Bronx Masquerade - Module 14

Bronx Masquerade

By Nikki Grimes

Published by Dial Books for Young Reader (2002)
ISBN: 9780803725690

Grades 8 up.

Tale

Mr. Ward, a high school English teacher, realizes his students are more interested in his class when they are writing poems about what they are learning and about themselves. Each student has a chapter of their own in this book, in which they narrate about themselves and things they like and dislike. Tyrone is one of the students but he makes a comment at the end of each of his classmates’ chapters;  it is like he is adding an outsider’s view about the person in question. The students have the opportunity to read their poems out loud to the other students on Open Mike nights. At the end of the school year Mr. Ward surprises his students by giving each one of them a booklet containing all the poems they have written during the year.

Thought

A young adult’s Coretta Scott King Award winner, Bronx Masquerade is a very interesting book in which the story is supported by poems written by the characters. This is a group of students from different backgrounds and cultures, but they are all part of the marginalized social-economical class in the Bronx. Some of them have no interest in school whatsoever, and others feel a need to hide their talents and aptitudes in order to maintain their ‘dignity’ before their classmates. (One of the students hides his joy of reading because that is not considered ‘cool’ in his group). Many problems faced by teenagers are discussed in this book through the characters’ narratives, Tyrone’s comments, and by the poems themselves; including drug abuse, physical and psychological abuse, racism, loss, and abandonment. A good read and poetry exercise.

About the author

Nikki Grimes was born on October 20, 1950 in Harlem, New York. After growing up in New York, she now lives in Corona, California. Writer, poet, and journalist, her passion for writing appeared early, when at six years old she started writing poems. This enthusiasm for poetry and writing has taken her to many countries as a guest speaker. Recipient of many honors, her work is well recognized. In 2003 Bronx Masquerade received the prestigious Coretta Scott king Award. In 2005 the Southern California Children’s Books Association recognized her work awarding her the Golden Dolphin Award. In 2006 she received the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. 

To visit Grimes website click here. The website contains many resources for students, teachers, and those passionate about poetry in general.

Review

From Publishers Weekly

“When a high school teacher in the Bronx begins to host open-mike poetry in his classroom on Fridays, his students find a forum to express their identity issues and forge unexpected connections with one another. Grimes's (Jazmin's Notebook) creative, contemporary premise will hook teens, and the poems may even inspire readers to try a few of their own. The poetic forms range from lyrics penned by aspiring rapper Tyrone to the concrete poem of a budding Puerto Rican painter Raul (titled "Zorro" and formed as the letter "Z"). Ultimately, though, there may be too many characters for the audience to penetrate deeply. The students in Mr. Ward's English class experience everything from dyslexia and low self-esteem to teenage motherhood and physical abuse. The narrators trade off quickly, offering only a glimpse into their lives. Not even Tyrone, who breaks in after each student's poem to offer some commentary, comes fully to life. The students' poems, however, provide some lasting images (e.g., overweight Janelle, who is teased for her "thick casing," writes, "I am coconut,/ and the heart of me/ is sweeter/ than you know"). Any one of these students could likely dominate a novel of his or her own, they simply get too little time to hold the floor here. Ages 12-up. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.”

Activity

This book can be used in a classroom in many different ways, each achieving a different objective. Students can learn poetry, and how to express themselves while learning almost any school subject. A good activity would be to ask students to paint or draw their feelings about one of the book’s characters.