The Black Flamingo is an inspirational novel-in-verse written by its main character, Michael, a young boy who is half-Jamaican and half Greek Cypriot. As he explains in the book, he is not black enough for his father’s side of the family, and not Greek enough for his mother’s. The book follows Michael as he grows up in London struggling to find his place amongst his peers who don’t understand why he would rather play with dolls and kiss boys instead of his friends who are girls. Michael eventually moves to university and finds his place in the Drag Society. It is through his new found friends and intimidating performances that Michael finds out just how beautiful and amazing he really is. This powerful and emotional book is an engrossing and quick read for students in high school and up, and especially students who are also struggling to find their place in the world around them.
This novel is beautifully written in poetic verse. The author does a wonderful job of using rhythm to help make the words flow like a song, while also using specific dialogue throughout so that, at times, it reads more like a traditional novel. The book is broken up into different sections to help depict the different stages of life Michael is going through. There are a few topics mentioned throughout this book that I wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about with high school students such as sex, drugs, and drag, even though many might be thinking about or exploring these outside of school. I do feel these topics would be more appropriate for college-aged students to discuss in class, though it should also be mentioned that they are not the focal point of the story.
Any students who are of multiple races or ethnicities, or who are of the LGBTQ+ community might see a mirror of their own life experiences within this book. For someone who does not identify with either of those, The Black Flamingo is a window into the internal fight many face against hidden racism, and homophobic thoughts and actions. Both of these negative insights can at times be hard to swallow, but also hold lots of truth for many of our community members who identify as such and deserve to be heard and read about.
This novel could be used in the classroom to pull examples from for a poetry study as it does a great job of telling a story in a traditional way, while also having a fun rhythmic flow. Students can use it as a model as they write their own poetic memoirs. Another way The Black Flamingo could be used in the classroom is for a social emotional lesson about staying true to oneself and finding your place in the world. There are many students in our society who can resonate with Michael in some way and they deserve to know that they are not alone in their journey of finding their true colors.
Atta, D. (2020). The black flamingo. Balzer + Bray.
This novel is beautifully written in poetic verse. The author does a wonderful job of using rhythm to help make the words flow like a song, while also using specific dialogue throughout so that, at times, it reads more like a traditional novel. The book is broken up into different sections to help depict the different stages of life Michael is going through. There are a few topics mentioned throughout this book that I wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about with high school students such as sex, drugs, and drag, even though many might be thinking about or exploring these outside of school. I do feel these topics would be more appropriate for college-aged students to discuss in class, though it should also be mentioned that they are not the focal point of the story.
Any students who are of multiple races or ethnicities, or who are of the LGBTQ+ community might see a mirror of their own life experiences within this book. For someone who does not identify with either of those, The Black Flamingo is a window into the internal fight many face against hidden racism, and homophobic thoughts and actions. Both of these negative insights can at times be hard to swallow, but also hold lots of truth for many of our community members who identify as such and deserve to be heard and read about.
This novel could be used in the classroom to pull examples from for a poetry study as it does a great job of telling a story in a traditional way, while also having a fun rhythmic flow. Students can use it as a model as they write their own poetic memoirs. Another way The Black Flamingo could be used in the classroom is for a social emotional lesson about staying true to oneself and finding your place in the world. There are many students in our society who can resonate with Michael in some way and they deserve to know that they are not alone in their journey of finding their true colors.
Atta, D. (2020). The black flamingo. Balzer + Bray.