Jaqueline Woodson

Nonfiction autobiography,  2014

325 pages

I am disappointed in this book.  It is the story of author Jaqueline Woodson’s life, told in poetic form.  It feels to me forced and artificial.  “Now, for interest, this time I am going to write my autobiography in poetry.”  It is contrived.  What we lose is a coherent emotional story.  What we lose is artful writing with images and compelling turns of phrase .... which I would expect from true poetry.  A waste of effort on both the author’s and the reader’s part.

March, 2021