orleans pawn shop where, gathering dust, they remember the excitement of the road. Despite the good will the band engendered, there was no escape from the realities of Jim Crow.
Given the body of your work, I’m assuming that in addition to being a poet, you're a bit of a history buff, is that so?
I can't say I'm a history buff, per se, though I am interested in history and in historical accuracy. I wrote first about the history of my own family, and went from there to writing the biography of a man I admire. Those two projects—The Homeplace (Louisana State University Press, 1990) and Carver: A Life in Poems—apparently identified me in the eyes of publishers as being a poet able to write about African-American history. So the only projects any publisher has suggested to me have been based in history. I am interested in many things; I am as much interested in science as I am in history, but so far no one has asked me to write about science.
Is music one of those interests? Your poetry in Sweethearts so beautifully captures both the voices of the individual instruments and the big band rhythm.
© 2009 by Jerry Pinkney
Thanks! Well, I enjoy music, but don't know much about it. I'm a baby boomer, so big bands were often on evening TV when I was a child. I knew some of the "big names." I'm glad the rhythms of my poems suggests swing music— that's what I hoped for! I don't play an instrument, but did a lot of research about these: read interviews of musicians, talked with musician-friends, gained a general knowledge of how they are played, etc.
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| Sweethearts of Rhythm (Nelson) © 2009 by Jerry Pinkney |
One of the details I like in my book is that the trombones always speak together, never as individuals: that's true to the way they are employed in the big band. And I must admit, I love the piano's poem—though I doubt there'd really be a piano in a pawn shop!
In each poem you reference different aspects of the music and/or what was going on at home or at the front. From your sense of the character of each instrument did you feel certain instruments lent themselves to certain subjects? For instance, the piano (“Improvisation, 1948”) and the commentary on the U. N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
Good question! As far as I remember it, except for the guitar, my choice of which instrument should tell which part of the story was pretty arbitrary. I tried to be true to their individual voices and characters, and to let their voices determine what they said.
Of course, some of the stories had to be told by specific instruments (the Roz Cron story, for instance) [Cron was a white band member who wore thick makeup on stage in order to pass as a woman of color] but in most cases I didn't know what they were going to say until their voices began to take shape in the poems. The piano's poem came as a complete surprise!
The stories of these women are so affecting, in the discrimination they faced at home and the fact that they may not have had a chance to continue to perform as a group without a war going on. Were there particular stories that were especially important to you? Or personal stories that you wished had a chance to explore further?
Sweethearts of Rhythm (Nelson)
© 2009 by Jerry Pinkney
I wrote about the stories I found most interesting. But I'm sorry I wasn't able to interview the gals and their descendants, and I wish I could find out whether the rumor that the Asian-American band member was really Japanese, disguised as Chinese because of the internment camps.
Jerry Pinkney’s art for this book is amazing. Did you have any input on selecting an artist? Any conversations with the artist?
Sweethearts of Rhythm (Nelson)
© 2009 by Jerry Pinkney
Yes, isn't it amazing? I am absolutely in awe! What incredible gift this collaboration is for me.
Jerry and I had met briefly at two or three conferences, each meeting ending with our saying we'd like to do a book together. When the editor asked me if I'd be interested in writing about the Sweethearts, she told me that Jerry had agreed to illustrate the book. Though I had never heard of the Sweethearts, I jumped at the opportunity of working with him. Each of us agreed that we would do something in this book that we'd never done before. I wrote the poems, which then went to Jerry. At some point I was sent sketches of his work, which filled me with joy. Besides the poems themselves, my only input to Jerry's art was to email him a photo of a baritone sax case.
So, what’s next for you?
What's next is research about the Reconstruction period and conjoined twins Millie McKoy and Christine McKoy.
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View vintage footage of the Sweethearts performing.
Marilyn Nelson and Jerry Pinkney will be speaking at the Children’s Literature Assembly Breakfast at the National Council of Teachers of English conference in Philadelphia on November 22, 2009. To reserve a ticket, visit the NCTE Web site.
Listen to Marilyn Nelson read her haunting poem "A Wreath for Emmett Till"
