Ordinary Hazards, A Memoir
by Nikki Grimes
I L L U S T R A T O R discussion
Words + Whitespace + Wonder
Much of a poem is art itself: words, sound, and whitespace. They carve away at the soul and leave only the brightest, shiniest, and best selection for its weight and meter. The playfulness and meaningful placement of that just-right word at that just-right moment matters. How you end a line, break a line, matters. Hard sounds, soft, and echo are the palette of the poet as if the rhythms of sounds help hearts feel more. Nikki is a poet and a writer. The brilliance shown in Ordinary Hazards illuminate a lifetime with words.
It is kind of like magic of Brooklyn, NY Artist, Michael Murphy's Perceptual Art.
What I often think when I read this memoir is sturdy-strength, sound character, grace, love, and resilience. To face all that Nikki did and turn trauma into a lifetime of work that feeds a nation, it so commendable. So commendable.
I've heard Nikki lecture on writing, witnessed her lifetime achievement award, and felt her soul in every book she's shared with the world.
To the person who said to her, "Poetry ain't gonna / get you nowhere," I say Thank you (231). Thank you, Nikki, for NOT listening to that. Poetry had gotten you everywhere—far away from your childhood challenges--and for us? You've made the world a better place because you're in it.
D I S C U S S I O N
How would you feel if you were pulled away from a sister (or brother)?
How would you feel living with a mother you cannot rely on?
How would you feel if your grandmother, who could have rescued you, turned you away?
How would you feel if life felt like a constant struggle?
How does Nikki cope with losing Carol?
Does Nikki feel safe and loved living with her first foster family?
How do words and story play a role in saving Nikki from her situation?
What is Nikki's special relationship with her dad?
What happens to her father at the end of the memoir?
C O N N E C T O R Discussion - T E X T to Society
One Brave + Honest Storyteller
What does it take to lay your heart out on the page?
What does it meant to take command of your pen and use it to benefit others?
We could ask Nikki Grimes. She knows. She also knows the climb that is hers alone. In her memoir, she writes, "Still, there was no getting around one unfortunate fact: writing was a lonely business" (230). But that lonely business, her lonely business, is worth celebrating.
Nikki's voice is carved out of the flesh and circumstance of her entire life journey. A writer digs below the epidermal layer of life and gives the reader the raw courage he or she used to place their life on the page.
T E X T to Other Authors
What exactly is this process? I happened to watch Flora and Ulysse's this past weekend on Disney+ and there's a cameo appearance by Kate DiCamillo at the end of the movie. Pseudo family puts their novel out and are doing a book signing and it's Kate that hands them the first book. How clever! However, what I know about working with Kate in my MFA program is this: that small gesture was so well-earned. She puts her whole soul on the page, just like Nikki. She tells the lies that present the truth and illuminate universal truths. That's the act of writing and it's no small act, simple. What I know, too, is that Kate is tough on herself about her writing. She once revealed that she works up a solid draft, prints it, and then hits the delete key. She sets herself up to rekey her story in fresh and with new eyes. That's really impressive. It takes guts.
What I know is that Kate and Nikki share that same impressive gut-wrenching and authentic storytelling that blossoms from a very deep and soulful place.
Nikki's poetry, like Kate's prose, present that elevated, condensed and often more playful word-smithing. They play with the placement of words. Add more daring in the depth they bring to the page. And they share an intense approach with the use of the many poetic devices they select to reach the reader's ear.
This gift Nikki has? This beautiful and tender voice Kate has? They've developed this over a lifetime and it's been carved out of their life and thoughts that become words.
This memoir is, at times, tough to read, tough to imagine. Readers place themselves in the footholds of the main character, and here, Nikki shows her guts. She shows what's she's made of. Her heart bleeds onto the page. She presents her shadows that have haunted her, the beauty that's within her, along side her dreams. Every novel does this, but in this case, in the case of a memoir, the writing is not only as authentic as Kate's, it's her real life, the one she really lived. And for that, I give Nikki a standing ovation for this, being that brave and honest storyteller.
D I S C U S S I O N Leader
Freeverse
In my more than two decades in writing and learning about reading and children's literacy, I have to say that the one thing I've spent the most time on is teaching Play. There's a whole lot of irony in this. It seems to me that children are play and playful, but as adults our playfulness slips away. Vanishes. But for poets, that playfulness remains at the tip of tongue and pen and rises off the page. Think about it. All of these things are not colors or lines or even medium. They are words but are just as playful and impactful:
1) The placement of a word.
2) The use of that just-right word at that just-right moment.
3) The simile that repeats a beat as metaphor and extended metaphor.
4) Sounds and Silence.
5) Even Breath and pause in a poem is writing. (Think about that.)
6) Whitespace, the air that gives us a better view of the words on the page.
7) Meter endings that illuminate a secondary story or further an unexpected truth or provide a keener insight into character. (Breathtaking.)
8) Prosody and the kinesthetic connection between rhythm and reason.
9) There's Rhythm, Repetition, the Echo and Beats of good writing.
10) Navigate the Negative Space of Good Writing.
And there are so many more. I've not even begun to discuss all the poetic devices available to writers to write with; one of my favorites being polysyndenton and asyndenton. Why don't we teach those? I know I do. I help readers see. Nikki helps writers see. Long Way Down author and children's laureate, Jason Reynolds helps writers see.
There's a lot to explore in the shift from Freeverse to Memoir to Biography and all can be told in the many poetic forms. But what we know, and what Nikki clearly knows, is that freeverse can be powerful.
C O N N E C T O R Discussion - T E X T to Text
L I B R A R Y L E S S O N S
An Exploration of Freeverse Styles
Compare and explore the style and voice of Freeverse writers. This group would be a unique study of DIVERSE VOICES and STYLE. We can engage student by inviting them explore these titles. Sharing the Freeverse authors and books below as well as a list of poetic and literary devices, a teen group would love to puzzle out these author's genuis style and present what they feel their "style" truly is.
Nikki Grimes is truly a master and can fell a poem in the midst of prose like a rock star. Her ability to bring out the character—personality, worldview—is hallmark of her work.
Jason Reynold's voice and style in freeverse present a deep and keen sense of enjambment (that ability to bend words and phrases into a whole new and surprising point of view or image while in the scene), and prosody (a unique was to shower the reader with repetition and bathe them in characterization), and no doubt an advocate for how internal rhyme can enhance the extended metaphor. He's a bit more "flavorful" in his use of enjambment and stacking of literary devices, often bathing his poems in them until the reader feels their gray matter lifted or twisted into some spell-binding wonder.
Kwame Alexander, while similar in style presents as more rhythmic and rhyming in contrast to Reynolds, and he brings immediacy to the reader. his a present to the page that makes the reader feel in scene. A perfect example can be showcased on the opening pages of his 2015 Newbery Award-winning title: The Crossover.
Jacqueline Woodson reminds me of Reynold's style but she keeps it real. She's a master of rhythm and repetition and that "just enough" quality to her verse.
Elizabeth Acevedo, as a poet, is on a whole different universe as far as intensity goes. She flies as if she's a true rapper who just happens to be storytelling.
D I S C U S S I O N
What do you think their magic is?
What literary devices, from my list above, do you see as hallmarks of their style?
Why would we ever book ban such genius contributions to children's literature?
C O N N E C T O R Discussion - T E X T to Self
Nikki Grimes
Nikki's Memoir
A powerful account of how to persevere and thrive, despite many setbacks.
Kwame Alexander
Other Biography
This is a look at a hybrid model approach. This novel is prose mixed with the power of freeverse.
Jacqueline Woodson
Other Memoirs
A great comparative study on freeverse memoirs. Different stories but same bold daring.
Jason Reynolds
Other Freeverse
Just take a look at his genius. Read a page, and I guarantee, you will read this book from start to finish. 
Jason Reynolds
Poetry Slam Freeverse
Powerful and poetic voice comes to the page in a story of a girl looking to find her place in life and the voice that will lift her.
Views from an Editor's Desk
As a writer, editor, agent, I've edited poetry and keeping the overall message in tack is a dance. A small press presented me with a project to cut a poetry project in half. I was given 150 pages I needed to edit down to 75. At first, I felt a bit overwhelmed, but then "the dance" hit me. That delicate rhythm between whitespace, pause, and careful pirouette between meter, sounds, devices and playfulness made the project engaging and fun. Playful. I applied many of the considerations listed above to my suggestions. Plus, one more concept I love to explore more with writers: The Negative Space of Good Writing.
The Negative Space of Good Writing, or that sense of becoming more aware of what is not placed on the page, gifts us as reader that reason to connect. What I know is that Nikki Grimes, Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, are really awesome at this notion.
It's about having a keen sense of presenting only what a reader needs to know in order to infer what the author wants them to pull from the words on the page. We cannot do all things for readers. They are the participant in the "dance" and our "dance" partner.
In my own journey, I explored pacing and prosody and playfulness that is writing, and its given me a respect for the Not, the Now and the You of good writing.
1) The Not, is remembering that often times presenting what something is not because this leaves what something really and fully is in the mind of the reader. That's powerful. Take the simple example of a biography. If I tell you what a man is, that's boring. If I tell you what a man is not and what he would never do? That's instantly a playful puzzler and powerful. Simple shift. Awesome results.
2) The Now, is remembering that you as a writer are on the page with your reader. You are the dance partner. You cannot step on toes or go wild without knowing what your partner might do or how they might move. This allows you, as a writer, to engage and create a fully immersive and interactive experience for your reader. You are in scene. You are in the moment. You are the moment. Stop is as you wish. Hit Pause. Carry it out as long as you want in order for your reader to sense your intense and ecstatic-electric-collective chemistry.
3) The You, means remembering that you are your project. You need to own it and not let critiques and others chime in to break your original intent. Never forget what brought you to the page and what your project is about. Take a look at Jacqueline Woodson's more recent projects: Harbor Me and Before The Ever After. You will leave these books changed because she knows she is there with you, on that page, as a writer who wants you to feel the beat in her heart, the rhythm of her words—and on a very intense level. Read pages 6-7 and really hear and experience this notion for yourself. It's a more careful unfolding of the story.
"Before the ever after, there was Daddy driving....
Before the ever after, there was Mama in the back seat....
Before the ever after, the way people said / That's him! sounded like a cheer..." (6-7)
A care-filled unfolding of story. An unfolding that is care-filled with author's intent and storytelling. That's masterful. That's playful. That's Nikki Grimes, her wise wordsmithing and incredible spirit.
Diverse Books Showcase
Acevedo, Elizabeth. (May 5, 2020). Clap When You Land. Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins: New York, NY.
HISPANIC-PACIFIC ISLANDER CULTURE. Amazon says it best, "In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives."
Acevedo, Elizabeth. (March 6, 2018). Poet-X. Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins: New York, NY.
HISPANIC-PACIFIC ISLANDER CULTURE. Xiomara Batista, a Harlem teen "an Afro-Latina heroine, tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth."
Keller, Tae. (January 28, 2021). When You Trap A Tiger. Random House Books for Young Readers: New York, NY.
KOREAN CULTURE + FOLKTALES. This year's 2021 Newbery Winner does not disappoint. It provides a glimpse at Korean culture and folktales and presents it in an interesting way: on the cusp of life's loss and grief --all on the shirt tales of profound love. There's a great duality here in this text between reality and fantasy and it's undeniably powerful. What shows the most skill is the delicate dance between the folktales that are being shared and illuminated in reality for the main character to consider: her Halmony (grandmother) as part tiger, part girl and keeper of stories comes to terms with life's final moments and long-lasting legacy.
Kelly, Lynne. (2019). Song for a Whale. Delacourt Press/Penguin-Random House. New York: NY.
DISABILITY. So often, we forget that disability is a solid category in diversity and equity discussions. This book is a reminder. Iris, a tech genius, finds a way to convince her mother that she belongs among the other deaf children because being in a place of belong is important. Throughout the novel, this notion is compared and contrasted by the main character who identifies with 55 Hertz, a lonely whale who swims along. Like The Bridge Home, this novel is based on a real creature: The Loneliest Whale, 52 Hertz. Students can compare the real story against its presentation in this fictional account.
Leitich Smith, Cynthia. (April 14, 2020). Hearts Unbroken. Candlewick Press: Sommersville, MA.
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE. Text to come.
Leitich Smith, Cynthia. (February 9, 2021). Rain Is Not My Indian Name. Heartdrum/HarperCollins Publishing: New York, NY.
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE. Text to come.
Maldonado, Chrystal. (February 2, 2021). Fat Change, Charlie Vega. Holiday House: New York, NY.
LATINA CULTURE. Text to come.
Neil Wallace, Sandra and Rich Wallace. (January 5, 2021). Race Against Time: The Untold Story of Scipio Jones and the Battle to Save Twelve Innocent Men. Calkins Creek: New York, NY.
If you think you might be inspired by a life well-lived, this is the book to read. It tells the story of how one man, one formerly enslaved black lawyer dedicates years of his life and his life savings, to help a dozen men who deserve freedom.
Patterson, James & Kwame Alexander. (October 5, 2020). Becoming Muhammad Ali. Jimmy Imprint/Little, Brown Books for Young People: New York, NY.
BLACK CULTURE. A biography told by two award-winning authors and presents a unique story structure and not-often-done first -person point of view in biography. Patterson and Alexander deliver a novel that's told in prose and freeverse.
Parker Rhodes, Jewell. (2020). Black Brother, Black Brother. Little, Brown Books for Young People: New York, NY.
BIRACIAL + BLACK CULTURE. Two black brothers explore the black and biracial complexities of our society and present the reader with a keen understanding that it is in no way right to make for the discussion about how complexion can be a complex issue. A tangled knot of sorts. And sort of messed up. This book shares untangles that mess while teaching fencing from a legend of the sport and places Mom, who is a lawyer, at the bench to speak her truth beside her two boys: One charged. One not. Both equally loved.
Reynolds, Jason. (2017) Long Way Down. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books: New York, NY.
BLACK PERSPECTIVE. One boy. A Brother shot. A choice to make: Will I avenge my brother's death and "follow the rules" or will not? This book has received many awards and for good reason. It should be a part of any exploration on diversity -- AND it's the best book to use when studying PLOT. It follows the plot diagram explicitly and then serves up a surprise that will bust out and boost discussions at the very end. There are good reasons why this book was dubbed by Jason Reynolds, himself, as "Boyz in the Hood meets A Christmas Carol"—five or more of them. They represent the ghosts of the main character's past that meet with him in the elevator. This is a Newbery Honor Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, a Printz Honor Book, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature, longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award, an Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction, a Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner, an Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2017, a Vulture Best YA Book of 2017, and a Buzzfeed Best YA Book of 2017.
Slater, Dashka. (October 17, 2017). The 57 Bus: a true story of two teenagers and the crime that changed their lives. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, NY.
LGBTQ CULTURE. A conversation How we treat others burst open in this text. The approach and structure is worth a close and careful study. It opens with the sentence and outcomes: Richard to prison, facing trial as an adult despite being a teen. Sasha, who identifies as gender-neutral, faces suffering and multiple surgeries to survive what happened to her. Then, the story unfolds to alternate between each character's point of view and the hard facts about the criminal justice system and is presented in a way that makes the reader aware that, perhaps, the whole system is on trial.
Soontornvat, Christina. (October 13, 2020) All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team. Candlewick Press: Somerville, MA
THAI CULTURE. An intense view of the daily struggles and science behind the Thai Boy's Soccer Team rescue in Thailand. The approach to this unfolding nonfiction narrative could be compared to The 57 Bus: a true story of two teenagers and the crime that changed their lives by Dashka Slater. Both titles reside in that space where STEM and a firm journalistic pen collide to bring an event to life for a reader. This title makes a great read-aloud and conversation about how much STEM plays a role in everyday life. The way the rescuers had to analyze the mountains, the rainfall, and the riskiness of the rescue against the boys and rescuers' safety comes across in this text. A 2021 Newbery Honor Book, a 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, a 2021 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist.
Thomas, Angie. (September 11, 2018). The Hate U Give. Balzer + Bray: New York, NY.
BLACK CULTURE. A 2018 Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and Michael L. Prinz Honor Book, The Hate U Give begins with a horrific incident. A black teen gets killed for reaching for a comb or hairbrush. And Starr, who was with him at the time, cannot come to terms with what happened but is also having trouble finding her voice to stand up and speak out about what happened. A nice compare-contrast title for The 57 Bus. Lots to discuss and a random tidbit: my favorite word in this novel: is so perfectly placed: "Exactdamnly."
Venkatraman, Padma. (2020). The Bridge Home. A Nancy Paulsen Book/Penguin-Random House Books: New York, NY.
INDIA CULTURE. Travel to India where we find two sisters, Viji and Rukku, decides to leave home to find and redefine family as street urchins who learn to forge a life for themselves. This novel offers the opportunity to explore the true story beneath this text (shared in the author note), discuss and compare the rupee to the American dollar, and delve into what makes up great dialogue--and the power of action tags versus regular tags in our storytelling. Dialogue and using it to differentiate the characters in this book is one of this book's best attributes.
Woodson, Jacqueline. (April 21, 2020). Harbor Me. Nancy Paulsen Books: New York, NY.
MIXED CULTURES & REPRESENTATIVE STRUGGLES. Six kids from various cultural backgrounds and concerts meet in a room to chat and discover their stories connect them. From Esteban's father's deportation, Haley's father's incarceration, Amari's fears of racial profiling, and Ashton's adjustment to his changing family fortunes, they are similar and different—and that's beautiful. When they are together, they share feelings and fears and unite to redefine what it means to be brave as a group that celebrates diversity and inclusion.
M A R K E T I N G A D I V E R S E C O L L E C T I O N
March Madness Marketing
Promoting MARCH MADNESS, as a Reading Program, was the brain-child of a colleague of mine. I loved the idea and helped compile our list of reads, which was a diverse and broad range of books.
Action Plan: Selected 16 titles for novels and 16 titles for picture books. Books provide a range of narrative styles from fiction to nonfiction to poetry/freeverse to graphic novels. Once list is complete, create the brackets and logo for the event: 3-4 Planning Periods. Two-person team.
Then, classroom teachers review the books, share them in class as read aloud or book studies, and the bracket voting begins as shown here. The first bracket wins are shown here. Ultimately New Kid won as our March Madness best book, and also was announced as the Newbery 2020.
Budget: Tape, signage, sign holder, and laminating are readily available at the school. The purchase of these new titles remains the biggest part of budget concerns. Purchasing 1-2 of each title equates to a budge around $200-400, depending on the purchase venue.
Option A: Purchase One Book of each 16. Then Interlibrary loan a second set of titles.
Option B: Purchase Two Books of each 16. Then do a "Best Paper or Writing" contest in higher grades to Gift-A-Way the second set when the Madness ends.
Marketing: Sharing this in the school lunchroom (like shown here), the library, and on social media channels expands this effort from student-focused to family-focused and helps build awareness for both Reading Specialist and Interventionists roles as well as the Library and ultimate goal of promoting ta life-long love of reading.
Community Awareness: Social Media splash: Facebook, Instagram, Linked In.
Internal Sharing: School Blog, Parent's letter, Principal's Message, Weekly Announcements.
This showcases a very low-cost way to build in a love of reading in a school library while enhancing reading building wide.
C O N N E C T O R discussions - KidLit College Webinar
As the founder of KidLit College, I made certain we discussed Diversity.
