The Rebirth of Little Man, Little Man

James Baldwin’s Little Man, Little Man is his only children’s book. . . sort of. The book, which was re-published in August of this year by Duke University Press, is just one part of the Baldwin renaissance that seems to be taking the country by storm. Between the re-publication of Little Man, Little Man, the 2017 release of the Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro, and Barry Jenkins’ upcoming adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk, the work and genius of James Baldwin is once again in the spotlight. Little Man, Little Man, unlike the other works is unique in its position as an unearthed thing. It was originally published in 1976, then faded into obscurity. The world wasn’t prepared for the complexity of Baldwin’s stories about childhood in Harlem, about the duality of being young and innocent but also bearing witness to the traumas of racism and police brutality. Little Man, Little Man is as unclassifiable now as it was in 1976, but the world is different now. And the world is ready. 

We at NYU occupy an especially privileged space in this new world. One of the Department of English’s own faculty, clinical assistant professor Nicholas Boggs, was directly involved with the re-publication of Little Man, Little Man. Professor Boggs, a co-editor of Little Man, Little Man’s new iteration, discovered the book as an undergraduate at Yale back in 1996, where he wrote his senior thesis on it. He later tracked down the book’s illustrator, French artist Yoran Cazac. Prof. Boggs describes the research, communication, and collaboration involved with that process as “a major part of [his] life’s work.” 

With his co-editor, Stanford’s Jennifer DeVere Brody, Boggs contacted and collaborated with James Baldwin’s estate, the niece and nephew for whom Baldwin wrote Little Man, Little Man, and the artist responsible for the book’s distinct illustrations. I asked Professor Boggs questions about the experience of working on Little Man, Little Man, as well some about his personal connections to the text. He gave extremely insightful answers that will be helpful to anyone interested in James Baldwin, as well as English students at large. Boggs’ words lend themselves to deep consideration and note-taking. Buckle up.

When asked how his childhood affected his Little Man, Little Man research, Boggs talked about an experience at the D.C. public school he attended in the eighth grade. While he hadn’t yet read Baldwin’s work, Boggs, whose father was a civil rights activist and attorney, says “my teacher lined the walls of her classroom with drawn images of famous African-American writers, from Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass to, yes, James Baldwin.” 

“Years later, in college,” Boggs continues, “when I read Little Man, Little Man for the first time at the Beinecke Library, I was immediately struck by how much Yoran Cazac’s drawing of Baldwin reminded me of that earlier drawing.”  

Little Man, Little Man is steeped in history, but also looks to the future in unique ways. Cazac’s original illustrations are preserved in the new edition, and “re-enlivened” by book designer Amy Ruth Buchanan. Boggs and Brody wrote an introduction “to give a new generation of readers the historical context for understanding the book’s production and also its oddly muted reception when it was first published.” Some of Little Man, Little Man’s noteworthy features include its language. Boggs says that “the book is written from a child’s perspective, in black English, a radical move.” 

“Hearing it read aloud underscored for me the importance of this language for Baldwin and that this book really is intended to be read out loud, which further places it squarely in the tradition of orality in the history of African-American literature.” Speaking of the oral tradition Boggs discusses, Desus Nice of Bodega Boys and Desus & Mero fame, read the new edition of Little Man, Little Man aloud to children at Boogie Down Books, “a bookstore-without-walls for Bronx kids, teens, families, and educators.” Baldwin’s impact and the bittersweet vitality of Little Man, Little Man pushes on. 

Looking both forward and backward in time, James Baldwin’s niece and nephew, Aisha and Tejan Karefa-Smart, write the Afterword and Foreword for the book. I asked Professor Boggs about the process of working with the Baldwin estate and the Karefa-Smart family, who are so intimately familiar with the content and history of Little Man, Little Man.  

Boggs says that while “every situation is different, of course,” “collaboration is key” for English students to remember when reaching out to people for research and projects. “One of the wonderful things about archival work (and all scholarship and literary criticism, in fact) is its fundamentally collaborative nature.” 

Boggs’ advice to students relies on each of us being enthusiastic and proactive about collaboration. “Step number one I would say is to do your research.” Boggs says, “Don’t approach collaborators or certainly literary estates until you’ve done a thorough job on your own of finding out everything you can about the book and/or the author.” Boggs also noted the importance of “building a positive relationship with estates and family members associated with Little Man, Little Man,” as “research is thus an exercise in curiosity but also respect.”  

“This part of my research has been endlessly interesting and immensely fulfilling, in large part because like the original book itself, it was a collaboration, across families, across race, across countries, and across generations.” 

To use Baldwin’s words, Little Man, Little Man is “a children’s book for adults and an adult’s book for children.” It doesn’t exactly fit into the boxes the world has built for literature, and that’s reason enough to read it. But the world appears ready now, as the Little Man, Little Man new edition has received widespread, glowing reviews: “couldn’t be more timely” (New York Times), “brilliant, essential” (Entertainment Weekly), “a vivid perspective that is both moving and enriching” (Wall Street Journal), and starred reviews from People, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly. 

Try to pick up a copy and, if you’re into it, think about taking Professor Boggs’ J-term Baldwin class, which he’s also hoping to offer again in Fall 2019. And ask him about what it’s like to work on his Baldwin biography-in-progress, forthcoming from the publisher Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. You can bet the story of Little Man, Little Man will be in it.