Carver, a Life in Poems, by Marilyn Nelson

Carver, a Life in Poems. By Marilyn Nelson. ISBN # 1-886910-53-7

This book is a poetic biographyabout George Washington Carver was born a slave some time around 1864 and was raised by a white couple that had owned Carver’s mother. He went on to be a world renowned botanist, artist, and inventor.

Marilyn Nelson writes this biography in chronological order and does a beautiful job of intermingling her poems with actual photos of George Washington Carver. The poems capture the true feelings of Carver as he travels on a fantastic journey. Carver’s personality comes through beautifully in these poems. We see Carver as a humble, intelligent man who quietly follows his diverse passions. A religious man, Carver spent his life helping Black farmers produce increased yields of crops as well as the other pursuits mentioned above.

It is the beauty of Nelson’s poems that make this book such a success. In a regular biography of Carver, an author might say that Carver was a quiet, intelligent man who was nicely treated by strangers, but Nelson, in the poem “A Charmed Life” has another way:

Here Breathes a solitary pilgrim sustained by dew
And the kindness of strangers. An astonished Midas
Surrounded by exponentially multiplying miracles:

Many of these poems are written in the voice of people from Carver’s life. This adds to the bank of evidence to show that George Washington was an exceptional man. Marilyn Nelson couldn’t have done a better job to show this.