“Go Tell It” opens with a metaphor comparing James Baldwin’s love for books to glitter.
It’s symbolic both of the celebrated writer’s persona as well as the sticky substance often used in school crafts, according to author Quartez Harris.
“I always think about how when I was a kid, I could never get glitter off of me, and I really felt like Baldwin couldn’t get words off of him,” Harris said.
The Cleveland writer and educator champions the power of literature in his first children’s book, which tells the story of James Baldwin’s early years growing up in Harlem with an insatiable passion for books.
“Go Tell It," published Tuesday, is the first of three books Harris is writing for Little, Brown and Company. He celebrates with a public book launch for “Go Tell It” at ThirdSpace Reading Room in Cleveland on Sunday, with an author talk at 2 p.m. and children’s story time at 4 p.m.
Baldwin as a role model
From Harris’ several years working as an elementary school teacher in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, he said he knew there was a need for a picture book biography on Baldwin.
“Had I known Baldwin early on in my childhood, he would have been my literary hero,” he said.
Reflecting upon his own formative years, Harris said he wasn’t encouraged to read and didn’t think books were for him.
“Watching the sort of the transformational power of books in Baldwin's life sort of affirms how if young people are encouraged to read, their lives will be powerful, their lives will change for the better,” Harris said.
“Go Tell It” details how Baldwin found refuge growing up in Harlem at the library, away from the responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings and the expectations of his stepfather, a preacher focused only on one book — the Bible. It also shows how Baldwin developed his own voice, writing about civil rights, Black life in America and the queer experience.
“I believe when kids read about James Baldwin, they will discover what can be done with words, what to do with those words and how to use them poetically, powerfully, purposefully,” Harris said. “Baldwin used his words to make people better, to make this world better, more honest, more loving.”
With illustrations in oil by Gordon C. James, who has his own family ties to Harlem, the book pays tribute to the legacy of Baldwin — a century after he was born.
“He describes himself as reading virtually every book he could get his fingers on. I think that also speaks to the transformational power of not only books, but sort of like the library as a hub,” Harris said.
Harris’ writing evolution
In 2020, Harris published his first book of poetry inspired by his students, “We Made It to School Alive,” which he credits for leading him to his current three-book deal with Little, Brown and Company.
His next books will further pay homage to his students as well as his own education experiences while in middle school, when he was separated from his peers due to challenges with reading and writing comprehension.
“I certainly experienced a lot of stigmatism, feeling left out, feeling like I was in a glass box, feeling like I couldn't interact with the general population,” he said. “That was a very difficult time.”
A forthcoming novel explores what is it like for a student to navigate that. Another picture book on the horizon is a work of fiction inspired by his former second grade classroom.
While he no longer teaches full time, he is still helping young people with the written word teaching two classes a day at the Cleveland School for the Arts and working with high school students in the creative writing department.
“It really is so self-fulfilling,” he said. “I get to also help young people fulfill their literary goals.”
