Fort Wayne native Caroline Brewer has written and illustrated a unique, award-winning picture book titled Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature, A Biography in Poems.
Brewer describes the work as a meditation on Harriet’s legacy of oneness with nature and how she used it to free herself and more than 70 others on the Underground Railroad.
She is also author of the award-winning Say Their Names, a picture book that provides a journey of healing and community engagement in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder by police.
Here she talks with WBOI's Julia Meek about her passion for storytelling as it motivated her to tackle this project ending with a bit of the verse that celebrates Tubman’s legacy and connection with the natural world.
Event Information:
Caroline Brewer Book Signing and Reading
Fort Wayne Urban League
Saturday, Feb. 21
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
All ages welcome
Admission is free
You can connect with Caroline and order Harriet Tubman, A Force to be Reckoned With: A Biography in Poems at the author's website.
Click here to listen to Julia's May 1, 2022 interview with Caroline, New kids book makes rallying cry for solidarity and justice
This is a transcription of our conversation:
Julia Meek: Carolyn Brewer, welcome.
Caroline Brewer: Thanks for having me.
Julia Meek: Now last we met over the mic was in 2022 you had just published Say Their Names, following the George Floyd murder, and now Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature is born. Now what kind of a rush is this for your soul? Carolyn?
Caroline Brewer: It is feeding my soul in a way that I could not have imagined some five years ago when this journey began.
And all the readers are telling me that it's so timely, that this woman, her legacy, her oneness with nature, her spirituality, her understanding of how to survive and thrive in difficult times, is the story that we need now.
Julia Meek: And Caroline, your description, it's a meditation on her legacy. What inspired you to tackle this topic in the first place and secondly, in this way?
Caroline Brewer: Can I share an excerpt from the book that helps to answer that question?
Julia Meek: Oh, please do.
Caroline Brewer: Thank you.
"And yet, these folks who are freedom bound trust their Moses will keep them safe and sound.
Come rain, sleet, snow or frozen ground. Come rain, sleet, snow or frozen ground, won't let nobody and nothing turn them around."
And so what inspired me was her legacy, and learning more and more over the years about her oneness with nature and how that helped to fuel her success on the Underground Railroad.
And wanting to tell that story. I'd written a small vignette about her 20 years ago that a five-year old girl illustrated, and she illustrated Harriet surrounded by the woods and blue skies.
And I thought how perfect that this child captured the most important part of Harriet's life. You know, how she spent so much time outdoors and how she was so comfortable with it. She had to be.
She spent more time outdoors than the typically enslaved woman. Her father was a timber man. He was a supervisor, and so, as a teenager, she ended up working with him outdoors, and she learned a lot about trees and what it meant to be in the woods, and how to forage for food.
And all of those things were part of the intelligence gathering that she was doing as a young woman that would be necessary to help her make all of those trips up and down the Underground Railroad and feel very comfortable doing it.
Julia Meek: All about survival, isn't that remarkable? Now, your own Nature Wise project is a training program that blends literacy and outdoor exploration and oneness with nature, there's a familiar thread there. [Brewer chuckles]
How does it work in the classroom where you originally intended it as well as drive you, Carolyn Brewer, the author?
Caroline Brewer: So, the way it works in the classroom is we spend as much time outdoors as possible, and then we come back, and the classroom is a place where we put our stories together.
Where we, you know, pool the threads of the experience of being in nature, of traveling through parks and forests and fields and farms and meeting people who are doing the work every single day.
And we pool those threads together and we create something new. And that's what drives me, is that, with every group of students, there's always something new.
I am looking at nature and the oneness with nature through their eyes, through their discoveries.
Julia Meek: That's quite a lens and an omnidirectional point of view, then, isn't it?
Caroline Brewer: Yes, I get to see it from so many different points of view, far beyond what I could see on my own.
Julia Meek: And now Harriet Tubman was the conductor extraordinaire of that Underground Railroad. Why was nature so critical to her success?
Caroline Brewer: Because she spent weeks at a time traveling the Underground Railroad.
Helping people get to freedom, and she could not have done that if she weren't comfortable traveling at night, if she weren't clear about how to be guided by the stars.
So she had to have this intimate relationship with nature in order to travel so many times and under very harsh conditions, because it was often during the winter.
Julia Meek: And as an enslaved individual, even daring to do that, the fear factor that she was under while she was doing it had to perhaps steel her for what was ahead?
Caroline Brewer: Yes, she had to conquer her fear, and she did that by her faith. She believed in God. She said she talked to God, and God talked to her, and this is from a young age.
And she said she had visions from God of how to make this journey.
And whenever she was on the Underground Railroad, she was listening for God's still, small voice and allowing it to guide her through perilous situations which she faced, every single trip.
Julia Meek: Remarkable, and your extensive research includes the expertise of historians and biographers, as we've heard in that sample, all translated into exquisite poetic verse. Exactly what kind of challenge is that very act, Caroline?
Caroline Brewer: What's so beautiful that a lot of people don't know is that Harriet spoke like a poet, and so when she is talking in the biographies to people who are interviewing her about her life, her speech is so much like poetry.
And I have been blessed to have been raised by a mother who also told stories like a poet. And Harriet's life was so dynamic and rich, and her identity was as a free woman. She felt she was as free as the eagles.
There's a poem that repeats itself in the book you know, "same as the eagles. She was born free the way God intended all of nature to be." And so poetry is freeing.
A lot of the rules that are in contemporary prose, we don't have to obey in poetry. So it just felt natural to write her biography in poems.
Julia Meek: A perfect language.
Caroline Brewer: Yes.
Julia Meek: And your glorious collage illustrations more than complement the story. Great choice of technique.
What inspired the mixed media? What inspired those gorgeous pictures? And is the method an old favorite of yours or new to your style of illustration?
Caroline Brewer: I love, love, love collage art. I've never illustrated anything in my entire life, professionally. [Julia chuckles]
I had started playing around with collage for greeting cards for my family in 2023. I did not anticipate that it would lead to me having the guts to ask my publisher if I could illustrate the book.
But we were being delayed by not finding the kind of Illustrator that they wanted. And so after that last delay, I asked to throw my hat into the ring.
I've always loved Romare Bearden, and so I started off trying to follow his work, and ultimately what I did was listen to his voice, and his advice to artists was, let the art talk to you.
So, there are all kinds of new approaches to creating art in this book that I sort of stumbled on in the process of listening to Romare Bearden and listening to the art.
Julia Meek: A very happy chance encounter then. Now, okay, 30 poems, most artcentrically embellished. It's quite an atypical bio style, and it works marvelously. So what has the response been, starting with the kids who read it and their teachers?
Caroline Brewer: The children that I've encountered and their teachers have been wildly enthusiastic about the book, and just full of so much joy.
Enslavement in the United States can be a tough topic to share with anyone. It's tough for African Americans to read about it, to hear about it, to you know, encounter images, and yet, Harriet Tubman's story is a story of triumph.
It's a story of victory. It's a story of a woman who would not allow the times to define her. As I said, she believed that she was born free, as free as the eagle.
And so her legacy allows us to feel freer, to think more freely, to act more boldly. And children and teachers are looking for stories like that.
This book is musical, and when I present it, it's musical, it's rhythmic. It engages all the senses. And so they really love and appreciate that.
Julia Meek: You know your immersive style, well, of everything. Carolyn, in this case, storytelling, is remarkable. How do you nurse the most out of a book, a school visit, a group read when you're right there in the field, doing what you're doing?
Caroline Brewer: I remember the children who let me know that something I wrote changed their lives. And so I'm always looking for ways to connect with human beings, and especially our young human beings, because I know they're always looking for inspiration.
And so I bring that mindset into every experience. How can we connect? How can we connect deeply? How can we connect joyously? How can we connect triumphantly?
You know, how can we connect on the deepest level, so that whatever might be bothering you, troubling you, challenging you, you found a way forward from this experience with this particular book.
Julia Meek: Fantastic approach, and it works. Now meanwhile, your book is nationally on fire, widely and wildly acclaimed. What are these designations that you have been receiving, and what do they mean to your cause?
Caroline Brewer: So, some of the designations include the National Council of Teachers of English award for poetry in 2025. And the School Library Book Review that said the book should be in all schools and libraries.
Most recently, which we have not yet publicly announced, the American Library Association selected it as a notable book for 2025-2026 and that's huge.
That's one of the highest awards a book can receive. And so what it means to me is that more children get to learn about this extraordinary woman.
More children get to identify with all the ways in which she handled incredible challenges. And more of us get to get free by spending time with her story.
What's so beautiful about history is we can learn from it no matter what it is, and it can free us. The truth can free us. It's an old saying, but it is profound, and when we sit with these stories and these truths, we find new ways to be.
And so the awards bring more recognition and more attention and more opportunities.
Julia Meek: And more power to your story.
Caroline Brewer: And more power, yeah.
Julia Meek: And best of all, Caroline, you're going to be putting all of that to the test this very week while you are back home and in that powerful circle of friends that you have amassed in your life here. So what will you be sharing where?
Caroline Brewer: I will be sharing Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature, in a very rhythmic, musical way with children at Croninger elementary school this week.
I think there are about 600 children from kindergarten through grade six, and they're going to be asked to repeat some of the poetry with me.
They're going to be asked to clap, they're going to be asked to stump their feet. They're going to be fully engaged, and I believe a teacher's husband is going to drum for us, so we're going to rock the room wherever we are.
And they're going to go away remembering so much important information about Harriet because they got to experience it physically, in a way that many don't get to experience stories.
And we're going to do the same thing on Saturday at the Urban League at the chief Condra Ridley Library.
We have people from throughout the community who are going to come together in this community gathering and celebrate Harriet, our legacy as African Americans, our legacy as Americans, because Black history is American history.
So, stories like this help us see ourselves as one, as people who are part of a community. This story belongs to all of us.
Harriet, of course, had lots of help from white Americans while she was traveling the Underground Railroad, and that assistance was critical to her success as well.
And so we can look at her story and see ways that we as a people have come together, where we as human beings have come together to uplift humanity in the highest form.
Julia Meek: An absolutely beautiful experience, and made all the more special by this happening within the Urban League in the chief Condra Ridley Library. How does that sweeten the experience, if it can be made any more sweet for you, Caroline?
Caroline Brewer: Well I think the Urban League has been such an important part of helping African Americans deal with the struggles of life in these United States.
And the people who support the Urban League are people who come from diverse communities. So that's, again, a part of Harriet's legacy. She attracted all kinds of people.
And Chief Condra Ridley, oh my goodness, talk about sweet! This is a woman who was a children's librarian for a number of years and made huge sacrifices to make sure children had access to stories and books and other types of publications.
And she hasn't stopped. She believes in the power of literacy. She believes in the power of community. And so this coming together is a way to honor her for all that she has done as a resident of Fort Wayne.
Julia Meek: Quite a day it will be, occasion it will be and celebrating all of this wonderful, wonderful, wonderful history and legacy of Harriet Tubman.
Now I do wonder, this last year has been a tough one, especially for nonprofits and underserved populations.
How are you navigating through it with what all you do with all you want to do, especially from your home, away from home, in Washington, DC?
Caroline Brewer: This book could not have come out at a better time. So many readers are telling me that. Teachers and librarians are telling me that.
They say we need Harriet's story, and we need it now, because she is such a light. She's such a guide as to how to navigate the most perilous times.
When she began her life as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, it was just around the time that the Fugitive Slave Act passed.
And so most people would have said, oh, no, don't you dare try to escape, because anywhere you go, people are going to be hunting for you, and you're free nowhere in the United States, according to the Fugitive Slave Act and law.
But that did not deter her. She was incredibly active during those 10 years again, not just for herself, but for dozens and dozens of other people.
And so, the time is always right to do what's right. And that's how we navigate these difficult times. We are fearless, we are bold, we are determined, and we are committed.
We understand that we are not alone, that we have community, and we are going to do everything we can to reinforce and strengthen those community bonds, because that's how we're going to get through this difficult time.
Julia Meek: Bless you and, of course, keep you going. That's quite the task you have ahead of you.
And now, okay, Caroline, as you work harder and harder and spread all the good words and ignite all the right passions, you are on a roll, and the difference you make is huge.
So my last question, why does storytelling rule your world? Why is it your secret weapon, as it were, and what does all of this do for you, Carolyn Brewer?
Caroline Brewer: I grew up the daughter of a storyteller. She was never paid, but I saw how her stories affected our family members, friends.
She was a beautician, so she was always telling stories to her customers, and I grew up benefiting from hearing her tell stories that helped you to think about life differently that helped you to find peace and Sanctuary.
So being a storyteller, I have seen how my work has done the same for others, especially children.
My first book, which I published independently, was read to a group of children in a group home for abused children, and one of those children, the counselor, called me days later to say, had not spoken to anyone for six months.
Had not made any friends, but right after the reading of that book, she said, he opened up like a flower. So to know that that is possible through stories is all I need to keep going.
Julia Meek: And that story was absolutely precious. So I would invite you, Caroline, is there one more passage from the book you'd like to leave us with?
Caroline Brewer: Absolutely, thank you.
"A force of nature from the dawn of her life, Harriet knew that she was meant to be soil, seed, root, tree, stem, flower, air, breeze, stream, river, wave, sea, sun, moon, a planetary jubilee, a meteor shower, causing darkness to flee.
Same as the eagles, she was born free, the way God intended all of nature to be. Force of nature. Harriet knew that she was meant to be soil, seed, root, tree.
Julia Meek: Caroline Brewer is a literacy consultant and an environmentalist as well as an award-winning author and illustrator. Thank you for sharing your story of your powerful stories with us. Caroline. Many blessings. Stay strong. Do carry the gift.
Caroline Brewer: Thank you so much.
