Rock of Ages: A Tribute to the Black Church
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Tonya Bolden: capturing childhood and community
INTERVIEW BY DEBORAH HOPKINSON
Tonya Bolden's recollections of childhood, family and community enrich her two new books for children, Rock of Ages: A Tribute to the Black Church, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and Tell All the Children Our Story: Memories and Mementos of Being Young and Black in America, a celebration of young blacks from Jamestown until the present time. Both of these new books are welcome additions to literature for children, not only during Black History Month, but throughout the year. Although Bolden does not consider herself a musician and says, ruefully, that her parents were the musical ones in the family, she does remember being part of the rich musical tradition of the church, playing tambourine as early as age eight. "My father played the alto sax in a tambourine band at church and my mother sang in the choir," she recalls. Choir practice also meant the young Bolden often spent time during the evenings in church waiting for her mother. "Don't tell anyone," she says with a guilty laugh, as though she might get a belated scolding if someone found out, "but once my sister and I took a deck of cards to church to play with while we waited for our mother!" For Bolden, who earned an undergraduate degree from Princeton and a master's degree from Columbia University, writing Rock of Ages, a poem that pays tribute to the power of the black church and its pivotal role in the black community, was an act of love. Written in verse and accompanied by R. Gregory Christie's arresting acrylic and colored pencil drawings, Rock of Ages is imbued with gratitude and appreciation. "The book was in me for years. I had written a poem about the black church and just put it in a drawer for a long time. I never thought of myself as a poet," says Bolden, who has also written novels, self-help books and reference books. "But after I was asked to contribute a piece to an anthology, I pulled out my poem and submitted it. As I looked at it again I realized there was a book in it after all. I also realized it was time to say thank you." Although Bolden, who lives in New York City, has not published poetry, it would be impossible to guess that from the lively confidence of her words in Rock of Ages. In one section she pays special tribute to the role of black women in the church and the community: "...women encouraging slackers to buck up and get dignity with their mere presence in Sunday Best . . . those marvelous hats, neat shoes, pressed dresses, pocketbooks never without handkerchief and peppermint balls . . . women gathering in prayer bands to war against woes and wrongs." Bolden hopes children of all ethnic backgrounds will read and appreciate this book, and be encouraged to write poetry themselves. Says Bolden, "I hope that if children have an inclination toward poetry, they will try to capture someone or something dear to them." And capturing something precious is just what Tonya Bolden has done.
Children's book author Deborah Hopkinson lives in Walla Walla, Washington. Hopkinson's Fannie in the Kitchen was recently named one of the best children's books of 2001 by Publishers Weekly.
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Some of Tonya Bolden's earliest memories are of Sunday mornings in Harlem, where she grew up. "Sunday morning was a special time in our home," remembers the author of many acclaimed books for adults and children. "It was the proudest day of the week. You went to church wearing your best, and you went to be your best."