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Jules:<\/strong><\/font> Welcome to 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks, our weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you.<\/p>\n I picked up a copy of Charles’ latest illustrated title, My People<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, about a month ago; it sat on the “new books” shelf at my local library and gleamed at me from afar, calling me across the room. This is one gorgeous book. Released by Ginee Seo Books in January of this year, My People<\/em> is Charles’ picture book adaptation of Langston Hughes’<\/strong><\/a> famous 1923 poem of the same name: <\/p>\n The night is beautiful, The book, met with all kinds of starred reviews, is what Publishers Weekly<\/em> called “a tour de force” and School Library Journal<\/em>, a “celebration of the particular and universal…{a} timely and timeless offering.” Each spread contains just a few words, the poem slowly emerging for the reader. Smith features on each spread his own photography, one or more African American faces captured dramatically in sepia portraits. <\/p>\n I asked Charles to tell us a bit about the book, and I thank him for sharing some spreads from it today:<\/p>\n The images I\u2019ve included for you here include a few of my favorites. For the first two lines, I wanted to show someone with dark-as-night skin. Often the color black has negative connotations, so I wanted to change that with the second image showing the dark face, now lit up with a bright smile. Later on, an image of an older man with a wrinkled smile plays nicely against a newborn\u2019s laugh. I have three kids myself, so I wanted to end with all of them expressing themselves in a very physical way.<\/em><\/font> <\/p>\n As for new projects, I have a book coming out next year on Jack Johnson<\/strong><\/a>, the first black heavyweight champion, and am currently working on a biography of Jimi Hendrix<\/strong><\/a>. The first that pops into people\u2019s heads for Jimi is how he died and the drugs and such, but people are going to see a side of him they never knew about — and kids, in particular, will be inspired, since he had quite a rough childhood but hung on to do what he loved. There\u2019s always something in the fire with me, but Jimi is up to bat now. <\/p>\n Thanks for supporting my work and enjoy!\u201d<\/em><\/font> <\/p>\n Many thanks to Charles. I’ve always wanted him to stop by 7-Imp. For one really fabulous interview with him, don’t miss Kelly Fineman’s detailed Q & A<\/strong><\/a> from May 2008. <\/p>\n Note: Photographs \u00a9 2009 by Charles R. Smith, Jr. Reproduced with his permission. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n Geez, what with one thing and another, I don’t think I’ve properly kicked for like three weeks. So I’ve got kind of a kick backlog. Where to start?<\/p>\n 1* Well, kick #1 would have to be the birthday post<\/strong><\/a> Jules did for me last week. That was… okay, embarrassing, but hilariously so.<\/p>\n 2* I also got lots of fun and fabulous presents and cards. I’m very lucky to have so many friends and family members who really get<\/em> me.<\/p>\n 3* My husband is home! After almost the entire summer designing sets in the Berkshires, and then a quick trip to Seoul, South Korea to meet with the production company he worked for last fall, he’s finally home for real.<\/p>\n 4* And he took me to a yummy Italian restaurant<\/strong><\/a> for a belated birthday dinner. <\/p>\n 5* Okay, I am really over<\/em> all this heat and humidity. It’s gross. But I do have to admit, summer in Ithaca is pretty. The other day I was wandering around with my camera, taking pictures of the neighbors’ flowers, and a guy rode up on his bike while I was photographing his sunflowers, and said I was welcome to have one if I wanted it. Seriously, how sweet is that?<\/p>\n 6* I’ve read some truly beautiful books over the past couple of weeks, including The Grapes of Wrath<\/em><\/strong><\/a> by John Steinbeck (in preparation for leading a discussion group for Cornell’s New Student Reading Project<\/strong><\/a>) and I am One of You Forever<\/em><\/strong><\/a> by Fred Chappell (recommended by a friend, and oh my goodness why have I never read this guy before? SO GOOD).<\/p>\n 7* Saturday morning I went to the farmer’s market<\/strong><\/a> and got… OKRA! Mind you, what passes for okra up here in New York is kinda pitiful – I swear some of those pods were only an inch long. But it fried up just fine. I also got some red potatoes (inside AND out!) and corn and some green tomatoes I’m going to fry later. Deeelicious.<\/p>\n 7.5* I didn’t know Charles R. Smith, Jr. is a photographer too. Now I love him all the more.<\/p>\n I can’t decide which of my first two kicks is the most supreme in kick-itude, so I’m going to count them both as Number Ones:<\/p>\n 1). I saw my thirteen-year-old nephew in June. He had a girlfriend at the time. I told him I wanted to know ALL ABOUT HER and that she better have a good sense of humor, as that’s the most important thing in a mate. Evidently, he broke up with her recently. When his mother asked him about it, he cited as one reason: “Well, Aunt Julie says that a sense of humor is important, and she never really laughed<\/em>.”<\/p>\n I positively cannot believe that he listened<\/em> to me. Score. <\/p>\n #1 again). Jeremy<\/strong><\/a> sent me a copy of his Ice<\/em> book. (Remember these<\/strong><\/a> beguiling photos?) It’s just about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever received in the mail. <\/p>\n 2). Gran Torino<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n 4). I think I’ve said this before, but…There is an Inman in my youngest’s Parents’ Day Out program. An Ada and an Inman. Get it?<\/strong><\/a> I love this. What are the chances of that happening ever again? Let’s hope they don’t grow up and fall in love. That’s just not gonna go well<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n Okay, warning: These next two are all Mushy-Gushy Parental Kicks Probably Only Interesting To Me…But, Hey, Welcome to My World:<\/em><\/p>\n 5). I put a simple “I love you” note in my kindergartener’s lunch box, and I didn’t think she’d think much of it, since I tell her I love her about every 7.7 seconds. It seemed to really make her day, and she hung the note on her bedroom door. <\/p>\n 6). The three-year-old’s moments of courage this week. She’s having a hard time adjusting to her older sister being at school. I won’t go on and on about this, but I’ve seen her several times this week trying NOT to cry — when she really wanted to. It’s an all-new look that promptly breaks my heart right in half. And, in fact, she evidently stood in her Parents’ Day Out classroom after I left one day this week and cried<\/em> while saying, “I’m trying not to cry.” Who says childhood is easy? <\/p>\n 7). Look what John (“JES”) found!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n BONUS KICKS:<\/font> <\/p>\n This is a bit belated, but congratulations again to Laini and Jim<\/strong><\/a>! (That’s writer and artist Laini Taylor<\/strong><\/a> and her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo<\/strong><\/a>, for those who aren’t familiar.) Words cannot express how much I love their beautiful new baby daughter’s name. <\/p>\n And congratulations to Mark and Andrea of Just One More Book<\/em> for this feature<\/strong><\/a> at Quill & Quire<\/em>. Well-deserved accolades, indeed. Mark and Andrea and<\/em> their wonderful podcast are kickin’ in every way. <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/charlesrsmithjr.jpg\")
Today, I’m pleased to welcome novelist and poet and photographer and biographer Charles R. Smith, Jr.<\/strong><\/a> As you can see here<\/strong><\/a>, Charles has written books for just about every age, including Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, which received a 2008 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award, and which was illustrated by the very talented Bryan Collier<\/strong><\/a> (Candlewick, 2007). He also wrote last year’s The Mighty 12: Superheroes of Greek Myth<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, illustrated by P. Craig Russell<\/strong><\/a>, which I covered last year<\/strong><\/a> at Guys Lit Wire<\/em>. <\/p>\n
\nSo the faces of my people,
\nThe stars are beautiful,
\nSo the eyes of my people,
\nBeautiful also is the sun,
\nBeautiful also are the souls of my people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/MyPeople.jpg\")
“The simplicity in the poem, ‘My People,’ is what I wanted to focus on for the imagery. Since the poem is about the respect and love Langston Hughes has for his (black) people, I wanted to show a wide variety of faces, from skin as dark as night to skin as bright as the sun. I also wanted to show my appreciation and respect for my elders and included many older faces and played them against a few young faces. Making each of the subjects comfortable was key, because with a black background and my subject wearing all black, the only thing to focus on is the facial expressions. <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/Spread_9.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![I get to walk by these every day.](http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/sunflower2.jpg "\\"I")
<\/p>\n![\"Queen](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/219G-082-004.jpg\" "\\"Queen")
<\/a>3). My friend, Andrew, launching into the classic Lily Tomlin “Miss Sweeney” monologue about the second-grader who loves her new teacher (I think its official title might be “Tell Miss Sweeney Goodbye”) when I told him on the phone the other night that my oldest had started school. (I found it here<\/strong><\/a>—though, I swear, Andrew was able to recite 90% of it, which made me laugh very hard—but Lily’s rushed in that video, and the punchline gets cut off.) You just can’t beat the line, “I didn’t think of myself as the teacher’s pet. It’s just that I had nothing in common with a bunch of illiterate seven-year-olds.”<\/em><\/p>\n