Kin: Rooted in Hope. Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by Jeffery Boston Weatherford. 2023. [February] 193 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: Before Alex Haley's novel Roots
proved otherwise, few Black people
thought it possible to trace ancestry
beyond the cold heart of enslavement
to the warm sun of Africa.
My thoughts, initial impression: This is one of those books that just give off Important and Significant vibes. It just screams, "I am a serious book about a serious subject--be in awe of me." I have a love-hate relationship with heavy, "serious" books. Part of me feels obligated to keep up and read every Serious book that comes out just in case they end up winning a literary award. That's why I checked it out from the library.
Premise/plot: Kin is written ALL in verse. There is not a single narrator or protagonist. Not every speaker [narrator] is human. Some of the poems are, I believe, written from the point of view or perspective of more abstract speakers. (Places, objects, abstract subjects?) The premise is that she is giving an account of her ancestry or family tree. That's what it's about on the most surface-level. I think it probably has layers to it.
My thoughts: I found it confusing. I am not objectively saying that it IS confusing just that I found it to be so. It's like some readers see a beautiful cross-stitch embroidery, and I'm seeing the back of it. Poetry can be intimidating. Especially when each poem is from a different speaker, different point of view...especially when the reader is the one mostly responsible for piecing together the poems. Is it worth putting in the work? Maybe. Probably. I don't know because I didn't go the extra mile.
© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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