A Wreath for Emmitt Till

Nelson, M. (2005).  A wreath for Emmett Till. Houghton Mifflin. New York, NY. ISBN: 0-618-39752-3

Marilyn Nelson creates a story through poetic sonnets to describe the historical story of Emmett Till, a young fourteen-year-old African American boy who was lynched for apparently whistling at a white woman during the civil rights era."The strict form became a kind of insulation, a way of protecting myself from the intense pain of the subject matter," writes Nelson about her writing style. Nelson created 15 sonnets in which the last line of each poem begins the first line of the next to captivate the good, bad, and ugly of this traumatic case. She then culminates her story by using the first line of each poem to create the final fifteenth poem. Creativity and dedication to the writing make this collection of poems a story for all to feel empathy for Emmett Till and family.

Within her story, Nelson creates an image of sadness and hope. "In my house, there is still something called grace, / which melts ice shards of hate and makes hearts whole." (p.19) Illustrations were matched perfectly to help the reader symbolically visualize what Nelson was attempting to portray through her words. “When matched with Lardy's gripping, spare, symbolic paintings of tree trunks, blood-red roots, and wreaths of thorns, these poems are a powerful achievement that teens and adults will want to discuss together.” (Enberg)

These poems use metaphors to show the pain and growth of the people involved in this situation. “The rigid form distills the words' overwhelming emotion into potent, heart-stopping lines that speak from changing perspectives, including that of a tree.” (Enberg). To add to the imagery of the descriptive poems, Phillip Lardy includes illustrations that “echo the representative nature of the poetry, using images from nature and taking advantage of the emotional quality of color.”(Reidel).

Prior to the fifteen sonnets, Nelson gives the readers background as to why this book is so important and heartfelt. The story is intended for young adults, but can be a challenge to fully grasp the pain felt to the family of Emmett Till. There or horrific graphic parts that are strewn through this poetry that might take more than one read to truly grasp what Marilyn Nelson was trying to convey.

Gillian Engberg American Library Association. Booklist

Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NY. School Library Journal

A Coretta Scott King and Printz honor book