"Jordan is a wizard at capturing vernacular in both conventional forms and his own invention." --Black Issues Book Review
In 1936, teenager MacNolia Cox became the first African American finalist in the National Spelling Bee Competition. Supposedly prevented from winning, the precocious child who dreamed of becoming a doctor was changed irrevocably. Her story, told in a poignant nonlinear narrative, illustrates the power of a pivotal moment in a life.
| "Mercy, mercy, mercy" | 15 | |
| In-cho-ate | 21 | |
| John Montiere answer to question one | 22 | |
| The moment before he asks MacNolia out on a date | 23 | |
| Meeting John Montiere | 25 | |
| Rant | 26 | |
| From | 27 | |
| Wedding night | 29 | |
| Looking for work | 32 | |
| Red ball express | 34 | |
| In service | 36 | |
| John Montiere answer to question two | 38 | |
| Jesse Owens, 1963 | 39 | |
| Infidelity | 41 | |
| When MacNolia greases my hair | 43 | |
| Af.ter.glow | 44 | |
| John Montiere answer to question three | 45 | |
| With | 46 | |
| "One bourbon, one scotch, one beer" | 48 | |
| Elegy to my son | 50 | |
| I'm trying | 52 | |
| Dust | 54 | |
| Scenes from my scrapbook | 56 | |
| This life | 58 | |
| The night Richard Pryor met Mudbone | 60 | |
| Death letter blues ghazal | 66 | |
| Unforgettable | 68 | |
| English | 75 | |
| To | 80 | |
| Rope | 82 | |
| Time reviews the Ziegfeld Follies featuring Josephine Baker, 1936 | 83 | |
| Morena | 87 | |
| Asa Philip Randolph | 89 | |
| Green pastures | 92 | |
| Practice | 93 | |
| Akron spelling bee, April 22, 1936 | 96 | |
| On stage | 100 | |
| MacNolia backstage with Fats Waller and Bill Robinson at the RKO Palace Theater | 104 | |
| My dream of Charon | 108 | |
| Details torn from MacNolia's diary | 109 | |
| National spelling bee championship montage | 112 | |
| N-e-m-e-s-i-s- blues | 118 | |
| In Allan Rohan Crite's school's out | 119 | |
| My one white friend | 120 | |
| Covering the spelling bee | 121 | |
| MacNolia's dream of Shirley Temple | 127 |
Anonymous
Posted November 23, 2007
M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A, about an African American spelling bee whiz-kid, is a compelling, heart-grabbing use of actual history origami-ed with the music of poetry. This collection takes the factual accounting of MacNolia Cox Montiere and orchestrates it with original imaginings and charged reveries that challenge the reader to stand and hear, to witness, the intimacies of a young bright girl on the jagged-sharp wrong-end of racial attitudes during the Depression. Van Jordan is everything a great historical fiction writer should be¿he just does it wearing the hat of a poet. Van Jordan has crafted a phenomenal work utilizing historically significant issues¿and, unfortunately, issues still front-and-center in our current times. Some will read this stunning creation and comment on How Far We've Come. Others of us will sigh with regret, mournfully acknowledging how closely¿too closely¿this story mirrors those of our nightly news, our communities, even now. Get M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A today. Kick back, maybe put on some Earl Hines, some Billie Holiday. Slip yourself in the freshly-shined shoes, the new hand-made fancy dress of MacNolia¿listen to the tip-tapping of her soles across the stage. Feel that silver-tinged hum of adrenaline? Listen to her confidence as she calls out the letters to words that (mostly) live in other people's lives. Drink in her elation, swallow her heartache. Marvel at how her disillusions with life, with the concept of fairness and equality¿mirror water-colored shades of your own, of all our own. Bear witness. She deserves that much at least. Don't we all? Van Jordan is a poet that has the power to stretch minds, to turn hearts, with his haunting portrayals. This is why I read contemporary poetry.
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Posted May 2, 2011
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Overview
"Jordan is a wizard at capturing vernacular in both conventional forms and his own invention." --Black Issues Book Review
In 1936, teenager MacNolia Cox became the first African American finalist in the National Spelling Bee Competition. Supposedly prevented from winning, the precocious child who dreamed of becoming a doctor was changed irrevocably. Her story, told in a poignant nonlinear narrative, illustrates the power of a pivotal moment in ...