Module 5 My People

Summary:  Charles R. Smith, Jr. takes the poem “My People” by Langston Hughes and adds pictures to it.  In the process, he creates a beautiful representation of the human spirit in all of its glory.  Pictures include serious, lighthearted, young, old, silly, and serious.  It celebrates people in all of the facets of their lives and matches beautifully to the poem celebrating the beauty of my people, based on physical traits like eyes and intangible traits like souls.   Impression:  I loved the book.  I found myself going back and looking at the pictures multiple times.  What a great celebration of life!  Suggestions for library setting:  This could be a great book to talk about mood and tone.  While some of the pictures represent more serious moods, many are happy and lighthearted.  The tone of the author is very clear, and it would be easy for students first trying to figure out these very abstract concepts. Hughes, Langston, Sonia

Chaghatzbanian, and Charles R. Smith. (2009).  My people. New York: Ginee Seo.

 

 

In his first book using digital prints and the iris-printing process, photographer/poet/author Charles R. Smith Jr. uses sepia-toned photos that, when paired with the classic Langston Hughes poem "My People," create an intense and nuanced montage. "The images are printed on a watercolor paper," says Smith, who trained at the Brooks Institute of Photography. "This gives…a great richness and adds a little texture to the highlights." The subjects of the photos are drawn from Smith's personal world. "My kids are featured in my books whenever I can use them," he says. "The older gentleman…trains with me in boxing…the older women take kickboxing classes…a few of the kids belong to parents in the gym, my sister-in-law helped me 'recruit' a few of the younger ones." Each are paired with the 33 words of the timeless Hughes poem. "The trickiest part in re-interpreting another poet's work is who will get what line,'" says Smith. "All of the models have great energy, and I knew if they allowed me to photograph them, all I had to do was let that energy come through." Permeated with a sense of pride and celebration, the book satisfies and enriches. 

My people.  (2009).  Kirkus Reviews.  77(22), 6.

Smith's knack for pairing poetry and photography is well documented in books such as Hoop Queens (Candlewick, 2003) and Rudyard Kipling's If (S & S, 2006). Here, his artful images engage in a lyrical and lively dance with Langston Hughes's brief ode to black beauty. Dramatic sepia portraits of African Americans-ranging from a cherubic, chubby-cheeked toddler to a graying elder whose face is etched with lines-are bathed in shadows, which melt into black backgrounds. The 33 words are printed in an elegant font in varying sizes as emphasis dictates. In order to maximize the effect of the page turn and allow time for meaning to be absorbed, the short phrases and their respective visual narratives often spill over more than a spread. The conclusion offers a montage of faces created with varying exposures, a decision that provides a light-filled aura and the irregularities that suggest historical prints. A note from Smith describes his approach to the 1923 poem. This celebration of the particular and universal will draw a wide audience: storytime participants; students of poetry, photography, and cultural studies; seniors; families. A timely and timeless offering.

Lukehart, W.  (2009).  My people.  School Library Journal, 55(2), 92.