Bronx Masquerade

Content Warning: This guide discusses domestic violence, sexual assault, slavery, attempted robbery, bullying, child abuse, and death due to drug use.

Wesley is a student in Mr. Ward’s English class who has struggled to turn in work in the past. Nonetheless, he wants to graduate, though he doesn’t know what he’ll do with his life. He introduces his friend, another student in the class named Tyrone, who wants to become a rapper. Wesley and Tyrone are both more interested in school now because of Mr. Ward’s class and the work they’re doing on the Harlem Renaissance.

After studying the Harlem Renaissance for a month, Mr. Ward assigns the class an essay on the topic, and Wesley thinks it’s silly to write an essay about poetry. Instead, he writes poetry himself, and Mr. Ward has him read it in front of the class. Wesley describes it as a nerve-wracking but ultimately positive experience, and he inspires his classmates. Mr. Ward agrees to let the students read their poems the next day, though he still wants Wesley to write an essay.

The prose portion of Wesley’s chapter is followed by his poem, “Long Live Langston,” an