Nelson, Marilyn. 2001. CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS. Asheville, North Carolina: Front Street.

George Washington Carver was born in 1864 and died in 1943; that life span took him from the Civil War to World War II, from slavery to citizenship and a place in the armed forces, if not equality, for his people. In Nelson’s biography, Carver’s story is told in a series of free-verse poems. The narrator or the poems’ varies, they use the viewpoint of a slave-hunter, Carver’s owner, his friends and mentors, as well as the author’s and Carver’s own voices. Liberally illustrated with photographs from Carver’s life and pictures of his prized possessions, this biography gives a beautifully written glimpse into Carver’s life.
Each poem deals with one aspect or episode of Carver’s life. We learn of the hardships faced by an African American born in the nineteenth century—the roadblocks placed before him when he wanted an education, the social slights he had to endure, and the horrifying, terrifying lynching he witnessed. But we also learn of the whites who helped him—most won over by his obvious brilliance and intense work ethic. Some poems describe his education, others the way he spread the knowledge he learned. We read of his skills as a botanist, an artist, a teacher, inventor and agronomist. Other poems tell of friendships he made or honors he won.
This biography does not provide detailed information, but it does give us a picture of Carver. For example, the poem “Watkins Laundry and Apothecary”:
He was sweet with the neighbor children. / Taught the girls to crochet. / Showed the boys / a seed he said held a worm / cupped hands warmed so it wriggled and set / the seed to twitching. / Gave them skills and wonder. / Knelt with me at bedtime.
This brief stanza shows us a child already skilled with his hands, already knowledgeable about plants, and already teaching.
Without describing him as a philanthropist, the poem “1905” shows us how he worked to help others:
He outfits an open truck / with shelves for his jars / of canned fruit and compost, / bins for his croker sacks of seeds. / He travels roads barely discernible / on the county map, / teaching former field-slaves / how to weave ditch weeds / into pretty place mats, / how to keep their sweet potatoes from rotting / before winter hunger sets in…
Some of the poems have just a few words on each line; others are longer and tell more of a story. Individually, and as a book, the poems leave you eager to learn more about George Washington Carver. They also leave you eager to read more written by Marilyn Nelson.

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