"I have no wish to play the pontificating fool, pretending that
I've suddenly come up with the answers to all life's questions.
Quite that contrary, I began this book as an exploration, an
exercise in self-questing. In other words, I wanted to find out, as
I looked back at a long and complicated life, with many twists and
turns, how well I've done at measuring up to the values I myself
have set."
--Sidney Poitier
In this luminous memoir, a true American icon looks back on his
celebrated life and career. His body of work is arguably the most
morally significant in cinematic history, and the power and
influence of that work are indicative of the character of the man
behind the many storied roles. Sidney Poitier here explores these
elements of character and personal values to take his own
measure--as a man, as a husband and a father, and as an actor.
Poitier credits his parents and his childhood on tiny Cat Island
in the Bahamas for equipping him with the unflinching sense of
right and wrong and of self-worth that he has never surrendered and
that have dramatically shaped his world. "In the kind of place
where I grew up," recalls Poitier, "what's coming at you is the
sound of the sea and the smell of the wind and momma's voice and
the voice of your dad and the craziness of your brothers and
sisters...and that's it." Without television, radio, and material
distractions to obscure what matters most, he could enjoy the
simple things, endure the long commitments, and find true meaning
in his life.
Poitier was uncompromising as he pursued a personal and public
life that would honor his upbringing and the invaluable legacy of
his parents. Just a few years after hisintroduction to indoor
plumbing and the automobile, Poitier broke racial barrier after
racial barrier to launch a pioneering acting career. Committed to
the notion that what one does for a living articulates to who one
is, Poitier played only forceful and affecting characters who said
something positive, useful, and lasting about the human
condition.
Here is Poitier's own introspective look at what has informed
his performances and his life. Poitier explores the nature of
sacrifice and commitment, price and humility, rage and forgiveness,
and paying the price for artistic integrity. What emerges is a
picture of a man in the face of limits--his own and the world's. A
triumph of the spirit, "The Measure of a Man" captures the
essential Poitier.
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