Arts and Culture

Book Review: “The Undefeated”

Published

5 years ago

May 21, 2019

You wanted it. And you wanted it very much.

But, ah, well, you didn’t get it. You worked and you begged and maybe you even saved but you didn’t get what it was that you wanted. You were sad, but you got over it. You’ll try again, work harder, save more and, as in “The Undefeated” by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson, one day, you’ll reach your goal.

This book is just for you. But it’s something you have to share because it’s “for the unforgettable,” too. It’s for those people who opened the doors to all kinds of new opportunities for everyone, but they never became famous for it.

It’s for people who did whatever it took to get to America, to thrive and find a home and happiness. This book is for people who struggled, and for those who didn’t.

It’s about people who were strong and were admired for that strength. It’s for those who believed in themselves but who also put their faith in a higher power. It’s for those who “tackle vision” and those who don’t hide their light behind anything, ever.

It’s for soldiers and dancers, marchers and players, boxers and parents and kids, and it’s for you. It’s for Black lives that matter and for the people who never got a chance to know that. It’s because of the “unspeakable.”

Share this book for those who won’t be stopped, who’ll keep dreaming and reaching and imagining and proving. It’s for the athletes we know, and for the ones we don’t know about yet. It’s for performers we sing along with, and for songs not written. It’s for those who tried and tried until the last breath they had.

You’ll have to share it, but this book is for you. It’s “for us.”

“The Undefeated” is one of those things that’s really hard to nail down.

It’s a quick read that may be too quick for some kids; it’s over almost before it begins because author Kwame Alexander’s words are spare and not very attention-grabbing for the very youngest of children. It doesn’t help that the picture-book-style illustrations are attractive but they aren’t particularly colorful or active.

For gradeschoolers, none of that will matter because “The Undefeated” is a poem set to picture and it’s inspirational for them, especially if they’re just learning about African American history. But there’s a possibility for those kids that the power behind the illustrations by Kadir Nelson might be missed because the stories of the people in this book are at the end and not always with the pictures.

Adults, however, might find this book to be a treasure. Alexander’s poem pulses with strength and the artwork, from an adult’s POV, is perfectly rendered. You may recognize the people depicted – and if not, there’s always the back of the book.

The trick, perhaps, is to carefully share this book with the child you love, explain, and let it spark conversation. Once kids understand, “The Undefeated” is a book they’ll want very much.

“The Undefeated” by Kwame Alexander, illustrations by Kadir Nelson, c.2019, Versify, $17.99 / higher in Canada, 40 pages.

Undefeated author Kwame Alexander. Photo by Portia Wiggins Photography

Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez

Posts by Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez

Arts and Culture

Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Dr. Carl Blake

By Barbara Fluhrer

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.

One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.

At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.

Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.

Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city. Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

(L-R) Del Handy, John Handy, Roger Glenn, and Joe Warner celebrate John Handy Day at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, Oakland. Photo by Lady Bianca.

By Conway Jones

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city.

Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

“John Handy is a jazz icon and an inspiration to musicians everywhere,” said Ayo Brame, a 16-year-old Oakland tenor saxophone player who is enrolled at the Oakland School for the Arts.

In celebration of this day, the reception in downtown Oakland at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle was a gathering of artists, young and old, coming together in his honor and celebrating his 91st birthday.

Handy presented a Saxophone Colossus free masterclass for musicians. This class afforded a rare opportunity to learn about the saxophone from an aficionado. The class was free and open to all – saxophonists, vocalists, aficionados, students, and casual listeners.

“As a longtime friend for over 60 years, and fellow musician who has had numerous opportunities to share the stage with John, it has always been a pleasure performing with him and hearing his creative interpretations of the music and his gift of ease inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians,” said Roger Glenn, a multi-instrumentalist.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Musical Chronicling Life of Betty Reid Soskin Set for Bay Area Debut

Betty Reid Soskin’s storied 102 years includes time spent as a WWII defense worker, activist, business owner, songwriter, National Park Service park ranger and so much more. Now the Richmond icon is the subject of a musical based on her incredible life.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Betty Reid Soskin. Photo courtesy of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond.

The Richmond Standard

“Sign My Name to Freedom,” a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) production which will focus on the life, music and writing of Ms. Soskin, will premiere at San Francisco’s Z Space Friday, March 29 and continue through Saturday, April 13. Tickets range from $15–$65 and can be purchased online at https://www.sfbatco.org/smntf

The musical is directed by Elizabeth Carter, while playwright Michael Gene Sullivan integrates Ms. Soskin’s own music throughout dialogue between what SFBATCO calls “The Four Bettys” as they progress through a century of experiences of this awe-inspiring American woman.

The cast of “Sign My Name to Freedom” features Tierra Allen as Little Betty, Aidaa Peerzada as Married Betty, Lucca Troutman as Revolutionary Betty and Cathleen Riddley as Present Betty Reid Soskin, according to Artistic Director Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. and Managing Director Adam Maggio. Other casting will be announced in the future.

Jackson said that having Soskin’s blessing to steward her life’s story is an honor and career highlight for him and that her journey stands as “a beacon for Black Americans, women and people of color all across the world [and] is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.”