Walter Milton Myers was born into an impoverished family in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1937. For current information, see the Abstract for links. They add immeasurably to the poems.The following is an Archived biography. The illustrations vary in size from double page to full page to smaller squares as the artist backs away from his subject or moves in closer. Similarly, while the book is undoubtedly set in one section of New York City, the illustrations might be any inner city area. This creates the impression that each person in the book represents many people. The portraits are neither realistic nor abstract, but somewhere in between. Christopher Myers uses ink, gouache and collage to produce brilliantly colored and many-layered illustrations. Myers collaborated with his son, Christopher Myers who created the multimedia illustrations that help bring the area and its population to life. The poetry catches both the excitement and the despair of the people living in Harlem and gives the reader both feelings at the same time. He evokes the song of informal gospel songs and of instruments playing through funerals. Myers also writes with lilt and tempo about the lilt and tempo of the jazzy at the Cotton Club, the Apollo and the Abyssinian Baptist Church. Most of the poems include the sounds and music of the area, starting with the origin of the music:įirst heard in the villages of Ghana/Mali/Senegal For example, Myers describes children playing street games in front of their apartments: Each page creates a total image of one scene. It is also possible to read a single page as a complete poem.

It might be put to music-perhaps a folk song, or perhaps the blues. It is done in free verse, and it tells a story, but it also has a definite rhythm. They took to the road in Waycross, Georgiaįrom this beginning the reader has a feel for the entire poem. It begins with a poem that tells how people migrated to Harlem: The book may be read as one long poem that describes the sights, sounds and emotions of Harlem. It reflects both the discrimination he faced as well as the excitement of living in an area that was and is a cultural center for African Americans. HARLEM, like many of his books is written primarily for young adults. He was written novels, picture books and biographies as well as books of poetry.

Fortunately, he had a teacher who encouraged him to keep writing, and he did. Walter Dean Myers was born in West Virginia during the Great Depression, 1937, but was soon sent to Harlem where he lived until he dropped out of high school to join the army.

Harlem a poem by walter dean myers