A. Van Jordan. M-a-c-n-o-l-i-a.

A. Van Jordan. M-a-c-n-o-l-i-a. New York: Norton, 2004. 144 pp. $13.95.

"Macnolia" is defined as "a Negro who spells and reads as well as [if not better than] any white." A. Van Jordan's second book of poetry is a biographical portrait of MacNolia Cox, a woman from Dayton, Ohio, whose life was altered when the 1936 national spelling bee was rigged to ensure that a black girl did not win. Beginning with her obituary and framed like a film--Jordan used Sergei Eisenstein's Film Form to structure the book--the story moves from MacNolia's death to courtship, marriage, birth and loss of a son, before the narrative reverts to her life at age 13, rehearsing for various competitions, including the national bee. The main characters are MacNolia and John Montiere, her husband. A few historical figures flesh out the biography, providing context and counterpoint to the main story. They include Miles Davis, Richard Pryor, Jesse Owens, Josephine Baker, Asa Philip Randolf, and Allan Rohan Crite. The resulting tome pays careful homage to a woman whose life might otherwise have been barely remarked.

Jordan's book yields a variety of poetic forms as well as free verse. The most original is a series of dictionary definition prose poems that continue the story as the defined word is used in succeeding sentences. There is a double-sestina about Josephine Baker, a ghazal, a villanelle, and haiku. The free-form "Dust" requests that lovers see each other plainly so they may "misplace / regrets." Some poems include stage directions to maintain the sense of a screenplay and to illustrate actions that might otherwise be invisible, unimagined. The structure and the variety of forms illustrate Jordan's understanding that, however flawed, words direct our attention and allow us to see.

MacNolia's story centers on language, vocabulary, and correctness. The other contestants will be allowed variations in spelling while she will be given a word off of the official list: nemesis. It is suggested that because she is a girl, she may spell words without comprehending their meaning. The definition of her name belies that suggestion since she both spells and reads well. Once married, her husband often tries to move beyond words, "I'm trying not to find / Any more words to say" (53). They complement each other: Macnolia knows language and John tries to elude language's intrinsic snare. The limits of language are made visible. Jordan points at the spaces between words and at the silence within a household. Within all intimacy, he suggests, there exists distance, insufficient language, and the possibility of lies. MacNolia, in "This Life," considers the role of words all the way back to Adam: "Say truth and let it be true, for once." This poetry creates immediate intimacy with its subject.

Jordan presents a complicated marriage made more difficult in a country fraught with racial discrimination. Marital passion is quelled by infidelity and guilt, yet also bound by a recurring eroticism, as in "When MacNolia Greases My Hair" and coconut oil becomes a kiss to John's scalp. In "Unforgettable," envy, hope, and romance play against the harsh facts of the couple's marriage. Jordan emphasizes the difficulty of finding work and the longing for love and understanding. He also portrays MacNolia's mother, her absent father, and MacNolia's dedication. One particular gem is "Practice," in which learning an unfamiliar word is like trying to recognize an acquaintance.

The end of the book reveals the public result of MacNolia's loss. Her life is narrowed. She drops out of school to become a maid for a local doctor. It is revealed that a white female reporter who had covered the contest for the Akron Beacon Journal protested when the judges gave MacNolia nemesis to spell. The same woman recalls the bee in a 1971 newspaper article; she would appreciate A. Van Jordan's sentiment when he writes, "My God, if she didn't win that night" for competing. It is no wonder this book won a Whiting Award.

The poetry in MacNolia suggests the influence of such poets as Carl Phillips, Cornelius Eady, and members of the Cave Canem Workshop of 2002. Jordan's first book, Rise, won the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Book Award in 2002. Jordan's choice to write biographical poetry recalls the same tradition as Rita Dove's recent Thomas and Beulah and Marilyn Nelson's Carver. It also joins the long tradition of paying tribute to the lives of significant predecessors, whether famous or not.

Reviewed by

Julia A. Galbus

University of Southern Indiana