Harlem: A Poem

Author: Walter Dean Myers

Illustrator: Christopher Myers

Peach’s Picks Rating:

 

Year of publication: 1997

City of publication: New York

Publisher: Scholastic Press

ISBN: 0-590-54340-7

Author website: http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/

Illustrator website: No personal website. Information about the illustrator may be obtained from

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3258

Media used for illustrations: Combination of ink, gouache, and collage

Annotation: A poetic narration that paints the story of Harlem; the people who came there seeking a better life and the landmarks they created including the Cotton Club, Smalls, and the Apollo Theater.

Personal reaction to the book: The author and illustrator take the reader in hand for a remarkable visual walk though Harlem which is accompanied by a story of people who came there hoping to improve their lives. The reader has a glimpse of history, “the third deck down from Trinidad” (page 1) refers to slave ships. The reader is also offered a window on life in Harlem as it is today, “The uptown A rattles past 110^th Street” (page 16). The text and illustrations work together celebrating this historic center of African-American society. During the walk through Harlem, the reader encounters stern looking men sitting outside talking, children playing in an open fire hydrant, storefront preachers, and a funeral procession. The author’s poetry is so strong with emotion that it is almost angry. The reader can feel the discrimination and struggles he faced growing up in Harlem. The strong words are matched by equally strong illustrations created by the author’s son. Using ink, gouache, and collage the illustrator captures the emotions of faces, both young and old, and the gritty urban neighborhood. Orange, red, and yellow colors dominate and are striking against the warmth of browns and the cool of blues. Students may need guidance to understand the significance of people and places mentioned in the text. The book should generate deep discussions of African-American life, especially in connection with the Harlem Renaissance and can be contrasted with present day Harlem. This poem deserves to read aloud. After reading this book I feel as though I exited the A Train and walked through the streets of Harlem.

General curricular connections:

• Poetry
• African-Americans
• Urban life
• New York City / Harlem

Recommended grade levels:

School Library Journal recommends this book for use with grades 6 and up

Booklist recommends this book for use with grades 6-12

Peach’s Picks recommends this book for use with grades 6 and up

Awards/Recognitions:

Booklist starred review

Kirkus Review starred review

Caldecott Honor, 1998

Coretta Scott King Award, Illustrator Honor Book, 1998

Note: This entry meets the assignment criteria to review books that contain single book-length poems.

Symbolism: The illustration showing street signs that read “W. 125 St” and “Dr. Marin Luther … Boulevard”. One street carries these two names and is considered the main street of Harlem. This illustration symbolizes that the story takes place in the heart of Harlem.

Repetition: Page 1; “A wrench of heart from Goree Island, A wrench of heart from Goree Island”.

Repetition: Page 14; “A language of darkness, Darkness known, Darkness sharpened at Mintons, Darkness lightened at the Cotton Club”

Simile: Page 6; “Calls and songs and shouts, Heavy hearted tambourine rhythms, Loosed in the hard city, Like a scream torn from the throat of an ancient clarinet”

Allusion: Page 6; “Breaking against the black sky over 1-2-5 Street.” This alludes to W. 125 Street which is considered the main street of Harlem.

Allusion: Page 25; “…a note handed down from Marcus to Malcolm to a brother too bad and too cool to give his name.” The name Marcus alludes to Marcus Garvey. The name Malcolm alludes to Malcolm X.

Personification: Page 8; “Colors loud enough to be heard”

Personification: Page 21; In Harlem the wind doesn’t blow past Smalls, it stops to listen to the sounds”.

Book cover picture retrieved from http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewWorkDetail.do?workId=3747&FullBreadCrumb=%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.scholastic.com%2Fbrowse%2Fsearch%2F%3FNtx%3Dmode%2Bmatchallpartial%26_N%3Dfff%26Ntk%3DSCHL30_SI%26query%3Dharlem%26N%3D0%26Ntt%3Dharlem%22+class%3D%22endecaAll%22%3EAll+Results%3C%2Fa%3E