POETRY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

“So long, / so far away / is Africa. / Not even memories alive / Save those that history books create, / Save those that songs / Beat back into the blood.” Selected and annotated by two authorities on the poet, these 26 short poems capture both the innovative rhythms and pervasive themes in the work of the most widely read African-American poet of his day—if not ever. Andrews’s art captures its tone just as perfectly; his angular, dark-skinned figures look down reflectively even when dancing, and seem solitary even when placed among crowds. Readers will come away with a clear sense of Hughes’s influences (“I too sing America” is a direct response to a Walt Whitman lyric) and distinct voice—as well as a powerful urge to look up the three-times-longer collection Dream Keeper (1994 edition illustrated by Brian Pinkney). (introduction, index, glossaries for each poem) (Poetry. 9+)