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Tag Archives: Harlem Renaissance
“If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything.” — poet Claude McKay
Claude McKay was born on this day in 1890 on the island of Jamaica. He grew up poor, but was exposed to literature through an older brother. He loved English literature, he loved the Romantic poets. As a young man, … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Harlem Renaissance, James Weldon Johnson, poetry
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“Those who know what it means to be a colored woman in 1922 – know it not so much in fact as in feeling …” — poet Georgia Douglas Johnson
Georgia Douglas Johnson, one of the leading voices of the Harlem Renaissance, was born on this day. She grew up in Georgia, attended college, and then became a teacher and vice principal. Her time of activity was somewhat concentrated: her … Continue reading
“Didacticism is the death of art.” — poet Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
“In every race, in every nation, and in every clime in every period of history there is always an eager-eyed group of youthful patriots who seriously set themselves to right the wrongs done to their race or nation or… art … Continue reading
“There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.” — James Weldon Johnson
“Nothing will do more to change that mental attitude and raise his status than a demonstration of intellectual parity by the Negro through the production of literature and art.” – James Weldon Johnson, preface to The Book of American Negro … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Music, On This Day, writers
Tagged Harlem Renaissance, James Weldon Johnson, poetry
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“If I am going to be a poet at all, I am going to be POET and not NEGRO POET.” — poet Countee Cullen
Yet do I marvel at this curious thing: To make a poet black, and bid him sing! — Countee Cullen It’s his birthday today. Cullen is often compared to Langston Hughes (my post on Hughes here), seems a little unfair, … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Countee Cullen, H.L. Mencken, Harlem Renaissance, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, Melvin B. Tolson, poetry
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“Sometimes I think no matter how one is born, no matter how one acts, there is something out of gear with one somewhere, and that must be changed. Life at its best is a grand corrective.” –Jessie Redmon Fauset
“Better the wound forever seeking balm Than this gray calm!” –Jessie Redmon Fauset, from “Dead Fires” Jessie Redmon Fauset, whose birthday it is today, was a “forgotten writer” for many years, after her heyday in the 20s and 30s. Her … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Anne Spencer, Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, poetry
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Happy Birthday, poet/playwright Angelina Weld Grimké
Angelina Weld Grimké’s was born into a powerful familial legacy, which she absorbed, and then continued on her own. It was the air she breathed. Her paternal grandparents were a white slave owner and a mixed-race slave, who lived together … Continue reading
“Guilt pins a fig-leaf; Innocence is its own adorning.” — poet Anne Spencer
Anne Bethel Scales Bannister Spencer was yet another poet-librarian, like Dudley Randall, and many others. It was part of a tradition, one worthy of more study (there are websites devoted to it!). As the daughter of a librarian, I am … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Anne Spencer, H.L. Mencken, Harlem Renaissance, James Weldon Johnson, poetry
4 Comments
“and I / spoke with tongues that sent their devotees / out of this world!” — poet Melvin B. Tolson
“I, as a black poet, have absorbed the Great Ideas of the Great White World, and interpreted them in the melting-pot idiom of my people. My roots are in Africa, Europe, and America.” – Melvin B. Tolson, 1965 interview It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, Melvin B. Tolson, poetry
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“The mood of the Blues is almost always despondency, but when they are sung people laugh.” — Langston Hughes
The Blues always impressed me as being very sad, sadder even than the Spirituals, because their sadness is not softened with tears, but hardened with laughter … of a sadness where there is no god to appeal to. — Langston … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Camille Paglia, Countee Cullen, Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, Melvin B. Tolson, Michael Schmidt, poetry
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