Module 1-African American Poetry/LS 5663-20

Grimes,Nikki. A dime a dozen. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1998.
ISBN 0-8037-2227-3
This collection of poems by Nikki Grimes shows her journey as a young woman of color struggling with issues of appearance, growing as a writer and dealing with the divorce of her parents. In the first poem, we see the determination of a young woman to achieve her dreams, in spite of her circumstances.
The Dream
Oh! To poet
like a laser,
pierce darkness
with one word!
I would use this poem as a catalyst for achieving your dreams. Children are not often allowed to dream about what they would like to do. This poem could be used to encourage students to write about they would like to achieve as adults. I would have the students list several goals that they would like to accomplish and share why. I feel that this activity would be beneficial for intermediate students. As an ice-breaker for the activity, I would have different staff members write about what their future goals were as young adults, without including their name and then have the students try to match the correct staff member with the story shared. As the instructor, I would also share what my goals were and how I felt in my journey to achieve them.
This specific book is broken down into three different sections, with each section giving the reader insight into the life of Nikki Grimes. As an introduction to the book, the poet shares that her mother tells her that writers are “a dime a dozen” and writers don’t come from their neighborhood. I feel that these poems can evoke memories of a time when each of us have been told that we need to be realistic and stop dreaming. This experience can bring about resentment and pain that many would not want to revisit. Nikki Grimes took her experience with being told to give up her dream, and through her words, she can encourage young writers to never give up on their dreams, no matter what.
Nikki Grimes has also shared the emotion of a child dealing with divorce. This topic is unfortunately something readers of all ages have experienced. As a child of divorce, she shares through her work the stress of worrying about the emotional state of both parents, financial issues and trying to have a healthy relationship with both parents. I feel that the following poem would be helpful to students who are struggling with these issues.
Untitled
It happened
to Maria
Malik
and Danny Gold;
To Javier
and Suki
Jim Roth
and Suzy Chow.
My parents
got divorced
last month
…..I guess I fit in now.