Ingram, M. A. (2000). Shelling Beans and Other Collected Poems.
Michael Ingram, 9-63.
Dr. Michael Ingram is using poetry to express a personality that
is unique to only him. The book Shelling Beans is a collection of poems
that were written by Dr. Ingram and others. He has split the book into
four sections; Life, Culture, Spirit, and My First Poem. While reading
through this book, I realized why Dr. Ingram arranged the poems the way
that he did. Every poem dealt with some aspect of life that each human
being must go through. Many of the experiences portrayed by the poetry
are those that Dr. Ingram has had as an African American male. Although
I understand that I am a European American and may not have had the same
types of experiences, I still feel as though the poetry has spoken to me.
Between the voice of Dr. Ingram reciting a poem and the words written on
paper, I found a connection to something that I had never had exposure
to. The emotion he has expressed is something far deeper than I can imagine
and can only hope that some day I too feel the same. The reason for why
I chose this book was basic. I felt from the first time I was introduced
to Dr. Ingrams’ work that I wanted to know more about him and his adventures,
encounters, whatever one chooses to call the experiences of life. He has
an intriguing method of writing and expressing feelings so that a person
can nod their head and really understand what he is saying. As I read through
the different poems in the book, I found myself learning about people of
color from a much different perspective than has ever been introduced to
me. I began to feel both the pride and anguish that he lives with and in
a poem entitled Consequential Being, I asked myself how I could feel the
same pride at being a descendant of Europeans. I haven’t been able to answer
that question yet. I enjoyed this book immensely and would share it with
anyone willing to listen and read.
Five Questions I would ask Dr. Ingram:
1. When did you first start writing poetry and for what reason?
2. Where did you learn to be as expressive in the way that you speak
as you are?
3. What courses do you teach, because I would love to take a class
from you?
4. With all of your knowledge and experience, what do you still find
the most challenging about racism and prejudices?
5. What do you want whites to know and understand about people of color
in order to bridge the gap of racism?
Diana Painter
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