Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices

by Walter Dean Myers

Overview

Acclaimed writer Walter Dean Myers celebrates the people of Harlem with these powerful and soulful first-person poems in the voices of the residents who make up the legendary neighborhood: basketball players, teachers, mail carriers, jazz artists, maids, veterans, nannies, students, and more. Exhilarating and electric, these poems capture the energy and resilience of a neighborhood and a people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823422128
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	12/05/2008
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Walter Dean Myers (1937 - 2014) was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He was one of the premier authors of books for children, and received numerous awards including the Michael L. Printz award and the Coretta Scott King Award.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	viii
Part I	Clara Brown's Testimony	1
	Student	2
	Deacon	5
	Mail Carrier	6
	Alto Sax Player	8
	Unemployed	10
Part II	Clara Brown's Testimony	11
	Retired	12
	Unemployed	13
	Laborer	14
	Jazz Artist	16
	Undertaker	18
	Ballplayer, Janitor	19
	Nanny	20
	Blues Singer, Livery Cabbie	22
	Laborer	23
	On Disability	26
	Artist	27
	Boy Evangelist	29
	Street Historian	30
	Street Vendor, Guitar Player	31
	Insurance Adjuster	33
	Hairdresser	34
Part III	Clara Brown's Testimony	37
	Student	38
	Salesman	39
	Newsstand Dealer	40
	Party Girl	43
	Student, City College	45
	Clerk	47
	Urban Planner	48
	Furniture Mover	50
Part IV	Clara Brown's Testimony	53
	Student	54
	Student	55
	Nurse, Harlem Hospital	56
	Switchboard Operator/Building Maintenance	57
	Poet	58
	Live-in Maid	59
	Church Organist	60
	High School Senior	61
	Reporter	62
	Student Athlete	63
	Hustler	64
Part V	Clara Brown's Testimony	67
	Student	68
	Education Major, City College	69
	Boxer	70
	Mechanic	71
	Composer, X-Ray Technician	72
	Numbers Runner	73
	Blind Veteran	75
	Veteran	76
	Veteran	77
Part VI	Clara Brown's Testimony	81
	Student	82
	Pre-Law, City College	84
	Motorman	85
	Retired	87
	Some people, places, and terms...	88

Editorial Reviews

★ "In this Whitman-esque ode to time and the city, the “crazy quilt patterns” of Harlem are reflected in the voices of the neighborhood’s “big-time people and its struggling folk".... One of Myers’s best—and that’s saying a lot. Sure to be a classic." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review


★ "In nearly 60 poems, Myers treats readers to a tour of Harlem's past and present, its hopes and fears, through the voices of narrators young and old.... Myers offers differing perspectives on milestone events such as Jackie Robinson joining the Dodgers, as well as subjects closer to home....And Harlem is indeed home, to all of the people who give voice to its pains and pleasures. Readers will want to visit again and again. —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

From the Publisher

In this Whitman-esque ode to time and the city, the "crazy quilt patterns" of Harlem are reflected in the voices of the neighborhood's "big-time people and its struggling folk," of little girls and blind old veterans, poets and mechanics, boxers and nannies, ballplayers and blues singers, laborers and jazz artists. Echoes of Cullen, Hughes, and Hurston, Baldwin, Wright, and DuBois, Marcus, Malcolm, and Martin, Booker T., Van Der Zee, and the Duke reverberate in this chorus of voices, modeled on Edgar Lee Masters's Spoon River Anthology. The volume celebrates the varied music of the neighborhood-plaintive, joyful, expansive, sly, and bluesy-and photographs from the author's collection offer a superb visual complement. One of Myers's best-and that's saying a lot. Sure to be a classic. (Poetry. 12+)

Kirkus Reviews