The Autobiography of an EX-Colored Man With Henry Louis Gates
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ISBN: 0679727531
Format: Paperback, 256pp
Pub. Date: December 1989
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group

First published anonymously in 1912, this resolutely unsentimental novel gave many white readers their first glimpse of the double standard ' and double consciousness ' that ruled the lives of black people in modern America. Republished in 1927, at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, with an introduction by Carl Van Vechten, The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man became a groundbreaking document of Afro-American culture; the first first-person novel ever written by a black, it became an eloquent model for later novelists ranging from Zora Neale Hurston to Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison.
Narrated by a man whose light skin enables him to "pass" for white, the novel describes a journey through the strata of black society at the turn of the century ' from a cigar factory in Jacksonville to an elite gambling club in New York, from genteel aristocrats to the musicians who hammered out the rhythms of ragtime. The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man is a complex and moving examination of the question of race and an unsparing look at what it meant to forge an identity as a man in a culture that recognized nothing but color.
 

 
Lift Every Voice & Sing

Format: Hardcover
Publication Date: December 1992

A poem based on the story of creation from the first book of the Bible.

Review from BookList :
Illustrating Johnson's poem "The Creation," written in 1919, is not as easy as it might first appear. The usual grand, somewhat abstract depictions of the first seven days aren't a good match for the colloquial tone of this verse. Here, the chills-down-your-spine feeling grows slowly as the notes of concrete imagery build to a crescendo of elemental grandeur. Ransome's illustrations come as close as any could to getting it right. Three sorts of pictures appear: double-page spreads illustrating scenes from nature with a bright, morning-of-the-world quality; sedate borders for the text, featuring repeated animal motifs; and opposite the text, views of a black man sitting under a tree and telling "The Creation" to a circle of children, all enthralled by the storyteller. In turn, these sun-dappled scenes will capture the attention of children who have the good fortune to meet the poem in this unusual and thoughtful setting. The artist's painterly style interprets the natural world with sensitivity, but the strength of his illustrations is that he found a way to reflect the storyteller's voice, the distinguishing quality of the poetry. -Carolyn Phelan

Review from Publisher's Weekly :
Illustrating this verse adaptation of the biblical Creation story, Ransome intersperses paintings of natural wonders with scenes of an African American man reciting to an audience of rapt youngsters. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) -Publisher's Weekly

Review from The Horn Book, Inc. :
Ransome sets Johnson's spirited narrative poem in a Southern countryside, where five children sit listening to a storyteller. Punctuated between contemporary paintings of the man and his listeners are six impressionistic double-page spreads, in vibrant gold, green, and blue hues, depicting scenes of the Creation of the Earth, sky, animals, and, finally, human beings. These colorful illustrations capture the dramatic mood of Johnson's poem.

Review from School Library Journal :
Gr 1-4-An earlier edition of Johnson's fine poem of the Harlem Renaissance failed to find illustrations to match its excellence (Little, 1993). Ransome, however, has given its verbal artistry powerful visual expression. Double-page spreads of scenes from the Creation-light, earth, water, vegetation, animals, humans-alternate with the poem. Displays of text appear on the right-hand pages, bordered with repeated animal motifs. Opposite them are paintings of a storyteller under a shady tree, giving what is clearly an animated performance to a group of children. The intimacy and relative predictability of these scenes contrast effectively with the splendid movement and spacious surprises of the alternates. The division of the poem into pages is well paced, and there is a satisfying buildup to the last spread, depicting a man the ruddy brown of Georgia clay rising from a flowering meadow. The artist has avoided the pitfall of trying to show God at work, while providing a perfect creative stand-in, the benign storyteller. This book combines the sense of awe and nobility at creation with respect and wonder at human participation. It should make Johnson's poem better known, while showcasing Ransome's impressive talent.-Patricia Dooley, formerly at University of Washington, Seattle -School Library Journal

The Creation

Written by civil rights leader and poet James Weldon Johnson in 1899, the powerful words of the song often called the African-American anthem come alive with stunning, emotionally charged illustrations by two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Jan Spivey Gilchrist.

Review from BookList :
Interpreting the moving anthem "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," this picture book offers illustrations inspired by the hymn yet not bound by a literal interpretation of the words. Combining colored pencil, gouache, and watercolor, the impressionistic artwork embodies the spirit of the music and the feelings of those who sing it. A series of free-form images show black people in Africa, in slavery, in modern times, and, ultimately, timeless. These adults and children are not just free in their temporal lives, but in their spirits: there are people enduring darkness and storms, springing from the sea, and soaring through the air. By illustrating not just the words, but also the grace and strength of the music and the emotions that this song stirs in singers and listeners, Gilchrist offers artwork that goes beyond visual representation to make a personal statement, "full of faith . . . full of hope." Music and lyrics are appended on the last double-page spread, followed by the artist's note. -Carolyn Phelan

Review from BookList :
All ages. Widely known as the African American national anthem, Johnson's song is combined here with dramatic linocut prints by the celebrated artist Elizabeth Catlett. The song was originally written for schoolchildren at an Abraham Lincoln birthday celebration in 1900. The pictures were originally created in the 1940s as part of Catlett's series on black women through history. Together they make not a literal matching of words and illustrations but a powerful image of ordinary people enduring through hard times. The book design is clear and handsome: on the right-hand page of each double-page spread a few lines of the song are framed by turquoise and black geometric borders; on the facing page is a print, usually in black-and-white. At the end of the book is the full sheet music. Catlett has lived in Mexico since the 1940s, and her art is reminiscent of Diego Rivera's murals, with strong, swirling lines, almost like sculpture at times. Most of the prints are portraits of women--some famous and militant, like Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman; some unknown, their individual figures set against field and city. One unforgettable picture focuses on a weary woman riding the bus behind the "Colored Only" sign; her face makes us imagine her story. Another print shows two women facing each other but alone, segregated city blocks in the background. The art expresses what Jim Haskins says in the introduction about Johnson's song: "it was honest about all the suffering black Americans had undergone but celebrated our triumph over that suffering." -Hazel Rochman

Review from Publisher's Weekly :
Between the sober linocuts and the devotional text, this adaptation of what was once called the Negro National Anthem fairly effuses seriousness of purpose. Lyrics from a song written by two schoolteacher brothers in 1900 in honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday caption prints created in 1946 and '47 by the granddaughter of slaves; the emphasis here is on suffering, deliverance and gratitude to God. A picture of the victim of a hanging, for example, faces ``We have come over a way that with tears has been watered / We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered.'' The score is provided at the end. Throughout, two-color art yields black-and-blue borders, while that blue, an almost turquoise tone, splashes through some of the linocuts. Much like ``The Star-Spangled Banner,'' the production of this anthem is big on reverence and short on spontaneity. All ages. (Feb.) -Publisher's Weekly

Review from The Horn Book, Inc. :
Originally written for school children in 1900 and historically known as the Negro National Anthem, the hymn is illustrated with reproductions of exemplary linocuts by the noted African-American artist, producing a successful melding of text and pictures. Twelve full-page linocuts complement lines of verse on the facing pages. Jim Haskins' informative introduction provides historical background. Music included.

Review from School Library Journal :
K-Gr 3-An oversized illustrated version of the song that is known as the African American National Anthem. Countless black Americans have sung it in fraternal groups, in church, and to open or end a meeting. Yet, it is one thing to sing it and quite another to see and actually think about what it says. The images are stunning, and even more so when set off by Gilchrist's bold, dramatic artwork. She seamlessly blends scenes of Africa with those of black America. With colored pencil, gouache, and watercolors, she brings the words to life. Another picture-book version of this classic work (Walker, 1993) is illustrated with linocuts by the legendary Elizabeth Catlett. That artwork, done in the 1940s, reflects the very real oppression and discrimination African Americans were enduring at the time. Catlett's vision is spare and stark, depicting in the careworn faces of her women a grim determination to survive. Both books are a wonderful way to introduce a younger generation to a poem that has played so unique a role in black history.-Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ -School Library Journal