Hurricane Dancers - Poetry

Bibliography

Engle, Margarita. 2011. HURRICANE DANCERS: THE FIRST CARRIBBEAN PIRATE SHIPWRECK. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9240-0.

Plot Summary

            HURRICANE DANCERS: THE FIRST CARRIBBEAN PIRATE    SHIPWRECK is a historical fiction novel, written in free verse comprised of six parts. The novel is told from the perspectives of the five main characters, four of whom are historical figures: Quebrado a young fictional slave boy on the pirate ship, Bernardino de Talavera the first Caribbean pirate, Alonso de Ojeda a brutal, slightly irrational conquistador who is Talavera’s hostage on the ship, Naridó a Ciboney Indian fisherman and Cancubú a Ciboney chieftain’s daughter. The novel progresses in a chronological fashion telling the story of Talavera’s ship wrecking on the island of Cuba during a hurricane and the impact that has on each of the main characters.

Critical Analysis
          Through the use of poetic language Margarita Engle presents characters in the novel HURRICANE DANCERS: THE FIRST CARIBBEAN PIRATE SHIPWRECK who each have a distinct voice: Quebrado the spirit voice, Naridó the voice of the sea, Cancubú the voice of love, Talavera and Ojeda the voices of slavery and violence.   
          Engle provides two notes in this novel. The first, located at the beginning of the book is entitled Historical Setting. This note briefly affords the reader information on the circumstances that led to Spain's conquest of much of the Caribbean in the late fourteen and early fifteen hundreds. The second is a Historical Note at the end of the novel. This Note expounds on the characters, events, culture, language and literature that were the genesis of this book.   
          There are no illustrations in the novel apart from the black and white palm trees that mark the beginning of each of the six sections; however these few drawings do evoke the strength of the wind and set the scene for the poems. The imagery is created by the poetry itself. The character's voices are transmitted to the reader through the strength of the vocabulary, creating strong pictures. The scents, the winds, the sounds of the sea and air are all metaphorically present. Love denied is manifest in Cancubú’s voice of desperation and despair. The reader is able to experience the destructive power of the hurricane, the dances of the native peoples and Quebrado’s joy at being able to ride his horse in freedom all through the force and resonance of Engle’s words. The words evoke sadness, fear, the loss of power, love and so much more. It is through the words that we get a sense of the characters emotional condition.

Quebrado, Ojeda and Talavera are the three primary voices heard in the novel. Naridó and Cancubú are secondary voices, with Cancubú being heard the least. Each of the three primary characters are realistic, fully developed, and the story flows well between their three points of view. The story grows out of the characters, and the language represents not only the time frame but also the dialects particular to the native Indians. Engle's novel is an evocative journey back to the time of the Pirate and the Conquistador.

Review Excerpts
BOOKLIST Starred review 2011: “Engle… offers another accomplished historical novel in verse set in the Caribbean.”
KIRKUS review 2011: “the stories… they work together elegantly; the notes and back matter make this a great choice for classroom use.”
Connections

·       This book could be paired with both fictional and biographical accounts of other Caribbean pirates.

·       For a class project older readers could be given one of the historical characters in the book and asked to write a short essay about that person. Their real life could be compared to the book’s portrayal of them.

·       Other novels in verse that deal with historical events include WICKED GIRLS: A NOVEL OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS by Stephanie Hemphill ISBN 0061853283 and THE APPRENTICE’S MASTERPIECE: A STORY OF MEDIEVAL SPAIN by Melanie Little ISBN 1554511909.