The Block

These powerful illustrations of Harlem neighborhood life are segments from a 1971 six-panel collage by Romare Bearden that resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They were paired for this book with poems by the artist's contemporary Langston Hughes. Hughes, like Bearden, was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Although the poet did not compose these lyrics with young readers in mind, accessibility and unadorned truth telling were always high on his aesthetic agenda, and from his very first appearance in print, in the April 1921 issue of The Brownies' Book magazine, Hughes considered writing for the younger generation a priority.

Click on image to enlarge