MACNOLIA: Poems
"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.
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MACNOLIA: Poems
"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.
15.95 In Stock
MACNOLIA: Poems

MACNOLIA: Poems

by A. Van Jordan
MACNOLIA: Poems

MACNOLIA: Poems

by A. Van Jordan

Paperback

$15.95 
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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 a life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780393327649
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 12/17/2005
Pages: 144
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

A. Van Jordan is the author of five collections of poetry. He has been a finalist for the Rilke Prize and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award, and a Lannan Literary Award. He is the humanities and sciences chair of English literature at Stanford University and lives in Oakland, California.

Table of Contents

Fade In
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"15
Z19
in-cho-ate21
John Montiere answer to question one22
The Moment Before He Asks MacNolia Out on a Date23
Meeting John Montiere25
Rant26
from27
Wedding Night29
Looking for Work32
Red Ball Express34
In Service36
John Montiere answer to question two38
Jesse Owens, 196339
Infidelity41
When MacNolia Greases My Hair43
af-ter-glow44
John Montiere answer to question three45
with46
"One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"48
Elegy to My Son50
I'm Trying52
Dust54
Scenes from My Scrapbook56
This Life58
The Night Richard Pryor Met Mudbone60
Death Letter Blues Ghazal66
Unforgettable68
A73
English75
to80
Rope82
Time Reviews The Ziegfeld Follies Featuring Josephine Baker, 193683
Morena87
Asa Philip Randolph89
Green Pastures92
Practice93
Akron Spelling Bee, April 22, 193696
On Stage100
MacNolia Backstage with Fats Waller And Bill Robinson at the RKO Palace Theater104
My Dream of Charon108
Details Torn from MacNolia's Diary109
National Spelling Bee Championship Montage112
N-e-m-e-s-i-s Blues118
In Allan Rohan Crite's School's Out119
My One White Friend120
Covering the Spelling Bee121
Fin127
MacNolia's Dream of Shirley Temple
Fade Out133
Acknowledgments
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