SOUL LOOKS BACK IN WONDER
edited by Tom Feelings & illustrated by Tom Feelings
Continuing the reflection and celebration of African-American experiences begun in Something On My Mind (with Nikki Grimes, 1978) and Daydreamers (with Eloise Greenfield, 1981), Feelings pairs 13 poems (either new or, for the most part, previously inaccessible) by Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Walter Dean Myers, Margaret Walker, et al., with complex artwork involving blueprinting, stencilling, collage, and spray-painting. In full color for the first time, Feelings's arresting portraits are enhanced by strong horizontal background elements and stylized discs, bars, and dots. The poems convey an urgent need to bolster the hopes of a generation ``growing up in an environment where indifference and hostility are bullets aimed straight at the core of their spirits'' [preface]. Most poignant is Haki Madhubuti's ``Destiny'': ``...take hold/do the necessary, the possible, the correctly simple/...do the expected, do what all people do/reverse destruction. capture tomorrows.'' Some of the poems are accessible to young readers; others are more suited to teenagers. Notes on the poets; no contents page or index. An outstandingly beautiful and powerful book. (Poetry/Picture book. 7+)