Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Reader, Come Home: December’s Pages

By Megan Willome 15 Comments

Clare began to talk, steering carefully away from anything that might lead towards race or other thorny subjects. It was the most brilliant exhibition of conversational weightlifting that Irene had ever seen.”

If ever there was a thorny subject that could benefit from conversational weightlifting, it’s race, whether we’re discussing the singing of the national anthem before an NFL game or who gets to do the Wakanda salute. When I was a child, I was taught not to see differences. Now differences are emphasized. The world has changed.

In Reader, Come Home Maryanne Wolf says that as today’s youth grow up and confront a world grownups like me cannot imagine, they need “ever more sophisticated forms of cognition and imagination.” She adds that they will need “a range of very different brain circuits.”

“Can an individual reader consciously acquire various circuits?” Wolf asks.

Yes, we can. And one of the best ways to acquire those circuits is to read books by authors with backgrounds different than our own. Not because we should or because it’s good for us but because there are excellent books by authors who fell outside the academic canon, like Nella Larsen. Her slim novella, Passing, published 90 years ago, upends whatever scripts you may have regarding race.

The title comes from the practice among some light-skinned blacks who could “pass” among whites, when doing so in America was a crime. The two central characters, Irene and Clare, can both pass. Clare left behind family, culture, and society and married a racist white man. Irene married a prominent dark-skinned doctor in New York City, but passes when it’s convenient or advantageous. After the two old friends reconnect in a whites-only Chicago restaurant, Clare starts to pursue her heritage, which means pursuing Irene. Trouble ensues.

This is fiction. There is a plot, which builds slowly and lethally. As in the best novels, there is foreshadowing everywhere, but it’s so muted you think it’s only description. Then you reread a single sentence about the ash of a cigarette and your eyes widen at Larsen’s genius.

The story is full of color, and I don’t just mean skin color. There are “pink women, golden women.” It’s as if Larsen thought to herself, Do you really want to talk about color? Well, then, I’ll give you some color to talk about.

For Irene, beige: “‘Not another damned thing!’ Irene declared aloud as she drew a fragile stocking over a pale beige-colored foot.”

For blonde-haired, black-eyed Clare, any bright color, especially blue: “Entering, Irene found herself in a sitting-room, large and high, at whose windows hung startling blue draperies which triumphantly dragged attention from the gloomy chocolate-covered furniture. And Clare was wearing a thin floating dress of the same shade of blue.”

Larsen was a member of the Harlem Renaissance. Passing is one of two novels she wrote, along with a few short stories. After a divorce she returned to her first profession, nursing. Her depression put an end to her writing. When she passed away in 1964,The New York Times passed her over. In 2018 they printed a much-delayed obituary for her.

I first heard about Passing on a podcast, then read it, then listened to another podcast about it, then read it again. It made me aware how much I attempt to categorize people by how they look, like the time I was handing out school supplies with a charity and tried to guess which parents spoke only Spanish and failed. To use Wolf’s language, my life experience has not always provided me with the necessary brain circuits to live in 2019. (I don’t think I would’ve done so well in the New York City of 1929 either.)

Clare and Irene share tea more than once in the book. They share cake. But even conversational calisthenics can’t change fate.

The trouble with Clare was not only that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too but that she wanted to nibble at the cakes of other folk as well.”

December’s Pages

Finished

Poetry
Darwin’s Daughter, Faith Shearin

Adult
A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Dylan Thomas (HT Glynn Young, here at Tweetspeak)
Passing, Nella Larsen

Early Readers and Picture Books
Gingerbread Friends; Home for Christmas; The Mitten; The Night Before Christmas; The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Jan Brett
Nine Days to Christmas: A Story of Mexico, Marie Hall Ets & Aurora Labastida (Caldecott-winner)
The Upside Down Boy / El Nino de Cabeza, Juan Felipe Herrera (Join us for next week’s Children’s Book Club, January 11!)

Middle Grade and YA
American Street, Ibi Zoboi (HT Code Switch’s 2018 Book Guide)

Made Progress

The Odyssey, Homer, transl. Emily Wilson Listening along with Overdue’s subpodcast: Stop! Homer Time)

Your turn

1. What fiction have you read by an author of a different racial category that connected circuits for you or even laid new ones?

2. Did you make some time for deep reading this month? What stories stirred your soul?

3. Share your December pages. Sliced, started, and abandoned are all fair game.

Photo by Joe Diaz, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Megan Willome, author of The Joy of Poetry.

Browse more Reader, Come Home

MW-Joy of Poetry Front cover 367 x 265

“Megan Willome’s The Joy of Poetry is not a long book, but it took me longer to read than I expected, because I kept stopping to savor poems and passages, to make note of books mentioned, and to compare Willome’s journey into poetry to my own. The book is many things. An unpretentious, funny, and poignant memoir. A defense of poetry, a response to literature that has touched her life, and a manual on how to write poetry. It’s also the story of a daughter who loses her mother to cancer. The author links these things into a narrative much like that of a novel. I loved this book. As soon as I finished, I began reading it again.”

—David Lee Garrison, author of Playing Bach in the D. C. Metro

Buy The Joy of Poetry Now

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Megan Willome
Megan Willome
Megan Willome is a writer, editor, and author of The Joy of Poetry: How to Keep, Save & Make Your Life With Poems and Rainbow Crow: poems in and out of form. Her day is incomplete without poetry, tea, and a walk in the dark.
Megan Willome
Latest posts by Megan Willome (see all)
  • Perspective: The Two, The Only: Calvin and Hobbes - December 16, 2022
  • Children’s Book Club: A Very Haunted Christmas - December 9, 2022
  • By Heart: ‘The night is darkening round me’ by Emily Brontë - December 2, 2022

Filed Under: Blog, book reviews, Books, Reader Come Home

Get Every Day Poems...

About Megan Willome

Megan Willome is a writer, editor, and author of The Joy of Poetry: How to Keep, Save & Make Your Life With Poems and Rainbow Crow: poems in and out of form. Her day is incomplete without poetry, tea, and a walk in the dark.

Comments

  1. Glynn says

    January 4, 2019 at 10:15 am

    Last month, I read Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad.” It plays with history and it plays with your head, in very powerful ways. And the new National Book Award for Poetry winner – “Indecency” by St. Louis poet Justin Phillip Reed – is another powerful work.

    December Reading

    Mystery
    The Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
    Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves
    Campion at Christmas by Margery Allingham
    The Dead Sister by Jonathan Dunsky

    Non-fiction
    Dickens and Christmas by Lucinda Hawksley

    Fiction
    Home on the Range by Ruth Logan Herne
    Jake Annie by J.M. Barrie and Arthur Conan Doyle (play)
    Pieces on Earth by Cathy Bryant
    Five Christmas Plays by David Winter
    1066: What Fates Impose by G.K. Holloway
    Along Came Jones by Linda Windsor
    The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
    Two Stories by Virginia Woolf and Mark Haddon

    Poetry
    A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
    Indecency by Justin Phillip Reed
    Let There Be Light: Collected Poems by Joseph Spring
    Fingerprints of Love and War by Edward Holmes

    Reply
    • Megan Willome says

      January 4, 2019 at 10:19 am

      Glynn, I have a friend who is planning to lend me “The Underground Railroad” when he finishes it. So glad to know you recommend it too.

      Reply
  2. Sandra Heska King says

    January 4, 2019 at 12:57 pm

    I honestly don’t think I read anything in December short of slicing a few pages in several books. In fact, I have some overdue library books that I hardly touched. I did check out Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out & Back Again cuz I bought it for Lillee for Christmas. I figured I should read the whole thing rather than slices. 🙂 It’s a novel in verse from the viewpoint of a 10-year-old girl whose family escaped Vietnam before Saigon fell.

    Reply
    • Megan Willome says

      January 4, 2019 at 6:33 pm

      That sounds intense, Sandy.

      December can be a hard time for reading. A lot of the things I read were shorter than usual.

      Reply
  3. Maureen says

    January 4, 2019 at 1:54 pm

    I read Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ and Lin Manuel-Miranda’s ‘Gmorning, GNight! Little Pep Talks for Me & You’ (a Christmas gift from friends); also Tony Hoagland’s ‘Recent Changes in the Vernacular: Poems’ (excellent, as are all Hoagland collections).

    I have almost finished Natasha Trethewey’s ‘Monument’ and Lindsey Hilsum’s wonderful ‘In Extremis; The Life and Death of the War Correspondent Marie Colvin’. Will also be finishing ‘Hue’ this month.

    I won a copy of ‘Milkman’ and will begin that soon. None of the characters are named in the novel, which is a prize winner.

    Reply
    • Megan Willome says

      January 4, 2019 at 6:35 pm

      Maureen, I’ve had several people recommend Michelle Obama’s book.

      And I don’t have Lin-Manuel’s yet, but I love his Gmorning/Gnight tweets, that I know inspired the book. He is one of the reasons I stay on Twitter.

      Reply
  4. Laura Brown says

    January 4, 2019 at 5:05 pm

    1. Hmm. Most recently, probably “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe.

    3. December reading that I remember:
    “Thank Your Lucky Stars: Short Stories” by Sherrie Flick
    “The Best Small Fictions 2017,” series editor Tara Masih, guest editor Amy Hempel
    “Gratefulness: The Habit of a Grace-Filled Life” by Susan Muto
    Reread parts of “The Gospel of Christmas: Reflections for Advent” by Patty Kirk
    Part of “Otherwise” by Jane Kenyon
    Finished some books started in November, including “The Empathy Exams” by Leslie Jamison and “True You” by Michelle DeRusha

    If audiobooks sort of count: I started listening to the audiobook of our next book club selection, “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

    At some point last fall I read but failed to mention one of my favorite books of the year: “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating” by Elisabeth Tova Bailey.

    Reply
    • Megan Willome says

      January 4, 2019 at 6:37 pm

      Audiobooks definitely count! I’ve started the Audible-produced reading of “Jane Eyre” with Thandie Newton.

      Read “Things Fall Apart” just a couple years ago. Speaking of Lin-Manuel Miranda (see above), he said it was his favorite book to teach when he was subbing.

      Reply
  5. L.L. Barkat says

    January 5, 2019 at 8:52 pm

    Passing sounds like an amazing book. When I resume reading (I’m stopping for a period of up to a year, depending on a few things I haven’t pinpointed yet), I’ll take a look. (I’ve put it on my “Want to Read” list in the back of my Reading Notebook. 🙂 )

    This whole issue of reading circuits, raised by Wolf, intrigues me. Such complexity! Learning to read is no small feat. (I like her circus analogy, complete with illustrations, of how the circuits form and interact).

    The one area I found myself departing on was the alarm about impact. For sure, it’s currently quite hard on anyone who doesn’t learn to read and doesn’t know how to read deeply. As many of us here at Tweetspeak now know, states determine the number of prison beds based on reading scores. Low scores = high demand for prison beds. They plan accordingly.

    And yet. The world has been moving towards digital literacy, which means audio-visual literacy has begun its reign. At some point, those who will be left behind are those who have not developed these brain circuits. Already, the older generation, lacking such circuits to the same extent as the younger generation, is fooled by, for instance, fake images and video. My own girls are not fooled. They see and hear nuances in audio-visuals that I don’t, because they are steeped in the media. They can spot a dub or a Photoshop alteration a mile away. “That’s so obvious,” they say to me. Obvious to the trained eye and ear, yes.

    Likewise, they think deeply in their own media, having conversations that are over my head, as they make philosophical and aesthetic observations I don’t have the language for. So, maybe the alarm needs to be set in the opposite direction: it may be the older generation who needs new circuits; at the very least the older generation should begin to respect the depth of what the younger generation is actually doing with these new media.

    I know Wolf sort of acknowledges this, but, really, she still seems biased towards a print-literate culture, suggesting that democracy itself is at stake. Maybe. Maybe not. 🙂

    Reply
    • Megan Willome says

      January 6, 2019 at 9:15 am

      L.L., I think you raise a great point about how the reading circuits–meaning reading in the broadest sense of the word–cut both ways. Like you, I have seen a greater sense of literacy in my children because they consume elements of pop culture that I don’t (video games, YouTube stars, a bunch of stuff I’ve never heard of).

      I do try to read and listen to people who dip their toes into more pools, just to have a sense of what else is out there that I’m missing.

      But, oh, the pleasure of a tightly written short novel like “Passing”! For me, there’s nothing else like it.

      Reply
  6. Prasanta says

    January 8, 2019 at 1:16 am

    I’m interested in the Underground Railroad as well; it’s on the list.
    Both Passing and the ideas presented by Wolf sound fascinating to me.

    1. Good question. In fiction, I think for now, I’d say Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. But I want to add more to this list. I do have a nonfiction title I could add that profoundly impacted me this past year (Beyond Colorblind by Sarah Shin).

    2. Stirring my soul right now: Devotions by Mary Oliver (begun in December)

    3. December reading

    Fiction
    Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
    The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

    Nonfiction
    Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath
    Mystics and Misfits by Christiana Peterson
    True You by Michelle DeRusha (begun-not yet finished)

    Poetry
    Oceanic by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

    Reply
    • Megan Willome says

      January 8, 2019 at 9:05 am

      Hi, Prasanta!

      “Cry the Beloved Country” and “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” are two of my favorite novels ever.

      I have not read any Jesmyn Ward, but I’m aware of her, mainly because of her first book, “Salvage the Bones.” She seems to have a significant, new voice.

      On Aimee Nezhukumatahil, is her poem “Mosquitoes” in that collection. It’s the only one I know by her, but I read it years ago and it still stuck.
      (http://aimeenez.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Mosquitoes.pdf)

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweetspeak Poetry: Reader, Come Home: “Passing” says:
    February 27, 2019 at 8:09 am

    […] Reader, Come Home: December’s Pages […]

    Reply
  2. Reading Generously: Black Stories | Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    March 6, 2021 at 11:04 am

    […] this one from the Harlem Renaissance, is Passing, by Nella Larsen. I wrote about this story in a previous reading column. It’s about colorism and a friendship which turns due to jealousy, and not a single detail is […]

    Reply
  3. By Heart: 'Mother to Son' + New A.E. Stallings Challenge - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    May 27, 2022 at 5:02 am

    […] Harlem Renaissance, a movement of Black artists, musicians, and writers in the 1920s. (We’ve read Passing, by Nella Larsen, who was part of the movement as well.) Hughes was criticized by some Blacks for his portrayal of […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • Laurie Klein on Poems to Listen By: Black Bird Soirée 04—A Plausible Story
  • Bethany on Poems to Listen By: Black Bird Soirée 04—A Plausible Story
  • L.L. Barkat on 50 States of Generosity- New Jersey
  • 50 States of Generosity- New Jersey - Tweetspeak Poetry on Poetry at Work: The Doctor—William Carlos Williams

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT