Grimes focuses on women poets of the Harlem Renaissance to draw attention to these lesser known yet talented writers of that time, offering up a selection of poems that she in turns uses as inspiration for poems of her own. An introduction to the Harlem Renaissance is followed by an explanation of the Golden Shovel poetry form, which takes “a short poem in its entirety, or a line from the poem, called a striking line, and [creates] a new poem using the words from the original,” with one word coming at the end of each line of the new poem. Grimes uses this form as she pairs poems by women of the Harlem Renaissance with her originals, with the line of inspiration in the Harlem Renaissance poem and the appearance of those words in her new poem called out in bold. The poems, divided into sections titled Heritage, Earth Mother, and Taking Notice, are complex but accessible, beautiful and empowering, joyful and sorrowful, while the pairings make for turns and transformations that can surprise and inspire. Many but not all of the old and new poems are about Blackness, Black womanhood or girlhood, nature, or a combination of these. Nineteen Black women artists each interpreted one of Grimes’s poems in her own distinctive style, creating stirring visual images throughout the volume. Back matter includes short biographies of the Harlem Renaissance poets and the illustrators. (Age 11 and older)

From Children's Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance--paired with full-color, original art from today's most talented female African-American illustrators.

For centuries, accomplished women--of all races--have fallen out of the historical records. The same is true for gifted, prolific, women poets of the Harlem Renaissance who are little known, especially as compared to their male counterparts.

In this poetry collection, bestselling author Nikki Grimes uses "The Golden Shovel" poetic method to create wholly original poems based on the works of these groundbreaking women-and to introduce readers to their work.

Each poem is paired with one-of-a-kind art from today's most exciting female African-American illustrators: Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Nina Crews, Pat Cummings, Laura Freeman, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Ebony Glenn, April Harrison, Vashti Harrison, Ekua Holmes, Cathy Ann Johnson, Keisha Morris, Daria Peoples-Riley, Andrea Pippins, Erin Robinson, Shadra Strickland, Nicole Tadgell, and Elizabeth Zunon.

Legacy also includes a foreword, an introduction to the history of the Harlem Renaissance, author's note, and poet biographies, which make this a wonderful resource and a book to cherish.


Acclaim for One Last Word
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor winner
A New York Public Library Best Kids Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, Middle Grade
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Nonfiction