Synopses & Reviews
There is a skeleton in the Mattatuck Museum in Connecticut. It has been in the town for over 200 years. In 1996, community members decided to find out what they could about it. Historians discovered that the bones were those of a slave name Fortune, who was owned by a local doctor. After Fortune's death, the doctor rendered the bones. Further research revealed that Fortune had married, had fathered four children, and had been baptized later in life. His bones suggest that after a life of arduous labor, he died in 1798 at about the age of 60. Merilyn Nelson wrote The Manumission Requiem to commemorate Fortune's life. Detailed notes and archival photographs enhance the reader's appreciation of the poem.
Synopsis
Nelson presents the story behind a human skeleton that has been on display in the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut, for more than 200 years. She also shares the poem she was commissioned to write to honor the man had who was finally identified in 1996. Full color.
Synopsis
The poetic commemoration of a man's life in enslavement from a past poet laureate and three-time National Book Award finalist
For over 200 years, the Mattatuck Museum in Connecticut has housed a mysterious skeleton. In 1996, community members decided to find out what they could about it. Historians discovered that the bones were those of an enslaved man named Fortune, who was owned by a local doctor. After Fortune's death, the doctor rendered the bones.
Further research revealed that Fortune had married, had fathered four children, and had been baptized later in life. His bones suggest that after a life of arduous labor, he died in 1798 at about the age of 60. The Manumission Requiem is Marilyn Nelson's poetic commemoration of Fortune's life. Detailed notes and archival photographs enhance the reader's appreciation of the poem.
Synopsis
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award For young readers comes a poetic commemoration of the life of an 18th-century slave, from a past poet laureate and three-time National Book Award finalist
For over 200 years, the Mattatuck Museum in Connecticut has housed a mysterious skeleton. In 1996, community members decided to find out what they could about it. Historians discovered that the bones were those of an enslaved man named Fortune, who was owned by a local doctor. After Fortune's death, the doctor rendered the bones.
Further research revealed that Fortune had married, had fathered four children, and had been baptized later in life. His bones suggest that after a life of arduous labor, he died in 1798 at about the age of 60. The Manumission Requiem is Marilyn Nelson's poetic commemoration of Fortune's life. Detailed notes and archival photographs enhance the reader's appreciation of the poem.
Synopsis
A poem commemorating the life of an 18th-century Connecticut man who was a husband, a father, a baptized Christian, and a slave. Includes detailed notes and archival photographs. Marilyn Nelson is the author of "Carver: A Life in Poems," winner of a Newbery Honor Award, a Coretta Scott King Honor Award, and a finalist for a National Book Award.
About the Author
Marilyn Nelson is the author of The Freedom Business, Fortune's Bones, and Carver: A Life in Poems, among other titles. She is a National Book Award finalist, a Newbery Honor Book winner, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book award winner. She lives in East Haddam, Connecticut.