ODE TO GRAPEFRUIT

Poetry helped acclaimed actor James Earl Jones cope with stuttering as a child.

At home, behind the hay barn, James’ voice “flowed,” and all the animals listened. Talking to people, however, wasn’t so easy. Reading aloud at school was an ordeal: “Heart racing. / Kids laughing. / Mouth trying. / Voice blocking.” As James got older, his stutter persisted. Finally, he decided to stop talking altogether—for eight years. But he listened, wrote, and learned. In high school, Professor Crouch encouraged his students to recite poetry, and James balked. Alone, however, he uttered the “irresistible patterns of poetry,” even composing poems himself. One day, a shipment of grapefruit offered a sensory feast, inspiring a poem that Professor Crouch insisted James read aloud to prove his authorship. Asserting himself, James recited “Ode to Grapefruit” without a hitch to his classmates, who “cascaded into applause.” James continued to share his resonant newfound voice through acting, debate, and public speaking. Eventually, his “legendary sound” would be known worldwide. Lavelle, a speech pathologist, notes that though James still stuttered occasionally, he “knew his voice was important. Imperfectly perfect”—a particularly heartening sentiment for readers experiencing similar difficulties. Staccato sentences vividly reflect instances of blocked speech; Collier’s subdued yet striking watercolor and collage illustrations capture James’ discomfort and hard-won confidence. Backmatter includes an author’s note with further biographical details, as well as separate information about stuttering.

A testament to poetry’s expressive powers.