t"Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes is a compelling collection of poetry and prose, showing the first-person reflections of students in Mr. Ward’s high school English classroom as they begin writing poetry, learning about themselves, and learning about each other. The book follows the students as they start the year learning about the Harlem Renaissance, begin writing and sharing their own poetry, and eventually have weekly poetry reading sessions in class. The book is made up of short reflections by the students about their own experiences in the school, dealing with issues of identity, race, loyalties, and self-discovery, and the poems that they share with their classmates during their poetry readings. tNikki Grimes creates a wonderfully diverse collection of students, each with a different voice in their poetry. The poems talk about the individual students’ struggles, but they also cover more general themes, those that their classmates, as well as the reader, can understand and relate to. Preceding each poem is a short vignette of first person prose in which the student discusses what is going on in his or her life, reflects on other characters, or details a certain incident with a classmate or other student at the school. These sections give the reader another avenue into that character’s world and afford more insight into the character’s feelings, adding a rich complexity to the work. tOne of the students in the class, Tyrone Bittings, reflects on almost every poem included in the book, thus functioning as a type of curator for the poetry collection that the class creates and serving to give some perspective on what the listeners might think of the presenter’s poetry. Tyrone’s pride in the project and curious voice in his commentary emphasize that there is always a “listener’s perspective” on what we do and say but also that we can always learn more from each other. It serves no one to judge without knowing. tThis book would be a great addition to a high school reading list. As the book is broken into sections of first person writing by a student, a poem by that student, and a reflection by Tyrone, small sections of the book could easily be used, if there is not time to read the whole book. Teachers could select one of the three-part sections, all of the writing by one student, or one vignette or poem to include in class. The characters write about what is going on in their own lives, meaning that the writings are relevant to other high school students and cover a wide range of themes. Although not written by an adolescent, the vignettes and poems are written in the voices of the adolescent characters.tIt would be difficult for a high school student to read this book without making some kind of personal connection to the text. The poems are compelling and varied in topic and form, the vignettes are honest and relevant for high school students, and the writing is captivating and sincere. This is a powerful read for adolescents and adults, students and teachers.
Eighteen vignettes. Eighteen voices. Eighteen poets. Endless artistry.Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes is an urban masterpiece told from the perspectives of eighteen inner city teenagers. Mr. Ward, aka "Teach", is an unassuming English teacher who just happens to notice a poetic spark in his students during a unit on the Harlem Renaissance. As soon as Mr. Ward transforms his classroom into Open Mike Friday, it immediately ignites that small spark in each of his students. From then on, we watch as they glow with their confessions and sparkle with their raw talent.Difference is a theme that reoccurs throughout each poem. Whether it's not fitting in, standing out too much, or trying to break from their hiding place, each of these young poets experience their own unique versions of isolation. It is only through poetry that they learn to bond and find commonalities with one another.Community is not the only result of Open Mike Friday. For many of these poets, they have somehow found promise and a future in their art. The primary narrator, Tyrone Bittings, says at the beginning, "Future? Wish there was some future to talk about. I could use me some future" (Grimes 8). By the end of the book, the reader can sense a complete change in him. "The future is ours. Let us have it" (Grimes 156). When you reach the end of this book, you will find yourself feeling a lot like Tyrone. There's more to this book than just poetry - just like there is more to life than just the here and now. In an academic setting, this novel can frame discussion around topics such as why people underestimate others and themselves. Judging people based off of cultural backgrounds and how the media portrays inner city teenagers are also worthwhile topics for discussion. If you plan to teach a unit on modern poetry, Bronx Masquerade is a perfect place to start! Especially if you plan to do a project on poetry slam. Or if you are trying to keep it old school like Mr. Ward by exposing students to the poetic genius of the Harlem Renaissance, this book can still serve as an invaluable supplemental text. I would say that Bronx Masquerade would do well in any secondary grade level course because it is relatively free of violence, profanity and sexual content. However, you will want to assess whether the book will fit the needs and demographics of your class.If you are a poetry fan and you want to expand your appreciation for urban poetry/literature, Bronx Masquerade will do both. If you are like me and you just don't "get it" when it comes to poetry, don't worry. Everyone is safe in Mr. Ward's class. Nobody will judge you. And after reading these poems, you might just discover that you have a little flow after all.
What do You think about Bronx Masquerade (2003)?
I read some previous reviews and I think they're missing the point. Yes, there are a dozen characters (or more), and the story spans an entire school year. But there isn't really a big plot, per se, so there's not a lot of need for the reader to keep the characters straight. They reference each other enough that you can figure out, if you're really curious, but I think the poems and vignettes are more to illustrate how high school students have so much bubbling below the surface that others - classmates, teachers, family members - don't see. There is no big conflict in the novel, aside from perhaps the students seeing each other as individuals, but it's not so much developed along a typical plot line as just repeated with each new student voice. Tyrone's regular contributions to the book after each student's poem is an effective repetend, bringing us back to "home base" as he voices what the other students/characters probably were thinking after the highlighted poet performed his or her poem. As a purely visceral reading experience - my figuring-out brain turned off - this is a 4.5 stars. Grimes's wordsmithing and honest portrayal of the teenagers' concerns and insecurities is so spot-on it's scary. Some of these characters could be kids sitting in my classroom, they're so familiar. As an adult reader, I understand why others don't like it, and I'd give it 3 stars. So let's average to 4.
—Debbie
I enjoyed reading the book Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. This book was about Mr. Ward's high school English classroom in the Bronx New York. Mr. Ward is teaching Harlem poetry when all of the students begin to want to share their poetry to the class. Mr. Ward then begins to hold “Open Mike” on Fridays for the students to share their poetry from that week. The book shows how the students relieve all their feelings and learn to become a family minus their backgrounds. The book showed no rhyming sounds. However the book had great imagery. When reading this book I could visualize exactly how the students felt and what they experienced. The book showed great insight on what the students were dealing with and the challenges they were facing. I felt like I was a part of the class when reading the story. The book was a positive stretch and taught children that if even if they have different backgrounds they can still learn to become friends. This book is appropriate for the occasion when teachers begin to have their students write poetry.This book gave me a great insight as to what students in the Bronx are dealing with. It shows how students can relieve a lot of stress and can tell their life stories through poems. I liked how the author told their life story and showed how they used their life experience in their poetry. One thing that struck me the most is what these students have to deal with outside of the classroom. This book relates to me because in the summer I tutor high school kids that are mostly African American and they face some of the same problems as the students in the book. I would use this book in the classroom when I want to have students write poems about their life experiences. It can teach them how to open out through writing.
—Maria Nesmith
This book reminded me a lot of The Brimstone Journals, with the shifting narrative from kid to kid. It truly does take an incredibly talented author to have so many characters and still give them unique personalities that are memorable but not overblown, and connect them at that.However, I have to say I liked this one a bit better than Brimstone, partly because it wasn't entirely poetry, which I find easier to follow. Although poetry can give a different kind of understanding - and the excerpts of poems between almost every entry certainly did - prose can allow the author to go more in depth, and I really enjoyed that aspect.It was just really well done and I enjoyed it a lot.
—Gina
