In an effort to keep the creative endeavors and spirit of late African American poet Langston Hughes alive, HarperCollins recently released Melodies of the Weary Blues, a picture book anthology revisiting the poetry collection of the same name with a slate of Black illustrators.

The seed for the picture book was planted years ago when illustrator Shamar Knight-Justice signed on with his agent Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency, and their shared love of Hughes’s work proved a point of connection. Ewers kept a close eye on literary entries into the public domain and in 2022 noticed that the copyright for Hughes’s classic poetry collection The Weary Blues, first released in 1926, would soon be expiring. While much of Hughes’s work had been adapted for children, this particular project hadn’t. The Weary Blues was a meaningful endeavor for Knight-Justice, who’d felt the impact of the poem “Mother to Son.” “That poem was what made me really want to read more of Langston Hughes’s work,” Knight-Justice told PW. “That changed my whole mindset around poetry. And I think if I had encountered him earlier, I would have fallen in love with poetry even more at a younger age.”

And so, acting as editor, Knight-Justice assembled an anthology that boasts a roster of 23 illustrators, an endeavor meant to showcase the power of Hughes’s words and the expansive talents of Black artists. In-house editor Luana Horry noted that the illustrators showcase diversity in a myriad of ways. They come from all over the U.S., and some from outside of the country. The book features seasoned illustrators such as Charly Palmer as well as newer creatives. What brings them together, according to Horry, is “the skill to really say something special about each poem. What they all do is add a layer of meaning that otherwise would not be there.”

Culling down Hughes’s original 70-poem collection offered a challenge. Knight-Justice wanted to showcase the poems that “the youngest readers are going to be able to grasp,” he said. When asked about emphasizing themes from Hughes’ original collection for the picture book, Knight-Justice said, “What we ended up finding was the theme of music. Other things that we saw were a consistent mention of nature. There’s also a lot of longing and missing and reminiscing in the story. We thought that even though that’s a more abstract concept for kids, it was something that we could really illustrate.”

Horry added, “There’s jazz, there’s the appreciation of Black culture, and also a critique of American culture as it relates to Black people.”

The Blues Brought to Life

One illustrator featured in the picture book is John Steptoe Award and NAACP Image Award winner Frank Morrison, whose art accompanies the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”—which both Horry and Knight-Justice noted as a necessary poem for the project. Morrison hadn’t learned about Langston Hughes until he entered adulthood and began his own search for creative inspiration. Given the chance to present Hughes to a young audience, Morrison recognized the opportunity placed in front of him: to give children access to art that helped them feel seen as soon as possible.

“There’s a purpose now that I have to contribute as an artist,” Morrison said. “How do I impact the next generation? It might be someone’s first experience with Langston Hughes. What do I leave? And how do I leave my impression on them?”

On interpreting his selected poem, Morrison understood it to be a demonstration “about the plight of African Americans in that time and contributions that we have [made].” But after witnessing how many historical depictions of African Americans only highlight pain and suffering, he wanted to utilize the poem to embody what freedom looked like.

“I wanted to show us in resilience, going against the system, freeing ourselves,” Morrison explained. “If I’m going to paint and have the power to use my brush to make a difference, I’m going to show us doing things that we can cheer. And who doesn’t want to see the triumph of a family?”

Working on a project attached to such a highly regarded figure in the arts is a huge honor, and one that Knight-Justice does not take for granted. He said he reached out to Hughes’s estate through a letter to express how important this picture book was to him, both as a creator and a fan, and he received a response with the estate’s blessing.

“It feels really special being able to have permission to spotlight the work of someone who is such a pillar in the Black literary community,” Knight-Justice said.

Both Morrison and Knight-Justice discussed how Black history is often siloed off, separate from American history. As books highlighting African American history continue to be targeted in increasingly aggressive book bans, it becomes even more important for works such as this one to be available to young readers. “I was raised in a household where Black history and culture was always celebrated, but I can’t say it was intentionally taught to us,” Horry said. “And, so, I think that it’s really important, because then it becomes the fabric of who you are, more so than something that you have to grow into.”

Almost 60 years after Hughes’s death, his legacy will continue to expand. Because as Morrison said, “What he left behind was priceless.”