Nearer My Freedom

“Permit me to lay at your feet

the following genuine

Narrative . . .”

Olaudah Equiano was a writer and abolitionist whose autobiography, The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, captured the attention of British readers at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. The account of his childhood in the African kingdom of Benin, the details of his kidnapping and enslavement as a young boy, and the chronicles of his life as a sailor were influential in ending the British slave trade and continue to inspire the work of academics, activists, and artists over two hundred years later.

Nearer My Freedom retells Equiano’s remarkable life story in found verse, shaping his own words into impassioned, striking poetry, allowing readers to discover it anew. Supplemented with detailed and illuminating annotations, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge offer a new means to engage with one of the most famous texts of the abolition movement.

Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year 2024 NCTE Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels List Boston Globe Best Books of the Year School Library Journal Best Book of the Year Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year Evergreen Teen Book Award Reading List Booklist Top 10 History Books for Youth Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Books of the Year Booklist Top 10 Biographies & Memoirs for Youth EUREKA! Children's Book Gold Award

“"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself (1789) remains one of the best-known stories about the life of an enslaved African man in the 18th century. Equiano was born in the kingdom of Benin and kidnapped and sold into slavery as a young person. His experiences of the Middle Passage, described in detail, were brutal. After working in the Caribbean, he was shipped to a plantation in Virginia and a life of bondage. When he was sold to a British naval officer, Equiano was given a new name against his will, but he formed relationships that allowed him to learn to read and write. Through it all, he never lost his dream of liberty and the resolve to purchase his freedom. Once he was successful, he took on an apprenticeship as a hairdresser and eventually had more adventures, traveling to Turkey, among other places. His autobiography formed part of his abolitionist efforts and was important to the movement that eventually ended the institution of slavery in Britain. This highly successful adaptation of his original work uses Equiano's own words, turned into found verse and supplemented with important historical context that makes this primary source accessible. The overall result is highly readable as well as informative. An excellent way to understand a remarkable individual and his times."--starred, Kirkus Reviews”

"This flawless and well-composed performance is an invaluable addition to youth collections, giving listeners the important story of a truly remarkable man."—starred, Booklist, audio book published by Listening Library

"[T]he story makes for compelling reading that moves quickly. . . . This important and unique work introduces this pivotal man to a new audience and will make for interesting classroom discussions."—starred, School Library Journal

"Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge—former fourth grade co-teachers—brilliantly transform the autobiography into 'found poems' by cutting and rearranging Equiano's original into verse . . . Their deft transformation of Equiano's odyssey is well-equipped to inspire and empower new generations."—starred, Shelf Awareness

"In this unique work of nonfiction, Edinger and Younge transform the words of Olaudah Equiano's 1789 autobiographical slavery narrative into found-verse poetry. . . . [An] absorbing, singular creation."—starred, Booklist

"Without losing the source text's emotional heft, Edinger and Younge's visceral poems respectfully provide an effective entry point into the seminal work."—starred, Publishers Weekly

"Highly readable as well as informative. An excellent way to understand a remarkable individual and his times."—starred, Kirkus Reviews

"This combination of "found poetry" from Equiano's autobiography and other writings and non-fiction essay reveals the depth of feeling held in Equiano's heart as he suffered through kidnapping, transportation across the ocean to strange countries, and a desperate search to understand his place in a new and strange world. Reviewer Rating: 5"—Children's Literature

"This moving found-verse adaptation of the formerly enslaved Equiano's 1789 memoir makes a seminal work of history accessible to young readers."—New York Times Book Review

Monica Edinger is a retired classroom teacher and the author of the children's book Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad (Candlewick 2013), which won the 2014 Children's Africana Book Award and Nearer My Freedom (co-written with Lesley Younge) which was a YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist. Monica is a children's book world influencer with a large following on her blog, educating alice. She has contributed reviews and articles for the Horn Magazine and The New York Times, served on several award committees, and published numerous books and articles for educators. She is based in New York. Lesley Younge is a writer, mother, and educator currently teaching middle school English and math in Washington D.C. Originally from Southern California, she graduated from New York University and Bank Street College of Education. Lesley has developed curriculum with a wide range of organizations such as the Central Park Conservancy, the Museum of Art and Design, the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial Project, the Zinn Education Project, and the National Museum of Asian Art. Now she is the author of two books for young people, Nearer My Freedom and A-Train Allen. A fellow of the Hurston/Wright Foundation and Anaphora Literary Arts, Lesley blogs regularly at teacherlesley.com.

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