Inheritance: A Visual Poem - Elizabeth Acevedo - ★★

AUTHOR: Elizabeth Acevedo

ILLUSTRATOR: Andrea Pippins

GENRE: Illustrated Spoken Word Poem

PUBLICATION DATE: May 3, 2022

RATING: 2 stars.

In a Nutshell: An illustrated version of the author's famous spoken-word poem. Didn't get much of the poetic merit (no surprises there, given my lack of fondness for poetry), but liked the powerful message and the vibrant illustrations. Might work differently for readers more impacted by this format of poetry.

I have wild hair. Though thinner now with age and hormonal upheavals, my hair still looks like I forgot to brush it after I woke up. Over the years, many friends have asked me to straighten my hair. They claim it's easier to manage. No one asks me whether I'm bothered by my messy waves or if I prefer straight hair to curls. They just assume that their straight hair IS better. (Fact: I think straight hair is boring. I love curly hair as it has a personality of its own! I am very jealous of women who have ringlet curls.)

Isn't that typical of human beings? Whatever is *ours* is better, whether it's physical attributes such as hair type and skin colour, social attributes such as gender and sexual preferences, or man-made attributes such as religion and nationality. There's hardly any attempt to see the other perspective, to accept that we are all equal in the eyes of the divine creator even with our differences, to understand that our differences are what make us unique.

This poem gently reminds us the value of accepting our 'inheritance'—what has been passed down to us from our ancestors through genes—and of being proud of it without judging or being judged. In a simple way, it highlights the systemic racism that is ingrained into our society without people even realising it. The text focusses mainly on Black/ AfroLatinidad hair, but the message is applicable to all. The last line is an absolute winner!

The poem is the print version of the author’s famous spoken-word poem of the same name, and takes barely two minutes to read. Too short and quick, unless you want to take a pause after every line and allow it to seep into your subconscious.

So I do vibe with the message. But the rest of it was not my cup of tea, partly due to my reading preferences and partly due to the presentation. I am not at all a fan of poems, and when I do read poems, I prefer them in the classical style, with a proper consistent meter and maybe even rhymes. Contemporary poetry styles, with the lack of rhyming or repetition or catchphrases or meter, just don’t work for me. My brain simply refuses to process such text as poetry. In other words, I read this book as text and don’t know how to evaluate it on its poetic merits.

Furthermore, I cannot gauge what age group this is aimed at. The message is powerful enough, but will the format work for all? Children might be too young to understand the value of the words, and they are usually happy with themselves anyway until adults interfere with their innocent acceptance of everything and kill their self-worth. Moreover, with lines about “dating a Black man” and “have you thought about your daughter’s hair”, it’s not really aiming at kids despite the picture book format. Young adult and adult readers might appreciate the message more, but how many would invest upwards of fifteen dollars on a picture book containing just one poem, no matter how relevant the message is? And it’s not even like the message is unique; many books in recent years have focussed on the importance of self-love and self-acceptance. The only mildly differentiating factor here is the Black/AfroLatinidad hair angle, but this has also been covered in several other picture books (such as Hair Story by NoNieqa Ramos, Hip Hop Hair by JFAM Johnson) and graphic novels (Wash Hair Diaries.)

Well, the illustrations might help tilt the scales somewhat. Andrea Pippin’s bright and bold artwork captures the gorgeous wildness of curls and the diversity of Black hair (and skin colour) beautifully. Every graphic goes well with the line on that page. The cursive typeface also meshes well with the curls.

Overall, I truly love the message of this visual poem, but it was too short to create a longlasting impression. I might have loved it better if it were in some prose format or were lengthier. This might not be applicable to those who enjoy poetry, so take my feedback with a pinch of salt.

2 stars, mainly for the last sentence and the illustrations.