Nelson, Marilyn. A Wreath for Emmett Till. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. Print.
Annotation:
During the time period of racism and equal rights
in America, young Emmett Till, a fourteen year old African American male
visiting relatives during the summer of 1955 in Mississippi was murdered the
night after he was caught whistling at a white female in a local convenient
store. The lynching of Emmett Till sparked many controversies. It became one of
the many cases that encouraged advocators and countless African Americans during
the Civil Rights Movement that took place from the 1950s to the 1960s to speak
out about racism and for their rights.
Justification for
Nomination:
Marilyn Nelson’s A
Wreath for Emmett Till is a set of sonnet poems that speaks of a movement.
With simple, emotional words, her poetry portrays the viciousness of the
lynching of Emmett Till. It inspires readers to place themselves in that moment
and recreate such images that they too, feel and see the experience that took
place during this time period. These are poems written for Emmett Till and what
he might have felt and experienced before his death. However, Nelson writes so
beautifully with such powerful, poignant details to her work that a reader
cannot help but realize this pain that everyone had to endure. In addition to
this, Nelson includes plentiful issues regarding race, culture, and equality
during the late 1950s to the 1960s, leading to the Civil Rights Movement.
This is a set of 15 sonnet poems that Nelson has created in
remembrance of Emmett Till. In her poems, Nelson’s descriptions are structured
in a way to paint images in your mind. It builds meanings to her work and the symbols
presented in her poems. Although this was a written work aimed for young
adults, I recommend it to everyone of all ages. A Wreath for Emmett Till gives voice to the voiceless, and it
portrays an experience everyone should know about.
Genre Category: Nonfiction, Sonnet Poetry, and 2006 Young
Adult (YA) Honor Book
