Strength to Love
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
New York, Harper & Row [1963]
This collection of Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermons, published in 1963, contains sixteen messages on various topics and an essay entitled "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence," in which Dr. King describes the study and philosophy that informs his convictions. Dr. King preached these sermons "during or after the bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama" (ix), and does indeed often refer to the struggle against segregation going on in that time. Instead of dating the collection, this fact puts them firmly in a specific historic moment while strikingly illustrating many universal, still-relevant truths he espouses.
That this took me a month to read should not be taken as a negative. From the first sermon, I realized that to be fully engaged with Dr. King's wisdom, intellect, and passion, I wanted to take it slowly. Even so, I rather with it were a book I owned, because I rushed at the end when the library due date sneaked up on me. I didn't always agree with Dr. King's theology, but my admiration and respect for him have only grown as a result of reading some of his sermons. I was often challenged personally and a few times the sermon I was reading was directly applicable to something else I was mulling or struggling with at the time. I would recommend those unfamiliar with Dr. King's theology and philosophy read the final essay first, as it clarified some points that I had been wondering about while reading.
And now I'm off to find more books about and by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement. This book, the graphic novel I See the Promised Land, and One Crazy Summer have really worked together to pique my interest, though looking at my book stack it may be awhile before I get to it...
Showing posts with label Martin Luther King. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Luther King. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
When Does Storytelling Overwhelm the Message?
My first graphic novel of the year was a biography:
I see the Promised Land: A Life of Martin Luther King written by Arthur Flowers and illustrated by Manu Chitrakar and Guglielmo Rossi
[Chennai], India : Tara Books c2010.
First, the good: The story blends oral storytelling tradition with the Patua scroll painting of India. If that sounds strange, I will say that the format takes some getting used to but is really an excellent use of the graphic novel format. I have little enough of an art background to comment on the illustrations, but the colors chosen and the use of white-on-black to quote from King's speeches or highlight a point is extremely well done.
The Questionable: The author, in using the African oral tradition, references "the Gods" and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Fa" (a word I could not find a definition for, but given the context would call it "fate" or "destiny").
At first, I admit, I rather overlooked this. It bothered me, yes, but the narrator was also clear about King's Christian background and his family's long tradition of life in the Baptist ministry. I will also be the first to admit lack of knowledge about the 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. himself, and African storytelling tradition, so at first I felt unqualified to comment on this storytelling device. After a few people commented on my initial review on my LibraryThing talk thread, I started to think about this some more.
How much does a format give or take from a story? This is a question in any story in terms of first- or third-person narration, the inclusion of illustrations, or even the font. Is it readable? How wide are the margins? If there are multiple narrators, do each of these get a different font? When you're talking about a graphic novel, format is doubly important because you're including illustrations on every page and if done well, should blend and be as much a part of the story as the words. While I was reading I See the Promised Land, I really liked the inclusion and choice to highlight quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speeches, and I thought it was an overall good introductory story to the topic. This overrode some of my reservations about the storytelling device of the (fictional) narrator's references to Gods, plural, and a "Fa," something I agree that Martin Luther King, Jr. would be appalled by. Now that's another thing - this narrator is fictional, is telling us the story of King's life, and could conceivably have a different point of view from King himself. I want to read more widely about King and the Civil Rights movement now to see if my initial impression stands.
I'm not sure I have an easy answer for "how much is too much." I do think that this element was an unnecessary layer that did not fit the topic - that is, a biography of a Christian man. Where would you draw the line?
I see the Promised Land: A Life of Martin Luther King written by Arthur Flowers and illustrated by Manu Chitrakar and Guglielmo Rossi
[Chennai], India : Tara Books c2010.
First, the good: The story blends oral storytelling tradition with the Patua scroll painting of India. If that sounds strange, I will say that the format takes some getting used to but is really an excellent use of the graphic novel format. I have little enough of an art background to comment on the illustrations, but the colors chosen and the use of white-on-black to quote from King's speeches or highlight a point is extremely well done.
The Questionable: The author, in using the African oral tradition, references "the Gods" and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Fa" (a word I could not find a definition for, but given the context would call it "fate" or "destiny").
At first, I admit, I rather overlooked this. It bothered me, yes, but the narrator was also clear about King's Christian background and his family's long tradition of life in the Baptist ministry. I will also be the first to admit lack of knowledge about the 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. himself, and African storytelling tradition, so at first I felt unqualified to comment on this storytelling device. After a few people commented on my initial review on my LibraryThing talk thread, I started to think about this some more.
How much does a format give or take from a story? This is a question in any story in terms of first- or third-person narration, the inclusion of illustrations, or even the font. Is it readable? How wide are the margins? If there are multiple narrators, do each of these get a different font? When you're talking about a graphic novel, format is doubly important because you're including illustrations on every page and if done well, should blend and be as much a part of the story as the words. While I was reading I See the Promised Land, I really liked the inclusion and choice to highlight quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speeches, and I thought it was an overall good introductory story to the topic. This overrode some of my reservations about the storytelling device of the (fictional) narrator's references to Gods, plural, and a "Fa," something I agree that Martin Luther King, Jr. would be appalled by. Now that's another thing - this narrator is fictional, is telling us the story of King's life, and could conceivably have a different point of view from King himself. I want to read more widely about King and the Civil Rights movement now to see if my initial impression stands.
I'm not sure I have an easy answer for "how much is too much." I do think that this element was an unnecessary layer that did not fit the topic - that is, a biography of a Christian man. Where would you draw the line?
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