Roxane Orgill

Ever find yourself doing something you didn’t expect?

I was looking at a famous photograph of jazz musicians crowded outside a Harlem brownstone, and I was wondering how to write about it. A poem popped out.

I’m not a poet. I write nonfiction. I used to be a music critic and journalist. I rarely even read poetry. But I like research, so I dug into that August day in 1958 when an amateur photographer tried to corral 57 musicians into a picture. And I kept writing — poems!

See the results in my new book, JAZZ DAY: THE MAKING OF A FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPH, illustrated by Francis Vallejo (Candlewick Press, 2106). It has earned six * * * * * * starred reviews!