There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds Adam McConville Reynolds, Jason There Was a Party for Langston; illus. by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey. Dlouhy/Atheneum, 2023 [56p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781534439443 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781534439450 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 3-5 In 1991, the Langston Hughes Auditorium opened at the Schomburg Center of the New York Public Library in Harlem. Amid the festivities, poets Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka were photographed letting loose in a celebratory dance. It's that photograph—of "word makers" in active movement—which inspires Reynolds to relay this story: of Black people partying in the library to honor Hughes. Quick-stepping verse layers in metaphor, connecting Hughes' life and work to laughter, resistance, and inspiration for generations of Black poets, with Angelou and Baraka receiving spotlight moments. Where the text is light on specific details, it's sure-footed in [End Page 111] style and emotion, expressing the way words come together, built from letters and building phrases, to convey emotion and connect Black artists and readers across time. Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey's hand-made stamp art cleverly brings words to life on the pages: a flock of birds made of words makes a line of verse soar to the clouds, lights from apartment windows spell out "Harlem" in the night, and Angelou's and Baraka's dancing forms are literally made of their respective names. Through it all, both verse and visuals return to the library and a dancing crowd of smartly dressed Black folks boogying down in celebration of Hughes' life and work. While some set-up will be needed to provide context for the emotional journey, confident poetry fans will enjoy this ebullient work, and readers less adept at parsing metaphors will still enjoy the playful word-building of the illustrations. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois