THE BLACK FLAMINGO
by Dean Atta
Although The Black Flamingo looks in format like a book of poetry, I would describe it as a novel in verse. And although it is marketed as young adult fiction, I can unhesitatingly recommend it to any reader who loves a good coming-of-age story.
This loosely autobiographical novel follows a young Black boy growing up in London with his mother and younger sister. He loves the color pink, hates sports and would rather play with the girls at recess. As he grows older and changes to a more conservative school, other boys begin to ostracize him and he slowly realizes that he is gay. The reader follows his journey all the way to university where he is introduced to gay clubs and the drag scene. All this time he struggles to understand why he can’t just be himself and not have to change to fit a proscribed category.
Because of the poetic language, each moment of the story is told in spare and vivid detail, leaving the reader to connect the narrative threads from poem to poem. In the end, the reader goes deep inside the psyche of this young man, entranced by both his experience and his language. The Black Flamingo should definitely be on the syllabus of high school English classes and I highly recommend you add it to your own fall reading. (Lily)
