Nelson, M. THE FREEDOM BUSINESS: Including A Narrative of the Life & Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa. Art By Deborah Dancy. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong. ISBN 9781932425574.
Marilyn Nelson's biographical poems on the life of slave Venture Smith, known at birth as Broteer Furro. This wonderful book of poems features illustrations by artist Deborah Dancy. In a note featured at the back of the book, Dancy notes that she used a combination of watercolor, ink, collage and acrylic paint to create the illustrations.This book of poems is suitable for middle school-aged to high school-aged readers. In addition to the illustrations and poems, the book also features the text of the "A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa", the biography of Venture Smith which was printed in New London, Connecticut in 1798.
Nelson's poems show a depth of beauty in relating the events of Venture's life. What is so interesting about this book is that in addition to the poems, the reader can also read the actual words of Venture Smith himself. The text of his biography is placed side-by-side the poems. The reader almost experiences a dual sense of tragedy and relief as they are able to digest both Nelson's poems which reflect Venture's life, and the events in his own words.
As a caution to adults working with youth in homes, schools and libraries, some of the poems contain some graphic material. The beatings and abuse suffered by Venture and his family at the hands of their masters is painful to read. A couple of the poems also contain swear words. This biographical poetry collection will be invaluable to use in a study of the early slave trade. It could even be paired with other biographical poetry collections or historical fiction novels of the same time period.
A great poem from the collection to share with students is titled "How I came by my Name":
Four casks of rum and a bolt of calico.
(A quarter of the list price. A terrific deal,
a steal for the ship's steward who bought a boy
onboard as two-legged cargo was being loaded
and stowed.) Four casks of rum and a piece of cloth.
(For breath, dreams, heartbeat.) The boy who was Broteer
disappeared. A business venture took his place.
Same face, same eyes, but inside utterly transformed,
harmed past healing by the cheapening of human life.
Breath, dreams, pulse, traded for cloth and alcohol,
were capital. There was profit in the pain,
the chains. Venture. There were whole worlds to gain.
(Nelson, 29)
This poem is a turning point in the collection of poems, but also represents the new life that Broteer, now known as Venture, will have to endure. The reality of his being bought and sold as if he had no life in him, as if he is not even human is painful for the reader. The use of italics on the words capital, profit and Venture give emphasis to the inhumane treatment of Broteer and other slaves who suffered the same fate. Though the poem mentions alcohol, this poem could be introduced using props: four casks (bottles) of soda (in place of rum of course!) and a bolt of fabric (This would represent the 'bolt of calico', referred to in the poem. This may require some research done on the part of the adult to explain to the readers what type of fabric this is.).
These items could be set out on a table, and youth readers could be asked to think about the value of these items. After writing their thoughts down on paper, the parent, teacher or librarian could read aloud the poem. After reading the poem aloud, the adult could have the children reread the poem in pairs and discuss their thoughts on trading slaves for cheap objects.
The freedom business book cover. JPEG. Retrieved from http://www.boydsmillspress.com/books/wordsong/freedom-business
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