The Times They Used to Be

by Lucille Clifton, Earl B. Lewis (Illustrator)

Mama, Mama.
Tell us about when you was a girl . . .
tell us one of them stories
about the olden days.

So begins this tender story, set in 1948, when Satchel Paige was in the majors, Ralph Bunche was at the U.N., and each evening Sooky and her family turned on the radio to listen to Amos ’n’ Andy . Uncle Sunny, a veteran of the 92nd Division in World War II–it was his time, too. But mostly it was Sooky’s time, as she sat on the curb with her best friend Tallahassie May Scott in the dusky summer nights, waiting for the street lights to go on. That summer Sooky was 12 years old and got her first pair of wedgies, and sin broke all out in her best friend’s body because she wasn’t saved.

48 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1974

About the author

Lucille Clifton was an American poet, writer, and educator from New York. Common topics in her poetry include the celebration of her African American heritage, and feminist themes, with particular emphasis on the female body.

She was the first person in her family to finish high school and attend college. She started Howard University on scholarship as a drama major but lost the scholarship two years later.

Thus began her writing career.

Good Times, her first book of poems, was published in 1969. She has since been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and has been honored as Maryland's Poet Laureate.

Ms. Clifton's foray into writing for children began with Some of the Days of Everett Anderson, published in 1970.

In 1976, Generations: A Memoir was published. In 2000, she won the National Book Award for Poetry, for her work "Poems Seven".

From 1985 to 1989, Clifton was a professor of literature and creative writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She was Distinguished Professor of Humanities at St. Mary's College of Maryland. From 1995 to 1999, she was a visiting professor at Columbia University. In 2006, she was a fellow at Dartmouth College.

Clifton received the Robert Frost Medal for lifetime achievement posthumously, from the Poetry Society of America.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great blank verse novel that introduced me to Jim Crow, The Hit Parade, and Amos and Andy. My copy is loved to tatters.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

gr 4-6 48 pgs


1948, US. 12 year old Sooky is best friends with Tassie. When Tassie "breaks out in sin all over her body", Sooky is determined to help. Tassie decides they must runaway to Florida so that she can get advice from her father.

Since the "sin" that Tassie has "broken out all over her body" with is her period, I'm not sure who I'd recommend this book to. Because it's so short and illustrated, it seems to be aimed at a younger audience. But the fact that the story talks about puberty makes me want to recommend it to an older audience.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of poems tells the story of a girl growing up in 1948. A notable scene handled well is when she gets her first period and doesn't know what it is and is scared until an adult tells her the facts.