Harlem: A Poem, by Walter Dean Myers, 1997
Myers, Walter Dean,
and Christopher Myers, ill. Harlem: A Poem. New York: Scholastic Press, 1997.
ISBN13: 9780590543408
Ages 9 and up
If you’ve never been
to Harlem, the predominantly African-American neighborhood in New York City,
you will feel like you’ve been there after reading Harlem: A Poem, by Walter Dean Myers.
Myers, in his free
verse poetry, takes us on a tour of the sights, sounds, and people of this
historic neighborhood, where the influence of writers like Langston Hughes and
Countee Cullen, leaders of the Harlem Renaissance, can still be felt:
“There is lilt
Tempo, cadence
A language of darkness
Darkness known
Darkness sharpened at Mintons
Darkness lightened at
the Cotton Club
Sent Flying from
Abyssinian Baptist
To the Apollo.”
Myers’ descriptive
language includes similes that help the reader empathize with life in the city:
 |
| Illustration by Christopher Myers, image from goodreads.com |
“…Heavy hearted
tambourine rhythms
Loosed in the hard
city
Like a scream torn
from the throat
Of an ancient
clarinet…”
Christopher Myers,
the author’s son, is the illustrator of this book. His collage and oil painting
illustrations help to make the poem come alive. They are vivid, expressive, and
dynamic in their portrayals of life in Harlem. You can almost hear the children
laughing in the street as you read the poem and take in the illustration of
children playing in the water coming out of a hydrant:
“Yellow/tan/brown/black/red
Green/gray/bright
Colors loud enough
to be heard
Light on asphalt
streets
Sun yellow shirts on
burnt umber
Bodies
Demanding to be
heard, seen
Sending out
warriors…”
This is a free verse
poem with a rhythm created by the busy streets, jazz clubs, and everyday street
scenes in Harlem. Myers gives the reader an insider’s view with descriptive
flair that engages the reader’s mind and the five senses. It is probably best
read aloud, with all of the feeling that Myers has instilled in it.
Reading/writing/art
connections:
· As an extension to reading this
poem, students could use the inquiry method to explore Harlem’s history and it’s
citizens’ contributions to American culture.
· Students can create free verse
poems about their own neighborhoods. Have students focus on description –
utilizing the five senses to help the reader visualize the poem in his or her
mind.
· Integrate art into the study of
this poem by having students illustrate their own poems with a collage and
paint combination similar to the one used by illustrator Christopher Myers.
· Students can research more poetry
about cultures they would like to learn more about.
Awards:
Boston Globe Honor Book for Fiction/Poetry (1998)
Horn Book Honor Book for Fiction/Poetry (1998)
Reviews:
"See if anyone
can sit still when the book is read aloud."--Kirkus
"An arresting
and heartfelt tribute to a well-known, but little understood community."--School
Library Journal
"Throughout,
the past overlays the present, like a legacy passed down…."--Publishers
Weekly
"It is Harlem
as a visual experience that YAs will return to again and again, to admire and
wonder at what is realized with truly extraordinary grace and power."—Booklist
“Walter's poem pulsates with
the jazzy rhythms and street sounds, the color and the people that make Harlem
distinctive.”—Children’s Literature
“Take the opportunity to
introduce and talk about this book.”—VOYA
If you want to learn
more about author Walter Dean Myers, here is a link to his website:
To learn more about illustrator Christopher Myers, watch this video interview from readingrockets.org:
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