Teaching Materials

Langston Hughes February 1, 2002 marked the 100th anniversary of Langston Hughes' birth. This event sparked a lot of interest in the poets of the Harlem Renaisance and -and Black History Month-wih a stunning picture book written by cutting edge poet Willie Perdomo and illustrated by Coretta Scott King award-winner Bryan Collier. The Acadamy of American Poets is partnered with the Langston Hughes National Poetry Project (based at the University of Kansas) and NCTA to sponsor a number of special events, including a Langston Hughes Poetry Day on April 2, 2002. On this day, millions of men, women, and children across the country become part of the world's largest poetry reading group as they gather together to read and discuss the poetry of Langston Hughes. For more information and links to a variety of poetry resources, visit the Academy of American Poets National Poetry Month page. Visiting Langston by Willie Perdomo illustrated by Bryan Collier Today I'm going to wear My favorite pink blouse I'm going with my daddy To visit Langston's house Langston Hughes Wrote poems Like jazz Sang like love Cried like blues ...... I write poetry, too The little girl knows that Langston Hughes sat in the very house she is visiting, writing poems about Africa and other far-away places, and also about the world right outside the house. In the three-story brownstone, she sees the desk Hughes worked at, the typewriter he typed on, and the window he looked out of, and feels inspired and connected to the tradition that preceeded her. Influences by the art style and aesthetic of Langston Huges' era, especially by Harlen Renaissance mural painter Aaron Dougles, Bryan Collier's college and watercolor technique capture the dynamic rhythm and jazzy feel of Harlem. Langston Huges, a poet and playwright, was an influential member of the Harlem Renaissance, a period of intense creativity among black artist in the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902, Hughes lives in many places including Illinois, Ohio, Mexico and the Soviet Union. In the late 40s, Huges bought the house on East 127th Street that is the setting for Visiting Langston. He lives there until his death in 1967. Willie Perdomo (left) was raised eight blocks away from Langston Hughes' house in Harlem. Willie's first book, Where a Nickel Costs a Dime, was selected by the ALA as a Popular Paperback for Young Adults. Visiting Langston is his first book for children. Bryan Collier (right) grew up in Maryland, where he began painting at the age of 15. Bryan's first book, Uptown, a celebration of Harlem won the 2001 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and the 2001 Erza Jack Keats New Illustrator Award. He now lives in Harlem. Reviews The Block : Poems Langston Hughes Collage by Romare Bearden Selected by Lowery S. Sims and Daisy Murray Voigt Introduction by Bill Cosby.    Sections of Rearden's six-panel collage, "The Block," form the backdrop for twelve Langston Hughes poems celebrating the vitality of the culture that spawned the Harlem Renaissance. This is definitely a book that adults will need (and want!) to read with their children; the longer poems, in particular, contain difficult language, some mature themes, and images that may have to be teased slowly out of the text. But there probably are few more rewarding uses of your time than working your way through this magnificent book together with your child. Hughes is one of the finest poets of this century; these selections give a clear sense of his ability to capture the joys and trials of urban life. Rearden's Harlem collages are beautiful, complex, and provocative. 1995, Viking, $15.99. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Andrea Brott Carol of the Brown King : Nativity Poems Langston Hughes Illustrated by Ashley Bryan.    The story of the first Christmas is told in a selection of poems written by Langston Hughes plus one in Spanish that he found on a Christmas card. They tell of the Christ child who was born in humble surroundings, the wise men, one of whom was a brown king who came to pay homage, and the little shepherd boy who wonders what gift he can bring to the newborn king. The illustrations in bright bold colors show the holy family and those around them as brown or of African descent. It is a book that brings a universal message and depicts people who are often under-represented in the Christmas story. 1998, Atheneum/Simon and Schuster, $16.00. Ages 4 up. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot Langston Hughes: American Poet Alice Walker Paintings by Catherine Deeter   Just in time for his centennial celebrations, the reprint of Alice Walker's loving portrait of Hughes is most welcome. Her narrative remains the same: a child-friendly look at the key points in Hughes's youth that set him on the road to becoming the writer that he was. Kids will love the Mexico City earthquake that never allowed Langston to catch up on his sleep before being bundled on the train back to Kansas. Adults will enjoy Walker's new Author's Note, which describes her warm friendship with the older Hughes during her college days. All readers will be drawn into Catherine Deeter's finely evocative paintings of Hughes and his times. An added bonus to all this is the inclusion of two of Langston's most memorable early poems-not as an afterthought, but beautifully flowing from the text. This is not a book for the multicultural market. It is a book for everyone about a native son who stretched for his dreams, sang like Walt Whitman of America, and made us all proud. 2002 (orig. 1974), Amistad/HarperCollins, Ages 7 to 11, $16.95. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr ISBN: 0-06-021518-6 Langston Hughes: Great American Poet Patricia McKissack and Fredrick McKissack     Originally published in 1992, the McKissacks have revisited the life of Langston Hughes and updated this biography. Readers learn about his father's desertion of the family after studying law and learning that African Americans could not practice in Oklahoma. He went to Mexico where he felt better opportunities existed. Langston and his mother struggled to make ends meet and Langston spent many years with his grandmother in Lawrence Kansas. He learned about great African American heroes. In the meantime Langston's father had become fairly wealthy in Mexico and offered to pay for Langston's education at Columbia, but he really didn't enjoy college. Harlem and the African-American community were a big draw. In 1925 he was "discovered" and the next year he won a prize for his first book of poems. He never stopped writing and died at the age of 65. Even today people are rediscovering and enjoying his poems. This book has a timeline, words to know section, and a list of references that are reasonably current as well as several Internet addresses. There is an index. 2002, Enslow, Ages 8 up, $14.95. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot ISBN: 0-7660-1695-1 The Pasteboard Bandit Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes Illustrations by Peggy Turley Introduction by Alex Bontemps Afterword by Cheryl A. Wall    Inspired by her desire to know more about her Korean heritage and to honor her grandmother, Edna Coe Bercaw wrote this touching story of a Korean grandmother's visit to her Korean-American grandchild's classroom. Jennifer is worried because she can't speak Korean and her grandmother can't speak English. She wants to get to know her "halmoni" better, but they can't speak to each other without a translator. When Halmoni visits the school and tells the story of her own Korean War veteran father's loss of his voice, Jennifer realizes that words are not the only way to share love. With soft, detailed, and expressive paintings and a heartfelt story of crossing cultural and generational boundaries, this book is a realistic reflection of a young girl's fears and hopes. 2000, Dial, $15.99. Ages 6 to 8. Reviewer: Alexandria LaFaye Popo and Fifina Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes Illustrations by E. Simms Campbell Introduction and afterword by Arnold Rampersad    Simplicity, realism, and poetic charm introduce the reader to Haiti and the rustic life that existed there in the 1930s. Its appeal is enhanced by our awareness of its place in history. The story is not only a glimpse of life and times long past, but it stands as an early African-American classic and a milestone in the history of literature for children. 1993, Oxford University Press, $15.95. Ages 7 to 10. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot The Sweet and Sour Animal Book Langston Hughes Illustrations by students from the Harlem School of the Arts    This book of simple, yet clever, poems by Langston Hughes works on many levels. Parents and teachers will enjoy reciting the short, catchy poems to toddlers while young readers will be caught up in the humor, and relish reading the poems for themselves. This is an animal book, an alphabet book, and a book of poetry by one of the leading literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance movement. Although many of the passages are playful, several of them carry a deeper meaning which may be immediately apparent only to the older readers. The introduction by entertainer Ben Vereen delves into the importance of the arts in the life and development of children and also gives background, as does the afterword by Professor George P. Cunningham. The approach of Langston Hughes to his art is discussed, as is the difficulty of attaining financial, as well as critical, success as a writer. In fact, although the book was completed more than 50 years ago and subsequently revised, it was rejected by publishers many times. The illustrations provided by students (mostly first, second, and third graders) are vivid and imaginative. 1997 (orig. 1994), Oxford University Press, $17.95 and $9.95. Ages 4 to 10 Reviewer: Carolyn Mott Ford Visiting Langston Willie Perdomo Illustrated by Bryan Collier    A paean to Langston Hughes in lilting jazz rhythms, poet and native of Harlem Willie Perdomo's spare narrative follows a young girl as she visits Hughes's brownstone home in Harlem. Coretta Scott King Awardee Bryan Collier's watercolor and collage illustrations match the feeling of Perdomo's words. His images riff with emotion rather than realism. The little girl's pink-striped shirt and her daddy's faux alligator jacket add to the color of the place-and to each of them as individuals. This is a book filled with pride; a book meant to give pride. A prefatory Author's Note gives a brief biographical sketch of Hughes which emphasizes his motivations as a writer. BIBLIO: 2002, Henry Holt, Ages 4 to 8, $15.95. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr ISBN: 0-8050-6744-2