There Was a Party for Langston

“Harlem. Where new dances are born.”

These words are formed within the illustrations for these pages. “Harlem” is formed by an arrangement of lit windows in a series of six six-story, walk-up buildings, while the rest of the sentence is illustrated in the street. Especially during the Harlem Renaissance, new forms of literature, poetry, art, music, and dance were innovated.

“There was a blowout for Langston, to celebrate the man who wrote wake-up stories and rise-and-shine rhymes ever since he was just a little boy daydreaming under the Ohio sky.”

These sentences contribute to the theme of Artistic Inspiration and Its Influence Across Generations. Langston’s poetry provided recognition and representation to readers who experienced similar things as he did and provided realistic accounts of Black life in America for those who did not experience similar things. In both cases, Langston’s poetry and influence helped people wake up.

“Fling my arms wide in the face of the sun.”

Illustrations form these words. Each word in “fling my arms wide” is formed by the body of a flying bird, while the rest of the words are in a cloud. They allude to Langston’s poem “Dream Variations.” Racial segregation was outlawed in 1964, only three years before Langston’s death. He lived his entire life in Jim Crow-era America. As a Black American at this time, not all sections of the country were available to Langston.

“Some people thought it was better to be word breakers, thought his spelling deserved yelling.”

This quotation describes the opposition that Langston faced in his lifetime. Langston wrote stories about the Black American experience, criticized the systems that kept Black citizens disenfranchised, and challenged the status quo. As such, people who benefited from the status quo opposed Langston’s words.

“Some folks think by burning books they burn freedom.”

Illustrations form these words. Each word constitutes the spine of a book being thrown into a fire. This quotation alludes to Langston’s poem “Freedom (3),” which describes the burning of churches and the lynching of Black Americans, actions that opposed civil rights. This quotation changes the object of the burnings to “books” to reference the censorship tactic of book burning.

“Keep the big H’s with the little h’s and the big A’s with the little a’s.”

The narrator describes the opposition to Langston, who often played with language. The image of each letter staying with its type alludes to how some people wanted to continue practices of segregation. Imagery like this subtly introduces heavy topics to young readers, thus helping them with Learning About Cultural History and Heritage of Black Americans.

“Langston, the brave word maker, knew letters were better together, turned them into laughter.”

This is Langston’s response to the imagery of letters being kept separate, which is used to invoke segregation. Langston is characterized as someone who wanted to build rather than destroy. He turned the pain he faced into joy, which echoed through subsequent generations.

“And all the books on the shelves were listening and looking at all the people, shimmying, full of dazzle.”

This quotation further explains Artistic Inspiration and Its Influence Across Generations and contributes to the recurring motif of the library. At the party in the library, famous Black authors who are connected to Langston’s lineage in some way are illustrated in the spines of books along the shelves.

“Shine on me.”

A river forms these words, which flows downstream away from a mountain made to resemble the body of a Black woman lying on her side. They are a quotation from Maya Angelou’s poem “Woman Work,” where the narrator describes the difficult work of her day and asks natural forces like rain and sun to shine on her skin and bring her some relief.

“She could make the word WOMAN seem like the word mountain, and the word CAGE feel like a place far far far away…from this library, this party.”

This quotation characterizes Maya, who can transform ordinary words into bigger and more powerful concepts that help with Learning About Cultural History and Heritage, much like Langston does. “Woman” is a reference to much of Maya’s written work, which is often about Black womanhood, while “cage” is a reference to her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This quote contributes to the symbol of the cage and the bird.

“Amiri could […] make the word BLACK echo into the future and way back into the past…back to Langston.”

Like Maya and Langston, Amiri can transform words into important cultural and historical concepts. As a leader in the Black Arts movement, which followed the Harlem Renaissance, Amiri often wrote about Black identity. His writing contributed to Learning About Cultural History and Heritage, as his work simultaneously echoed into the future and past.

“The man who wrote Maya and Amiri into the world.”

This quotation emphasizes the theme of Artistic Inspiration and Its Influence Across Generations. Langston’s work in the literary arts helped pave the way for Maya and Amiri, evidenced by the text describing him writing them into the world.

“And Maya and Amiri danced, like the best words do, together.”

This quotation emphasizes how Langston confronted the “word-breakers” who wanted to tear words apart and keep letters separate. Langston instead wanted letters to dance together to make new words. This quotation accompanies illustrations of Maya and Amiri dancing, just like the words that Langston put together. Under their feet, illustrated into the floor, are the words “wonderful,” “go,” “smile,” “wisdom,” and “Black,” words that emphasize The Importance of Black Joy.