Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known

Johnson (All Boys Aren’t Blue) combines incisive prose commentary, skewering verse, and revealing memoir in this collection of abridged biographies of Harlem Renaissance–era Black queer luminaries. In an inviting, conversational voice, the author chronicles the intersectional oppression often faced by these icons, whose present-day remembrances “often leaves out their queerness.” Countee Cullen, a poet and an early mentor to James Baldwin, “had to process questions about his sexuality while also being a leader in a heteronormative society.” Featured alongside Cullen are figures who found ways to publicly embrace their sexuality despite the potential for social or legal consequences, such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, who were purportedly very open regarding their relationships with women. Johnson expertly critiques the racism and homophobia experienced by the subjects outside the Black diaspora; he additionally dissects oppressions exerted within the community, as when reportedly bisexual entertainer Josephine Baker banished her son Jarry from her home upon discovering he was gay. Palmer (The Legend of Gravity) combines background textures resembling subway maps and skyscrapers with canvas portraiture to produce graphic and hyperrealistic imagery that harkens to the Harlem Renaissance while maintaining contemporary appeal. Ages 14–up. (Sept.)