Poetry Friday
 |
| Fresh Start Farms - Dunbarton, NH |
Do you recognize this scenario that is being played out in different ways across our land and others? Farmland in our little New Hampshire town is now farmed by Somali-Bantu, Congolese and Bhutanese farmers. Local housing is part of a long range plan.
If your area does not have new farmers to welcome, perhaps you have new Americans or folks hoping to become Americans who contribute to your communities in other ways. How are they being welcomed?
Our church has opened a dialogue with these farmers from Fresh Start Farms. We will host them as they present their work during our worship service this Sunday on Earth Day and honor them with a luncheon following.
To encourage our new neighbors' integration into our community, we started with BOOKS, of course. We recommended a dozen current titles with children of color as main characters to our public and school libraries. They were purchased this spring.
Of course the libraries needed CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR: Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship by dear Poetry Friday colleagues Irene Latham and Charles Waters.
What can I say about this book? Parallel poems that celebrate the similarities and differences of two cultures. A picture book in verse. All of our common middle school experiences that will break your heart all over again. The story of an evolving friendship between two reluctant classmates depicted both in words and in the facial expressions skillfully assigned by illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko. A precious jewel on any bookshelf.
CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR is a joy, a hope, a promise. A promise I make to work for a future where every Charles and Irene can be friends.
