no return door, Kwame Alexander
Behind the seemingly simple details of the history of Kwame Alexander’s new poetic novel The Door of No Return, the first book in a trilogy that follows a Ghanaian boy caught in the practices of the Atlantic slave trade, lies: Complexity lurks. The novel takes place in September 1860, months before the outbreak of the American Civil War and decades after the transatlantic slave trade was abolished in the United States, a slave ship transporting Kofi carries the American flag. The fact speaks to its secretive nature. The permanence of the enterprise and its persistence, despite the laws against it. In fact, these issues are never investigated. Alexander understands how to choose the appropriate context that can be considered research in writing, publishing, and marketing popular writings on slavery for contemporary young readers.
The story is fairly uncomplicated. Kofi lives with her family in the village of Asante, which already reflects the influence of British colonialism. He was forced to speak only English at his school and challenged the boy who was bullying him to a swimming race in the local river. Kofi’s older brother, Kwasi, accidentally kills his opponent during an annual wrestling match against a rival village. he and takes Kofi to make a deal with the English at a coastal castle, where he encounters a door of no return. On the other side is “Slow Passage / Over Rough Seas”.
“It was a difficult story to write, but it was a story that needed to be told. I wrote it for me, who no one knows. For you who still want to be. For a possibility.” we” says Alexander in an author’s note. (I feel an incredible effort to be political. It’s almost a plea for patience.) “Now you have to go through. With your eyes closed. With your heart unlocked.” And your heart is as free as the ocean.”
Alexander is an accomplished writer and has won the highest award for writing for young people. He recognizes the minefield that books can represent today’s American education system, and many want to ban black talk that makes white children feel bad about themselves. I know his parents. So he compromises. He is a school bully who hurts Kofi (his cousin) from someone (like teacher Goodluck Phillip) who is ashamed of being African and wants to celebrate being European. , to Kofi and the man who catches him, shows that the bad guys include Africans. Killing Kwasi in front of his brother. Whites briefly appear at the end, but Alexander cannot blame slavery entirely on them.
Alexander’s faithful research is fully on display, including proverbial citations, the use of Adinkra symbols as chapter markers, and strategically translated Twi phrases to orient American readers.
The problem with historical fiction is that the author’s perspective on history must be balanced with the novel’s appeal (characters, plot, action). By the end of this article, Kofi has yet to reach land, much less America, so we’ll have to wait and see how Alexander handles America’s role in perpetuating the Atlantic slave trade. The Door of No Return, on the other hand, is a juvenile adventure depicting African landscapes, love stories, the tragic consequences of human cruelty, and the magical power of self, and is arguably the perfect fit for an animated film. Respect. As the end draws to a close, instead of being raped again by the ship’s sailors, Ahua, a fellow inmate who commits suicide, cheers Kofi to escape. follow your dreams “Popular theme songs are already sorted out.
Ghanaian-born poet and fiction writer Kwame Daws is editor-in-chief of Prairie Schooner magazine.
no return door | | Kwame Alexander Page 416 | Little, Brown & Company | $17.99 | Ages 10+