Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this beautiful book! This book is an amazing introduction to female poets from the Harlem Renaissance, as well as to amazing African-American female illustrators today. I absolutely loved the way that Nikki Grimes crafted new poems based on the poems written by these amazingly talented women. Both the original poems and Grimes's poems are incredibly moving, and I am so happy I had the opportunity to be introduced to them. Many of these women I had never heard of, and I think it is extremely important for young people to be introduced to these amazing women as well. Definitely recommend!

I'm super picky about poetry; really, the only modern poet I really like is Timothy Steele, who uses formulaic verse brilliantly. Naomi Shahib Nye is another one whose work I like (Amaze Me was fantastic), and I'm going to have to add Grimes' Legacy to this list.

This is an interesting concept in poetry. Not only does Grimes collect poems from women writers who flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, she then takes the poems and writes her own in the "Golden Shovel" format created by Terrance Hayes (https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/golden-shovel-poetic-form). Since one of my favorite older poets is Edna St. Vincent Millay, it's interesting to see work by poets such as Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Angelina Weld Grimké who would have been her contemporaries. Definitely looking forward to having this for our yearly 7th grade language arts poetry project.

This book took a different turn than I expected, I had anticipated it being entirely poetry written during the Harlem Renaissance. Instead the poetry of the author was interspersed with poetry from women during the Harlem Renaissance and when I found this rhythm I discovered that it was an excellent way to cross past and present.

The poems feel relevant and fresh, and the way the two work together increases this feeling. Add a contextual historical essay at the beginning, and the biographical profiles at the end, and the book provides a solid picture of this poetry and the women who created them and time that it was created in.

The art chosen illustrates the poetry well and all in all I would consider this an excellent selection for children’s or youth poetry collections.

This labor of love is phenomenal: Grimes highlights the often-sidelined female poets who made significant contributions during the Harlem Renaissance. Building on the works of these poets, she intersperses her own Golden Shovel poems, as she did in her companion volume One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance.

Grimes grounds her readers’ knowledge of the significance of these women’s contributions, opening her preface with, “For centuries, accomplished women, of all races, have fallen out of the historical records.” She includes background on the Harlem Renaissance and on the Golden Shovel poetry form before turning to the works themselves.

Contributions from nineteen contemporary female illustrators of color complement the poetry selections. Brief biographies of all of the poets and the illustrators underscore the prevailing message of claiming your power and not being defined by the expectations of others.

Thank you, Bloomsbury and NetGalley, for the advance readers copy.

The women in history are often overlooked, and this collection gives a fresh take on the poetry from Black women of the Harlem Renaissance. Their poems are beautiful reminders of the struggle and heritage. Nikki Grimes creates works in the Golden Shovel style, drawing inspiration from this Harlem Heritage. The book includes biography information about each poet and artist included, leaving teachable opportunity for students!

I believe this was listed as a children's book when I came across it, so I was very surprised to pick this up and come across poetry! I quickly decided this one for me and would enjoy much more reading it myself as opposed to the first time with my daughters. It also helped to be able to explain and have information about there questions ready prior. This is a beautiful and moving book about a time that seemed to wrapped in the beauty of creativity and the unique outlook of artist. This poetry bleeds that beauty onto this pages where I would happily read this one over and over again. It would make a perfect gift and is a must read for anyone learning about this time era.

Nikki Grimes has assembled a collection of poetic marvels and introduces a method that is newly framed for me. Grimes displays literary insight and all the gifts of a skilled poet in this collection.

Legacy is ideal for classroom use, reading at home, and school library purchasing. It’s a remarkable and beautiful text.

When I read the introduction to this book, I thought there was no way it could work. The author shows a poem from an obscure female poet of the Harlem Renaissance (around the 1920s) and then includes a poem she wrote that was inspired by the first poem. Only her poem isn't just inspired by the first one, it's almost like a baton-pass to future generations. She takes a line from the previous poem and then uses each word from that line in order but not next to each other in her new poem. I'm not sure that makes sense, but it's called The Golden Shovel technique, and again, I was skeptical to say the least.

The obscure poems are uniformly excellent and so are the author's original poems. If that weren't enough, there's artwork with each poem in the Harlem Renaissance style that is magnificent. In my advanced reader copy, not all the art was there -- but I loved it enough that I will buy the book when it comes out. But wait, there's more! There are brief but interesting bios of each poet at the end. These were some remarkable women! I am so glad I got to learn about them, read their words, and see how they can be an inspiration today. Just fantastic.

One poem especially blew me away -- it's called "Flag Salute" by Esther Popel where Popel alternates lines of the Pledge of Allegiance with the story of a "feeble-minded black boy" being lynched. The final lines describing the boy being set afire with gasoline and the rope being cut into bits to pass out as souvenirs to the white spectators while "With Liberty and Justice for all" is invoked ... well, it still takes my breath away. My god. If there's a better argument for why the phrase "All lives matter" is problematic, I'd be hard pressed to think of it.

So here's an excerpt, with the second poem using the words from the first line of the first poem.

JOY by Clarissa Scott Delany

Joy shakes me like the wind that lifts a sail,
Like the roistering wind
That laughs through stalwart pines.
It floods me like the sun
On rain-drenched tress
That flash with silver and green.

I abandon myself to joy --
I laugh -- I sing.
Too long have I walked a desolate way,
Too long stumbled down a maze
Bewildered.

LEAH'S REUNION by Nikki Grimes

"Yearly, I join the celebration of womanjoy: the blessing of unchecked tears when calamity shakes us, or when beauty surprises; the comfort of sisters cradling me when Death slithers into the neighborhood, like a rattler, striking yet another sweet son, the promise of him broken. But there is also the cleansing wind of deep belly laughter as we gather round that love-worn kitchen table, likcking morsels of each story that lifts us Without this maternal crew's guidance, a brown girl like me would simply be adrift. No wind. No sail.

P.S. This is labeled a "children's book." I think some may love this, but to me, adults will love this more.

#LegacyWomenPoetsoftheHarlemRenaissance #NetGalley

A marvelous collection of poems! Many of these ladies didn't receive the notoriety they deserved, during their lifetime. It's time we recognize them!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for sharing an eARC with me in exchange for an honest review. I am a huge fan of Nikki Grimes. Anytime I see her name on a book, I grab it and know it will be a powerful one. I loved the way Grimes used the Golden Shovel poetry method to celebrate the women poets of the Harlem Renaissance. What a beautiful way to honor those women and celebrate their work. This book is a must read and will be a staple in classrooms.

I’m in love this this book.
My only regret in reading this beautiful picture book is that it wasn’t created before my daughter grew up. I wish she could have gleaned this inspiration as she matured. I’m glad she will be able to share it with her daughter. This gorgeous collection includes poetry from, as the title states, the women poets of Harlem Renaissance. These pieces are shared alongside modernized adaptations from Grimes, who writes with the “The Golden Shovel” poetic method. She creates new poetry with words of the original poem to make an all-new work. Truly a fascinating method that will call for multiple reads! This book includes an introduction on Harlem Renaissance history and poetry form. It concludes with bios on the talented and educated women who authored this collection. It is told in 3 parts: “Heritage”, “Earth Mother”, and “Taking Notice”.
Images in this collection add a whole new level to there read. Breathtaking!
Publication date for this book is set for January 5, 2021. Add this to your tbr, you won’t regret it. I received an early release copy of this title from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There are no words that can properly express my love for this book. I was woefully uninformed about the Harlem Renaissance and the women poets who did such amazing work. Nikki Grimes' contributions add greater depth to this anthology and the artwork that accompanies each set of poetry brings those words to greater life. I strongly recommend this book to everyone.

Wow! This book is extraordinary. Black women poets are highlighted next to poems inspired by them written by Nikki Grimes in a golden shovel poetry style. And each duo of poems is accompanied by breathtaking artwork created by African-American female artists. I also love the biographies about each poet and the sources in the back.

What a wonderful book. I loved the poems of the Harlem Renaissance. However I was not a big fan of Nikki Grimes poems within the book. I would have much preferred the book just focus on the poems of the Harlem women. That being said, I will most definitely be recommending this book for our store and I think it will do very well.
Thank you netgalley for this lovely arc.

I grew up on the poetry of Langston Hughes which introduced me to the Harlem Renaissance, but until I read this book I wasn't aware of the gap in my knowledge. I didn't know any of the female poets Grimes highlights.

The varieties of poetic styles and language are given a unity by the accompanying poems written by Grimes, using the poetic form, the Golden Shovel, that she used previously in her book One Last Word.

Each set of poems (one by a writer from the Harlem Renaissance, one by Grimes) is illustrated by a different illustrator, tying the two poems together. The book ends with resources including poet and illustrator biographies and a source list.

While this is being marketed for middle grade readers, I also see it having a place in high school studies of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as appealing to adult poetry readers. A beautiful book that will hopefully find a wide audience.

Review based on an ARC from NetGalley.

Fifteen poems by Harlem Renaissance female poets are taken by Grimes and given the Golden Shovel treatment in which she takes a poem or a sentence of one of the poems and creates a companion poem using the words of that sentence in the new poem. Grimes is a wonderful poet, but I was fascinated by the Harlem Renaissance poems and their authors just as much. So much so, I plan to look for more works by these forgotten poets. The illustrations that accompany these poems are rich in culture and engrossing. Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this digital ARC. This review can also be found on my Goodreads page.

Nikki Grimes latest title Legacy: Women poets of the Harlem Renaissance provides access to numerous writer's of this historic era. Included are her own writings and amazing artwork. This belongs in every collection.

Poetry itself can be very hit or miss and I didn't particularly love the poems here, but as a book this is wonderful.
This collection pairs female Harlem Renaissance poets with Grimes's own poems based on these works, using the Golden Shovel method.
The art that is interspersed is gorgeous and honestly made me wonder if some of these artists sell prints.

An inventive take on the anthology, in which Grimes constructs “Golden Shovel” poems in response to works by women of the Harlem Renaissance. A really interesting way to showcase some lesser-known writers while proving in realtime how their works can converse with the present moment.

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance is a beautiful book--a testament to the creativity of Black women both past and present. Nikki Grimes has gathered a beautiful collection of poems by 15 Black female poets from the Harlem Renaissance, poets largely erased from the greater literary canon. These poems are in turns haunting, inspiring, heart-breaking, and hopeful. Families. Nature. Death. Life. Creation. I was constantly picking my jaw up off the floor and wiping tears from my eyes. The poets captured so many emotions and experiences with their words, and I felt blessed to read them.

Showcased alongside these poems are poems written by Grimes herself, using a form of poetry known as the Golden Shovel, wherein a line or stanza from an original poem is used to craft a new poem, using each word from the line or stanza as the final word in each new line. Grimes’ ability to work within such a structure and create not just sensical but powerful poems of her own highlights her exceptional talent.

And if this weren’t enough to make the book truly spectacular, the poems are accompanied by one-of-a-kind illustrations, all by modern Black female artists.

I will be purchasing a finished copy of this book first because it’s a treasure, and second because I am excited to introduce both my children and the students I work with to these poets and their works. Nikki Grimes has provided us with more than a book of poetry. She has included an overview of the Harlem Renaissance and biographies of each poet featured in the collection, to make this a comprehensive educational experience as well as an emotional one.

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.