Today we
continue the series in which award-winning nonfiction authors discuss the joys
and challenges of the research process with an essay by Carole Boston
Weatherford. Thank you, Carole.
I owe my interest in picture research to one
book—The Black Book.
Conceived and edited by Toni Morrison, the 1974 coffee-table book compiles
artifacts, images, and primary sources documenting African American heritage.
The book was like a museum that I could hold in my hands.
In 1980, I began pursuing a graduate degree in
publications design at the University of Baltimore. The introductory course,
“Writing and Graphics,” required a photo-essay. Inspired by The Black Book,
I paired my poems on Black historical subjects with vintage images. When the
teachers viewed my project, they told me my grade—a rare “A”—and suggested that
the photo-essay could become a book.
That was all the prodding I needed. I dove into
picture research at the Library of Congress and Howard University’s Moorland
Spingarn Research Center, seeking images to illustrate new and existing poems
about historical figures such as Underground Railroad Conductor Harriet Tubman,
boxer Joe Louis, and explorer Matthew Henson. In those days before digitized
collections, I had to travel to physical archives and wear cotton gloves to peruse
original images. The quest also took me to the New York Public Library’s
Schomburg Center and to museums, historical societies, and state archives.
I not only found portraits of famous African Americans but
also encountered ordinary folks—farmers, crafters, soldiers, preachers, parents,
and children—whose identities were long ago forgotten. The photographs that
moved me most, though, were of enslaved people—images captured when photography
was in its infancy and slavery nearing abolition. Also touching were photos of
families who kept traditions and sowed seeds of sacrifice. While some photos
saddened me, my heart danced to the Jazz age images of legendary musicians in
their heyday.
The more I researched, the more photos I acquired and the
more ambitious the undertaking grew. Each image left its mark; a rush of mixed
emotions. Sometimes, I felt as if I’d entered a gallery where the pictures
talked. Though I never knew the subjects, I heard them command. “Never forget;
always remember.”
After a while, I was no longer seeking photographs to
illustrate poems, but writing ekphrastic poems inspired by pictures that begged
for words. My class project evolved into the book, Remember the Bridge:
Poems of a People. Of my sixty-plus books, that poetry collection had the
longest gestation–twenty years!
The book released in 2002. But my love affair with picture
research had only just begun. My titles, A Negro League Scrapbook; Birmingham,
1963; Sink or Swim:
African-American Lifesavers of the Outer Banks, are all illustrated with primary
source images.
Even for books with original illustrations, I research pictures
that evoke the setting that I will be conjuring with words. I also try to
include a primary source photo in the back matter, if space permits. And I must
confess that when collaborating with my son, illustrator Jeffery Weatherford, I
go overboard in offering him picture references.
I am especially drawn to black-and-white photography for its
ability to convey contrasts and drama. Of the archives that I encountered at
the Library of Congress, the Office of War Information/Farm Security
Administration collection is my favorite. It boasts photos by Gordon Parks and
Dorothea Lange, whom I profile in the picture books Gordon Parks: How the
Photographer Captured Black and White America and Dorothea Lange: How the
Photographer Found the Faces of the Depression. Not coincidentally, these
biographies center iconic photos: “American Gothic”
by Parks and “Migrant
Mother” by Lange.
Primary source images not only find their way into my books
but also into my school presentations. The images anticipate the most frequent
question that young audiences ask: Did that really happen? Understandably, injustices
like slavery, segregation, and hate violence confound young people. Primary
source images not only document the past, but also make history real.
Carole Boston Weatherford has authored more than
60 children’s books, including the Newbery honor winner BOX: Henry Brown Mails
Himself to Freedom and Caldecott Honor winners Freedom in Congo Square; Voice of Freedom:
Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement; and Moses:
When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. She is a professor at
Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.
Most Popular Posts
Resignation
Re-thinking “E” Is for Everyone
We Need Diverse Nonfiction
The 5 Kinds of Nonfiction
Behind the Books: Does Story Appeal to Everyone?
10 STEM Picture Books
Nonfiction Authors Dig Deep by Melissa Stewart
Nonfiction Authors Dig Deep by Deborah Heiligman
Is It Fiction or Nonfiction? A Twitterchat
5 Kinds of Nonfiction, Book Lists
Topics
2 Responses
Such an interesting article – I've added several of these books to our family's "to-read" list. Thank you.
I'm so intrigued and inspired by Carole's post…I might have to look into archives for Chinese-American history. Thank you for sharing your insights, Carole!