Poster for the book Float Like a Butterfly by Ntozake Shange: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A small poster for the children's book Float Like a Butterfly: Muhammad Ali, the Man Who Could Float Like a Butterfly and Sting Like a Bee, written by Ntozake Shange and illustrated by Edel Rodriguez.

The rectangular poster has a wide black border, with a color illustrated portrait of Muhammad Ali in the center. Ali appears from the neck up, against a yellow background. On either side of him are line illustrations of him boxing and three orange and black butterflies surround him. Across the top, in large block letters is [FLOAT], with [LIKE A BUTTERFLY] in smaller letters below. This is followed by text reading [story by NTOZAKE SHANGE] and [illustrated by EDEL RODRIGUEZ], both in black set into red rectangular boxes. Across the bottom is text reading [JUMP AT THE SUN HYPERION]. The back of the poster is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2002
• Illustrated by: Edel Rodriguez, Cuban American, born 1971
• Subject of: Ntozake Shange, American, 1948 - 2018
• Subject of: Muhammad Ali, American, 1942 - 2016
• Subject of: Hachette Books, American, founded 1990
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 20 7/8 × 15 7/8 in. (53 × 40.3 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Athletes
• Topic: Boxing
• Topic: Literature
• Topic: Poetry
• Topic: Sports
• Object number: 2016.131.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Ntozake Shange
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.