A love of words carries a young man from the shackles of slavery to poetic heights in this brilliant biography. The story is inspiring, and appropriately, the illustrations have a very upward and uplifting orientation. A beautiful tribute to a man who was indeed remarkable! Shares the story of George Moses Horton, who born into slavery taught himself to read and earned money by selling his poems to the students of the University of North Carolina, before becoming the first published African American poet of the South.

George loved words. But George was enslaved.

Forced to work long hours, George was unable to attend school or learn how to read. But he was determined—he listened to the white children's lessons and learned the alphabet. Then he taught himself to read. Soon, he began composing poetry in his head and reciting it as he sold fruits and vegetables on a nearby college campus. News of the slave poet traveled quickly among the students, and before long, George had customers for his poems. But George was still enslaved. Would he ever be free?

In this powerful biography of George Moses Horton, the first southern African-American man to be published, Don Tate tells an inspiring and moving story of talent and determination.