Flamboyants

The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known

By: George M. Johnson, Charly Palmer - illustrator

Narrated by: George M. Johnson

Long-listed, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, NYPL Best Books of the Year, 2024

This program is read by the author and features music from Josephine Baker, Gladys Bentley, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Ethel Waters to enhance the listening experience.

From the New York Times-bestselling author of All Boys Aren’t Blue comes an empowering set of essays about Black and Queer icons from the Harlem Renaissance.

In Flamboyants, George M. Johnson celebrates writers, performers, and activists from 1920s Black America whose sexualities have been obscured throughout history. Through 14 essays, Johnson reveals how American culture has been shaped by icons who are both Black and Queer–and whose stories deserve to be celebrated in their entirety.

Interspersed with personal narrative, powerful poetry, and illustrations by award-winning illustrator Charly Palmer, Flamboyants looks to the past for understanding as to how Black and Queer culture has defined the present and will continue to impact the future. With candid prose and an unflinching lens towards truth and hope, George M. Johnson brings young adult listeners an inspiring collection of biographies that will encourage teens today to be unabashed in their layered identities.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 George M. Johnson (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"A sincere and beautifully illustrated ode to queer Black figures who shaped the Harlem Renaissance."—Kirkus

Love this author

I don't know why but I love listening to this author's audiobooks. His voice, his intonation, inflection, his realness and bringing himself into his stories, and including all these historical figures into this book... absolutely LOVED it. So, I now find myself loving this and All Boys Aren't Blue. I'll be sure to read any other books he has if he has more.

Blown Away!

Johnson takes us on a voyage through time! I was able to learn more
about my fav black authors and the untold stories of many others. I’m so grateful!

One Of The Best Books Of All Time

I loved the introduction to this story, I felt seen and heard in every page. George M. Johnson's voice is so clear, compassionate and genuine throughout this whole book. In only 2 hours I felt everything just by listening to this story, I found myself being gently educated and guided through a history I have yearned to learn more about. After reading Jay's review (I highly reccomend checking it out) I rushed to Audible to get this book and listen today. I adored the chapter "secret not secret" It felt like finding a letter in a library or at a crowded party. Each chapter a mix of discussions of the lives of some of the most iconic authors of color who were part of the LGBTQIA+ community. While reading this book I realized how cheated i was in public schools and even while in college (I'm currently still studying.) I never got to learn in depth about these amazing people, almost like a secret history of lives. It's never too late to learn, but i feel grateful to have this book.

Wonderful Black Queer History

In a series of (mostly) short stories, Johnson shares the history of Harlem Renaissance artists, artists & others. Read by the author, it’s a fun & interesting book that invites reflection on past & present Black Queer life.

The untold stories

The untold story of many of my Black heroes was intriguing to hear and helped to better understand them and their times.

Illuminating a lost history

Black Folks have always been the first, including the queer ones. The ones who were proud to be in the open and the ones who kept it in the closet; the one who did the most changes and the one who did the most by surviving. A brilliant little book with a wealth to gain and knowledge to treasure.