Are You a Citizen?

Citizen by Claudia Rankine
Minneapolis, Minn. : Graywolf Press, [2014]
169 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 21 cm.

I heard Claudia Rankine read some of her essay/poems on a Poetry Magazine podcast [and you can listen to these stunning works here ] , and knew I had to read her book.  Her book also made national and local (Central Illinois) headlines when a woman wisely chose to read the book instead continuing to listen to the offensive talk of Donald Trump at a rally in Springfield, IL. 

The book is a wonderful mix of poetic essays and meditations on the experience of being Black in the United States and being "other" in the world.  There are vignettes from her personal and professional life, explorations of the career of Serena Williams, and the experience of the French soccer star Zidane.  Some of the works in the book are described as scripts for "Situations" videos and can be viewed on her website.  

I love that the poems and essays are thoughtful, provocative and complex - but also very accessible.  They invite the reader in instead of pushing her away.

I'll keep this book in mind for any student curious about African American poetry or essays, particularly in this time of racial awareness and organizing as evidenced in the Black Lives Matter movement. And I'll definitely recommend it.

Exciting Colonial History, Really

Igniting the American Revolution: 1773 - 1775 by Derek W. Beck
Naperville, Ill. : Sourcebooks, [2015]
xi, 467 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.

I ended up reading this book when I found it searching our UHS eBook account on my phone (and remembered that I had purchased the book for our library during the year.)  I am pretty ignorant on early US History and woefully uninformed about the US Revolution, and so I thought this would be a good place to start.  It was a good choice.  Beck clearly loves his material and brings the real grit and details of the years 1773-1775 to life.

I learned several things right off that I had not really gathered from the history I was taught in school.  The battles of Lexington and Concord were terrible and grueling affairs for both the British forces and the American rebel militias.  I just never realized how long the battle went on and how far the British had to march under withering and mobile gunfire as they tried to get from Concord back to Boston.  Also I had always learned that the British fought traditionally (in silly lines and formations) while the Americans used a more lethal guerrilla style of attack - well, sort of, but not really.  During the French Indian-War (or the Seven Years War) the British learned how to fight guerrilla war.  During the march to and from Concord the British deployed light infantry roving attack groups to flush out, counter and destroy American ambushes on their main column, BUT they ran out of ammunition and were simply outnumbered and exhausted.

The thing I most enjoyed is that you could really appreciate the appalling risks that the rebels were taking and knew they were taking in violently breaking British law.  I also like that though Beck acknowledges that he considers himself a patriot and partial to the American cause, he is able to be very even-handed and shows the rashness and brutality of the burgeoning US radical movement - in addition to the block-headed policies and decisions being made by Parliament and the the Crown back in England.

I'll recommend this to any student wanting to read a good book about the lead up to the American Revolution. 

Amazing Amazing

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
New York : Picador, c2000.
639 p. ; 21 cm.

Michael Chabon's novel won a 2001 Pulitzer Prize and I challenge a reader to not enjoy this  wonderful tale.  It's a gloriously written tale of the starting in the late 1930s and continuing into the 1950s and centers on the golden age of comic books in New York City, but also embraces the Holocaust, Harry Houdini, The Golem of Prague, Brooklyn, gay life, and of course love, friendship and family.

Though we have this book in the UHS library collection, I read it on my cell phone - accessing it through our library's eBook collection.  It's not the first book that I've read on my phone, but it was great to be able to carry it around in my pocket while traveling during the summer.

Fortunately, The Amazing Adventures seems to be doing quite well.  I looked for a copy at my local public libraries and all 6 copies were checked out.  It's a great book and I will definitely recommend it to any student looking for a rewarding literary fiction read from a contemporary author - especially a reader who has an interest in world of comic book writing and publishing back when vast majorities of young Americans regularly read comic books.