1/17/2002 BRONX MASQUERADE by Nikki Grimes, Penguin Putnam, January 2002

"...It's not much better at home. My older brother's always after me to hit the streets with him, calls me a girly man for loving books and jazz. Don't get me wrong. B-ball is all right. Girls like you, for one thing. But it's not you they like. It's Mr. Basketball. And if that's not who you are inside, then it's not you they're liking. So what's the point?..."

BRONX MASQUERADE is a wonderful new novel by Nikki Grimes. It is written in internal monologue and poetry in the voices of eighteen urban high school students who get inspired by a poetry assignment:

OPEN MIKE:

"Bronx Masquerade" by Devon Hope

"I woke up this morning

exhausted from hiding

the me of me

so I stand here confiding

there's more to Devon

than jump shot and rim.

I'm more than tall

and lengthy of limb.

I dare you to peep

behind these eyes,

discover the poet

in tough-guy disguise.

Don't call me Jump Shot.

My name is Surprise."

As the students get involved in writing the poems and reading them to the class on what turns into "Open Mike" Fridays, they reveal their dreams, nightmares, and how they relate to each other. From not living up to a father's expectations to fears about their physical appearances, from violence and teen motherhood to friendship and alienation, you gain an incredibly intimate understanding of these teenagers from a book that ended way too quickly for me.

The publisher is calling this a 12 and up, but there is nothing objectionable to stop it from being taught both in middle grade and high school classrooms. It is both fun and inspirational to read, and to read aloud:

"...Sterling's right. I haven't been trying. Not since my parents divorced. I've been afraid to get close to anyone. When my mom left, I was suddenly out of orbit. It's like she was the sun, and when she took off, the only thing left was a big black hole where she used to be..."

OPEN MIKE:

"Ode to Stone" by Amy Moscowitz

"One day at Far Rockaway

is all it took.

One lookat rocks in water

decided me:

I want to be stone.

I want to be marble.

Dressed up limestone

never looked so good.

Let me be granite

and I promise

I'll show you how to take

a shellacking.

Yes, I'll risk sunburn.

Just let me be a rock

wedged into the earth or sea

tidal waves crashing over me

while I remain intact--

no split at the core,

more buffed than bruised

Forget the pillar of salt.

I'll look back at the count of three

and you can turn me into stone.

Go on.

I'm half rock

already."

Richie Partington

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