Conceived, designed, written, and made by hand as

a prototype by master photographer Roy DeCarava

(b. 1919) in the early 1960s yet unpublished for

nearly half a century, The sound I saw has largely

existed, until now, as a legend among the

cognoscenti of the photography world. Presented as

a stream of 196 soulful images interspersed with

DeCarava's own evocative poetry, the book is, in its

form and effect, the printed equivalent of jazz.

"This is a book about people, about jazz, and about

things. The work between its covers tries to present

images for the head and for the heart, and like its

subject matter is particular, subjective and individual,"

writes the author. DeCarava is a life-long New

Yorker who from his immediate world creates images

that transcend the specific to depict universal

themes of joy, anticipation, pain, and survival.

Largely unpublished, he was first recognized for his

images of daily life in Harlem (the subject of

The sweet flypaper of life, his 1955 collaboration

with Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes) and

portraits of musicians like Duke Ellington and Billie

Holiday. It is these two themes-Harlem and jazz-interwoven

and inseparable, that are the ostensible

subject of the book. However, the seemingly casual

yet deeply felt compositions and the deep, rich

tones of DeCarava's photographs stir emotions that

resonate far beyond one neighborhood and one era.

Roy DeCarava dedicates his life to making images.

His belief in the ability of art to transcend the

politics of time, place, and personality has guided

him throughout his 50-year career. In 1955

DeCarava's work was included in Edward Steichen's

groundbreaking exhibition "The Family of Man" at

New York's Museum of Modern Art. Also in 1955, his

now classic The sweet flypaper of life was

published with text by poet Langston Hughes. In

addition to a 1983 monograph, his work was the

subject of a major exhibition in 1996 at the Museum

of Modern Art entitled "Roy DeCarava :

A Retrospective," accompanied by a publication of

the same name. His work has been the focus of

shows in cities around the world, including Houston,

Paris, Stockholm, London, and Berlin. In 1975

DeCarava began teaching photography at Hunter

College, where he is currently Distinguished

Professor of the City University of New York.

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