For Every One by Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynold’s poetry book For Every One is categorized as Young Adult poetry. However, as the title suggests, this book really is for everyone. Creative fonts and formatting make the poem come to life on the pages. This book contains one long poem written as a letter to anyone who might be struggling to make their dreams happen. Reynolds begins by describing his own struggle. He explains his desire to earn money at a young age and see his dream realized. He argues that there are unexpected turns, such as moving back in with his mother at twenty-five (Reynolds, 2018, p.14). Reynolds implores that through all of this, it is important to never lose sight of your dream.
While some people might argue that this sounds like a corny book, I would ask them to read it before making this judgement. Reynolds uses original language and unexpected imagery to form the message of his poem. The clever wording of this poem is impressive. Reynolds compares doubt, fear, and anxiety to a flame one needs to try and smother (2018, p. 80). Usually passion or desire is compared to a flame. But in this book, Reynolds describes his dream as “a rabid beast/ that found [him] when [he] was young./ It bit [him],/ and infected [him],/ but before/ [he] could catch it,/ it shot off into/ the darkness”(2018, p. 91-92). Fear is described as a fire and the dream is described as a beast. In this way, Reynolds contradicts popular metaphors concerning emotion.
I read this book at the perfect time in my life. I have been making big decisions about my future and what I want for myself professionally. Reynolds’ book has reminded me not to lose sight of why I want to be a librarian in the first place: to show others that learning and reading and listening can be amazing. Reynolds’ also reminded me that it’s ok if my path has some twists and turns, as long as I don’t stop looking for the “beast that bit me” (2018, p. 91-92).
References
Reynolds, J. (2018). For Every One. New York, NY: Atheneum.