“Hang yourself, poet, in your own words.
Otherwise, you are dead.”
Langston Hughes was one of the major voices of the Harlem Renaissance. He blended the literary freedom of American writers such as Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg with the rhythms of blues and jazz, and spoke honestly … Read the rest
Writing about Zora Neale Hurston is a bit of a challenge. She began publishing her short stories in periodicals during the Harlem Renaissance, but didn’t publish her major novels until the 1930’s. Her age varied according to what she felt like saying at the time. She was bold and … Read the rest
Richard Wright’s ‘Native Son’ is classic protest literature. It ranks alongside great works like ‘Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck. It is a book with an agenda, but it expresses a deep sympathy for humanity. It is Richard Wright’s most celebrated work (though his autobiography ‘Black Boy’ has also won … Read the rest
“I am an invisible man. No, i am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am i one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. i am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids–and i might even be said to possess a mind. I am … Read the rest
With the death of Booker T. Washington in 1915 came the rise of a new attitude in African-American art and culture. Racism in American had steadily grown worse, and compromise solutions were having little effect.
It was the combination of African American migration to Northern cities and the radical voice … Read the rest
Born on February 6th, 1882, Anne Spencer had to witness the breakup of her parents at age 5, and attended an all white school until 1893. She was then transferred to a boarding school, where she began writing. After graduating at the top of her class she married Edward Spencer. … Read the rest
The poems of Claude McKay were brutal and direct. His poems echoed the spirit of Harlem and the spirit of racial tension throughout the United States. The amazing thing is that this Harlem Renaissance poet was traveling Europe during Harlem’s most prolific and famed period.
Claude McKay lived in Jamaica … Read the rest
“Yet do I marvel at this curious thing:
To make a poet black, and bid him sing!”
Countee Cullen was one of the most respected poets with the intellectual patrons of the Harlem Renaissance. His work was highly revered by Alain Locke, one of the major spokespersons of the … Read the rest
