​Poetry Text Set

The Palm of my Heart - David Adedjouma

 

Serving as our mentor text, The Palm of my Heart is a collection of poems written by elementary aged African American children collected by Davida Adedjouma. The purpose of this collection was to inspire young African American children to take pride in their appearance, history, and culture. This text also acts as a means to inspire all children to write their own poems to celebrate who they are as individuals.

        Having diverse texts in the classroom is a very important aspect of developing well-rounded students. By having this collection of poems, it serves as both a window and a mirror for students to see through. The poems do not follow any specific structure or rhyme scheme; instead, they are all short free-verse poems devoted to the self-expression of each student.

        Starting the collection, a poem by Pre’chezz Rudolph sets the tone:

        “Black stride? It’s:

             the arch of my back

             the curve of my spine

             the way I stand

          and my stance

             is

             pride” (Adedjouma, 1996, p. 1)

Every poem that follows falls in line with this theme. The poems themselves are not perfect in the sense that they display great mastery of language and symbolism; rather, they are perfect because they are expressing a sense of pride in who that individual is and where they come from.

        Showcasing a collection of poetry that was written by children their own age can inspire children to then go on to write their as well.

 

Adedjouma, D. (1996). The palm of my heart: Poetry by African American                 children. New York: Lee & Low Books.