4 10 90 https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/62bc4de175ed9d95772e97f2590d645f.pdf 36611c2cbaf7b702c752523b9bc4cd27 PDF Text Text ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many thanks are due the following poets, editors, publishers and survivors of poets for use of cited material. for each selection. All efforts have been made to secure the proper pennission However, if some of the selections are not prope r ly acknowledged, please' contact Doubleday &·Company, Inc., in order to clarify the situation. 1lA, ~ L~m-f¼l'C 1'_ ,l:tn,d s Al QXiRder for 1i nes from "Nocturne Vari a ~Je,~ r copyright Cc) 1949 , 1970.1 by An-n a L. Thomps on. Company, Inc. v1 /'1i,~~) /(rom The Poetry of the Neg ro, Published by Doubleday & Reprinted by permission of Mrs. Ann a L. Thompson. Margaret Wa lker Ale xander for lines from "Bad- Man S agolee," "Fo r My Peopl e:'' "Pappa Chicken ," "The St ruggl e Stagg ers Us," an d 11 \fo Have bee n Beli ever s 11 from For My Peopl e , copyrigh t © l 942 by Margare t Wa l ker and Yale Uni versity Press. Reprinted by ermis sion of Marga re t Ha l ke r Al exand er . J. Mo rd All en for li nes f rom "The Psa lms of Uplif t . :, " from ~ gro Poets and The i r Poems, edited by Robert Thoma s Kerlin. Associated Publishers, Inc. Copyri ght (f.)1923, 1935 by thi: = Reprinted by permission of the Associated Publishers, Inc. - 5J,,11.:t'l All\-'.Yt. Samuel Allen (Paul Vesey) for lines from "To Satch, 11 copyright@l962 by im~ t J:f1l1:.- Reprinted by pennission of Samuel Allen (Paul Vesey) . . . .· �11 Russell Atkins for lines from . At War:r 11r which first appeared in American Weave, • copyright© 1962 by Russell Atkins, and "Irritable Song" which first appeared I in Naked Ear, copyright© 1958 ' by Russell Atkins. Reprinted by permission of the author. Imamu Amiri Baraka for line,s from "Black Art," "Black People., 11 "leroy," and V 11 Sterl i ng Street September 11 from Black Magic: J © 1969 by LeRoi Jones. ~ • 1 Poetry 1961 1967, copyright Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Bobbs- Merril 1 Company, Inc.· Austin Black for 11 ASEXUAl FLIGH~ 11 from The Tornado in My Mouth: Black, co pyright© 1966 by Austfn Black. Poems by Au st in Reprinted by permission of Expositi on Press, Inc., Hicksvil)e, ~Yr, 11801. Arrw Bontemps fo r li,es fro~ "Golgo tha is. ·nountain/ from Personals, copy .... ight © 1963 by Arna Bonttmps.<· Reprinted by permission of Ha ro ld Ober Associates. t / Gwendolyn Brooks fo; lines fr~n "The· Anniad, 11 "The Ballad of Rudolph Reed, 11 ~V\ ~ ~'tb L\ .n... · ~ t'a.e>!.t\ v.=f!Ul~use't- verly Hills, Chicago," 11 the children of the poor," 11 0f De W1ll lilliamsA , ''d~N>t'beo.~~ 0-~ no," "The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett T111," ) ·:: .. l "Negro Hero," "The Preacher: "we c::;;:::::r --- Ruminations Behind the Sermon, 11 and all of Real Cool, 11 fro~ _The World of Gwendolyn Brooks, copyright@l971 by ~u~.., ,~t ,. -- - Gwendolyn Brooks ;/' Langston Hughes, 11 11 Ri ders to the Blood-Red \-lrat~11 and "Of Robert Frost/ from Selected Poems., by Gwendolyn Brooks, copyright@) 1963 by Gwendolyn Brooks. Reprinted by permissi on of Harper 2 & Row, �Publishers, Inc.; for lines from "Speech to the Young/ ' from Family Pictures, copyright@l970 by Gwe ndolyn Broo ks Blakl ey. Reprinted ·by pennission of Broadside Press. Sterling Brown for lines from "Memphis Blue~" from Southern Ro ad, Beacon Press c~pyright@l975, and."Old Lem," copyrig ht@l975 by Ste rling Brown. rep;.tnf Used by permission of Sterling Brown. Benjami n nurre ll for li nes from 11 ·A Negro Mothei: " from Negro Poe ts and The i r Poems, ed ited by Ro bert Thomas Ker li n, copy r i gh t {!} 1923, 193~ by The Associated Publishers , inc . / Repr in te d by perm i s sion of The Associ ated Publishers , Inc. Ma rc us B. Christi an for l i ne s from "McDonogh Day in New Or l eans " from The .J - Poetry o_f__the Ne<1rQ_, copyright© 1949 by Langsto n Hugh es and Ar na Bon t emp . Co pyri ghtr; 1970 by Arr,a Bon t ernps . Rep rin ted by permi ss 1on of Doubl eday &Compa ny, Inc . . , 11 Lutille Clifton for lines from "Lately" and - Mary 11 from Good News About the '} Earth, copyright@l972 by Lucille Clifton, and "God's MoodJ' from An Ordinary Woman, copyright©l974 by Lucille Clifton. , ;i Reprinted by per- mission of Random House, Inc. I Sam Cornish for 11nes from "Middlecl ass Girls with crippled fing ers waiti ng fo r me to light t he1r ci garette~" fr om Peop l e Bene ath the ~/indow, copyrig ht@ 3 ' I �. ... 1968 by Sam Cornish. Published by Sacco Publishers. Reprinted by permission of the author. Jayne Cortez for lines from "Festivals and Funeral~" from Festivals and Funeral s , copyright©l971 by Jayne Cortez. Reprinted by pe nni ssion of the au tho r. Joseph Seamon Cotter, Sr.J for lines from "The Don't Care Negro: Chil d/ and Joseph Seamon Cotter, J r .0 for li nes fr om "Rain 11 and "The Negro MusicJ " fr om Negro Poets and Their Poems, edited by Robe rt Thoma s Ker li n. Copyr i ght © 1923, 193~ by The Associated Publis he rs , Inc. Reprin ted by permiss i on of The Associ ated Pub lis hers~ A~D Countee Cull en 1or li nes from "Heritage ," "Scottsboro , Too , Is l~ort and "Ye Do I Ma r ve1" f rom On The se I St nd . Haq,~r f.i Re,, , Pub li shers , Inc . Its Song," Copy rig ht(s)l 927, 195 5J by Reprinted by perm i s:; ion of Harper & Rov:, ...... . • Publ ishers , Inc. Waring Cuney for lines from "Hard Times" and "No Images II from Storefront Church , J , .., copyright©l973 by Waring Cuney. ·· Reprinted by permission of Waring Cuney. James Cunningham for lines from "St. Jul1en's Eve: __ For Dennis Cross 11 from Jwnp Bad, edited by Gwenqloyn Brooks. :·· · ,: ·.·· Copyr1ght©l971 by Bro: dside Press: :- ) ~:~)'.>< Reprinted by permission of Broadside Press. 4 �Wa.lter Delegall for lines from "Psalms for Sonny Rollin~" from Burning Spear,; An Anthology of Afro-Saxon Poetry. copyright©1963 by the Dasein Literary µ I. Society. Reprinted by permission of Jupiter Hammon Press of Oasein Literary /) Society. Alexis Deveaux for lines from Spirits in the Streets, copyright ~ l973 by Alexis Deveaux. Reprinted by permission of Doubleday & Company, Inc. Charles Dinkins for lines from ·11 1nvocation 11 from Negro Poetry and Drama, J _copyright (§.)1969 by Sterling Brown. Reprinted by permission of Atheneum . Owen Dodson for lines from "Countee Cu11en, 11 Divine Comedy. 11 Guitv.r , 11 "Jonathan 's Song, 11 "Lament, " "Open Letter" and Poems for My Brother Kenneth from Powerful "I long Ladder, copyrigh t© 1946 by Owen Dodson') ~ copyrig ht@ renev,e d 1974 by . ~C"'--' Owen Dodson" r?~ printed by pE:rmission of Farrz.r, Strau & Giroux, . Inc .\ l ines 1\-,t~ f rom "The Co nfess-ion Stone/' "Let me rock him again in my trembling ann, " 11 t·lary Pass ed This Morning; • from The Confession Stone yolume 13 in the Heritage Seri es, published by Paul Breme~, London, 1970. Copyrig ht© 1970 and : •I: .' .~ • 'r.· ,-' ·, r ~ :(. ~( by Owen Dodso~ Reprinted by pennission of Owen Dodson. . .. ( ~ , ·· ' J •. · ,•· • ...:!?,.~ ... - ~.'.:;.e ~,·: '.i, .. :~ . . • W.E.B. D o1 s for lines from "A Litany of Atlanta, D Bois, and 11 11 copyr1 ght © 1906 by H.E. B. ••• of Unc1 e Tom's Cabin, copyright© 1920 by W. E. B. oupoi s ;~i nes from "Song of Mrs. Shirley Graham OtBois. 5 Reprinted by pennission of • ·•. ~ ~ . . .4 t -.~ ) :. ; .. ~ •.._ ·.... -,.·.'<'.' :- \~ l Hymn of Hate/ ' from Darkwater: ,. ,The Twentieth Century Completion . the Smoke," copyright01899 by W.E.B. D Bois. • ; :· - . : _· · ;,;:· :1\ �Henry Dumas for "I Laugh Talk Joke" and lines from Jackharm1er," "Ngoma, 11 11 "Play Ebony Play Ivory," "Rite," "Root Song~' and "A Song of Flesh," from Play Ebony Play Ivory, copyright{s.)1974 by Loretta Dumas and edited by Eugene B. Redmond. Reprinted by pennission of Random House, Inc. Alice Dunbar-Nelson for li~es from "The Lights at Carney's Poin r from Negro Poets and Their Poems, edited by Robert Thomas Kerlin. 1_93 1 by The Ass ociated Publi _shers, Inc. Reprinted by Copyright€}1923, pennission of The Associated Publishers, Inc. Ray D-urem for "Broadminded" from Take No Prisoners, volume 17 in the Heritage Series, published by Paul Bremen Limited, London, 1971. by Dorothy Durem . Reprinted by permission of Paul Bremen Limited. t,3.ri Evi,nS for 1·llws from 11 in10 Can Black Loman, copyright@1970 1970. s·. Reprinted Copyr ight@ l971 by 1 e Born Bluck" and by 11 Th e Reb Mari Evans and p blished )r from I _Am.}.. by Hi111am Morrm-1, permission of Mari Evans. Felton (Elmer Buford) for lines from "An Elegy to Eternit~" from Conclusions, copyright(f.)1971 by B. Felton and reprinted by pennission of the author. . Julia Fields for lines from "Aardvar~' from Nine Black Poets, edited by R. Baird ' Shuma11-a-tttJ- copyr1 ght -J © 1968 by Moore Publishing Company. Used by permission of Moore Publishing Company, P.O. Box 3143, West Durham Station, Durham, N.C. 27705. 6 ' .-· . ._ • • 1"', '· �Shennan Fowler for lines from 11 Thinking 11 from Sides of the River: _, A Mini-Anthology 1 of Black Writing, edited and copyright©1969 by Eugene Redmond. Reprinted by pennission of Black River Writers Press. Nikki Giovanni for lines from ••concerning One Responsibl e Negro with Too Much , Power, 11 c~/i i-t 11 0f Liberatiot1,t' 11 Nikki-Rost1,'\ 1... The True Imp ort of th e r. r esent " Dialogue, Black vs. Negr~ 11 from Black Feeling, Bl ack Talk, Bl ack Judgement, (.,it~ ~ copyright© 1968, 19701 by ~.,i kki Giovan ni; ~ Africa/ f r om My House, copyri gh t @1972 by Nik ki Gi ovan ni. r<fe pri nted by penn issi on of Will i am Morrow & Co . , Inc. ~ Oswald Govan for lines fro m '.'The Lynching" f rom Burn i ng Spea r : 'J . '-' An Antho l ogy of Afro-S axon Poe t r'l_, copyright@1963 by t he Oas e in Lftera.ry Soci e ty . Repri nt ed by permi ss i on of J up i te r Hammon Press of, Dase1n Liter ary Soci ety. f1nge li n:1 Gri ; ~ f or i·i n~s from edited i.i nd copyri gil t (9 11 Th::? Bl a ck Fi n9e ~11 f rom ft.m~r ican t:2oro Poctrv 1 1963 by I ma Bonicrriµs . Re pr int ed by pe riiri ~s i on of , . Farr~r , St ra us &Gi roux, Inc . Michael S. Harper for lines from 11 Dear John, Dear Coltrane. 11 Reprinted from -;; Dear John, Dear Coltrane by Michael S. Harpe~ by pennission of ~University of Pittsburgh Press. Copyright@l970 by University of Pittsburgh Press. '.:. . , , _1 :· ···,, r. • ? '; ·, •,, , • • : l -.::· :·,. .:·:-:_ './ ··~/: /· John Wesley Hollaway for lines from 11 Calling the Doctor 11 and 11 Miss Merlerle~11 from From the Desert, copyright@l919 by John Wesley Hollaway. Reprinted in The Book of America n Neg ro Poet ry, edi ted by J ames We ldon Jo hns on . 7 , ' • y . . ! .. :,. ·". <c • .•· 1. �Co pyrigh t @1922 , 1931 by Harcourt, Brace & World , Inc. Copyright(91950 , 1959 by Mrs. Grace Nail Johnson. · Source for reprint righ t s could not be found at publicat ion time . Lucy Ari el Willi ams Holl oway for lines f r om "Northboun ~' in The Boo k of Ame ric an '} Negro Poetry, copyr i g~t@1926 by Lucy Ariel Willi ams Holloway. Repr in te d by pennission of the Na tional Urban League . Langston Hugh es for l ines from 11 11 Mother to Son" and The Negro Speaks of Rivers/ from· Se1 ected Poems, copyright© 1954 by Langston Hughes ~ /e pri n te d by ~ ... pennis s ion of Random Hou se , Inc .; lines from . t th e Lash : 11 Har l em 11 J fr om The Panthe r and Poems of Our Times, copyright (9 1967 by La ngs ton Hughes" /epr i nted 11 by penniss~on of Random House, Inc .;~nes from "Ja zzoni~ from The We~ Bl ues , copyri gl1 t @ 1926 by Alfred A. Knopf, I nc ., and renev4ed by Langston Hugh s 1 fiµr in ted ·y permi ss·i c.1 n of J\l fred A. Knopf. Inc. Lance J effers for lines from 11 Bl ack Sou1 of the Land" and "My Blacknes s is th Beauty of this Lan~" fr om My Bl ackness is the Beauty of this land, copyright@l970 by Lance Jeffers. Reprinted by permission of Broadside Press. Charles Bertram Johnson for lines (no title given) from Negro Poets and Their Poems , edited by Robert Thomas Kerlin. Publishers, Inc. Copyright@l923, 193~ by The Associated Repri nted by pennission of The Associated Publishers, Inc. �Georgia Douglas Johnson for ·lines from "Dreams of the Dreame~ from Caroling Dusk, 11 edited by Countee Cullen. Copyright©l955 by Harper & Row, Publis·hers, I nc. Reprinted by pennission of Harper & Row,., Publishers, Inc. Helene Johnson for lines from "Magul~' from Caroling Dusk, edited by Countee Cullen. Copyright@~955 by Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. Reprinted by pennission of Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. ~ ,~ .,_ ..) 1 1i " " ~ for 1ines fr om "The Crea ti on" and "The Prodi ga 1 So n/ from God's Trombones by Jame s We l do n Jo hn so n, copyright 0 1927 by The Vi kin g Pre ss, Inc. Copyri ght@l 955 ren ewed by Gr ace Na i1 Johnson. A11 rights reserv ed. Reprinted by permission of The Viking Pr ess, Inc. Percy Johnston for li nes f rom Fitchet t ' s Baseme nt Bl ues , Opus 5" from Burning 11 I Soear : 5oci ety . An .t\nthol oav of f\fro - Sa:.on Po ~trv, copyri gh t (V l963 '.)y,. DJ5e i n Li te r ary Repri nt.1d by perm i ss iun of Jupit,..,r Ham:-non Press of Dusein Li terar/ ' I .t.:-• Soci ety . ..... • • j .' :,: \ ) ,t 1 ' • . .~rr·~ . I• ~ JI ',, ·. , ·"~-"' the publiihers, E.P . Dutton ·,:, ·: r:t~· Reprinted by penni ss ion of copyright €)1967 and 1971 by June Meyer Jordan. ..,. &Co.~ Inc. --- .;~w . ·•~ t <, ·· ,:r/.:·:,; _;".:i./-l-. '-! J\ Nonnan Jordan for lines from "High Art and all that Jazf from Destina,~Ashes, copyright ©1970 by Nonnan Jordan. i: ... -. . ,, . ' .,r•• , • ., ' J l :.k;. •. · . .· : 1"'~ ..... ~': ,'":' June Jordan for lines from "Uncle Bull-BoY." from Some Changes by June Jordan, · • _..{ .; "/ .' :· · , ;' · w_. 'C,,:, . .·.,,.._. Reprinted by pennission of Third ~Jorld Press, 7524 So uth Co ttage Grove, Chicago, Ill. 60619 . ~ l'irqri r't'=i.rl't ): .rrimn~ \·!f'lrlnn .J01rn ~vm f o r l i n0:s f rom " My 1 Lnd 'T' 9 J,.ln::i Arn Li ke d o :ln11cy 11 : nd 11 \l ·~ 1EH' 1' nnd \Jn ), nn .rn ;\ny• cls" i'r,Jm S o i.nt 1 e+;o 1· he lnL~!; o n t1 n r✓ l ,r, , ; 1t. )~/ ,r:, n'e:1 .r-l rl r, n ,1nt1 :1 ~ ,11 , cor,::, ~:i -,h t "1' 1""1,:1 r,- -y , ·1~-'fiyUn;'lnf!.. \1,~fd ,J-r1 .1 ~ii"i"?1 Y\, c:, , 11 :rr·i "ilL .a , r n rw1-1 o d 71 1 1. 3 hy •:roc o ,lrd 1 ,J o n ~1on. ii c1p rl nt -, d oy 1,,~ 1•11\l:i: ; i , Jil of' _i ih:irw :1: n , :uln , l r' c. . 1. >~ �Bob Kaufman fo r lines from "_Heavy Hate r Blue;" fr om Golden Sardine, copyright@ 1967 by Bob Kaufman. Reprinted by permission of City Lights Books. Etheridge Knight for lines from "The Bones of My Fathe ~" from Be lly Son g, copyright (Dl973 by Etheridge Knig ht, and "Haiku 911 from Poems /ram Prison, copyright© 1968 by Etheridge Kn ight. Reprin t ed by perm ission of Broadsi de Press. Pinkie Gordon Lane for lines from "Griefs of Jo1;11 from Wind Thoughts , co pyrigh t @ 1972 by Pinkie Gordon Lane . Pub li shed by South & ifost, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Pi nkie Gordo n Lane . Wayne Loftin for li nes from 11 Rea l it~ 11 from Si des of the River : '<A Mi ni -Antho l ogy of Bl ack Wr iting , edited and copyrigh t ©l 969 by Eug ene Redmond. Rep rinted by permission of Bl ack R·iver Hr iters Press . ' .. (__ (),J{; ~-·-) / O-ffO:!_~ -\.~,'-~\ t t1 fJ u.\J {; . ·'J _I Audre Lorde V. f::w 1ines frc :. " ,l ack ~~other \·Jo;-,::. n"; frcm £1:ef- Lend \/hqJ' e _Q_':r, ~r ?'::22l. !. .!:ive , copy ri ght©P73 by Aud ra Lord2 ;i1nd ,·-pr i nted by perm1~ ~ of Ilroadsid ~ Pres s;~ ··- ~J; !;_o~ nes f~ on-minded t h2 Sun" appea ring on pp (f'ill in }1 Sixes ., . ,_. _\. o.p 11.r:.t,. ·.,.: t >-1 f-',_, :; -- (1·::l and Seve ns , copyrigh t @l962 by Audre Larde, and "Rites of Passage 111/rom Cabl es 1- . ~ 1 ~» ·;, to Rage, copyright{s)1970 by Audre Lorde. ~.., . Used by permission of the author. · · . __ _.;.}: , _· : _;·t)~ ' ' 11 Claude McKay for lines from "Baptism," "If We Must Die" and "The Lynching1 ~rom ···_. , .. .·. . •,I s :--"<). Selected Poems of Cl aude McKay, copyright(gl953 by Twayne Publishers, Inc. Reprinted by pen111ssion of Twayne Publish ers, a Division of G.\K. Hall & Co. -. 10 ' ., �Haki R. Madhubuti for lines from 11 First Impressions of a Poet's Death; ' from Think Black, copyright~ 967 by Don L. lee, and "The Se 1f-Ha tred of Don l. Lee"· and "Don't Cry, Scream/ from Directionscore: (f) 1971 by Don l. lee. Selected and New Poems, copyright Reprinted by permission of Broadside Press. George Reginald Margetson ~or lines from The Fled glin g Bard and the Poetry Soci ety, copyright@1916 by George Reginald Margetson. Reprinted in The Book of American Negro Poetry, edited by James Weldon Johnson. by Harcou r t, nrac e & Wor l d. Copyright@ 1922, l93lJ Copyri ght@ 1950, 195] by Mrs . Gra ce Na il Johnso n. Source for repri nt rights could not be fo un d at publication ti me . G-jc . Oden for l"ines from 11 ••• s ~Jhen Emot ion Too Far Exceeds Its Cause" from Kaleidos co pe , edited by Robe rt Hayden. Copyright ~ 1967 by G.• Oden. Reprinted by permi ss ion of t he author . Pat Park r f or li r.~s frc:11 Parker. J;;) 11 Bro t he~11 from Child of Myse l.f., copyri ght © 1972 by Pat Re pri nt ed by permi ss ion of t he au t ho r. Dudley Randall for 11 / Iwo Jim;" from More/4 Remember, copyright© 1971 by Dudl ey A ~r / Randall. Reprinted by perniission of Third World Press, 7524 South Cottage Grove, Chicago, 111. 60619. Eugene Redmond for lines from "Invasion of the Nose . I 11 from River of Bones and Flesh and Blood, copyright© 1971 by Eugene Redmond, and "Inside My Perimeter" from In A Time of Rain & Desi re, copyri ght@ 1973 by Eugene Redmond. perm i ssion of Bl ack Ri ve r Writers f.,.t, (' . • 11 Reprinted by �Conrad Kent Rivers for lin es from "In Defense of Black Poets" and "The Still Voice of Harlem" and for "Watts" from The Still Voice of Harl em , Volume 5 in the J Heritage Series, published by Paul Bremen limited, london, 1968, copyright© ..:. 1972 by Mrs. Cora Mciver Rivers; "To Richard Wrigh r from The i ,. Wright Poems, Vol ume 18 in the Heritage Series, published by Paul Bremen Limited, London, 1972. Copyright © 1972 by Mrs. Cora Mciver Rivers. Reprinted by permission of Paul Bremen Limited. Sonia Sanchez for lines from Ma lcol ~ from Homecomi ng , copyrig ht © 1969 by Sonia 11 Sanchez. 11 Repr i nted by perm i ss i on of Broad side Press . Judy ?·othar.d Si nm1ons for li nes from Schizoph renia/ from Judit h' s Blues , copyri gh t 11 © 1973 by J udy Do t hard Si rrmo ns. Repri nted by pennissi on of Broadside Pres s. LeRoy Stone f or l ines f rom Fl umcnco Sketches 11 11 I from Burning Spea r : An Ant ol oav of J\f ro-Su."On P0e tr.. , cooyrJght 1c 1953 by t he Dase in li terary Society . - ·- - . ---. ~ by perm ission of J upiter H~,r:w-non Pre5s of Oast.: i n literary Soc-iety . - Reprint,.:d " Joyce Carol Thomas for lines from 1974 by Joyce Carol Thomas. 11 ··- ', , ., . .. Melvin Tolson for lines from "Rendezvous with America," "Dark Symphony" and "An Ex-Judge at the Ba5 from Rendezvous with Amer1 ca, copyright© 1944 by 11 Reprinted by pennission of Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc.; l ; ,., : Reprinted by pennission of Firesign Press. Box 12 •' :. 1 Know a Lad~" f rom Crysta l Breezes , copyri ght © 402. Berkeley, Calif . Melvin Tolson. . . •.~ / r �I for lines from 11 D0, 11 11 00 11 and 11 Tf 11 from Libretto for t he Repub lic of Liber i a J ' ~ -; by Melvin B. Tolson, copyright © l953 by Twayne P.ublishers, I nc . ; and '-li nes .~,.. "Alpha," / 11 Beta, 11 11 Eta, 11 11 Gallllla, 11 11 lambda, 11 "X II and "Ze t a/ 1 from Harl em Gallery; by Melvin B. Tolson, copyright © 1956 by Twayne Publishers, Inc. pennission of Twayne Publishers, f Division of G. . Hall Reprinted by &Co. Jean Toomer for lines from "Song of the Son/ f rom Cane , copyr ight @ 1923 by Bon i & Liveright; copyright renewed 1951 by Jean Toomer. Reprinted by permissi on r,, of Liveri ght Pu bli sh ing Co•peration . Jean Toome r f or ~.,,..51 li nes fr om •~Blue Mer i dian;' f rom Bl ack Writers of Ame ric a , edited by Ri chard Barksda l e and ~eneth Kin namon , co pyrigh t© l 97 2 by The ~~ ill an C~mp_a~y .;'!ep ~i nt~~ -bi ) 1 penni ss i on of W. I. Nor t on & Company , I n9 Company , Inc . Copyr i ght 1936 by ~i.\H. Nort on & Copyr i ght ren ewed 1964 by Lew i s Mumford , cofeditor wi th A1fred Kreymborg, of The New Carava n. -- , 'i .. ; -~·.,.: . '. Q\ Quincy Troupe for "White Weeken~" from Embryo, copyright © 1972 by Quincy Troupe~ . Reprinted by pennission of Quincy Troupe. Alice Walker . for lines from "Rage" from Revolutionary Petuni as & Other Poems, I copyright © 1973 by Alice Walker. Reprinted by penn ission of Harcour t Janovich, Inc. 13 Brace I• ' ~ . , ~~ . ' ;}~'",. �Romenetha Washington for lines from Rat Ractf from Sides 'of the River: -,., A Mini :: 11 Anthology of Black Writing, edited and copyright@l969 by Eugene Redmond. Reprinted by pennission of Black River Writers Press. Lucien B. Watkin5 for lines from A Prayer of the Race That God Made Blac5 from 11 11 Negro Poets and Their Poems , edited by Thoma s Kerlin. by The Associated Publishers, Inc. Copyri gh t © 1923, 193~ Reprinted by pennis sion of The Associ ated Publishers, Inc. Joseph White for li nes from 8l ack Is a Sou l 11 from Bur ni ng Spear: 11 ) 0 An Antho l ogy of Afro-Saxon Poe t ry , copyrig ht © 1963 by the Dasei n Li tera ry Soci ety. / by pennis sion of Ju pi te r HalTillon Pres s ~ Reprinted Das ei n Litera ry Soci ety . j Richa r d ~/right for specifi ed lines f rom "Between th e Horld and Mc , 1935 by Th~ Pz:rtisan nevieH, by · he Pa rt1s an Revi e~ . nd 11 11 n copyr ight © 1 Huve Seen Bl ack Hands , 11 copyri ght lc,1935 ,. Reprin ed by permission of Pau l R. Reynol ds, Inc . ~ ..: • I : l, • ~ '• ~ t ·. ~ I~ , ·.: · · -: : \,," ·• ,! .... . -. ,• � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_07_17 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Poetry Acknowledgements, typed manuscript with handwritten edits Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/165cec22e0561fed86c6c0510d019be9.pdf b9bcab0f29607c2577c131a5e0a1b620 PDF Text Text \ DRUMVOICINGS: THE MISSION OF BLACK POETRY (overview-outline) bY,_,, ~ugene · a. · ~edmond This book is designed as a general and handy reference to augment courses in Black Poetry/Literature and to complement related areas or ' study including American Literature, Black $tudies, African Literature, Third World Literature, American Poetry, English Poetry, .Humanities, Engl i sh Poe t ry, Music, History, etc. Additionally, it is prepared with con:rrnuni ty-oriented p ersons in mind: Those desiring to devel op writing or literature clubs, Black History study groups, poetry societies, theatrical companies, forensic and sp eech workshops, s pecial symposia and seminaDs for community gatherings or to commemorate an import Bnt event or person. Outline I. Introduction(including problems, range, Black identity, n ee ds, etc.') II. cri tica.l introduction to Black Poet (including an ou tline o e c rono ogical developmen; ad scussion of tren ds , st r uc ture , major subject matter and meaning; a running account of t h e l ite rary/ social background of major periods; ann brief cri ti cal r ea c tion s to major po ets of each period.) III. The Dynamics of Black Poetry: Reeding and Riting A. Detailed discussion of meani n g an0 f orm, with emphas is on r ea di ng the poetry silently and aloudJi.e.,staging or dramatizing ) · .,,. B. Commentary/explication using a. representative selection of poems(i.e., songs, sayings, oral epics, etc) to reinfo rce theories and statements already advanced. c. Suggested exercises for school, home, church, cultural fe s ti vals (including a list of recording artists and orators who s A works can be looked a.tin conjunction with the literary poe t r y ) IV. Appendix(including questions, topics, themes, approaches an d o rh er suge;estions) V. Selected Bi bliography(includi ng a note on spec:i. fi c prob] er1!:' '1 cu1 by persons Jooking into Black Poetry and the F ,.., c k .c.xpe r i ence . �NOTE: This h andbook is intended to establish some critical framework and methodology for looking a~?flood of Black Poetry that resulted from the new renaissance of the sixties and seventies. But the over-ricting thesis is that the new poetry cannot be understood unless it is seen against the long tradition of Black writing Rnd culture in general. Of all the cultural components, poetry is the most popular and the one most often used to convey the diverse messages and emotions. And a handy guide to Black Poetry-in vi ew of the countless anthologies and single collections, and high interest in the subject--is top priority among teachers, stud- . ents, drama people and casual readers/lovers of poetry. �DRUMVOICINGS: THB MISSION OF BLACK PO E'rRY Tabl e of ~ontents 1. I ntroduction 2. , Folk PoetQ: a. Fo lk ~eculars(including chronological development) b. ~pirituals(inoluding develo pment of religious music) ., Li te rary Poetra 1 a.. Early Back Poetry and the Plantation 'l radi tion b. The Dunb a r Era c . New Trends and Defiance d . Bl a ck Po ets of the Harlem Henaissance e . Black Poets of the Post-rlenaissanoe Periodtthrough WWI I & Korea) f. Cont emporary Black Poe t s nnd the Black Arts Movement(and beyond) ~xploring Bla ck Po e try: Fo~ and Meaning a . The dynamics of r eRalng/reci ting Bla ck Poetry b. Us e of Black Poe try in rlitual Drama Appendix a. Que s t i 0ns h. To pics c. Themes d. Appro a ches e. Suggestions 6. Sel ected Bi blio e;raphy , a. Bibl iography b. Not e s on ·s p ecific problems faced by thos e loo kin g i n t o Black Poetry or the Black .l!;xpe ri ence I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_07_15 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, overview-outline Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/5271182e76188c156db6bfb1054c0e30.pdf e5be06a1c82d778c250de2266ab2c60f PDF Text Text l DRUMVOICINGS: THE MISSIO N OF BLACK POETRY (overview-outline) by Eugene B. Redmond This book is designed as a general and handy reference to augment courses in Black Poetry/Litera ture and t o co mplement related areas of study including American Literature, Black Studies, African Literature, Th ird World Literature, American Poetry, English Poetry, Humanities, English Poetry, Music, History, etc. Additionally, it is prepared with community-oriented persons in mind: Those desiring to develop writing or literature clubs, Black History study groups, poetry societies, theatrical companies, forensic and sp eech workshops, special symposia and semina~s for community gatherings or to cormnemorate an impo r t ant event or person. �DRU11VOICES: THE IvTISSION OF BLA.CK POETRY (ov~rview-outline) by Redmond ~ugene B. / / This book is designed as a general handy refer:ance /and to aug'--- .. .. ment courses in B}ac~Poetry(or Black Literature). It"' can also com- ,, plement relate_¢( ar~JiS of tudy: AmE:lrican Literature, Black ~tudies, !frican Literaturt or Third w~qrld Literature, American Poetry, Human;li'.es, "nglish Po try, Music, History, etc. Additionally, it is prepared wi develop community-oriented I iting or literature cl irsons in mind: Those desiring to History study groups, poetry societies, theatrical c workshops and semi- nars for community gathering an ·mportant event Outline I. Introduction(including problems, range, Black identity, needs, etc.J II A cursory critical introduction to Black Poet (including an outline o t .e chronological developmen; a discussion of trends, structure, major subject matter and meaning; a running account of the literary/ social background of major periods; and brief critical reactions to major poets of each period.) I j I I III. The Dynamics of Black Poetry: Reeding and Riting A. Detailed discussion of meanin an0 form, with emphasis on reading the poetry silently and aloud i.e.,staging or dramatizing) B. Commentary/explication using a representative selection of poems(i.e., songs, sayings, oral epics, etc) to reinforce theories and statements already advanced. C IV. v. Suggested exercises for school, home, church, cultural festivals (including a list of recording artists and orators whose works can be looked at in conjunction with the literary poetry) Appendix(including questions, topics, themes, approaches and other suggestions -) Selected Bibliography(including a note on specific prohJefls f , cod by per ons looking into Black Poetry and the B ck ~xperience. I I I I j I I �i ~!rF fv OIC ES p. 2 NOTE: This handbook is intended to establish some critical framework and methodology for looking a~9flood of Black Poetry that resulted from the new renaissance of the sixties and seventies. But the over-riding thesis is that the new poetry cannot be understood unless it is seen a gainst the long tradition of Black writing and culture in general. Of all the cultural components, poetry is the most popular and the one most often used to convey the diverse messages and emotions. And a handy guide to Black Poetry-in view of the countless anthologies and single collections, and high interest in the subject--is top priority among teachers, stud- ents, drama people and casual readers/lovers of poetry. �I I II .\ _ 'DRUt•NOICES p . 2 NOTE: This h andbook is intended to establish some critical framework and methodology for looking at?f1ood of Black Poetry that resulted from the new renaissance of the sixties and seventies. But the over-ridin g thesis is that :the new poetry cannot be understood unless it is seen against the long tradition of Black writing and culture in general. Of all the cultural components, poe t ry i s the most popular and the one most often used to convey the diverse messages and emotions. And a handy guide to Black Poetry-in view of the countle s s anthologies and single collections, and high interest in the subject--is top priority among teachers, stud- ents, drama people and casual readers/lovers of poetry. J �DRUMVOICINGS: THE MISSION OF BLACK POETRY Table of Gontents I 1. Introduction Folk Poeti-y a. o '"""S'eculars(incluAin chronolo~·~ 1 development) b ;;;;piri tuals (including dev lonm nt. of rP1igious music) I, • Liter ry Poetry a. Early Black Poetry and the Plantation Tradition b. The Dunb Era c. New TrAnds and Defiance d. Blrck Poets of the Harlem Henaissance e. Back Poets of the Post-Renaissance Period(through WWII & Korea) f Contemporary Black Poets and the Black Arts Movement(and beyond) ~xploring Black Poetry: Form and Meaning a The dynamics of reading/reciting Black Poetry b. Use of Black Poetry in Ritual Drama 5 Appendix a. Questions b. Topics c. Themes d. Approaches e. Suggestions 6 Sel~cte~ibliography a. 7:IToliography b. Notes on specif'ic problems faced by those looking into Black Poetry or the Black ~xperience ·' � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_07_14 Title A name given to the resource Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, overview-outline Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/7b9d80ec22e89a6bda52d73eab514158.pdf 511294144e14d34edaf79b4917970436 PDF Text Text BIBLIOGRAPHY This bibliography is designed to serve the needs of beginning and advanced students of Black Poetry. It is not intended to be exhaustive since many bibliographies repeat the same items. No attempt bas been made to cite the count- less single collections of poems because numerous checklists and specialized bibliographies are available. Moreover, most anthologies, critical studies and histories list individual collections--in selected bibliographies and biographies. Since many Black poets publish privately or with small and relatively unknown publishing houses, the student will want to examine listings and reviews in Black periodicals (Black World, Journal of Black Poetry, Freedomways, Black Books Bulletin, Black Creation, CLA Journal and others). Some Black publishing houses print title listings on the inside covers of their books. Scores of records and t pes of readings, films, broadsides (single poems), pamphlet publicati ns and tracts are also available from individuals or small publishing houses. Recently, such large recording companies as Folkways, Flying Dutchman and MoTown have begun to record and distribute Black Poetry. However, the task of locating and developing a checklist for the myriad publications and publishing activities of Black poets still awaits some serious student ot Black literature. For con- venience, a list of Black publishing companies is included at the end of this bibliography. �I BIBLIOGRAPHY GENERAL RESEARCH AIDS Adams, Russell L. Great Negroes, Past and Present. Chicago, 1964. The Arthur B. Spingarn Collection of Negro Authors. Washington, D.c., 1948. Bontemps, Arna. "The James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection of Negro Arts and Letters." Ye.le University Library Gazette, XVIII (October 1943), 19-26. "Special Collections of Negroana. 11 Librarv Quarterly, XIV (1944), 187-206 Chapman, Abraham. The Negro in American Literature and a Bibliography of Literature by and about Negro Americans. Stevens Point, Wis., 1966. Deodene, Frank and William P. French. Black American poetry Since 1944, A Preliminary Checklist. Chatham, 1971. Dictionary Catalog of the Jesse E, Moorland Collec~ tion of Negro Life and History (at Howard University). 9 vols. Boston, 1970. Dictionary Catalog of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature & Histor. 11 vols. Boston, 1962, 1967. Drzick, Kathleen, John Murphy, and Constance Weaver. Annotated Bibliography of Works Relating to the Negro in Literature and to Negro Dialects. Kalamazoo, Mich., 1969. Du Bois, W.E.B. A Select Bibliography of the Negro American. 3rd ed. Atlanta, 1905. , and Guy B. Johnson. Encyclopedia of the --N-e-gro: Preparatory Volume. Rev. Ed. New York, 1946. Guzman, Jessie P., ed. Negro Year Boo~, Tuskegee, Ala., 1947. Index to Periodical Articles b and About Nero s formerly A Guide to Negro Periodical Literature and Index to Selected Periodical§). International Librar of Ne o Life and Histo • 10 vols. Washington, D.C., 1967-1969. Jahn, Hanheinz. A Bibliography of Neo-African iteratu e from Africa America and h bean. New York, 196. Johnson, Harry A. Multimedia Materials for AfroAmerican Studies, New York, 1971. Kaiser, Ernest. hThe Historv of Nei:rro Histor~r. 11 Negro Digest, XVII (February 1968), 10-15, -64-80 • • "Recent Books." Freedomways, in each issue. --- �McPherson, James, et al, eds. Blacks in America: Bibliographical Essays. New York, 1972. Major, Clarence. Dictionary of Afro-American Slang. New York, 1970. Miller, Elizabeth W. and Mary L. Fisher. The Negro in America: A Bibliography. 2nd ed. Cambridge, Mass., 1970. The Negro in Print: Bibliographic Survey. Porter, Dorothy B. 11Early American Negro Writings: A Bibliographical Study." Papers of the Biblio~ ra hical Societ of America, XX.XIX (1945), 192-2 • • North American Negro Poets: A Biblio-=--~a-:.1::.!.:hc=i~c~a~l~C:.!.:h~e~c~k=-=L!.:::i:..:::s~t~o:::,f-,::.T:.::h~e:.;:i:.:r_..:.;W:..:!;r...::i:....::t:...::i:...:.n=s~-"l::..J....:6::..::0::...-_,,l:..£!:=• Hattiesburg, Miss., 19 • Rowell, Charles H. 11A Bibliography of Bibliographies for the Study of Black American Literature and Folklore. 11 Black Experience, A Southern University Journal, LV (June 1969) 95-111. Smith, Jessie Carney. "Developing Collections of Black Literature." Black World. XX (June 1971), 18-29 Turner. Darwin T. Afro-American Writers. _.;,, • • New York, 1970. Work, Monroe Tu. A Bibliography of the Negro in Africa and America. New York, 1928. Yellin, Jean Fagan. "An Index of Literary Materials in The Crisis, 1910-1934: Articles, Belles-Lettres, and Book Reviews." CIA Journal, XIV (1971), 452-465. - -.1;;;- PERIODICAU Amistad Black Academy Review Black Books Bulletin Black Creation Black Orpheus: A Journal of African and Afro-American . Literature The Black Position Black Review The Black Scholar Black Theatre Black World (formerly Negro Digest) CLA Journal Controntation: A Journal of Third World Literature The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races Douglass' Monthly Essence Freedomways �PERIODICALS (cont'd) The Journal of Black Poetr The Journal of Black Studies The Journal of Negro History Negro American Literature Forum Negro History Bulletin Nkombo Nommo Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life Phylon: The Atlanta University Review of Race and ,culture Presence Africaine: Cultural Revue of the Negro World Roots: A Journal of Critical and Creative Expression Soulbook Studies in Black Literature Umbra Yardbird Reader ANTHOLOGIES (NOTE: Most, but not all, of the following anthologies are devoted primarily to Black Poetry.) Adams, William, Peter Conn, and Barry Slepian, eds. Afro-American Literature: Poetry. Boston, 1970. Adoff, Arnold, ed. Black Out Loud: An Anthology of Modern Poems by Black Americans. New York, 1970. , ed. I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology --o-r-Modern Poems by Black Americans. New York, 1968. , ed. The Poetry of Black America. New York, --19-73. Afro-Arts Anthology. Newark, 1966. Alhamisi, Ahmed and Harun K. Wangara, eds. Black Arts: An Anthology of Black Creations. Detroit, 1970. Baker, Houston A., Jr., ed. Black Literature in America. New York, 1971. Barksdale, Richard and Kenneth Kinnamon, eds. Black Writers of America. New York, 1972. BCD. Soul Session. Newark, 1969. ~lack History Museum Committee of Philadelphia. Black Poets Write On. Philadelphia, 1969 (?). Bontemps, Arna, ed. American Negro Poetry. New York, 1963. Brawley, Benjamin, ed. Early Negro American Writers. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1935. Brooks, Gwendolp., ed. A Broadside Treasury. Detroit, 1971. P-d o JV!od---.,,,n <:1nd D(")rte111p0r ' ,,,,.,,.,,.,; can P0E>t F- . O'"'to , 1 97"> . ¾rneJ l, BE;3r>r:i<:1rd ' • , �ANTHOLOGIES (cont'd) , ed. Jump Bad: A New Chicago Anthology. --n-e-troit, 1971. Brown, Sterling A., Arthur P. Davis, and Ulysses Lee, eds. The Negro Caravan. New York, 1941; Arno, 1969. Cade, Toni, ed. The Black Woman: An Anthology. New York, 1970. Calverton, Victor F., ed. Anthology of American Negro Literature. New York, 1929. Chambers, Bradford and Rebecca Moon, eds. Right On: Anthology of Black Literature. New York, 1970. Chapman, Abraham, ed. Afro-American Slave Narratives. New York, 1970. , ed. Black Voices: An~tlthology of Afro-American --L-i~terature. New York, 1968. , ed. New Black Voices. New York, 1971. ~c-1-a-r-k-e, John Henrik, ed. Harlem: Voices from the Soul of Black America. New York, 1970. Coombs, Orde, ed. We Speak as Liberators: Young Black Poets. New York, 1970. Cornish, Sam and Lucian w. Dixon. Chicor y: Young Voices From the Black Ghetto. New York, 1969. Cromwell, Oteliz, Lorenzo D. Turner, and Eva B. Dykes, , eds. Readings from Negro Authors. ·New York, 1931. , ◊~~ ~!cruise, Harold. The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual.) o--lk-1:'i! \..~· New York, 1967. Cullen, Countee, ed. Caroling Dusk: An Anthology of Verse by Negro Poets. New York, 1927. Cunard, Nancy, ed. Negro Anthology. London, 1934. Danner, Margaret. Regroup. Richmond, Va., 1969 • • The Brass House. Richmond, Va., 1968. •n-a-v~i-s-, Arthur P. and Saunders Redding, eds. Cavalcade: Negro American Writing from 1760 to the Present. Boston, 1971. Davis, Charles T. and Daniel Walden, eds. On Being Black: Writings by Afro-Americans from Frederick Douglass to the Present. New York, 1970. Dreer, Herman, ed. American Literature by Negro Authors. New York, 1950. Emanuel, James A. and Theodore Gross, eds. Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America. New York, 1968. Ford, Nick Aaron, ed. Black Insights: Significant Literature by Arro-Americans-1760 to the Present. Waltham, Mass., 1971. Freedman, Frances s., ed. The Black American Experienc! A New Anthology of Black Literature. New York, 1970. Giovanni, Nikki. Night Comes Softly. Newa.J-~> '. 1971' . �ANTHOLOGIES (cont'd) Haslam, Gerald W., ed. Forgotten Pages of American Literature. Boston, 1970. Hayden, Robert, ed. Kaleidoscope: Poems by American Negro Poets. New York, 1967. , David Burrows, and Frederick Lapides, eds. ----A-r-ro-American Literature. New York, 1971. Henderson, David, ed. Umbra Blaekworks Anthology 1970-1971. New York, 1971. Henderson, Stephen. Understanding the New Black Poetry. New York, 1973. Hill, Herbert, ed. Soon, One Morning: New Writing by American Negroes, 1940-1962. New York, 1963. Hughes, Langston, ed. The Book of Negro Humor. New York, 1966. , , ..L. , ed. La Poesie N~gro-Americaine. Paris: --E!i-a-itions Seghers, 1966. ed. New Negro Poets U.S.A. Bloomington, Ind., 4 ----1-9..,..6 • and Arna Bontemps, eds. The Poetry of the NeFTQ, 171j.6-l970. Rev. ed. Garden City, N.Y., 1970. Johnson, Charles s., ed. Ebony and Topaz: A Collectanea. New York, 1927. Johnson, James Weldon, ed. The Book of American Negro Poetry. Rev. ed. New York, 1931. . , ed. The Book of American Negro Spirituals. --N-ew- York, 1925; The Second Book of Negro Spirituals. New York, 1926. Jones, LeRoi and Larry Neal, eds. Black Fire: Art Anthology of Afro-American Writing. New York, 1968. Jordan, June, ed. Soulscript: Afro-Americ n Poetry. Garden City, N.Y., 1970. Kearns, Francis E., ed. The Black Experience: An Anthology of American Literature for the 1970's. New York, 1970. Kendricks, Ralph, ed. Afro-American Voices: 1770'sl970's. New York, 1970. Kerlin, Robert T., ed. Negro Poets and Their Poems. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C., 1935. King, Woodie. Black Spirits: A Festival of New Black Poets in America. New York, 1972. Knight, Etheridge, ed. Black Voices from Prison. New York, 1970. Lanusse, Armand, ed. Creole Voices: Poems in French b Free Men of Color. Ed. Edward M. Coleman. Centennial ed. Washington, D.C., 1945. �ANTHOLOGIES (cont'd) Locke, Alaine, ed. Four Negro Poets. New York, 1927. , ed. The New Negro: An Interpretation. New - ....Y.,...o-rk, 1925. Lomax, Alan and Raoul Abdul, eds. 3000 Years of Black Poetry. New York, 1970. ~Lowen:f'els, Walter, ed. In A Time of Revolution: Poems From our Third World. New York, 1969. Major, Clarence, ed. The New Black Poetry. New York, 1969. Miller, Adam David, ed. Dices or Black Bones: Black Voices of the Seventies. Boston, 1970. Miller, Ruth, ed. Blackamerican Literature 1760-Present. Beverly Hills, Calif., 1971. Moon, Bucklin, ed. Primer for White Folks. Garden City, N.Y., 1945. Murphy, Beatrice, ed. Negro Voices. New York, 1938 • • Ebony Rhythm. New York, 1948 and 1968. - - - . Today's Negro Voices. New York, 1970. Nelson, Alice Dunbar, ed. Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence. New York, 1914. Nicholas, Xavier, ed. Poetry of Soul. New York, 1971. "-r ' . o f 0 1Danie~, Thurman, ed. Langston Hughes, Black Genius: ) ,..t:, G""' ->-\.. A Cr1 ti cal Evaluation. New York, 1971. . Osofsky, Gilbert, ed. Puttin' on Ole Massa: The Slave Narratives of Henry Bibb, William W. Brown, and Solomon Northrup. New York, 1969. Patterson, Lindsay, ed. An Introduction to Black Literature in America from l to the Present. Washington, D.C., 19 9. Perkins, Eugene, ed. Black Expressions: An Anthology of New Black Poets. Chicago, 1967. Poems by Blacks, vol. I. Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1970. , Vol. II. Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1972. - - - , Vol. III . (Pinkie Gordon Lane, ed.). Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1973. Pool, Rosey E., ed. Beyond the Blues: New Poems by American Negroes. J'.:ympne, Kent, Entland, 1962 • • Ik Ben de Nieuwe Neger. The Hague: Bert --B-a-kker, 1964. Porter, Dorothy, ed. Early Negro Writing, 1760-1837. Boston, 1971. Randall, Dudley, ed. Black Poetry: A Suoolement to Anthologies Which Exclude Black Poets. Detroit, 1969. and Margaret Burroughs, eds. For Malcolm: Poems on the Life and Deatb of Malcolm X. Detroit, 1969. , ed. The Black Poets. New York, 1971. _R_e_d_m_o-nd, Eugene. Sides of the River: A Mini Antholo gy of Black Writings. ~~,rs ,·J..o ,s;1 u,_-,-.•• , 1970. A. ~n .l!,., ,~pn · a Co 11· pr, eds & Afro - A 0ri r ~n * W~ • Richa • • An rn-1--ho orr,y ,,-f P,,..o -; ""10 Poetry . 2 v 7 ,.. . u , ,. , 7,,-- - , " �ANTHOLOGIES (cont 1 d) Reed, Ishmael, ed. 19 Necromancers from Now: An Anthology of Original American Writing for the 70s. Garden City, N.Y., 1970. Robtnson, William H., ed. Early Black American Poets. Dubuque, Iowa, 1969. Rodgers, Carolyn M., ed. For Love of Our Brothers. Chicago, 1970. Schulberg, Budd, ed. From the Ashes: Voices of Watts. New York, 1967. Shuman, R. Baird, ed. A Galaxy of Black Writing.~ ~ Durham, N. c., 1970. I , ed. Nine Black Poets. Durham, N.C., 1968. -s-o-u-1-session. Newark, 1970 (?) Stanford, Barbara Dodds, ed. I, Too, Sing America: Black Voices in American Literature. New York, 1971. Ten: An Anthology of Detroit Poets. Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1968. ' Troupe, Quincy, ed. Watts Poets and Writers. Los Angeles, 1968. Turner, Darwin T., ed. Black American Literature: Poetry. Columbus, Ohio, 1970. Watkins, Sylvester c., ed. AntholoEY of American Negro Literature. New York, 1944. White, Newman I. and Walter C. Jackson, eds. An AnthologLof Verse by American Negroes. Durham, N.C., 1924. Wilentz, Ted and Tom Weatherly, eds. Natural Process: An Anthology of New Black Poetry. New York, 1971. Woodson, Carter G., ed. Negro Orators and Their Orations. Washington, D.C., 1925. LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) Allen, Samuel. "Negritude and Its Relevance to the American Negro Writer. 11 The Amer.lean erro Writer and His Roots. New York, 1960. Pp. ' -20 ~he American Negro Writer and His Root~. New York, 19 o. Baraka, Imamu Amiri (LeRoi Jones). "The Black Aesthetic." Negro Digest, XVIII (September 1969), 5-6. Bontemps, Arna. "The Black Renaissance of the Twent es, 11 Black World, XX (November 1970), 5-9 • • "Famous WPA Authors. 11 Negro Digest, VIII ---r-o(J'-une 1950), 43-47 . • "The Harlem Renaissance. 11 The Saturday Review --o-r-Literature, XXX (March 22, 1947), 12-13, 44 • • "The Negro Contribution to American Letters." --Th..-e American Negro Reference Book. Ed. John P. Davis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1966. Pp. 850-878. �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) • "The New Black Renaissance." Negro Digest, --x-r-(November 1961), 52-58. , ed. The Harlem Renaissance Remembered. New __ Y....o-rk, 1972. Brawley, Benjamin. "The Negro in American Literature." The Bookman, LVI (October 1922), 137-141. Bronz, Stephen H. Roots of Negro Racial Consciousness: The 1920's: Three Harlem Renaissance Author~. New York, 1964. Brooks, Russell. "The Comic Spirit and the Negro's New Look. 11 CLA Journal, VI (1962), 35-43. Brown, Lloyd W. "Black Entitles: Names as Symbols in Ai.'ro-American Literature." Studies in Black Literature, I (Spring 1970), 16-44. Brown, Sterling A. 11 The American Race Problem as Rei.'lected in American Literature." The Journal of Negro Education, VIII (1939), 275-290 • • "The New Negro in Literature (1925-1955). 11 --Th-e New Negro Thirty Years Afterward. Ed. Rayford w. Logan et al. Washington, D.C., 1955. Pp 57-72. Calverton, Victor F. The Liberation of American Literature. New York, 1932 • • "The Negro and American Culture." The Saturday --R-ev-iew of Literature, XXII (September 21, 1940), 3-4. Cayton, Horace R. "Ideological Forces in the Work of Negro Writers." Anger, and Beyond: The Negro x~riter in the United States. Ed. Herbert Hill. New York, 1966. Pp. 37-50. Chapman, Abraham. "The Harlem Renaissance in Literary History. 11 CLA Journal, XI (1967), 38-58. Clarke, John Henrik. "The Neglected Dimensions of the Harlem Renaissance." Black World, XX (November 1970) 118-129 • • "The Origin and Growth of Afro-American Litera---.-t-u-re. 11 Negro Digest, XVII (December 1967), 54-67. Clay, Eugene. "The Negro in Recent American Literature." American Writers' Congress. Ed. Henry Hart. New York, 193;-. pp": 14.5-15"3. o lo uium on Ne r Art: First World Festival of Negro W (1966. Presence Africaine Editions, 1968. Conrad, Earl. uAmerican Viewpoint: Blues School of Literature." The Chicago Defender, December 22, 1945, p. 11. Cook, Mercer and Stephen Henderson. The Militant Black Writer in Africa and the United States. Madison, ... _Wis., 1969 • ...,__-;,;;Cullen, Countee. 11The Dark Tower. 11 Opportunity, monthly column, 1926-1928. -l~ Jl"'J <"P , 'A~ nr') l • ·r " York, 196 i 0-ri ,...~ C" l')f' t.he J~r:ro I �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) Davis, Arthur P. "Growing up in the New Negro Renaissance: 1920-1935." Negro American Literature Forum, II (1968), 53-59. Dillard, J.L. Black English. New York. 1972. Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago, 1903. Ellison, Ralph. Shadow and Act. New York, 1964. Evans, Mari. "Contemporary Black Literature. 11 Black World, XIX (June 1970), 4, 93-94. Ford, Nick Aaron. Annual "Critical Survey of Significant Belles Lettres by and About Negroes." Phylon, XXII (1961), 119-134; XXV (1964), 123•134 • • "Black Literature and the Problem of Eval__u_a...,...tion. 11 College English, XXXII (1971), 536-54 7. _____• Black Studies: Threat or Challenge? Port "'\'/,.~O,... Washington, N.Y., 1973. , ,vr::. 1,o O~J D• Fuller, Hoyt W. "Black Images and ·white Critics. 11·1 ~e~~t!A)/~~-5 • "The Ne gro Writer in the United States. 11 e,"' ---E--b-ony, XX (November 1964), 126-134 • Negro Di gest and Black World, - -monthly - • "Perspectives." column. , ed. "A Survey: Black Writers' Views on Lit--er-ary Lions and Values," Negro Digest, XVII ( January 1968), 10-48, 81-89. Gayle, Addison, Jr., ed. The Black Aesthetic. Garden City, N.Y., 1971. , ed. Black Expression: Essays by and About --B-=--1-ack Americans in the Creative Arts. New York, 1969. Gerald, Carolyn. 11 The Black Writer and His Role." Negro Digest. XVIII (January 1969), 42-48. Haskins, Jim and Hugh F. Butts, M.D. The Psychology of Black Language. New York, 1973. Haslam, Gerald W. "The Awakening of American Negro Literature 1619-1900. 11 The Black American Writer. Ed. C.W.E. Bigsby. Deland, Fla., 1969. Vol. II, pp. 41-51. • "Two Traditions in Afro-American Literature. 11 --R-e-search Studies, A Quarterly Publication of Washington State University, XXXVII (September 1969), 183-193. Hill, Herbert. "The Negro Writer and the Creative Imagination." Arts in Society, V (1968), 244-255. Huggins, Nathan I. Harlem Renaissance. New York, 1971. Hughes, Langston. The Big Sea. New York, 1940 • • I Wonder as I Wander. New York, 19.56. - - - . "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain. " The Nation, CXXII (1926), 692-694. �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM ( General) "To Negro Writers." American Writers' Congress. Henry Hart. New York, 1935. Pp. 139-141 • • "The Twenties: Harlem and Its Ne gritude." --A---r-rican Forum, I (Spring 1 19?6), ll-20. Jackson, Blyden. Annual "Resume of Ne gro Literature." Phylon, XVI {1955), 5-12; XVII (1956), 35-40. Jahn, Janheinz. Nee-African Literature: A History of Black Writing. New York, 1968. Jeffers, Lance. "Afro-American Literature, The Conscience of Man." The Black Scholar, II (January --E-a-. • 1971), 47-53. Johnson, Charles S. "The Nee;ro Enters Literature." Carolina Magazine, LVII (May 1927), 3-9, 44-48. Johnson, James Weldon. Along This Way. New York, 1933. Jones, LeRoi (Imamu Amiri Baraka). Home: Social Essays. New York, 1966. -Keller, Joseph. "Black Writing and the ·white Critic. 11 Negro American Literature Forum, III (1969), 103-110. Kent, George E. Blackness and the Adventure of Western Culture. Chicago, 1971. Kil gore, James C. "The Case for Black Literature." Negro Di~est, XVIII (July 1969), 22-25,66-69. Killens, John Oliver. "Another Time Wh en Black Was Beautiful." Black World, XX (November 1970), 20-36. Lamming, George. "The Negro Writer and His World." Pr~sence Africaine, Nos. 8-10 (June-November 1956), pp. 324-332. Lash, John. Annual "Critical Summary of Literature by and About Negroes." Phvlon, XVIII (19~7), 7-24; XIX (1958), 143-154, 247-257; XX (1959), 115-131; XXI (1960), 111-123. Llorens, David. "What Contemporary Black Writers are Saying ." Nommo, I (Winter 1969), 24-27 . • '~ riters Converge at Fisk University." Negro - .....D.....i-gest, XV (June 1966), 54-68. Locke, Alain, ed. The New Negro: An Interpretation. New York, 1925. Loggins, Vernon. The Negro Author: His Development in America to 1900. New York, 1931. Murray, Albert. The Omni-Americans: New Perspectives on Black Experience and American Culture. New York, 1970 • • South Again to A Very Old Place. New York, ---1-9-7. Neal, Larry. "Any Day Now: Black Art and Black Liberation. 11 Ebony. XXIV (August 1969), 54-58, 62. "Our Prize Winners and What They Say of Themselves." Opportunity, IV (1926), 188-189. ~edding, Saunders. "American Negro Literature. 11 The American Scholar, XVIII (1949}, 137-148. ~ 1np11~..-. 1 T'h ~rrrn.., n, Ari ., ·V8 7 l"ti.o �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) • "The Negro Writer. and His Relationship to --n-i-s Roots. 11 The American Negro Writer and His Roots. New York, 1960. Pp 1-8 • • To Make a Poet Black. Chapel Hill, N.C., __1,_9..,..39. Rourke, Constance. "Tradition for a Negro Literature . " Roots of American Culture. New York, 1942. Pp. 262-274. Shapiro, Karl. "The Decolonization of' American Literature." Wilson Library Bulletin, XX.XIX {196.5), 842-853. Spingarn, Arthur B. "Books by Negro Authors." The Crisis, 1938-196.5, annual feature. Thurman, Wallace. "Negro Artists and the Negro." The New Republic, LII (August 31, 1927), 37-39. Turner, Darwin T. "Afro-American Literary Critics." Black World~ XIX (July 1970), .54-67 • • "The Teaching of Afro-American Literature." --c-o--llege English, XX.XI (1970), 666-670. A Williams, She r l~y. Gfve Birth to Brightness: ~Thematic Study in Neo-Black Literature. New YOrk, 1~72. (Poetry) Bailey, Leaonead. Broadside Authors: A Biographical Directory. Detroit, 1971. Barksdale, Richard K. "Trends in Contemporary Poetry." Phylon. XIX {19.58), 408-416 • • "Urban Crisis and the Black Poetic Avant--G-a-rde. " Nee;ro American Literature Forum, III (1969), 40-44. Bennett, M. , W. "Negro Poets. 11 Negro History Bulletin, IX (1946), 171-172, 191. Berger, Art. "Negroes with Pens." Mainstream, XVI (July 1963), 3-6. Bland, Edward. "Racial Bias and Negro Poetry." Poetry, LXIII (1944), 328-333. Bone, Robert. "American Negro Poets: A French View. 11 Tri-Quarterly, No. 4 (1965), pp 18.5-195. Bontemps, Arna. "American Negro Poetry." The Crisis, LXX • (1963), .509. "Negro Poets, Then and Now. " --(l,__950), 355-360. Phylon, XI v �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (Poetry) Braithwaite, William Stanley. "Some Contemporary Poets of the Negro Race." The Crisis, XVII (1919), 275-280. Breman, Paul. "Poetry Into the •Sixties." The Black American Writer. Ed. c.w.E. Bigsby. Deland, Fla., 1969. Vol. II, pp 99-109. Brooks, Gwendolyn. "Poets Who Are Negro. 11 Phylon, XI (1950), 312 • • Report from Part One. Detroit, 1972. 11 ---. Introduction. 11 The Poetry of Black America. Arnold Adoff, ed. New York, 1973. Brown, Sterling A. "The Blues. 11 Phylon, XIII (1952), 286-292 • • "Negro Folk Expression: Spirituals, Seculars, 11 Phylon, XIV (1953), 4.5-61 • Negro Poetry and Drama. Washington, D.C., __B_a.._llads, and Songs. • --1"""9--37 • • Outline for the Study of the Poetry of American --N-e-groes. New York, 1931. Cartey, Wilfred. "Four Shadows of Harlem." Negro Digest, XVIII (August 1969), 22-25. Chapman, Abraham. "Black Poetry Today." Arts in Society, V (1968), 401-408. Charters, Samuel B. The Poetry of the Blues. New York, 1963. Collier, Eugenia W. "Heritage from Harlem. 11 Black World, XX (November 1970), 52-59. • "I Do Not Marvel, Countee Cullen." CLA --J-o-urnal, XI (1967), 73-87. Davis, Arthur P. "The New Poetry of Black Hate. 11 CLA Journal, XIII (1970), 382-391. Daykin, Walter I. •~ace Consciousness in Negro Poetry." Sociology and Social Research, XX (1936), 98-10,5. Echeruo, M.J.C. "American Negro Poetry. 11 Phylon,, XXIV (1963), 62-68. Ellison, Martha. "Velvet Voices Feed on Bitter Fruit: A Study of American Negro Poetry." Poet and Critic, IV (Winter 1967-1968), 39-49. Ely, Effie Smith. "American Negro Poetry." The Christian Century, XL (1923), 366-367. Flasch, Joy. Melvin B, Tolson. New York, 1973. Furay, Michael. 11Africa in Negro American Poetry to 1929." African Literature Today, II (1969), 32-41. Garrett, DeLois. 1'bream Motif in Contemporary Negro Poetry." English Journal, LIX (1970), 767-770. �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (Poetry) -~--- Garrett, Naomi M. "Racial Motifs in Contemporary -~ A ~ r j . ~ ench Negro Poetry. 11 West Virginia _......Universit Phil ical Pa ers, XIV (1963), 80-101. Gibson, Donald B, ed. Modern Black Poets: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1973. Glicksberg, Charles I. 11 Negro Poets and the American Tradition." The Antioch Review, VI (1946), 243-253. Good, Charles Hamlin. "The First American Negro Literary Movement." Opportunity, X (1932), 76-79. Heath, Phoebe Anne. "Negro Poetry as an Historical Record." Vassar Journal of Undergraduate Studies, III (May 1928), 34-52. Horne, Franks. "Black Verse." Opportunity, II (1924), 330-332. Johnson, Charles S. "Jazz Poetry and Blues." Carolina Magazine, LVIII (May 1928), 16-20. Johnson, James Weldon, "Preface." The Book of American Negro Poetry. Ed. James Weldon Johnson. New York, 1931. Pp. 3-48. Kerlin, Robert T. "Conquest by Poetry." Tbe Southern Workman, LVI (1927), 282-284. _ _ _ • Contemporary Poetry of the Negro. Hampton, Va., 1921. • "A Pair of Youthful Nee;ro Poets. 11 The --g-o-uthern Workman, LIII (1924), 178-181. 11 Present-Day Negro Poets. " • The Southern --~-lo-rkman, XLIX {1920), 543-548. 11 • S i ngers of New Songs. " Op port unity. IV -.....,c...1--926>, 162-164. Kilgore, James C. "Toward the Dark Tower." Black World, XIX (June 1970), 14-17. Kjersmeier, Carl. "Negroes as Poets." The Crisis, XXX (1925), 186-189. Lee, Don L. "Black Poetry: Which Direction?" Negro Digest, XVII (September-October 1968), 27-32 • • Dynamite Voices: Black Poets of the 1960's. --.D-et.....roit, 1971 •. Locke, Alain. "The Message of the Negro Poets." Carolina Magazine, LVIII {May 1928), 5-15. Moore, Gerald. "Poetry in the Harlem Renaissance." The Black American Writer. Ed. C.W.E. Bigsby. Deland, Fla., 1969, Vol. II, pp. 67-76. Morpurgo, J.E. "American Negro Poetry. 11 Fortnightly, CLXVIII (July 1947), 16-24. Morton, Lena Beatrice. Negro Poetry in America. Boston, 1925. "Negro Poetry. 11 Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Ed. Alex Preminger, Frank J. Warnke, and O.B. Hardison. Princeton, N.J., 1965. Pp 558-559. �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (Poetry) "Negro Poets, Singers in the Dawn. 11 The Negro History Bulletin, II (1938), 9-10, 14-15. Oliver, Paul. Blues Fell This Morning: The Meaning of The Blues. New York, 1960 • • Conversation with the Blues. New York, 1965. _P,....o_o_l_,-Rosey. 11The Discovery of American Negro Poetry. 11 Freedomways, III (1963), 46-51. Ramse.ran, J .A. "The 'Twice-Bor n ' Artists' Silent Revolution." Black World, XX (May 1971), '58-68. Redmond, Eugene B. 11 The Black American Epic: Its Roots, Its Writers." The Black Scholar, II (January 1971), 15-22 • • "How Many Poets Scrub the River's Back?" --c--o-hf'rontation, I (Spring, 1971), 47-53. Rod gers, Carolyn M. 11B1Pck Poetry-W'here It's At. 11 Negro Di gest, XVII (~tember 1969), 7-16. Rollins, Charlemae. Fa"1uus American Negro Poets. New York, 1965. Taussi g, Charlotte E. "The New Ne gro as Revealed in His Poetry." Op~ortunity, V (1927), 108-111. Thurman, Wallace.Negro Poets and Their Poetry." The Bookman, LXVII {1928), 555-561. "The Umbra Poets." Mainstream, XVI (July 1963), 7-13. "Th e Undaunted Pursuit of Fury . 11 Time, XCV (April 6, 1970), 98-100. , , , Wagner, Jean. Les poete~ negres des Etats-vnis: I&. sentiment ra9ial et religiewc dans la poesie de P.L. Dunbar a L. Hughes. Paris, 1963. ~ l k e r , Margaret. "New Poets.n Phylon, XI (1950), 345-354. White, Newman I. "American Negro Poetry. 11 South Atlantic Quarterly, XX (1921), 304-322. 11 • Racial Feeling in Negro Poetry." South --A--t-lantic Quarterly, XXI (1922), 14-29. Work, Monroe N. 0The Spirit of Ne gro Poetry . 11 The Southern Workman, XXXVII (1908), 73-77. (Folklore) Abrahams, Ro ger. Deep Down in the Jungle: Ne~ro Narrative Folklore from the Street of Philadel Hatboro, Pa., 19 • Brewer, J. Mason. "American Ne gro Folklore. 11 Phylon, VI {1945), 354-361. *- �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (Folklore) • American Neijro Folklore. Chicago, 1968 • .,..B_r_o_w_n_, Sterling A.The Blues. 11 Phylon, XIII (1952), 286-292. • "Negro Folk Expression: Spirituals, Secu---1-a-rs,· Ballads, and Songs. 11 Phylon, XIV (1953), 45-61. Conley, Dorothy L. "Origin of the Negro Spirituals. 11 The Negro History Bulletin, XXV (1962), 179-180. Courlander, Harold. Negro Folk Music, U.S.A. New York, 1963. Dorson, Richard M. American Negro Folktales. New York, 1967 • • ed. African Folklore. New York, 1972. _E_l_l_i_s_, A.B. ''Evolution in Folklore: Some West African Prototypes of the Uncle Remus Stories." Popular Science, XLVIII {November 1895), 93-104. Fisher, Miles Mark. Negro Slave Songs in the United States. New York, 1963. Georgia Writers' Project. Drums and Shadows: Jil.ar,: vival Studies Amon the Geor ia Coastal Negroes. Athens, Ga., 19 O. (fle,.;.;, ' jNe fll1-/<..1l'f, Handy, W.C. and Abbe Niles, eds. Treasury of the Blues. New York, 1949. Harris, Joel Chandler. Daddy Jake the Runaway, and Short Stories Told After Dark. New York, 1889. Jones, LeRoi (Imamu Amiri Baraka). Black Music. New York, 1967 • • Blues People: Negro Music in White America. --N~ew- York, 1963. Krebhiel, Henry Edward. Afro-American Folksongs: A_ Study in Racial and National Music. New York, 1914. Lovell, John. 11Reflections on the Ori gins of the Ne gro Spiritual." Negro American Literature Forum, III (1969), 91-97. McGhee, Nancy B. 11 The Folk Sermon: A Facet of the Black Literary Heritage. 11 CLA Journ 1, XIII (1969), 57-61. Odum, Howard W. and Guy B. Johnson. The Negro and His Songs. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1925 . • Negro Workaday Songs. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1926. -0-1-i-v-er-, Paul. Blues Fell This Morning: The Meaning of the Blues. New York, 1960. Scarborough, W.W. 11 Negro Folklore and Dialect. 11 Arena, XVII (1897), 186-192. Talley, T.W. Negro Folk Rhymes, Wise and Otherwise. New York, 1922. 4 �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (Folklore) Thurman, Howard. Deep River. New York, 1955. Twining, Mary Arnold. 11An Anthropological Look at Afro-American Folk Narrative." CLA Journal, XIV (1970), 57-61. White, Newman I. American Negro Folk-Songs. Cambridge, Mass., 1928. Work, John W. 11 Negro Folk Song. 11 Opportunity, I (1923), 292-294. �BLACK PUBLISHING HOUSES AFRO-AM PUBLISHING CO. 1727 South Indiana Avenue Chicago, Illionois 60616 AL KITAB SUDAN PUBLISHING CO. P.O. Box 6,536 San Francisco, California 94101 ASSOCIATED PUBLISHERS 1538 19th Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 BLACK ACADEMY PRESS 135 University Avenue Burfalo, New York 14214 BLACK RIVER WRITERS P.O. Box 1591 East St. Louis, Illinois 62205 BLACK STAR PUBLISHERS 8824 Finkle Street Detroit, Michigan 48200 BOGLE-L'OUVERTURE PUBLICATIONS 110 Windermere Road, W.5 London, England BROADSIDE PRESS 12651 Old Mill Place Detroit, Michigan 48239 BUCKINGHAM LEARNING CORPORATION 75 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10016 DRUM AND SPEAR PRESS 1902 Belmont Road N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009 EDWARD W. BLYDEN PRESS P.O. Box 621 Manhattanville Station New York, New York 10027 �. ! j BLACK PUBLISHING (cont'd) HOUSES EAST AFRICAN LITERATURE BUREAU Headquarters of the Bureau East African Community Nairobi, Kenya · EAST AFRICAN PUBLICHING HOUSE Uniafric House Koinage Street P.O. Box 30571 Nairobi, Kenya EMERSON HALL PUBLISHING CO. 209 West 97th Street New York, New York 10025 ENERGY BLACKSOUTH PRESS 103 Ollie Street DeRidden, Louisiana 70634 FIRESIGN PRESS P.O. Box 21447 San Jose, California 9.51.51 JIHAD PRODUCTIONS, INC. P.O. Box 633 Newark, New Jersey JOHNSON PUBLICATIONS COMPANY 1820 Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60616 JOURNAL OF BLACK POETRY PRESS 922-B Haight Street San Francisco, California 94117 NEW DIMENSIONS PUBLISHING CO. 151 West 25th Street New York, New York 10025 NKOMBO PUBLICATIONS P.O. Box 51826 New Orleans, Louisiana PRESENCE AFRICAINE 25 bis, rue des Ecoles Paris 5, France 70150 �fl u B L A C K P UB L I S H I N G H OU S E S (cont'd) THIRD PRESS Central Par~ West New York, New Y rk 10001 444 ~ THIRD WORLD PRESS 7850 E. Ellis Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60619 YARDBIRD PUBLISHING COOPERATIVE Box 2370, Station A Berkeley, California � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_07_13 Title A name given to the resource Handbook to Black Poetry Bibliography, typed manuscript Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/3750fd412ad33a7de877a58647a136bc.pdf 4496e95c1b0c6d77c3611fded77f214f PDF Text Text III EXPLORING BLACK POETRY: A. Oral and Gestural Origins: CLASSROOM DYNAMICS Myth Development All bodies of literature--nationalistic, racial, religious, geographical--have oral and gestural beginnings for they were conceived and developed from ritual expression. earlier, "is as old as creation." 11 0ral literature," we noted Yet differences in life styles, traditions, customs, beliefs, and reactions to the impact of technology-all combine to create a rich, varied and changing fabric of contemporary international folklife. When one is hurt, happy, angry, ill, or bubbling with pride, one does not seek out a pen or typewriter to "express" the resulting spontaneous emotions. Rather, the "touched" person will react in tears, laughter, grief, pain or exhuberance. After all, man's pro- foundest statements arise from his responses to life's essential rites and ceremonies: birth, childhood, puberty, adulthood, marriage, parent- hood, old age, death, etc. Of prime importance to these atavistic cycles is the mythological world designed to explain or justify them and the ever presence of the elements: water,~, .!!E_, ~ and the quintessential element, God--whoever or whatever he/she/it may be. Through his cosmology, man attempts to develop a view of himself and time, tries to come to terms with the inevitablility of disaster, illness and death, and seeks to define and cormnunicate with his god. In these attempts, he often uses mediators such as prophets, sages, seers, poets and visionaries to probe and explain the regions of the unknown--the supernatural. Jerome Rothenberg calls these interlocutors (between God and man) Technicians of the Sacred. In traditional Black African cormnunities, myth-making and cosmological heraldry were carried from generation to generation-- essentially via drum, song, dance and, occasionally, by handwriting or hieroglyphics. When the rich storehouse of Black Ex- pression ("Archival Literature of Gesture") was brought to the Western Hemisphere, on the tongues, and in the minds and bodies of African slaves, the cosmological tree came along with it. Much was changed and much was lost, but the essentials remained in Black cormnunities up to this very day. Thus in researching, teaching or explicating Black Poetry, one must keep these important cultural items in mind. 1o8 Here, the point cannot be �over-stressed because while the Black poet English, he often Afro-American. 11 reeds 11 and 11 11 reads 11 and "writes'' in rites 1' in African or the deviative He is often--though not exclusively--concerned with sound and movement, like the members of his own community. For his community remains vigorously oral and uninhibited, even in the ear shot of missile launches, transistor radios, and helicopters that search ghetto rooftops for snipers. A good example of the 11 read 11 / 11 reed 11 duality is Robert Hayden, critically ranked as one of the best American poets. His live readings (despite his strict adherence to written craftsmanship) are overwhelming and electric. Hayden is doubtlessly an intellec- tual, and a partial product of the modern school of poetry, but his oral impact on intellectual and working-class audiences--the development of empathy--is sustained and genuine. In Hayden's presentations there is much of the spirit, force and sonority of the Black orators and poets of the past 200 years--especially of Douglass, Dunbar, Garvey, King and Ossie Davis. Hany of the poets unconsci ou sl y "rite" this spontaneity of expression into the ir works. Black poets, then, are generally better performers than their white counterparts--as far as Black audiences are concerned anyway--and this fact has more than a little to do with their persistent appeal to their community's "highly developed sense of sound. 11 Indispensable to an understandinc of t his area of Black Poetry is Stephen Henderson's 11 The Forms of Things Unknown" (Understanding the New Black Poetry, 1972) and Jean Wagner's discussions of Langston Hughes in Black Poets of the United States (1973). Professor Henderson's essay (in which he discusses theme, structure and saturation in Black poetry) has minor flaws stemming from an apparent unawareness of the full blast of contemporary Black Poetry and some premature critical assessments. Nevertheless, it is one of the best essays written on Black American Poetry in recent years and in the anthology section he includes a handfull of 11 new11 and unheard of poets as well as some folk poetry. Since initial attempts at producing poetry were oral, it is understandable that acoustically-charged poetry looses much of its power and spontaneity when it is written down or read silently. the dilema of written poetry--anywhere. Such, alas, is The phonology of the folk--no matter how faithfully represented in graphic symbols--can never appear 109 �on paper the way it is bantered about at family gatherings, athletic contests, in school yards, in churches or laundromats. agree, for example, that Dunbar's 11 Phoneticists ear 11 for dialect was practically perfect--meaning that, using the symbols of phonetic transcription, the poet accurately recorded the sounds, the tenses, the idioms. Yet many of the persons whose speech Dunbar tried to capture are unable to read his transcriptions. Even today, in Black Literature classes, students have great difficulty trying to read dialect aloud. But they must learn to read it--and to appreciate its principles and sound pockets--if they are to understand the later dialects and idioms of Hughes, Brown, Walker, Rogers, Hayden, Barake, Tolson, Cortez, Fields and Pfister and others. It is obvious by now that the study of Black Poetry traverses a field of ambiguities, frustrations, excitements, quaint surprises, intellectual brilliance and trauma, contradictions, linguistic genius, and grammatical experimentation and demands great amounts of time for research, reading and analyses. America was well into the 19th Century before Blacks could legally learn to read and write in all states. That we are today reading the works of men and women, who, a few generations ago, were forbidden by law to read and write, cannot be over-emphasized. Such a fact calls to mind many contradictions, two of them being of immediate importance. One, is that the Black Ameri- can is writing--and in many cases he is writing extremely well. The other is that while he occupies a viritual hell on earth (slavery, etc.) he has been able to master the highest symbol of correctness and intelligence in this land: The English language, including many of its derivatives and nuances, and the social amenities that accompany the use of it. Certainly the psychological implications of these contra- dictions are many and complex; and a study of Black Poetry provides many insights into this entire area. We know that in the final analysis, "important" society--even with regards to ethnic minorities--puts major emphasis on how one "presents" himself. Hence, from the employment interview to the office-hour session with the teacher, one is always cautioned to be on his linguistic P's and Q's. Yet, and psycho-linguists are beginning to bring this out in current studies, there exists in most of Black America a culturally 110 �distinct way of thinking things out, of forming abstractions, of showing approval or denial, or "putting one down" (reeding and riting). While an exploration of Black Psychology or Language is not being attempted in this pamphlet, it is important that those studying or teaching Black Literature recognize some essential cultural differences that exist between Blacks and larger America. For to invade the mind of a Black Poet or thinker is to walk through uncertain and troubled waters. The invader may risk, Baldwin notes, tampering "with the insides of a stranger." Yet, the trek is rewarding because the Black poet or novelist leads the reader--Black and white--down a human path and view (disfigured and beautiful) that is unique in American and world literature. This is so because Black Poetry is derivative of the Black Experience--which is unique to Black people. And while whites may record what they see, hear or think, they are still observers. Reacting to a question on the difference between observer and participant, Baldwin noted that An observer has no passion. It (Baldwin's journey) doesn't mean I saw it. It means that I was there. I don't have to observe the life and death of Martin Luther King. I am a witness to it. Follow me? Whether the poet in question is George Moses Horton or Alice Nelson Dunbar, Jupiter Hammon or Francis Harper, Angelina Grimke or Fenton Johnson, Gwendolyn Brooks or Quincy Troupe, Ray Durem or Melvin Tolson, there is always evidence that they have been there--to the fire and have agonized over personal and group joy or dismemberment, like the Blues singer. There is, of course, much daintiness, romantic nostalgia and nature in Black Poetry (which covers the human spectrum). However, it is not in the poling of nature and romance that the important differences can readily be found. Rather Black distinctions appear more blatantly in reflections of Black life and Black struggle. B. Music, Movement, Language: Suggestions for Special Projects One should attempt a serious study of Black Poetry before first saturating oneself in Black Music. Music is the most shared creative experience of Black people--in Africa and America. written art form closest to the musical experience. Poetry is the In their dramatic recitals, the poets reaffirm their view of themselves as songifiers of 111 �the language, as balladeering chroniclers of the tradition. evolved from the tradition of folk song. Blues Jazz developed from Blues. Blues were sung to the accompaniment of guitar, banjo, harmonica, wash tub, etc. With his instruments, the Jazz musician tries to achieve the vocal qualities of the Blues. Hughes, in The Weary Blues, works to establish the appropriate ancestral and literary links between his folk idiom and himself as poet. Johnson (God's Trombones) chose the trombone as a metaphor for evoking the old time Black preacher because it possessed 11 above all others the power to express the wide and varied range of emotions encompassed by the human voice--and with greater amplitude. 11 Before complete studio orchestras were used to accompany Black singing groups, the singers created instrumental harmony with their voices. They practiced assiduously, constantly searching for new harmonic and tonal possibilities in voice blendings--developing electrifying auditory combinations and extentions, falsettos, etc. One voice represented a bass, another a trumpet, still another a guitar, and so on. Hughes acknowledees this Black need--a deep, deep need--when in 11 Jazzonia 11 he calls the musicians "long-headed jazzers. 11 The poem makes no attempt to separate the instruments from the players. The instruments become extensions of the Jazzmen who are thus "longheaded.11 Hughes' important synthesis, similar to Johnson's, is wholly brilliant and speaks directly to the ritualized amalgamation and continuity of symbol and act--and the interdependence of Black forms of expressions. Generally, it is good to take at least a week (preferably two) to play, view and discuss various (all) kinds of Black Expression-using music as a base and moving intermingling discussions of speech, dance, social gestures, general family life, movies, funerals and church services. nator. In all aspects, music will be the common denomi- Helpful during such an introductory period are the use of slides, popular Black periodicals (Ebony, Jet, Encore, etc.) which should be leisurely examined and discussed, the examination of liner notes on albums, discussions of the most exciting and treasured Black events and things. Below are some questions and ideas students will want to probe along with general introductory material: 1. 2. Define the word "Aesthetic''• Is there a Black Aesthetic? 112 �3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. I f so, how docs one determine it? Establish tentative crit e ria f or the Black Experience. Messages in recorded Spirituals. Messages in recorded Blues. "Conversations" among Jazz instrumentalists (while playing). 11 Hessages 11 in recorded Soul Music. What is Language? Phonology? Dialect? Idiom? Slang? Jargon? Parlance?, etc. Is there a Black Language? If so, identify some of the components in its structure. Discuss such Black Metaphors as 11 dig," 11hawk," "selling wolf tickets," "main squeeze," 11 rap," "get down," 11 for real," "mellow," 11 fox, 11 etc. Define and discuss words like 11 Soul, 11 "Negritude," "Sensibility," etc. The list could go on, ad inf initum. There are so many things to cover-- so much air to clear--during the initial contact of course participants. It is in these early stages, however, that a basis for sound cormnunication, understanding and respect for the material must be established. Hence, most of the rhetorical this period. 11 bull 11 should be dispensed with during It is also at this juncture that course requirements are nonnally given: papers, tests, outside readings, mandatory attendance at readings by visiting poets, etc. Here the study of Black Poetry presents exciting challenges to students and teachers because much of the valid research is unorthodox and unprecedented. Naturally, the time-proven means of acquiring and retaining knowledge should not be abandoned in a Black Poetry course. However, because of the interdependent character nature of Black literature and a gross lack of critical study, today's students and teachers may find themselves pioneers in identifying and analyzing certain types and areas of the poetry. In view of the developing social awareness and technical virtuosity of the new Black song writers, students will want to top this meaningful source as a prospect for term papers, oral reports, group discussions, in-class performances (multi-media reports), close textual analyses or comparisons/contrasts with the literary (written) poetry. In presenting such reports, students will want to consider the possibility of using (in addition to tape recorders or turntables) overhead projectors, motion picture projectors (showing film shot in an appropriate Black cormnunity or setting), slide projectors or film 113 �strip projectors, for illustration and illumination. Numerous experi- mental research possibilities will arise from student-teacher discussions of this particular aspect of Black Expression. may want to sing and/or play an instrument. For example, a student Another student may elect to bring an individual instrument or group to class to animate examples given in the narration. In a recent Black Poetry class, two students traced the development of the Temptations up to their latest song. Here are some things the students were concerned with: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Biographies of members of the group History of the group as a singing unit History of MoTown--a Black recording company in Detroit Song writers for the Temptations Harmonic organization of the group Singing groups that influenced the Temptations Areas, Themes and Styles in lyrics and live concerts (love, protest, patroitism, etc.) Poetry in the written and sung word Development of Black Consciousness in the Temptations What the Temptations mean to Blacks White imitators of the Temptations and other Black groups The students had other concerns; in the classroom they used auditory and visual assistance to illustrate their points. On hand, for classmates to examine, they had all of the Temptations' albums plus information from magazines, newspapers, radio and TV programs and publicity releases from MoTown. Needless to say, it was a most exciting and listenable report. A freshman student in another class conducted an analysis of the lyrics and the singing style of Otis Redding. The student traced Redding back to his birth place (roots) and then came forward to the point of the singer's death. Redding, the student concluded (after viewing the Spiritual-Blues-Gospel tradition), used much Black minstrelsy in his work and was a 11 folk 11 poet. The report had been taped. After it had been heard, fellow students asked questions, made observations, raised objections and so on. In two successive semesters, a student studied Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. The semester-length reports were called zation of Curtis Hayfield" and 11 11 The Politicali- The Politicalization of Marvin Gaye. 11 Fortunately, Mayfield was appearing in the area during the preparation of the first report and the student was able to obtain a brief interview. In each report, however, the work was detailed. 114 Emphasis was placed on �what the lyrics said (literally and figuratively), and how they were delivered. The student highlighted both singers religious character and noted that their art reflects their debts to the church and church choral groups. Following is just a sampling of individual and group recording artists and Black orators who can and ought to be examined in connection with Black Poetry: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. Babs Gonzales Clara Uard Hahalia Jackson Hartin Luther King (speeches, sermons) Malcolm X (speeches) Smokey Bill and the Miracles Marvin Gaye Curtis Mayfield Leon Thomas The Impressions The Temptations Nina Simone Roberta Flack The Stylistics The Delphonics John Lee Hooker Lightnin' Hopkins B.B. King Current and Past Black Preachers (sermons) Al Hibbler Johnny Ace Ray Charles Melvin Van Peebles (albums) Albert 11 Blues Boy" King Bobby Womack James Brown Bill Withers Barry White The Four Tops War Billie Holliday Bessie Smith Stevie Wonder Otis Redding Oscar Brown, Jr. Dozens more recording artists and speakers, who work creatively with words, are available for investigation. In such studies, students must be sure that lyrics are authored by Blacks. In many cases, it is helpful to compare/contrast the spoken word and the written word--the poet who rites and the poet who writes, or the poet who reads and a poet who reeds. Toward this end, a list of corresponding poets would probably help. 115 �Associated roughly with the themes and styles of the recording artists above, the following list is not designed to limit or 11 brand 11 poets, but simply to open up vistas and ideas for exploring and reporting on the poetry. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. Numbers correspond to those above. Bob Kaufman, Ray Durem, Ted Joans Margaret Walker, Helene Johnson Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Danner, Pinkie Gordon Lane Lance Jeffers, James Kilgore Ray Durem, Imamu Baraka, Larry Neal, Raymond Patterson Henry Dumas, Etheridge Knight, Stephany Al Young, Norman Jordan, Jay Wright Gil Scott-Heron, Robert Hayden, Al{ce Walker K. Curtis Lyle, Askia Muhamad Toure, Henry Dumas, Joe McNair James Kilgore, Margaret Walker, James Weldon Johnson, David Henderson Arthur Pfister, Don L. Lee, Karl Carter, Folk Rhymes Jayne Cortez, Lucille Clifton, Judy Simmons, Margaret Walker Alice Walker, Margaret Walker, Mari Evans, Julia Fields, June Jordan Stephany, Carolyn Rogers, Keorapetse Kgositsile, Henry Dumas Gil Scott-Heron, Nikki Giovanni, Kirk Hall Sterling Brown, OWen Dodson, Henry Dumas, Melvin Tolson Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Robert Hayden, Stanley Crouch K. Curtis Lyle, Quincy Troupe, Mari Evans, Fenton Johnson James Weldon Johnson, Owen Dodson, Folk Hymns and Stories Raymond Patterson, Ray Durem, Jayne Cortez Raymond Patterson, Norman Jordan, James Kilgore Bob Kaufman, early Imamu Baraka, Langston Hughes, Naomi Long Madgett Langston Hughes, Gil Scott-Heron, Ron Welburn, Julius Lester Stanley Crouch, Margaret Walker, Dudley Randall, Langston Hughes Arthur Pfister, David Henderson, Tom Weatherly, Tom Dent Julian Bond, Michael Harper, Calvin Hernton, Henry Dumas Lance Jeffers, Karl Carter, Judy Simmons, Nayo (Barbara Malcolm) Nikki Biovanni, Sonia Sanchez, William J. Harris David Henderson, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Zack Gilbert Sun Ra, Henry Dumas, Larry Neal, A.B. Spellman Jayne Cortez, Lucille Clifton, Mari Evans, Gwendolyn Bennett Julia Fields, Gwendolyn Brooks, Carolyn Rogers, Rhonda Davis Carl H. Greene, Ishmael Reed, Val Ferdinand, Raymond Washington Stanley Crouch, Clay Goss, Henry Dumas, Sterling Brown Robert Hayden, Countee Cullen, Dudley Randall, Etheridge Knight It must be reiterated that the pairings are only suggestions and do not attempt to place the poets within a specific tone, thematic preoccupation or style. some great. Obviously, however, there are similarities--some minor, The aggregate history and predicament of all Blacks make for general trends and attitudes while allowing for individual Black 116 �Experiences. Hence, (and any anthology or body of Black writing tell us this) one cannot stray very far from his essential Black human truth--despite his visions, his dreams, or his remanticism of his social status or the African past. The challenge for students and teachers, then, is to come up with other combinations such as the ones above. The range and number of combinations is endless and a successful development of them depends on the degree of interest of students. For example, it is possible for a music student or musician to deal with the harmony or melody of a written poem in contrast/comparison to a recorded or written piece of music--vocal or instrumental. For if the poem is regarded as a musical score or chart, which often must be assumed during in-class readings, then the researcher can come up with a loose notation of the poem which will render it singable or "musical" in the manner that 11 acappella 11 music is achieved. The poem, after all, is tight or loose meter and meter is organized rhythm. J. Rosamond Johnson wrote the music to his brother's (James') poem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing. 11 But a more specific and recent example of the singing of poetry is seen in the work of a group like The Persuasions (Acappella, Street Corner Symphony, etc.) which uses no "instrument other than the human voice. 11 Husic majors and musicians, then, may want to compare the free or controlled verse forms of poets like Al Young, Robert Hayden or Gwendolyn Brooks to an instrumentalist like John Coltrane or Miles Davis. The current period has seen an outpouring of exciting musico-poetic" 11 experiments and new experiments in recorded and live expr.essions. Jazzman Horace Silver now writes and sings lyrics and so does Les McCann. Poets (exploring the oral/written synthesis) are recording more frequently, extending on Hughes' pioneering efforts to merge the musical instrument and the human voice. For the student or general reader who wants to get off the beaten track of simply unraveling linguistic puzzles and contrivances, there are nemerous new approaches and vehicles for excavating the juices of Black Poetry. Patient listeners will discover that many song writers exhibit technical abilities that are on par with the poets. 11 Smokey Bill 11 Robinson (formerly of The Miracles) has been recognized the world over for his sensitive lyrics on the subject of love. But few students have taken the time to view him against the landscape of modern and 117 �contemporary poetry. Robinson possesses metaphorical and imagistic insights that exceed those of many of the poets writing "seriously" on paper. A close listening to any of his songs (in contrast/com- parison with written poetry) will prove this point. Robinson tremendous auditory sensitivity (which complements his writing abilities) makes him a 11 poet 11 in the most authentic sense. Students of dance, drama, philosophy, social studies, popular culture--all can carve out areas of Black Poetry that suit their specialized interests. A popular project among dance majors is to choreograph poetry and present the dance interpretations in classes, at community functions and public schools. Drama majors follow a similar pattern--selecting sequential material to support a theme--and present a program of dramatic readings, often employing built-in audience response. Students do not have to be drama or dance majors to take on such challenges. Indeed persons who 11 feel 11 what they read and want to express and share those feelings through sounds and movements, should consider these projects. All new approaches should be thoroughly discussed with the teacher so there is a clear understanding of what is expected. Group projects-- involving multi-media--are exciting and intellectually rewarding, as all projects ought to be. The dancers must explicate both the dances and poems which are read by a participants in the project or have been pre-recorded. The dramatic reader has to assume the various roles that he dramatizes and be convincing to class members. The musician ought to exhibit a knowledge of fundamentals of his craft and explain the transition between the post-mortem or 11 flat 11 word on paper and the "activated" or animated work in the air. Such considerations broaden both the student reporting and class members who share an enlightening experience rather than waste their time. Other exciting class projects can be of benefit to the college or community at large. These endeavors allow students to meet course requirements while adding to campus and community breadth and consciousness. Readers Theater, Poetry Rituals, Dramatic Readings, Counter-Readings, Dance-Poetry Repertory Programs and other state presentations make the poetry come alive--make it breathe with all the accompanying acoustical and optical ancillaries. Such programs can coincide with Black History ll8 �Week observances or special cultural workshops. They provide excellent illustrative vehicles at reading, writing and speech clinics. What is required is the combined effort of persons from different artistic affiliations--sometimes the combined efforts of several campus departments or community components. In most instances, however, the dancers, singers, readers and chorus participants can be found among students who are eager and sometimes experienced but have to be galvanized into a cast. We observed earlier that Black communities have remained highly oral environments. From birth, the average Black child is inculcated with the feel and flair for verbal dexterity, verbal alacrity, verbal gymnastics. Through childhood and adolescence, most Black youngsters are rigorously tested by peers and adults--often in game-situations-on their abilities to handle or songify the 11 language. 11 In play, they pick up the games and the oral epics ("Shine," "Signifying Monkey," 11 Stackolee, 11 stories about the 11 bue;gah man," etc.), learn to "signify" and "put down" each other in verbal war, practice and probe harmonic blends by imitating ministers, speakers, singers and their parents. In short, they acquire Johnson's 11 highly developed sense of sound. 11 It is natural, then, that the poets--even the most literary and formal of them--would consciously or unknowingly ingrain these acoustical power bases (antiphony, spontaneity, diction) in their poetry. Accord- ingly, an important aspect of the study of Black Poetry is taping these sound fields--the echoes, repetitions, moans, cries, shouts, screams, hums, whistles, sighs, heavy breathings, drum beats, horns, bells, ringings. These acoustical power bases--perception and revelation via repetition--lace all ritual forms of expression. In an important series of poems entitled The Making of the Drum, West Indian poet Edward Braithwaite (Hasks) establishes the mythological bases for African and Black American phonology. to this area is called Black Expression. 11 ) 11 (One of my own lectures in a series devoted The Musico-graphic and Mythological Bases for Braithwaite•s anthro-poetic discoveries reveal and explain the sonorous components of the ceremonial orchestra. 11 In The Skin", the goat is killed and its skin "stretched" to make the drum head. Next 11 The Barrel of the Drum" is acquired from the wood 119 �11 ofthe tweneduru tree. 11 11 womb. 11 Through this 11 The "hollow blood" of the tree creates a womb 11 the 11 wounds 11 of the land can be heard; here also is developed the "vowels" ( 11 reed-/lips 11 ) and "consonants ( 11 pebbles 11 ) . 11 tree that 11 11 The Two curved Sticks of the Drummer" come from a blossoms 11 twice a year, whose wood is 11 heat-hard as stone." The "Gourds and Rattles" are made of dried gourds and the leaves of the Calabash tree which "makes and mocks our music. 11 Finally, 11 The Gong-Gong" is the signaling device and the leader of the orchestra. "God is dumb", says the poet, up to the point of the drum's announcement. 11 Dumb 11 also is the drum "until the gong-gong leads it. 11 Together, the pieces of the rhythmic orchestra (the voices) can walk men "through the humble" ancestors. Akan) speaks." It is then that "Odomankoma (sky-god-creator, God, however, speaks through "Atumpan", the talking drum, in a series of paced and spontaneous syllabic streams that build to chants reminiscent of the most uninhibited of human ritual language. In the end, we know that God cannot be called until the entire orchestra is assembled, until the official drummer ('Kyerema se) has struck the talking drum and an appropriate amount of force has been created. The voice of the assembled, of the folk, is (after all) the voice of God. Braithwaite builds a mythological case for the origin of organized rhythm and human sound; but the similarities between God's drummer (African) and Johnson's God's Trombones (Afro-American) are clearly there. Nor do the similarities end with topical references. All along the phonic line--from Blues singer to preacher, from Jazz musician to Gospel choir, from poet to the social calling on the great 11 poeres." 11 rap 1 ' session--there is a There is a reliance on forces whose ultimate wisdom and vision are invoked through intense ritual and whose powers provide therapy and direction for the community. In this ecstatically-charged atmosphere, the thrust of ritual expression is toward the dramatization of an attitude, idea or event. Hand-carried rhythmic instruments (tambourines, etc.), foot-stomping and hand-clapping, sighing and moaning, hollering and whispering, dancing and singing, shaking and shimmering, over-laying rhythm with rhythm, clashing of rhythms--everything moves to heighten the drama and reaffirm basic faith. In some gatherings, many of the components appear, at a glance, to be missing; but as the ritual language develops, the song is joined 120 �by moving bodies: The instruments and recepticles--"sensitive vessels," as Marvin Gaye calls them--in the journey toward understanding and "coping." The key to tapping this ritualistic base in much written Black Poetry is recognition of what Johnson calls "incremental leading line and iteration" (also called antiphony or call and response): Oh, de Ribber of Jordan is deep and wide (call) One mo' ribber to cross. (response) I don't know how to get on de other side, (call) One mo' ribber to cross. (response) This early Spiritual (like much early Black oral poetry) is built on the common African song form--utilizing leading lines and response. The 11 leader 11 would sing (or 11 call 11 ) the first or ''incremental" line and the chorus or community would respond or 11 iterate. 11 The "iteration" can be set in a pattern or allowed to intermingle with the reader or leader. In the church, the field, at parties, meetings, or almost any gathering, Blacks issued forth their "sustaining" song. Though modi- fied by time and events, the practice of songifying an event is still observed today. In time the single line increased to two, three, four, five lines or more. With the increase of the lead came an increase of the response to two or three lines (Margaret Walker, James Edwin Campbell) allowing for greater spontaneity within the frame of repitition. Spiritual merged with other verse forms (stanzas). The The Blues, a structural and secular cousin of the Spiritual, also merged with other forms of verse. Many poets make great use of Blues as a literary form (Hughes, Dumas, Joans, Baraka, Hayden, etc.) Spiritual-Blues-Ballad merger. In much Black Poetry there is a This pattern is consistent with Black and oral expression since all three forms were first sung or recited before the advent of written poetry. Gwendolyn Brooks, known as a skilled writer of sonnets, invented the sonnet-ballad for a freer, more ritual and animating verse. The student will want to examine these two forms in order to understand Miss Brooks' important achievement in this area of poetry. We see the merger of all these forms in much of the early and current poetry. In preparing for modern and recent poetry, however, the reader ought to saturate himself with the Spirituals, Work Songs, Blues, Sermons, Oral Epics, Rhymes and Ditties. 121 �c. Reeding and Riting Black Poetry in the Classroom Many of the English verse forms (hymns as well as literary poetry) lend themselves to the call-and-response pattern so common in the oral corranunities. So it is as easy to do a participatory reading of, say, Phillis Wheatley 1 s work as that of Dunbar's or Walker's. poem, 11 11 Hiss Wheatley's 0n the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield 1770," Horton's Slavery," and Clark's 11 What Is a Slave?" can all be set to leader-chorus (antiphonal) movement in the classroom. The three poems, like every poem studied, should be read aloud--both by the students and teachers alone and then in class. Though stilted by the meter and language of the Neoclassical period, Miss Wheatley's poem still makes for exciting oral reading and analysis. It is an elegy which exalts the departed and celebrates the "Impartial Savior." The heroic couplet that it employs bears a rhythmic resemblance to the Spiritual "Oh, Wasn't Dat a Wide Ribber" in that there is a lead line and a chorus line: HAIL, happy saint, on thine immortal throne, (leader-reader) Possessed of glory, life and bliss unknown; (chorus-classroom) To make the reading more exciting, the response lines can alternate-between say the half-way mark and the end of each stanza. Another approach to this and similar poems is to have the chorus and leader change places. Variations of the call-and-response pattern can be found in Horton and Clark poems. Horton is known for his meditational or penitential verse and the influences of the ballad and English hymn can be seen in his poem. "Slavery'' can be sung in acappella or read in unison--as can most of the poetry of the era. Or, the chorus-- classroom or community--can arbitrarily "iterate" the third and sixth lines. One extremely effective approach is the use of an "announcer" who, in the Horton poem, could loudly shout the word "Slavery!" at the beginning of each stanza. Certainly a study of poetic conventions, devices and forms must always accompany exploration of the poems' auditory powers. This way one comes to terms with the social, tach- nical and intellectual aspects of the poets' works. Clark's 11 For example, in What Is a Slave?" the constancy of the question admonishes us to ascertain an answer. 11 A slave is--what?" Probably written to prick the con- sciences of whites, the poem chronicles the inhumane treatment of slaves and, by inference, the inhumanity of slave-holders. 122 There is an exciting �antiphony and syncopation in the way the poem exploits the dash in each stanza (especially in the first lines). The reiteration of trwhat? 11 swells to questioning indictment which pounds the ear of the listener and, like the enslaved in Dunbar's "Sympathy", allows the "caged" to fling his plea to the highest forces. "what?" anticipates the 11 I am" of DuBois, the will" of Miss Walker and the plea or 11 11 The repetition of How long" and 11 aiwa ~ " of Henry Dumas. 11 when This same cry 11 is heard in Miss Wheatley's poem when she advises Africans to accept the "Impartial Savior": 11 Take him, ye Africans, he longs for you; Indeed, the iteration--the reinforcement--is climactic for Miss Wheatley, who has exclaimed "Take him•••" at least three times before she reaches builds to the above line. This listing or cataloging of questions or data toward an emotionalintellectual build-up is a major ingredient in Black Poetry. It is, of course, a throw-back to the ancient tradition of oral narration and enumeration. This is why the universal oral poetic form, the ballad, is indi genous to all aboriginal peoples. It appears throughout the period of Wheatley, Horton and Clark and certainly it is a mainstay in the development of folk and literary forms right up through Dunbar. While the forms are literarily European, however, the themes--especially in the cases of Horton and Clark--take up social concerns or attitudes which underlie Black Poetry up to the present day. The question 11 What Is a Slave?:, for example, anticipates the syndromes developed in Nobody Knows Hy Name (Baldwin) and Invisible Man (Ellison): biguities of the Black life and struggle. the am- Herein are indications of the deep-seated turmoil in the Black psyche. Horton's wish to "hasten to the grave" foreshadows and complements the Spiritual motifs: Before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave, or Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, and I lie in de grave an' stretch out my arms. This so-called "infinite longing for peace" becomes a major theme in Black 123 �Poetry--indeed, in much Black Expression. mood that death may not be 11 Dr. Thurman observed of this life 1 s worst offering." elegy is of course lofty--as elegies usually are. Miss Wheatley's Yet, a heaven of a sort awaits Rev. Whitefield--just as heaven awaits the traveler at the end of The Weary Blues. For Miss Wheatley, 11 life divine re-animates ••• dust." So we have said, the call-and-response pattern, and residual components of the song , persists in both dialect and literary poetry. Excellent examples of these traits are found in Dunbar's 11 A Negro Love Song" and "Sympathy," in Campbell's "De Cunjah Man" and DuBois' "The Song of the Smoke. 11 While Dunbar and Campbell write two different kinds of dialect poetry, the former examines southern plantation speech and the latter West Indian or Gullah dialect, both employ the reiterative refrain. Dunbar's chorus enjoins the hip-swinging, smooth-talking narrator to Jump back, honey, jump back , while Campbell's congregation warns: De Cunjah man, de cunjah man, 0 chillen run, de cunjah man! The first reader or leader (juju man, prophet, witch doctor, priest, preacher, priestess, etc.) enthralls listeners with amorous inf ormation while the responsive congregation reinforces and maintains continuous orchestration. 11 Sympathy 11 and "The Song of the Smoke 11 are in what is called literary Eng lish but their orchestral development and ritualistic f unctions are the same as the two dialect poems. 11 De Cunjah Man 11 enum- erates the abnormal anatomy and supernatural powers of a worker of spells. A Negro Love Song" recaptures and animates the effect of a man walking 11 his 11 lady 11 home at night. Both poems attempt to deal, phonetically and culturally, with common Black Experiences. Both have elements of super- naturalism (an ingredient of Folk Poetry) and provide the social and therapeutic prescriptions for wounds caused by fear of the unknown and the need f or love. The grouphood dances, shouts, sings, screams out its anxieties; looses its tensions in sweat and drama. (which, like Dunbar's has the word 11 DuBois' poem song 11 in the title) maintains the elequence and propriety of academic English. Like "Sympathy," it (and the dialect poems), enumerates toward the development of substantial 124 �data and momemtum. imagined. The 11 smoke king" and the 11 caged bird" are real and Wit and double entendre are used in both poems. cunjah man is the folk psychologist, 11 While the caged bird 11 and "smoke king" are the guilts and consciences of white America. Both are victims of racism, economic exploitation--but, ironically, are never fully~ by their oppressors. DuBois' central figure is common enough in American history--the undaunted Black Common man who (like Fenton Johnson I s ''Tired•• man) has helped build the empire but does not get to share it; dogged strength alone keeps him from being torn asunder." the Black plight analagous to that of the caged bird. 11 whose Dunbar makes Americans habit- ually cage things and people, the poet says, but never understands that the cries of the caged are often pleas to be free. can understand why the caged bird sings. 11 11 Only the oppressed These poems are deeply psy- chological and reveal those scars of racial strife and chaos that are not always seen by the naked eye; those scars behind Dunbar's "mask. 11 The reiterative 11 1 am" reinforces both the past and present frustrations of the "smoke king"; but it also proclaims the presence of the Black man. Yet color is not inherently good nor evil, DuBois says: I white my blackmen, I becon my white, What's the hue of a hide to a man in his might! However, the poet sides with the Black man whose cause he must work for, whose condition he must improve, whose struggle he must glorify: Hail to the smoke king, Hail to the black! The phrase 11 I am. 11 11 Sympathy. 11 11 I know" in "Sympathy" performs the same function as DuBois' "I know" appears at the beginning and end of each stanza in Its purpose is to create curiosity and build confidence in the assertion of knowing which is developed throughout the poem and resolved in the final lines. This poem is best performed when the chorus reads the first and last lines of each stanza. present the poem dramatically and convincingly. The leader ought to Thematically, this poem presents a recurring concern in Dunbar and other Black poets: that of dealing poetically with racial injustice without reducing one's work to tirade and torrential protest. see 11 We Wear the Mask," 11 For other examples of this in Dunbar, Ships that Pass in the Night," and "Ere Sleep Comes Dovm to Soothe the Weary Eyes. 11 �One is always aware that the Black poet achieves great songification with or without dialect. The incremental line leading in 11 A Negro Love Song" appears, in variation, in "The Song of the Smoke. 11 Increment occurs with the fourth lines in each stanza of the love poem. The "smoke king" starts to unfurl from the beginning and, like a cloud of smoke, ascends higher and higher (incrementally). Thus the "I am" gives the reader the effect of being moved constantly upwards. 126 �Certainly these poems provide much initial fuel for discussion and poetical 11 surgery. De Cunjah Man" should provike a student round robin examination of family superstitions, folk medicine and psychology {home remedies), West Indian and Gullah dialects, and the development of imagery in poetry (e.g., the "buggah man", the Black psyche (dualism, 11 11 cunjah man," etc.). Explorations of the twoness 11 , split-consciousness, paranoia, etc.) and Black stamina or endurance should accompany "Sympathy" and "The Song of the Smoke." Certainly, discussions of Black love and social life will follow a reading of "A Negro Love Song." "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is the poem in which Langston Hughes examined Blackness globally. The voices in Hughes' poetry are often those from the vast historical/geneological web of Black antiquity. And the tired man in Fenton Johnson's "Tired" speaks with a tongue as experienced as the man who has "known rivers." Conscious of having built "up somebody else's civilization," as were many of the poets of the Harlem Renaissance, Johnson proposes some generally repulsive alternatives to his wife: alcoholics and "Throw the children into the river." they will become Hughes and Johnson announce Black contributions to the world but neither poet resolves anything. Neither poet proposes specific remedies for the inequities. The resolutions, then, must come in the dramatic reading and the internalizing of the poems. Since both poems represent the Black poet's coming-of-age in the mastery of modern poetic technique, students will want to familiarize themselves with the general poetic mood of the period. Hughes achieves musical quality and "responsive 11 power by repeating "I've" or "I" and by internalizing the rhythm and rhyme. and person. The Black aspect and the river are merged in imagery, symbolism The river motif, which runs like a spine through the Spirituals 127 �and general Black folk expression, is a favorite of Black poets. In reading Hughes' poem, the chorus can announce the past-present posture of the Black man by resoundly exclaiming "I've known rivers" whenever the phrase appears. The reading ought to be slow and deliberate suggesting the long history and endurance of African peoples. Another effective approach to reading this poem is for the chorus {class) to chant softly and repeatedly: My soul has gone deep like the rivers. When the appropriate mood or momentum has been established, the leader can then deliver the poem. The racial pride and exaltation of Hughes' poem can be compared/contrasted to "Tired" which uses cynicism and irony • .American "Civilization" is given those qualities normally associated with "primitive" cultures. Cullen exhibits a similar use of irony in "Heritage" when he notes that his "conversion" to Christianity makes him ''play a double part." I The contemporary Black poet John Echols is more blatantly sardonic in his phrase "Western Syphillization." A favorite theme of Black poets is the absence of "civilization'' in America. (Yet Johnson was to influence later Black poets in terms of style and theme. His influence on Margaret Walker, for example, can be seen in the prosaic stanzas which indent all but the first lines.) Still, the repeating of the word "tired" and "civilization" reinforces the basic assertion in the poem: that "building up somebody else's" country has robbed the builder of spirit; that stereotypes of Blacks {alcoholism, desertion of children, etc.) result from broken hopes, lack of opportunities and racial discrimination: ••• It is better to die than to grow up and find that you are colored. Yet, while Hughes' "soul has grown deep like rivers," Johnson advises: Pluck the stars out of the heavens. The stars mark our destiny. The stars marked my destiny. 128 �Here is a vague suggestion of predestination or ultimate control over one's life and future. For like Cullen's "curious thing" in "Yet Do I Marvel," the "stars 11 are there for the Black poet--yet it is not clear as to whether they work for or against him. Nevertheless the poet remains "tired 11 of a "civilization" which, according to Waring Cuney, rapes the streets of "palm trees" and :provides Black women with dishwater that "gives back no images." American :poets, Hayden has observed, have historically been critical of their society. However, it was the Black writer who carried the voice of artistic protest to its highest and most utilitarian stations. Hence, while Johnson's despair and rejection of "civilization" may have been "new" for Black poetry, such mood or attitude was not totally foreign to Black writing of the period. Certainly, if ironically, the two foregoing poems tell us much about "civilization." Hughes recounts the part he (as Black man) has played in the development of several societies. Johnson, conscious of not having received his "40 acres and a mule," drops out of a "civilization" he has helped to build. In any case, both narrators are weary from long travels and many trials and tribulations. Yet, the relentless pessimism in "Tired" is up- 1 ifted by the fact of the poem' s writing and the tentative hope in the "stars." Hughes implies that since he has been around so long, and his "soul has grown deep like rivers," he will be here a lot longer. Thematically and stylistically, "Tired" is a variation on the Blues motif, while Hughes' poem is reminiscent of the Spiritual. and the folk sermon. Many poems of the period flow from these particular styles and ideas discussed here. And readers will undoubtedly want to come to terms with Hughes' use of the word "soul." We have observed that Black Poetry makes use of folk symbols and mannerisms, exploits archetypal. symbols such as rivers and trees for religious or social 129 �use, and employs incremental leading line and iteration--which conceals other phonological and ritualistic devices that are tapped via responsive readings, etc. Such techniques are neither the sole ingredients nor the exclusive property of Black Poetry. materials. But most mack Poetry makes use of the folk Owen Dodson's "Lament" and Margaret Walker's "Since 1619 11 are testimonies to the modern mack poet's ability to place his folk forms and materials inside Western poetic techniques and idioms. Both poets have built in their own organized rhythms which allow for acoustical and inflectional nuances in the oral presentation of the poems. The words "Wake" and "How" are used to develop momentum {increment) and stage {dramatize) the intellectual discussions of the poems' respective problems or predicaments. To use the phrase "How long 11 in the presence of macks is to signal a special subject matter or a recurring theme: How long for the train? hunger last? How long for justice? How long will the dogs bark? How long is the river? and so on. How long for freedom? How long will the The title of Miss Walker's poem tells us that the wait has so far lasted "Since 1619." So we are pre- pared for the relentless hammering of "How," "When," etc., just as we are engulfed in the persistent "what?" in "What Is a Slave" and the demanding "I am" in "The Song of the Smoke." poem. "Since 1619 11 becomes a mack communal Slavery officially began in 1619 and every Black--regardless of his station--has been affected by slavery. Likewise, because Blacks did not enslave themselves nor perpetuate a dehumanizing system of judging human worth on skin color, whites are also locked into the poem. Surely, Miss Walker's debts to the Spirituals, Blues and the sermons can be seen in the organization of the rhythms and the basic, folksy appeal to the intestinally carried hopes and longings. The personal "I" ( vis-a-vis Blues) becomes a 130 �collective assault on the group problem. As stated earlier, "Wake" in "Lament" also satisfies an essential demand of residual oral expression-repetition that is cumulative in conveying information and emotion. the repetition, the image emerges--the epiphany occurs. In The power-idea concept demands that vigorous repetition, and allied acoustics and graphics, continue to the point of "understanding." In church, on stage, in the reci- tation, the priest-prophet must be acknowleged and regenerated by the responsive congregation which allows him to be the interlocutor between the Supreme Being and the flock. chant. This process takes place in "Lament" which is a eulogistic "Wake up" pushes a button that sets off associative values. "Wake up" to Blacks is to say many things. To say The phrase is used to invoke latent aggression, to shock a group into immediate political awareness or call·· "sinners" and "back sliders" to the church. I One cannot be the same or act th~ same after reading "Lament" just as one is not the same after having heard a rousing sermon or a brilliant Blues concert. We are carried by Dodson, as we are carried by Wright in "Between the World and Me," through the graphic accounts of the lynching. Wright is the tarred and feathered man--dead and recounting his own killing at the hands of a white mob. asks. "Lament" asks and Neither victim will ever rise again, however, but the cosmos is made a participant in each death. The sun stares "in yellow" surprise for Wright and Dodson gives up "mud," "grass," and "the cotton stem" before he flings his plea to the heavens: dead can wake up. "Save me!" The dead boy cannot wake up but the living "How long" and How many" and "what?" does it take before the people will wake up--before, Tolson asks, justice will become "unblinded. 11 ? The Black man's closeness to death, developed out of the circumstances of slavery, continues to inform his view of life and time in the United States. 131 �"Lament" catalogs the most repulsive aspects of dying and death to remind us that death is inevitable for all men, but too often premature and (many times) violent for Blacks. Dunbar builds "Sympathy" to a crecendo at which the higher forces are summoned to aid in the liberation effort. Dodson performs the same rite in "Lament" which ends in a request for the proverbial "sign": Tell me the acrostic, the cross, the crown or the fire ••• O, wake up, wake! Possibly, the poet says, the gods too are sleep or numb to the ill-treatment of Blacks. DuBois had already asked in Litany at Atlanta" if God too were "white"--"a pale, bolldless, heartless thing?" Black poets in the Western Hemisphere often ask if God is listening to the pleas of the oppressed or recording specific criminal offenses against Blacks. ,. The theme of God shrinking from his responsibilities to man and vice versa can be seen in most poetry that is critical of Christianity. Baraka announce~ in the contemporary period, however, that the Black man was "creating new gods." Indeed, Robert Hayden, in "Zeus Over Redeye, 11 implies that Western culture is spiritually and religiously bankrupt. This idea, an old one with Black poets in America, can also be found in Jayne Cortez's "Festival and Funerals" and Mari Evans' "I Am a Black Woman." However, the ritualistic components of Black Expression are more recessive in Hayden's poem than in Miss Evans', Miss Cortez's or Henry Dumas' "Ngoma." Nevertheless, all four of the poems depict major modes and preoccupations of contemporary Black Poetry. In his use of African words and development of the chant form, Dumas is merging the old forms with new ideas and interests in African and African-American Expression. Like Hughes nearly a half a century before her, Miss Cortez invokes a global Black spirit in "Festivals and Funerals." Typographically and orally, the latter poem approximates a "score" or musical organization of sights and sounds. 132 "I Am a Black Woman" continues the �historical. vein in Black Poetry (Hughes) and imbibes a "new" technical. defiance in a mastery of the free verse form. The poem al.so follows from tradition of announcing ("I am," etc.) as in "smoke king" and of reiteration through enumeration as in early song and poetry. The "humming in the night" recalls the vastness of the soul that has grown to encompass rivers. A humming of fragments of "Hobody Knows the Trouble I See" after the secong "humming" in the poem will vivify and stabilize the poem's underlying impact. The practice of imagining or actually singing or playing an appropriate song often helps actualize the experience and tap the hidden psychosocial. implications and acoustical. power bases. Miss Evans presents the history and the struggle in a way that is different from earlier writings--though she is still in the tradition. For the "Black Woman," the struggle has often meant a diminution of Black mal.-power. the source of all life. Yet, she is earth-mq:ther, Dumas re-affirms this in "Ngoma" by making the head of the I drum anal.agous to the belly of the pregnant woman. The "spirits of our fathers" speak "louder" from belly and drum--both life-giving forces. The child-voice in the mother is a reincarnation of the ancestors and a preservation of rhythm while the newly-dried goat skin (drum-head) celebrates all life--past and present. Using Swahili and Arabic terms coupled with biblical. words like ''thy" and "thine," the poem merges belly and drum in a ritualistic evocation of the spirits of the past. A responsive reading, with the congregation (classroom) repeating "aiwa" (yes:) and "louder", to an increasing tempo and rising momentum proves rewarding and electrifying with "Ngoma" and other similar poems. We have said that the drum, or the rhythmic instrument, is at the center of Black Expression. Hence, an array of rhythmic instruments (along with hand-clapping and foot-stomping) would be very helpful in delivering and getting maximum benefit and hidden meaning from the poem. The participants will want to 133 �Feel the skin-sound singing and know that the god-sound trembles in her belly ••• Both "Ngoma" and "I Am a Black Woman" show stylistic experiments and improvements upon time-tested Black themes and forms. "Festivals and Funerals" (a deeply psychological title, yet consistent with the ambiguities of the Black Experience) builds on the early Black African song form in use of the expanding stanze and iteration: Who killed Lumumba Who killed Malcolm and festivals & funerals festivals & funerals Miss Cortez streams references in the way that many modern and contemporary poets I do; but her associations are Black, sometimes asserted on the page and other times implied. This pattern gives the reader the effect of listening to himself and the poet at the same time. Certainly one has problems enough in trying to decipher anyone's ideas from a written work. The Black poet's work presents particular problems, however, because of his complex background, his specific brand of English, his myriad visions and his enumerable associations. Miss Cortez, Dumas, and Miss Evans, for example, dispense with punctuation and develop musical charts with complicated chordal structures and brilliant changes. the force in "Festivals & Funerals." The "word" then becomes It is a "word" that murmurs "through veins of gold" and against navels of beaten flesh walking the streets of Harlem on the rusty rims of a needly the word coming through like axes a million year lesson on solitude we are alone 134 �Alone, again, like Dodson who combs the universe for answers and for help. The comic-tragedy of everyday Black life is indeed a combustion of festivals and funerals: where the dope needle competes with the lates.t dance or police kill Blacks or Blacks kill each other. The power of Miss Cortez's chant ("the word," spirit-force) is arrayed against Larry Neal's "panorama of violence," against the chaos and nightmare webbed with bloodshed, assassinations, revolutions, mental and physical suicides. The poems have to be read over and over again--discussed, read again, sung, chanted, used as two-way mirrors to look into the Black psyche and to see the world through Black eyes. This is true of all the poems, from the new Blues efforts to the distilled intellectual genius of Hayden who warns Western man against atomic missile stock-piling. Such efforts, Hayden says, create an Enclave where new mythologies of power come to birth-where coral.led energy and power breed like prized man-eating animals. As an important modern poet, Hayden works within the critically articulated confines of modern poetic techniques. usually in theme and style. Yet he invariably emerges as a Black poet-- "Zeus Over Redeye" represents a Black poet making a significant statement on modern men who are at home in terra guarded like a sacred phallic grove. Man is "at home" among instruments of destruction. These instruments, Hayden notes, are named after western classical. and mythological figures: Nike, Zeus, Apollo, Hercules who, in personnifying war implements, lose their original purposes and accorded respect. Recessive oral components are seen in lines like question and question you, and burning all around us burning all around us. 135 �Yet, the fact that the "very light here seems flammable" speaks to more than missile sights and atomic bombs. For Hayden, 11 danger's 11 skin is "hypersensitive." But it only not only the visitors to missile arsenals who feel the around." 11 burning all Hayden, who aptly titles his book Words in the Mourning Time, reveals a crisp understanding of America's socio-political landscape in "Zeus Over Redeye. 11 He knows that the threat of destruction lurks in places other than missile arsenals. The death threat and wish lurks in all "hyper" activity--in all places where man is filled to his brim with assassinations, political conspiracies, racism, class exploitation, war, hunger and poverty. Thus mankind is "burning all around" with social ferment, suicidal tendencies, larceny, violence and myriad atrocities. In "Words in the Mourning Time 11 Hayden asked Killing people to save, to free them? With napalm light routes to the future? And in such an atmosphere--of festivals & f'unerals--Tolson finds that "infamy" is the Siamese twin of fame. For Hayden, pressed against a 11 flammable" sunlight ••• shadows give us no relieving shade. Hayden's criticism of America's war preparation is precise but laced with the prospects and fears of social explosions where "Lord Riot" reigns. So the Black poet criss-crosses a complicated psychological and physical terrain. his observations turn out to be mirages. Sometimes After all, Baldwin asserts, the Black man bought the capitalist-protestant ethic along with everybody else. The Black 11 poet, then, often anticipates violence but holds out for that ray of humanity in man. 11 Black poets reflect the assertions and ambivalences of Black people who prefer raising children and working to marching either in protest or troop lines. Many Blacks, however, unwillingly end up doing the latter two things. Historically, �this pattern of what Blacks preferred versus immediate need or demand has helped the African-American psyche and general outlook. His Africanisms are indisputably there, but the day-to-day demands often make him too "tired" to explore them. Dogged endurance carries him on in a struggle that allows room to stagger but non to halt. As artist, the Black poet distills all this desire and frenzy into usable fabrics of joy, anger, disgust, love, hatred, frustration, terror, violence and prophecy. The scope of the Black poet's complexity can be only vaguely glimpsed if one imagines that the poet often intends to dance, sing, preach, perform a play, extricate his people from oppression--all at the same time--in a poem, on paper. Some devices, techniques and attitudes one should look for in Black Poetry are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28 . Much repetition of words and sounds (polyrhythms) Symbolic and Imagistic development via sound (i.e., sound representing something) Syncopated or irregular rhythms Black Cultural Metaphors Poems or stanzas that resemble musical charts or scores Incremental Line and Iteration (call-and-response pattern) Enumeration, Cataloging, Listing Acronyms and Neologisms Folk Psychology and Medicine Superstition Irony, Cynicism in the use of "sacred" Western terms or concepts Blues as Poetic Form Spirituals as Poetic Form Ballad as Poetic Form Gaudiness of Language, Hyperpobolic Language White as a Symbol of Evil Black as a symbol of Goodness and Truth Ambivialence toward or Distrust of Christianity Reference ot Musical Instruments and Forms Use of Song titles Prophesying of Doom Rejection of Materialism Respect for but Distrust of Modern Technology Disavowal of Impersonal Relationships Employment of Sensuality Examination of Ecstasy Generally a more Gut-level Reaction to life Synonyms for Black: Ebony, Dusk, Purple, Evening, Night,~, etc. 137 �r t : \ I \ . \ 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. Praise of the CulturaJ. Folk Hero: John Henry, Stagolee, Killer Joe, etc. Lynchings, Assassinations, Police Brutality, Imprisonment Invocation of African Deities or Ancient Legends Use of African words and GeographicaJ. sites Honoring of Mother Honoring of Black Working-Class Man Honoring of Slain or Dead PoliticaJ. Activist, Musicians or War Heroes Recording of Black History and Jm:portant Achievements Comparisons/Contrasts of Urban and Rural Life Satire of Politics, Religion, SociaJ. Relations and Pretentions Much Reference to Dance and Black Social Movements and Gestures 138 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_07_11 Title A name given to the resource Exploring Black Poetry: Classroom Dynamics, typed manuscript, p. 108-138 Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/e316df3df9a1855a717bf7c8c6542c5c.pdf 7ed964d6f5c281b4f33a3da59f30542f PDF Text Text \ II COURSE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPJ.'IE:FT: -PRIHAHY TF.XTS There are numerou s approaches to teachin13 or. studying Black Poetry. At the outset, the teacher or student must determine specific and general objectives. We have already listed several reasons why students enroll in a Black Poetry course. Additionally, there are countless reasons why churches, community organizations, poetry clubs, interdisciplinary studies programs, and students persuing t na ependent study, would want survey or unit-study approaches. In developing a prescribed course of stud:r, consideration has to be given to book costs and the classrcom environ~e nt--that is, student preparation, classification in school, racial br eakdown (all-Black and all-white cl~rn,3er.; w:i.11 be c3iffersnt), and whether or not many are English or Ethn1c Studie3 il'.ttj ors. Ideally, the survey course is the best overall approac~ --with appropriate modifications in time fratnes and historical landmarks. Most teachers of Black America n Literature, for example, usually disregard the 1865 break (in American Literature courses) and brine the first of the two-part sequence of courses up to the Harle m Renaissance of the 1920 1 s. Many begin a course in mocJer n Black writing with the Harlem period. Still others begin a general study with the first 20th century author s . Assuming that a course of study is to consider the historical range of Black Poetry, I will SURGest, first, an 25 �ideal pattern to follow. Six units ma keu p t he ide8.l c our se. However, units contain several combinations and intr a-patt erns for either specialized or generalized study. The six units are: 1. 2. 3. 4. Roots of Black Expre s sion and the Folk Tradibion Early Black American Poets (1746-1G65) Dialect Poets; Development of the Authentic Voice (1865-1910) New Trends & Defiance: Harlem Renaissance (1910-1930) The Modern Black Poets (1 930-1954) Contemporary Black Poets: Ci v:i.l Ri ghts to Black Power, Protest to Black Arts (1954 to Present) Planned economically, a book list to accompany the foregoing course could inplude, but is not limited to, the followin g : Lerone Bennett, Jr., Before The Mayflower (optional) William H. Robj_nson, ed ., Ear1yBTacTt7i:riierican Poets James Weldon Johnson, ed., The Book ofAme rican Negro Poetry Abraham Chapman, ed., Bla.ck""""Voice_s_ -· Margaret Walker, For Myl'eople ( op t ional) June Jordan, ed., Soulscript Etheridge Knight, Poems F1r o·m Prison (optional) The brief course outline and the boo k J. i.s t. a.re arbitrary. ~ So before we move to a unit-by-unit d-i-s-e-e-t-~~n of the course, some discussion of problems and implications is in order. Unit titles of courses in the Black Experience invariably politically loaded. Though not alwa.y:J de sir able, such a situation is difficult to avoid. Much Black writing (of whatever genre) occurs out of the stresses, pressur es and anxieties Blacks have felt since the days of slavery. Initial tribal decimation; ensuing physical, psychological nnd sexual exploitation; the creolization of the race; the creation of DuBois' "twoness" against the comp lex of American puritanical duality; the corruption of Black reli ~ion; the destruction of 26 �the "mother" African languages--these and countless other indignities fuel and re-fuel Black writing . One can say with some authority, then, that Black American Poetry reflects and chronicles the odyssey of Black Americans. Throughout the history of this people, its poets have recorded the pressures and conflicts from various levels of artistic intensity and sensitivity and forms, via various points of view and tones. Obviously, too, there has con- tinued to be !!quality!! distinctions in the poetry. A glance at almost any unit, syllabus or even lecture title for a Black Poetry course will indicate the political nature of the Black Experience. W'hen the poems themselves have not been political, the commentaries on them have been. ·when the poets have not consciously taken "political" stands, their work bas often been judged as being outside the nstrugglel!--a political comment in itself. Hben the poets have not intended to write or speak obsessively about politics or ideoloGies, their keen sensitivities, their humanism, and their race pride (Cullen, Hayden) have made their works formidable opponents to bigotry, social alienation and racism. Lastly, and banging like a pall 07er all of this, is the problem of gettin8 published. Publishers view Black writing against the crests, slumps and peaks of profits--and do not, for the most part, seek to develop the culturally-thirsty Black or white potential readin 0 audie nce. Course outlines and book lists often reflect the foregoing conflicts and contradictions. Adding kindling to the fire will be the newl::r a ttu r; ,:: d s tu dF.)nts and r•ea.ders who are 28 �often within the thralls of new or re v i ved i deolo gi e s- - sometimes the ideolo gy of a particular poet. Realizing all the pro blems, and the web of pain and joy out which they de veloped, the teacher will certainly want to conf ron t the political overtones headon, but will re mind student s that t he y are studying the poetry. A good example of how teachers and antholoe ists of Black Literature set up a potential course outline is found in the table of contents to Cavalcad e . The gene ral headings are as follows: Pioneer Writers: 1760-1830 Freedom Fi ghters: l GJ0-1 8 65 . Accomodation and Pro te st: 1365 -1 91 0 The New Ne gro Rena i ssanc e and Bey ond: Inte gration Versus Black Na.t i onal i s rn : The Present 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1910-1954 1954 To In his Instructor's Guide to Accompany 'Cavalcade', Charles H. Nichols, author of Many Thousand Go ne, e;i ves suggested course outlines for several component courses of t he Black Experience. Broad headings for his course in poetry are: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. The Folk Tradition : wor k sone;s, spirituals, blues and jazz Early Versifiers: A Discussion of the Relation of Ne gro Poets to t h e Engli s h Literar y Tradition The Emergence of the Orir:; ina l Black Poet The Harlem Henaiss e nce Contemporary Poet s The New Black Poe t in search of an Identity It is clear that there is less preo c cupatio n with politics in Nichols' outline for poetry than in Cavalcadets tahle of contents. Yet, re-reading Nich ols' out line, one is struck by the absence of the word "Black" until Section III. lJichols ref'ers to his outline as a suggested "Course In Ne gro American Poetry." . Many teachers and cr itics appear to use the word "Black" in reference to a certain kind or e r a of poetry. 29 �Others use all references to pe rsons of African extraction interchangeably: Black, 1fo e::ro, Afro-American, Colored, African-American, etc. Needless to say, the teacher will be pressed for answers to this seemine;ly innocuous but very perplexing aspect of classroom interaction. In the Black community, however, all terms are still e mployed--depending on age and locale. In November of 1967, Ebony conducted a poll to ascertain which of the names readers most preferred. Reporting on the poll, Lerone Bennett, .Jr., said in part: This question is at the root of a bitter national controversy over the proper desi gnation for identifiable Americans of African descent • ••• A large and vocal group is pressing an aggressive campaign for the use of the word '~fro-American" as the only historically accurate and humanly significant desi gnation of this large and pivotal portion of the Ame rican population. The group charges that the word nNe gro 11 is an inaccurate epithet which perpetuates the master-slave mentality in the minds .of both Black and white Americans. An equally lar ge, but not so vocal, group says the word "Ne gro" is as accurate and as euphonious as the words "black" and "Afro-American. 11 • • • to make things even more complicated, a !:;bird group, composed primarily of Black Power a dvocates, has adopted a new vocabulary in which the word "black II is reserved for "black br•others and sisters who are emancipating themselves. 11 Poet Dudley Randall, whose wit and irony are often on par with Tolson and Frank Marshall Davis, wr•ote "An Answer to Lerone Bennett's Questionaire On A Name for Black Americans". In the poem, Randall traces the historical uses and derivatives of' the words "black" and "Ne gro" amone; the Spanish, Anglo-Saxon and Arabian "slave-traders." Neither wor•d, Randall notes will ••• put a single bean in your belly or an inch of' steel in your spine. 30 �I Giving a new name to something will not chan ge the essential character or meaning of the renamed, says Randall, and If the white man took the name Negro and you took the name caucasian, he'd still kick your ass, as long as you let him. In the course outlines and the table of contents listed above one can detect the vastly flexible format available to the teacher or student of Black Poetry. However, since everyone will have neither time nor desire to plun~e into an historical investigation of the poetry, other types of units and outlines can be organized. (On many campuses the popu- larity of Black Poetry courses, coupled with relative teacher shortages, makes it impossible to conduct a survey course over a two-semester or three-quarter period. Hence the teacher ends up having to repeat "quickie" courses each semester or quarter in order to handle the flow of students. This is not desirable since the teacher and students need the pace accorded other courses.) There are, of course, dozens of ideas and themes around which courses or units can be developed. Teachers and students with special interests ma:y desire a.spec ts of Black Poetry as integral parts of other on- going studies programs or f'or thesis projects. Teachers working with basic skills clinics may want to e ~plore Black Poetry as a vehicle for classes in reading, writing and speech. Carefully devel- oped units can fit into courses in American Literature, American Poetry, Interdisciplinary Studies, Ethnic Studies, Humanities, Music Studies, Theatre Arts, Communication Studies and Linguistic Skills. Courses can be or ganized around 31 �individ ual uriters for upper level or s raduate work ; around significant social or poli t ical e ve ~ts; ar ound wars or social turbulence; around Black fa mily issues a nd studi.es of n a.le and female psyches, a n d ar ound Black women. Per haps it would be helpful to list some other alterna ti ves and possi b ilities in developing aspects of Black Poetry for s tudy . The following list, certainly not all-inclusive, prese nts a rich sampling of options a nd ideas: l. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. O. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18 . 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. Black Spirituals as Poetry Blues: Black Folk Poetry Black Man's Folk Poetr y The Sermon a s Poe try The Black Vers e Sermon Langston Hu 6hes and the Jazz Id i or.~ in Black Poetry Gwendolyn Brooks: Femj_ ni ne Sensib ility in Black Poetry Melvin Tolson and the Epic Poem Melvin Tolson: From ' Pindaric Ode'to' Blues' Black Poetry S inc e Wor l d TTar I Black Poetr y Si nce World TTar JI Black Poetry Fr om Pr i so ns Black Poetry as Prot es t The Blac k Poet's View of Love The Black Poet's View of Life The Black Poet's View of Death The Black Poet's View of Tii·.;.e Black Folk Poets: Langston Hughes, Sterling, Brown, Owen Dodson Contemporary Black Folk Poetry Imamu Ba.rake Amiri, Jay Wr ight and Henry Duman Contemporary Blac k Poets Contrasted: Henry Dumas and Conrad Kent Rivers Black Poet as Politician James Weldon Johnson: Poet, Lawyer, Diplomat, Social Historian "vJbi teness II as Theme e.nd I ma gery in Black Poetry "Blackness II as Theme and I ma 1~ery in Black Poetry Black Poe try and Black Music: Jay ne Cortez, David Henderson, Micha.el Ha r per Black Poet as Pan-Africanist: I mamu Amiri Baraka, William Keorapetse Kgositsile, Don L. Lee Black Poet as Visionary and Oracle: Norman Jordan, James Kil g ore, Lance Jeff ers Black Poet as Cultural Conerstone: Lance Jeffers, Robert Hayden, Owen Dodson 32 �30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. Black Poe t and the Cultural Folk Hero : Margaret Walker, Eugene Redmond, Gwe nd olyn Brooks The Hero in Black Poetry Black Poetry as Passion Political Conflic t in Black Poetry Black Poetry as Anger: Claude McKay , Austin Black, Nikki Giovanni Black Poet as Troubndor and Lover: Ted Joans, Arthur• Pfister, Lanc ston Hugh e s Black Poet as Preacher: J ames Weldo n Johnson, Folk Sermons Black Poet and the Third World: Quincy Troupe, Robert Hayden, Victor Herna ndez Cruz Black Poet as Experimentalis t : J ean Toomer, Ishmael Reed, Melv i n Tolson, Julia Fields, Russell Atkins, Robert Ka u.fn a.n Black Poet and Black La.ngua ,r.e: Lang ston Hughes, Mari Evans, Jay ne Cor t ez, Carolyn Ro gers, Rhonda Davis, Sarah Web ster Fab io Black Poet and the Ballad: Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Gwendoly n Brooks, Dudley Randall Black Poetry and the Sonnet: Claude HcKay, Countee Cullen, Gwendoly n Brooks, Margaret Walker Black Poet and Urban America: Imamu Ami r i Baraka, Ishmael Reed, Michael Harper, Quincy Troupe, Eben, David He nderson, Maya Angelou Black Acade mic Poe t s: Count ee Cullen, Melvin Tolson, Robert Hayde n Black Epic Poets: Alberry Whitman, Owen Dodson, Melvin Tolson A more detailed discussio n of in-class and out-of-class approaches to working with rela t ed t h e mes and topics will be attempted in Section III of this pamphlet. Obviously, there are several sub-titles su~gested by each item on the a½ove list. Certainly the teacher or student concerned with "areas" or "trends" in Black Poetry will want to examine available critical, historical and b i bliogre.phical sources. Again, while the aim of this pamphlet is to explore t he complete range of poetry for study possibilities, no atte mpt will be made to assess that range critically or to present a history . In using the course outline and b ookli.st such as the ones mentioned earlier, one must keep in mi nd i mmediate and long 33 �,I range goals. i .. The teacher who desi~ns a eourse in 19th Century Black Poetry will want to encourage the students to continue active interest in the later works. Likewise, the student who takes a course in modern or contemporary poetry should be directed back to the pri mary sources to the folk materials. In either case, the teacher should keep in mind the need to "introduce" the course in a manner that establishes the long tradition, beginning in Africa and with ties to Europe. My outline, then, envisions a course in one, two or three parts (or more). Six units were selected so that the course could be separated into halves or thirds. In a semester or quarter cram course, the siGnificance of individual units is called into question. A course in 1Iodern Black Poetry could conceivable begin with number four: New Trends & Defi- ance: Harlem Renaissance (1910-1930); or possi bly with number five: The Modern Black Poets (1 930-1954), in which case the introductory lectures could draw upon the 1910-30 period for background. Ideally, a two-part course, stretchinc over semesters or quarters, could neatly s eparate the six units into two groups of three units each. A year-long course in a three-quarter oriented program could separate the six units into three groups or two units each. The new inclusive anthol- ogies of American Literature are be ginning to use this idea as they '~inally" add Black writers and thinkers. For those pri- marily interested in contemporary poetry, unit number six is appropriate. However, teachers and students alike will appre- ciate the need to reach back before the poetry of the mid-Sixties. 34 �Experience shows that classrooms which emba rk o~ a study of Black Poetry before gaining proper backGr ound are pla ~ued and paralyzed by continual interruptions of a political and ideological nature. Such crises are not diminished by the presence of younger Black poe ts on campuse s. Some of' these poets, hired as the result of student-pressure on administrations, are not themselves serious students of Black Poetry or Black Culture. Thus the st udent who turns up in a consci- entious teacher's classroom quotjng the youn~ poet as an "authority" on Black life is likely to ruffle and detour the class. The sat,10 pro~~lem occu1•::-1 1-,hen a st1 :de nt quotes an ideolog ue or repeats some th ing heard on a te le v ision or live panel discus s ion. The contemporary scene in Black Poetry, however, is the most exc iting one bec a use it is here that changes take place literally ~efore the eyes. Also, students are often fa miliar with ha~its, features and life styles of nany of the poets a nd thus are ~ ot i vated to read and get in volved in the poets' i de a s. Nichols , like Hayden, has said many of the new Black writers a re "minor" voices. Miss Brooks, on t'he other hand, takes what some call a "positive'' approach in that she ha s rarely criticized the younger poets in public. Usually over-lookinc glaring technical difficulti e s and contradictions , Hiss Brooks chooses to exalt them--hoping , a pp arently , that they will keep working to become better writers. Hoy t Fuller, managing editor of the influential Black World, has taken a similar stand. · More recently, however, Miss Brooks seems to have 35 �slightly modified h8r position. In her intro,:3uction to The Poetry of Black America, she said of the new poetry: There is a growing inquisitiveness about ~echanics, about writing tools and wri tins n:ethods: a maturinr.; concern for words and their black potential. Many blacks, those who want to create one poem only, and those who want to create poetry the rest of tbetr-lives, are asking for help. Their questions are poignant. How do I make words work for ~e? Are there ways,Ts" there any way, to make English words speak blackly? Are there forms already that, with a little tampering, will encase blackness properly, or must we blacks create forms of our own? If we create fo1•ms of our own, bow shall we go about this work? Is length helpful--should blacks write epics. Or will blacks find that they need to for~e poems "bullet"-size (with bullet-precision). Many of the younger poets, feeling sure in the craft, would take offense to anyone asking if "blacks" (categorically, that is) "should II write in any f orrn. So the teacher has to know the pitfalls and risks in teaching, say a course in Contemporary Black Petery. If the course moves from the bases of World War II, Korea, and the development of urban Blues and Soul music, then all should go well. On the other hand, to leap into a study of the most recent Black poetry without rigorous examination of background could mean academic or cultural suicide. This is one reason why the booklist is headed by a history text. For a similar reason, I have included an inclusive anthology: Black Voices. It will be noted., though, that the word "optional,, appears behind at least three of the books. Such an "option" ls available to those planning the course and developing a booklist. Experi- ence shows that a history text is indespensable since study of history goes hand in Glove with poetry. 36 Also invaluable �is an i.nexpensive inclusive anthology . Hi t h out s uch, many of the students would never read general Blac k criticis m, history or biography. As stated earlier, the teacher has the option to select the history text or historian b est suited to his needs. a cursory text. Before Tl1e Mayflower is excellent as Other possib ilities are The Ne gro in the Making of America (Quarles), From Slavery to_ Fre~~-om (Franklin ) and The :Making of Black America, vols. I t: II (Meier and Rudwick), to list just a few. The for mat of a course ln Black Poetry should allow students to sarnp le t he , road range while getting some feel fo r the <lep l;h and concentra.tlon of individual poets. The indi v i.dual c oll e c t i ons , th en, our:;bt to parallel appropriate time periods. The 11 appropriate 11 places will be determined by the struc t ure a nd e mphasis of the course. Some teachers, for example, s i mply read a group of individual collections and assi g n student s out -of-class work in antholog ies, b iographies and criticis~ . Other teachers read strickly from antholog ies, holding students responsi ble for specializing in particular writers. Th er e can be much over-lapping between the antholog ies and ind i,:i<lual collections. Such a problem can be minimized, however, by a teacher who picks carefully. At the same time, when the same poets appear in two antholog ies or as a result of pairing indi vidual collections and antholog ies, cross-referencing and comparison of biographical-critical notes make for mor e class room involvement. The history of Black Poetry sup:£,;ests t hat appropriate-places to bring in individ ual collections are 37 . �during the modern and contemporary periods. Subsequently, For Hy People (1 942) appears for the peri od be tween 1930-54 and Poems From Prison (196 3 ) for the 195~ to present period. There are dozens of excellent replA.cernents for the latter book and several other good choices for the n odern period. A sample of fine collections for the modern period include: Gwendolyn Brooks, Annie Allen (Pulitzer Prize) , A Street in Bronzeville , Selected Poeins Sterling Brown, Southern Road Countee Cullen, On These I Stand Frank Harsha.11 Davis, 47th SE-~et Owen Dodson, Powerful tone Ladde1· Robert Hayden~ Heart-Shape i r17;n"e Dust Frank Horne, Haverstraw (pvLTisnea·-rn··1 963 hut represe nts pre - '~O' s work) Langston Hughes, Mont a ge of A Dream Deferred Claude McKay , Selected Poems Melvin B. Tolson, Rendezvous Hith Ane rica There a.re others, many of them (like some above) no lonr;er in print. Powerful Long Ladder and For I'Ty People, for exa:-nple, have recently been reprinted. Aga in, selection of the texts is the perogative of teacher or student. Balance is best achieved, however, when the cours e er.~ ploys the antholo ~-y individual collection pattern. For the pos t 1954 period (which witnessed not onlv a repri nting of earlier volu:nes and a renewed interest in Black writi □ s, but the advent of the independent Black publishing co:npani e s) there exists countless choices. A quick cross-section of them includes: Austin Black, Tornado in My i\Iouth Gwendolyn BrooKs, n1ot Faird ly P:i ct uren Lucille Clifton, GoodT1.mes , Good News ·Ab out The Earth Jayne Cortez, Pisss t a1.nect Stairs and the T'Ionkey Man's Wares , ~ n d Funerals �Stanley Crouch, Ain't No Ambulances For No Na.p;gubs ronr~nr;___ _ _ -----··- Victor Hernandez Cruz, Snaps Henry Dumas, Poetry For7 ~ryl5eople Mari Evans, I7tnl~1ack Homan Julia Fields, Poems Michael Harper-.;-7Tfstory is Your Own Heartbeat Robert Hayden, Se1ectea7'5oems , Woras-1.n the 1-fournin [; Ti·~ e Lance Jeffers, Ny Blackness in th e Beauty of this Land Ted Joans, Afrodisia LeRoi Jones-;-Nack Magic Sterling Plumpp, 7Ialf ETa.ck, Half Blacker Dudley Randall, CTITes BurninG Conrad Kent Ri v e ~ n --voice of Harlem Ed Roberson, When Thy King is A Boy Stephany, Moving Deep Melvin Tolson, Harlem Gallery Askia Huhammad Tour~, Songa1! Alice Walker, Revolutionary Petunias Al Young , The Song Turninr,: Back Unto Itself 1 The bibliography in Section IV will of course contain more extensive listings in all areas; but it is i nportant, in the context of the present discussion, to visualize the scope and many-threaded thematic fabric of recent Black Poetry. Just a quick glance at the titles of t his list will cause countless other associations. That glance will also e ive one keys to unlocking the the~atic differences hetween, say, the writers of the Harlem Renaissance and modern period and the poets of Black Consciousness. From Jones' ~a~~ Magic to Stephany's I"Iovinc De~p, the stated and i mplied mood of the New Black Poetry is there. We observed earlier that each topic or sub-topic has spin-outs. The lengthy sampling of ideas and options already listed can be doubled or trippled when one considers the prospect of' regional or local studies. Hence the student of' Black Poetry ought to appreciate re gional diff'erences, 39 I I I �colloquialisms, id oms, social problerri.s, styles a nd attitudes. One bas only to spend a few hours in northern and southern Black communities to understand some of the disti nctions between the two. It has become popular in soMe rhetorical quarters to disclaim the differences with the rationale that "Black folks are the same everywhere and their common problem is oppression." The sensitive and ot servins teacher, however, will reco8nize such over simplif ication of the Black Experience and precede accordingly. The next phases of this section will explore the course anatomy. The format will b e a un5t-h:r-un it breakdown of an historical course in Black American Poetry . Each unit will be examined from the standpoint of i -L s Literary /Social Background and Related Sub-Top i cs. I n Sectio n III the da.y -to- da:7 classroom sessions will ~J e disc ussed alone; with smr:.e excitinG exp er i ments for dra~atiz in: , ex plicati np and researching tbe poetr:-i~. TJ1TIT f,I. 1: ROOTS OF BLACK RXPRES2.:ron A~IT) TETI FOLK TRADITION Li terar:r/Socj_al Background : Tb e 3lo.ck Experienc e in tbe United States continues via t he African Continuum: a complex of' mythical, linc;u.istic, c estural, psycho1.osi cnl, sexual, physical and reli g ious fo rms. Tbis coc,1 plex i s e·~idenc od in the day-to-day attitudes of Blac ks, their sa cre d and secular expressions, their physical appearances, their dross patterns and their family life. Not only in the United States, hut in the Caribbean, 'the Hest Indies, -tn Latin Ar.i.erica, in a.11 areas of the dia~pora--people of African extraction exhibit �characteristics peculiar to the nature of indi ~enous Africans. General Black Expression is a product of Plack Culture; and the artistic expression--tre.di tional Black communities did not separate the life and art of the people--is a More sophisticated form honed from the c_~eneral ''storehouse. 11 No one has yet put their hands on exactl7 what n o:11ent 1.n time and where the first African sounds or movements were incorporated into "white II or Hes tern fran:es of references or vice vers~; but we do know that it did happen. Unfortunately, inept reporting on the Black Experience has muddied the waters so much that one is repulsed and horrified by some of the observations and conclusions o.f so1;1e Black and 1-rhi.. te "researchers. In an uni'linchinc;ly brilliant ano.lysis of Black Africar, Oral Literature, presented at the First World Festival of Negro Arts (1966) in Dakar, Sene gal, Basil e -Juleat Fouda, noting that ''oral literature is as old as creation, "Archival Literature of Gesture.'' revelations, Fouda said: 11 coined the phrase Concluci.ng his i ·nportant ''Thus i n the Black Africa of tra- dition, literary art is an anonymot.:s art beca use it is a social art; it is a social art b ecause it is a functional a.re; and it is functional because it is humanist." is not bounded by color. Research Black sociolo~ist E. Franklin Frazier (Black Bourgeosis) held that there were no si f nificant carryovers from Africa to the United States. (Slavery, Frazier said, "stripped" the African of his culture and "destroyed" his personality.) White anthropoloc ist :Melville Herskovits ( The Myth of the Ne roro Past) pro·red wi thont a doubt that 11 �there were African "survival isms'' operating daily in Black Americans culture. Rudimentary Black Expression, then, and the mmerous folk forms it produced (field hollers, vendors shouts, chants, worksongs, Spirituals, Blues, Gospels, Jazz, Rhytbm 'n Blues, Soul :i:vTusic) form the bases for Black Poetry . Tl1e various early artistic fro ms were a.lmost always accompanied b y what we have come to call "drama t le ideoc;ra :1s "--or 1 three basic artistic modes w0re and still are: and Drum. aances. The Sor::is , Dance As the first means of communication over dist.a.nces, the drum played an j_mportant role in the lives of tra.di tione.l African peoples. The career drummer, like the Black musician today, went through years of ,crueling practice and preparation-learning not only drumming techniques but the lecends, the myths, the meanings and symbols of which the drum was derivative. Dance always accompanied song--Fouda refers to the "acoustical phonetic alphabet 11 --so that the complex web of oral nuances was illustrated. Obviously, when teaching or entertaining , the artist/teacher had to present his material in interesting and exciting ways so as not to bore the audience. Thus re- petition became a backbone of Black Expression--a repetition that was desi e;ned to reinforce. To gether tbe three modes--drum, song and dance--heic;htened the experience, which was ecstatic, spiritual, visceral and revelatory. Added to the intricate modal pattern already described were the various costumes, make-up, props and important subject matter. The effect was not vicarious but one of the act and symbol takin8 place at 42 �the same time. 1-Jbile such a prospect 1)or~:r:les the mind, a serious study of these for n, s and che r·: enerol tracH tion will be eye-opening for many a disbeliever. Early Black American oral and ~estural art forms in- In lancu n~e, in herited the a b ove mentioned qualities. dance, and, more i mportantly, in points of v iew toward _!;_:"i~, life and de~~l?,, the cosmolog:,r o.f Afr-ica "continued" in tbe Black Culture in the Western Hemisphere. Specifically, in- formation was conveyed by way of aphorisms, riddles, parables, tales, enigmatic dances and sounds, oblique utterances, puzzles, jokes and poetry. The pattern remains in tact today. In I"Iuntu: An Outline of the Hev1 A.f.!I~an Culture, 2"alrnhoi.nz .Jahn docu- ments many exa.mpleo of the African "carryovers" and "survivalisms" operating in the Uestern He misphere. Oi~ e can find tbe tradition in Black poets, ministers and fam5.l : r; a t l,e:r i n: ·s. 1 T11e scin- tillating Black poet Tolson operates frame when in ''An Ex-Jud r~ e at tbe Bar 11 :;e sa~JS: Bartender, ~ake it s t rai 01t a nd ma k e i t t wo One for the y ou. in me and one fo r the :·:c i..n ::-ou Tolson ends the poem wi t1: an eq uall:· e~·;i ,:;•;m tic ·· ;)c k : Ba.rtenrlor·, make it s Lrs.i1,.ht and make it tb :re e One for the ITe gr o ••• one for y ou a nd ~e In the Spirituals (the first su1Jstant~_:Jl · O!~ :':~ of Black Poetry) one finds similar deLts to the Af~ica n tradition of song, dance and drum. So too in the shouts and hollers Hbere actual African words and phrases were initially used. Hence we can say that the traditional African phonolocy and ritual, modified ~n the anvil of slavery, were operati n~ and continue �to be ma1:,ifest in various f o't'r,.s of Ela c!: American Express5.on. The African slave, forced t o acq11ire f. unct-.:!.onf!.l use of Enc lisb and to re_ject surface aspects of bis r· eli c :i. 0:1, went "underc round n so to speak and 1)ecar;1e ~-;i-lL1u:ual and b i-ps-:,rchienl. Hence, while much of the thematic material of the Black Folk tra.di tion is taken from the harsh difficulties the slRve encountered in America, the forms, spiri t and phonolo cy were essentially African. The use of poly-rl1:;th-ns and syncopation, tbe reliance on various rhythmic instrnments, the ac1~erence t o a non-European tonal scale and the emplo::,~,"1ent of th e blue tone, the development of a distinct body of folklore and a ricb langua ge to convey the lore--all represent the African's resourcefulness. Cross-cultural aspects of Black Expresston are also evident, however, in--for example--the 2,piri tuals which, :i. n many cases, were influenced by the Enp;li.sh hymn. Other consioerations include the use of European ins t ruments (Baraka points out in Black Music that the piano was the last instr um ent to be mastered by the Black musician. The reason ou7ht to be obvious.), the Black adaptation of sonr s henrd i n the house, 11 ""' i (1' ,.J - · (_.• the continual re-stylin g of Amer:ica n fads and the employri1ent of Biblical ima.e,er:::,- and lan;~uA. c;e in son[:;s and sermons. Langston Hughes noted the.t the Bl ues usual 1:- dea.l t with the theme of the rejected lover and personal depression. Hughes first volume of poems, in fact, was entitled The Weary Blues. One will observe, however, that the Blues, like the spirituals before them do not simply preach resi g nation or s~Jmissiveness. �Rather, as Jahn and Howard Thurman (Tbe 1fo1,ro Spiri tu.al Sp~aks of Life and Deatb) note, underneath the co:·r1plaint is a "plaint 11 : tbinps must get better or chang ~! For as the slave said: Freedom, oh Freedom, how I love thee! Freedom, oh Freedom, how I lov e thee! And before I'll be a slave I'll be buried in 1,1y ;_;ra"i.-e And go home to m:.r M:aker and be Free! And the Blues sins er intoned: I'd rather drink muddy water, Sleep in a hollow log , Than to stay in this town til I'm dead! Or in the words of Bluesist Jj_mmy Reed: Next time you see me things won't be the same; Next time you see me thinLis won't be the same; And if it ain't you my dahlinc you'll only have Yourself to blame. For as B.B. King asserts: When I first GOt the blues, t11ey broue;ht me over on a. ship Men was standing over me and lo t Llore with the whip And everybody wanna know why I sinp; tbe blues Well I've been around a lons time, uum, reall y paid my dues. And finally Sam Cooke: Every time I fall I know It won't last too long And sornehow ri c;bt now I feel I'm able to carry on I't been a long time coming But I know a change is gonna come. Complex, contradictory someti mes, often inexplicable, but hardly unutterable--the Black Folk tradition deri ved from the ritualistic rudiments of African Expression. From the animal tales and cycles to the wandering Blues troubador to the charisma of the Black preacher, the tradition unfolds. Related Sub-Topics For Unit ,} l 1. The Incredients of Folk Poetry 45 �2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. UNIT# 2: Black Oral ~pies The Oral Tradition in Black Poetry Tbe Anntomy of Ritualistic Expresslon Poetical Devices in Spirit.u9.ls Poetica.l Devices in Blues Audience Responses to Folk Poetry Writin~ t~e Oral Poem Philosophy of the Blues Explicating the SpirituAl Therapeutic Purposes of Folk Literature Coroparing /Cont ra s tin~ the Spiritual and Enelish Hymn EARLY BLACK AHETIICAN POETS (l 746-H'l 75) Literary/Social Backe;rounc1: Blacks ha-.::e been in the Western Hemisphere almost as l on e as whites. After 1501, most of the Spanish expeditions to the ITew World included Black explorers. By the ti me ~he 20 slaves-to-be were brought on a Dutch vessel to Jamestown 5-n 1619, the presence of Blacks had been felt fo r at least 10 0 years. Crucial to an understand,nc of early Black Poetry are the circumstances surroundinc slnvery a ~a the political and reli gious moods of Enc land and America. Britis h America did not follow the Greco-Roman tradition of tbe well informed slave. It was quite unlikely, tben, that a ":re',-o lutionary" Black poet would emer~e fron1 n soc iol and literer~ landscape so charged with self-ri Ghteousness n nd NeoclRssicism (or from the Romanticism of the l GOCJ 's). Luc:· Terry 's "Bars Fisht" (written in 1746 and published in 1393) could hardly be called "protest"; neither could the work of Phillis Wheatley, considered the finest Black talent of the colonial era, caught between contrivances of the A,r5,e of T,.;nJ. i 1::: ht en:-r;ent and the approaching r;rip of the Romantics. Born in Senegal, Africa, and brour;ht t o the !'Tew World when she was five or �six yea.rs old, Phillis 1::hea t ley was culti~rated or. the classics and the Biblical tre.dj_tio n . In comparing r)er 11 Tr'lFl.~'. i.nat:1.on" to white Anne Bradstreet's "Conte:nplatio n ," Je.mes Weldon Johnson said '~e do not think the bla ck woma n suffers ~y comparison with the white." Tl:e }foocla:J sjcal tro.c1it.j_on that reached its hei ght in the poetrJ of Alexe nd er nope, had already beg un to die out w5th the death of Pope himself in 1744. All over Colonial America, however, while poets were imitatins the stiff-collared conve~tionality of t~at period . The moral issues considered~~ nos t of the poets (Bl ack and white)--universal brotherhood of n a n, quest for reason and order , the Jeffersonian ideals of freedo m, li b er~y and represents.ti ve s overrnnent- ~wer·e removed from t 11e ever2rday brutality of slaver~ . 8ome of the no s t liberal men of the period (Jefferson, Washington, Hu~e) implicitl7 5ustified slaver y by suggesting that ~lacks were in some ways inferior. Despite Jefferson's pontificatio ns on ~umanitaria ni s rn , he was unable to reconcile the diaparit~ ~ etwe0n ½is puhlic stands and his fa.ilure to manumit his own sle:,; es. On the ge neral American scene, the ~ev olu tion ~ehind, a national literature had bes un to e .ner1_'.e. Fn.scinated with Ameri c an employment of new technolo.:.r (Fra nkll n ' s 1 i s htnine; experiments, printin~ presses, etc.) and the prospects of unexplored re g ions of the New World , writers started recording travels and observing the mixture of races and reli gi ons . Although religious fervor was s t ill hich (Cal v inis m, Weslya n ism and deiim bad run their courses), political problems dominated. �Between 1790 e.nd 1 832 tbc new American go -v·ernment was be ing consolidated and the writincs of men like Willinm Bradford, John Winthrop, Cotton Mather, Thomas 8hep 11a.rd, Ro c er 11!illia.ms, Edward Taylor and Jonathan Edwards were s ucce eded by the embryonic nationalistic wor ks of Franklin, Jefferson, William Byrd, William Cullen Bryant, Charles Brockfen Brown, Washington Irvine; , Willia.l'» Gilmore Simms and James Feni.n ore Cooper. Irving , Cooper and Bryant were to be come the early writers most taught to American scboc,l children. Often called the "New England Renaissance,n th e early decades of the l ')th Century saw increasing tensi on between Hew Br.:.i::;land p111 i tanism 1 and Southern aristocracy over the questio n of slavery . Debates over slavery were to cont inue up to the beginninc of the Civil War. The early pa.rt of the c entury al~o s aw tbe birth of many of America's greatest writers a.long with Romanticism and rugged individualism. l~st ified by t he noble savac e (Indians and sometimes Blacks) and cbal lenged b:' tbe "new frontier, 11 Americans began to romanticize t~eir situation and especially that of explorers who became the first original folk heroes. Writers who dominated the period from H~26-l'.i61 included Edgar Allan Poe (poet and short story writer, credited witb creating the first detective in American fiction), Nath aniel Hawthorne (considered the first gre at Ame rican novelist--The_ Scarlet Letter), John Greenleaf Whittier, Her1 ry 1-vndsworth Longfellow, James Russel Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holme s, Harriet Beecher Stowe (one of the first white American novelists to feature a Black protasoni.st in fiction--Uncle Tom's Cabin), Ralph 1-laldo Emerson, Henry Da::id Thoreau, 1 1+8 �Herman Melville (consid ered to bav e written one of the handful of "great" American no·,rnls--~-Toby Dick), Walt Whitman ( termed tbe "erea.test" AmericA.n poet--Le_a.vcs of Grass). Some of the non-literary writers, pr imaril~ political ~ctivists ,'{s,lt..t n,-7 or a.boli t ionists, were John G. Ca.lhouq, Davi.d '.fa.l ke~~' 'Hi 11 iam H H✓,K., Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Dour-:,lass·,. , and AhrRham Lincoln. Using their own and Black material, a numoer of white composers immortalized the ere. in sone;s--man::r of thei"l nationalistic. It was durin 6 this period that Francis Scott Ifo:r wrote "The ;;, iJ-~ i'_ ,fl Star Spangled Banner. 1 ' Stepben Foster has ,'J een accused of merely putting to music the songs that were s un;~, 'o ·:r sla·✓-es. There was little encouragement, however, for Blacks to learn to read; and many slave owners indul ged their chattel in writing exercise as personal pasttimes and hob~ies. So many of the early Black Poets, then, r:;rew up in r els.tive security. To be totally free, David Walker observed in his Appeal (1829) was to be economically insecure, socially ostracized and psychologically oppressed. Consequently, those slaves priviledged to read and write invariably took European literary models. writing. Poets, of course, were not t he only ones In addition to essa~ists, like Walker and DouGla.ss, this period of slavery and Black literary activity was highlis;hted by exciting slave narrati·,es: accounts of escaped or freed slaves. autohioe;raphical The most pupular of these narratives, and the first recorded, was 1.!?~_Interestine:; Narrative of the Life of Olaudab Equia.no, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789). Arna Bontemps includes it in his Great 49 �Slave Narratives (1969). As in ot~er cultures, Black creative literature developed fro m early diarles and journals. Hence it was the slave narrative that ~ave rise to the first Black novel, Clotelle:_~ Tale of So~tEe!E States (1853) by Hi lliam Wells Brown ( publ isheu i..n England). B~own also published the first Black play, Escape: Leap to Freedom (1857). Or A His concern for the pl! ~ht of the mulatto would occupy much of the Black fie U on up throui;h the early decades of the 20th Century. Tn addition to writing fiction an<l dra ma, Brown collec t ed Black folk and antislavery sonc;s. Nany white scholars and l.;ra 7elers throuih the south also co J1piled collection s of these s on e;s--wbich would later become important ingredi e nts in the writings of Black and white writers. Even for writers of tho narratives, ho-:-rever, there was external censorship. '.'lbi te abollti..oni sts, concerned that the over-use of Africanis ms in narr ati ves would offend potential supporters cautioned minimize such usa r~e. author □ an{ speakers to The ra~r of hope r, enerated by the first Black newspaper, Freedom's Journal (1~27 7 John '2 us~woI'm), died out witb the newspaper ir. 1829. Douc:lass, who .fonnded Frederick Douglass' Monthly (1 844) ancl. The ) Torth Star (lr147), was told: You supply the facts and we'll take cRre of the rest. Robinson (Early Black A me1 ican _Poets) neparates the 1 early Black Poetry tnto .four cate c ori e s : -I. Orator Poets Lucy Te r r:r, :'"u~j_ter Fat:1.mon, ,Jat11es t"I. 1:·Tl~itfield,etc. A. �IL For·:rin., i. st Poe ts n... ,_ l Ph1• 1.,. l i· s 1::r,Aa1, c:· , A. III. r! '",eo ·t·c,C "" .. • 0.1'1cn ,,G L~JP 1 an, . ._ ei.,c. -• Romanti ~ Poets John Boyd, Th e Cr e ole Poets, Joseph 3eame.n Cott er , etc. A. IV. Dialect Poetry A. ,Tames Ec111in Can; p 1~ell, De. ~1 iel 1t!e::ste1•, .J. r:ord Allen, etc. One would, of course, be remiss in sayinc that none of the early poets rejected slavery or ident1fied the contradictions inherent in what whites pr eache<! versus bow they of the poets, :3-..:~~~-9-. Eost in face of i r:1p-:l:ied threat s , cle al t wi th "safe" theme s and conventions or with the sent i me~tali t~ a nd local color. ::--revertheless s tirri nf:3 of pr ote s t and indi c:1ation are evident in much of the work of the per i od . abolitionists activities, the ru~)ling s a,a Slave re volts, comi~; of the Civil War, contradictions of Ch YL sti ani ty--al l la ic1 the foundations for a more co ns cientous poetry. Robinson is quick to point ou t, however, that the charitable work of literate Blacks (during th is period and the followinG one) often consumed their e ne.r'r~ i.es and thei.r passions. write. Many went about helping others learn to read and Others administered to t~e ill an~ attempted to record their experi e nces (via diaries, notes, h io praphies, texts) for coming generations. In many northern conmunities there were Black Literary Societies--usua]ly named after classical personalities or thin~s. I mportant with regar~s to many of the early poets, ~ob i nson notes, was their inwense popularity and gre at abilities to deliver their poems orally. Douglass' orator y , cer t ainly, is well �known--as is that of the early Black preachers. The ea.r•ly poets, like the preachers, apparentl: knew their audiences 7 well (often elicited audience responses) and appealed to what Johnson bas called a 11 hiD'hl v- develooed '--' . sense of sound." Roginson tells us that "Hrs. F'.E.W. He.rper's Poerns on Mis(18;i.1.) cellaneous Subjects, ••. reached lts twentieth edition as early as 1374, but this was not due to the conventional notion of poetic excellence/ Hrs. Harper was fully aware of her limitations in that kind of poetry, it was due more to the sentimental, emotion-frei ~hted popularit y that she had given the lines with her disarmin~l~ drBmatic voice and e;estures and sir:hs and tears." T11is pa.ritcular aspect of Black Poetry has yet to be examined fully. Most of the early Black poets g ive si c nificant clues, in their writings, to the reaction of the African mind coming in contact with written tradition for the first time. ti-,,"' In the work of the most skilled of these poets, ~~nslaver's ; conscience is prodded while the mastery of Enr~lish literary verse heralds a major step in the <'levelopinent of the Black American literary tradition. From the stilted poetic con- ventions and self-righteousness of Neoclassice.l and Romantic models to the rich Americanized English-Irish ballads, the early poets armed themselves with the best techniques available. Some contemporary poets and crit:i..cs, unfa.miliar with the mood and state of affairs of the times, often speak contemptuously of the e~rly writers--censurine them for being 11 o'l,lts ide II the "struggle. 52 11 Much of the cr•i t j_c ism, �however, is due to i e; nora.nce and a lack of readinp; . One popular feelin g for example, is that one should procede 3-.,,r;n~, . . Hr,,,.,me.a from Phillis ·wheatlei and George Moses Horton strai r;ht on to Dunbar. Such a surface approach to the material, however, ignores the dozens of interesting fi s ures in b etween the two periods. Related Sub-Topics For Unit # 2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. UNIT If 3: "Black" Themes in tbe Early Poetry Black Poetry as Oratory Formalism in Early Poetry Black Romantic Poetr~ 11 Freedom 11 as a Them.e~in Early Poetry Idealism in Early Black Poetry Slavery as Viewed by Early Poets Diction, Classical and Biblical Allusions in Early Black Poetry View of Africa in Early Poetry First Generation African Writers of English nelationship of Early Poetry to Slave Narratives Occassional Verse and Sophistication in Early Black Poetry '~·Jhi terr :,1odels Used by Early Black Poets Early Black Poetry and the Enc lish Literary Tradition Protest in Early Black Poetr~ Plantation Life in Earl"': Plack Poetr:r "Africanis ms " in Early Poetr:.Religious Themes in Early Black Poetry Differences Between 1 3 th and 19th Century Black Poetry Early Black Poet as Fugitive Romanticism in Early 19th Ce ntury Black Poetry DIALECT POETS; BEGINrTII'TG OF Tlill AUTiffiNTIC VOICE (1865-1910) Literary/Social Backr,round: The period fro m l t356 to 1910 was one of contradictions, great expec t a t ions, continued literary experimentation and important beGinni ngs. On the white literary scene, Whitman, Hilliar:i Dean Howells, Henry James, Joel Chandler Harris and Irwin Russel g enerally 53 �presided over the writins. Harris had s aine d popularity for himself and Black Folklore when he pi: hlished the Uncle Remus tales in 1379. Important Black names for the period are Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douelass; Paul Lawrence Dnn';)ar, W.E.B . DuBois, Charles Chestnutt, James 1:-Teldon Johnson, Fenton Johnson, James D. Carrothers, William Still, Alexander Crun:rwell , Alberry Whitman, Benjaman Brawley, William Stanley Braithwaite, and Alain Locke. Of the men listed al)ove, Dunbar, Hhi trnan, Fenton Johnson, Carrothers and Braithwaite, ar8 the poets of interests during this reriod. J D~o~s.', socioloe;ist and editor, is chief'ly Sor19 o fth'-" :.-rvH,!'f.l etnd known as a poet for hisf..''Lita.ny nt Atlanta, the 1906 riot in Atlanta. Black writer of f'iction. by 11 wr5.tten after Chest nutt wast.he :first important Both he and Dun11ar were endorsed Howells, who presided over A'rt erican literary criticism during the last quarter of the 1 ?th Cer:t1,r:~. Howells is known for his support in launchinIT the careers of Henry James (deemed America's r.:;reatost novelist} nnd Walt Hhitman. Generally, with the exception of B.r•ai thwai.te, Fenton Johnson and Alberry t·rnitman, Black poe-ts follow ed t.1-::e dialect trRdition of the day. Robinson ~otes: The vogue was establis'Jed amon g white southern writers (who failed to appreciate their own amusing dialects) with Irwin Russell (1353-79) whose popular pieces were c ollected and published posthu::nously as !\.)ems 1::- In-:i n Russell (J.230) wit;h a lovin 0 pr·' =lface 1)y ~-;i Chandler Harris, also pupular for his Uncle Re~1s and Bror Rabbit prose tales in Ne c ro dialect. �Other dialect poets inclnr.. e o Daniel Henderson and J. Mord Allen. Uf3 )Ster, Elliot B. In the dialect mode, Dunbar surpassed all writers--Black and white, includins Russell after whom he pe.tterned bis efforts. Dunb ar also wrote poetry in literary English--the work for w~ich he wished to be remembered. Ironically, however, it was his dialect poetry, which he ca.lle<l "a j ine;le in a ·b roken tongue," that gained him notoriety. Recog nized as a skillful phone- ticist and a brilliant reader of his poe t r y , Iunh ar died in 1906 at the age of 3~. T:ost of his li tera.ry poetry deals with over-wor·ked themes of imn101°tv.lity , nature, dreams and ideal love--although he did make "social" statements in some of them (e . 1~:., ''Ere Sleep Come s Down to Soothe the ·weary Eyes" and "Ships tbat Pass in the Ni s ht"). His dialect poetry was almost always humorous and dealt with harmless, non-controversial themes such as parties, plantation love, I harvest time, the contemplation of something c ood to eat and generally what h e seenicd to se0 as a co ntented sla ve. Yet, in a poem like "Symphony," which is not in dialect, one can feel the Black poet worki n~ sensiti7el y on all levels--and using double entendre to make his point, as in this stanza: I know why the caged b ird beats bis win g Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; For be must fly back to his perch and cline ·when he fain would be on the b ough n-swing ; And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse a g ain with a keener stin~-I know why he beats his wine ! Fenton Johnson and Braithwaite are closely identified with 55 I I �the "revival'' of poetry in America. EraithwRite, antholo- gist and critic, was one of the pioneering forc e s. be bad published two collections of b-ls own poel~r~edited three antholog ies of American poe t ry. By 1~n9 anr) ,Tohnson pub- lished poetry in major Airierican rrngazines anc1 ,2 ournals. James Weldon Johnson said he "sounded a note of fatalistic despair 11 that was "so forei g n to any philosophy of life the Negro in America bad ever practiced or preacbed. 11 While Johnson dealt with Black the mes and n aterial, bowever, Brai tbwai te shunned such and was read :,:r 1i-1 0 ny wbo cHd not know bis racial identity. The bi ggest contradiction of the era was tbat "necons true tion" occurred in ng_me onl:r. The grow th of white hate and intimidation groups (2,500 Blacks we re lynched between 1885 and 1900), the development of a nee-slavery, the paradoxical plight of the "freedrr:arj" ( see 1'.Jash"lnc ton' s Up From Slavery), the cenera l disappoi. nt:nents in social "paper" programs and the disillusionMent on the parts of Blacks who fought in the Civil Har--all influenced and helped direct the Black mood of the period. While dialect poetry emerged as the most popular form in poetry and prose, James Weldon Johnson observed that it would not encase the n anifold nature of the Black Experience; white writers had initiated it. Caught up for a while in the potentials of the Emancipation Proclamation and ":Reconstruction", many Black poets also couched their lines in patriotis m and sentimentality. Others souGht to capture the rich pace of �Black idiom, the spice of re g ional color, the folklore and the solidness of Black everyday wbere~ithal. During the period, the first of a series of Black manual arts colleges was established. Hampton Institute, Fisk Uni- versity, Howard University, Morehouse Colle ge and Johnson C. Smith College were among the early ones. Tn 1871, the year of James Weldon Johnson's birth, the Fisk ~1bilee Singers made their first concert tour 11ith Spirituals. The tour was epoch- making for it marked the fj_rst time a Black indigenous American art form had been g iven such worldwide exposure. The period was cr ucial, too, for all Black folk art because the b urGeonin~ new Blac k Intelligentsia, anxious to remove the bj_tter taste of slave~ were anxious to disrobe themselves of all relics of their ante-bellum past. The Spi r ituals, the rich cadences of folk speech and freedom in dance, amon c other aspects, were g iven back seat in an atte mpt to Hesternize or "ci v ilize" newly emancipated Blacks. The Civll ·war, :Smancipation Proclamati.on A. nd the stationing of occupation troops in the south, had also left a bitter taste 0~1 the ton gues of so n tbern whites. The attempt to ncolonize" the south, as some saw :i.t, was dramatized by the arrival of ncarpei:;t,a c;gers "--white northerners preaching Black freedom or exploiting southern industry. The results were ela 1; orate and ruthleGs rise of wl-:ii te secret societies and ridicule of Blacks in the newspapers and magazines. Hany Black poets unwittingly -r:-artici. pated ln this �ridicule in their Wan t -1vO 01-J::-} dialect and sent:i 1ental ·,;erne. th.e ex t re m-"" to oro'·e ' -ir l • th- •·-- 11 . ,!'..£ 000° Others neo<~-,e, 11 a ncl nGoJ. li.ness", In the shadows of all t11ese thus becoming hypepbollcal . paradoxes, Black minstrels ar:d m1 s1.cinns g ain0d p1'0 .-r.i.ne n.-• 3, "Tiag tirne" hl9ralde<.1 anC: era ulti matel y to :ie cRlled Lhe ,Jazz i-Ieanw11.ile more serious debate over the fate of Blacks was tak:i.nc; place a mon,3 men such as Do:1c lass, 1,TD8hington o.ncl In 1 395 , at the Inter na ti onal .Atla:1ta Pixposi.tioD, DuBois . Washington delivered his f8mous "C omprcn ·.s e II speec:'17 which encourag ed Blacks and whtte to work ns close as th e finsers of the hand in n atters needing rnucua.l c onc ern ; 1) .rl; that in all social respects, the fin Rers of the ~and woule he separate . :Jashing ton , who founded Tuskegee Tnst5.tute j_n l::'<".l , played 1 dow n c 1.vi 1 conce1:·ns and t ~.te:?,Pat :!. on, ar6 urced Bl aci~s t o seek practical skills. DuBois encouraged Blacks to seek knowled g e of the arts and sciences and predictetl that a "Talented Tenth" wo uld en1err ;0- to lead the Bl nc k population . 1 In The Souls of Black Folks, Du'Ro:ts er 5. t lqued Washtn ?:t on ' s position . The contro•:ers y hehree~ :-he t i-10 nen is :1ow fa mo us as is Dudley Randall's poem "Booker T. and 1:.r . :s .B" in which the ideolo c ies of both men a r e p lecec'l 0. g ai nst the ,·1ood of the ti mes . In rich use of dialo~e in ia~bi c t etrame ter, Randal l opens with: "It seems to me," said Booker T., "It shows an n,i 1::,h ty lot of che ek To study ch em is~ry a nd Greek When Hister Charlie needs a hand To hoe tbe cotton on his land, r'O :,J U �And when Hiss Ann looks for a r;.Dok, 1.'Jby stick :.-our nose inside a ':_iook? " DuBois replies: "I don't a L;,0 ·ree• , II c,,·, id 1,r •b• '<' B. • 1 "If I should have the drive to seek Knowledge of chemi st ry or Greek, I'll do it. Charles and Miss can look Another place for band or cook. Some men re j oice in skill of hand, And some in cultivating land, But there are others who mainLain The ri gh t to cultivate the brain .,: W O.- •• Obviously , an l rna ginary conversation, the poem ends thusly: "It seems to me, "I don't a gree, Said W.E.B. 11 ;;aicl. Booker T. -·· 11 The DuBois-Was'hington controversy c r•eateu re·,erberations that are still being heard around the Black wor] c1. DuBois was to rise as the towering and defiant fi , ;ure of the per•iod while Washington was reduced to a di g nityless symbol. Despite the vigorous debates and prose writin~s, however, the social coming-of-age in t he poetry (technically and thematically) was not to see its apex until the second decade of the 20th Century. Related Sub-Topics For• Unit 10 3 1. 2. 3. 4- 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Local and Re gional Color in Black Poetry Dialect as a Vehicle for Poetry Differences Between Black and white Dialect Poetr•y Differences Between 11 Gullah 11 and other Black Dialect Poetry Africanis ms in Dialect Poetry Linli tat ions of Dialect Poetr:r Epic Poetry and the Black Literary Tradition Biblical Allusion in Late 19th Cent ury Black Poetry Be g inninc s of the Authentic or Ori c inel Black Poet 59 �10. 11. 12. 13. lli.. 15. 16. 17. l B. 19. 20. UNIT fl 4: :Music in Dialect and O·ral ?oetr:r Dance Possibilities in Dialect Poetry Tbe Blnc k Poe t and P-econstruction The Blac k Poet After the Ci. Tll ·t:rar Influence of Folklore on Black Poetr~r Influence of Minstrelsy on Black Poetry Social Le g islation end Blac k Poetr~ Plantation Lif e i~ Bl ack Poetr~ Nineteenth Century Social Life in Black Poetry Stylistic Differ ences in Late 19th Century Black Poetr~· Refi neme nt in Poetic For ms NEW TRENDS AND DE:?IA NCE; HART.EI 1 RENAISSANCE (1910 - 1930) Literary/Social Backgronnd: In 1 91 0 the population of Black America was 9, 827,763; Lan[~S ton Hur.:;hes was e. boy of ten and the NAACP ·was one :,-om" old. :s:~ 1930 , however, the Black population would have increased to ll, 8~1,143 (or 9.7 %); a major miBration of Blacks to northern industrial centers would have taken place; racial riots wo uld have scorched more than half a dozen American c ities; the country wo uld have engaged in and ended its first national war, and l y nch i ng s would continue to be amens the 8 ost fearful prospects for Black 1;:cen. Booker T. Wa3hington had chro nic led the hardships and bitter disappointme nts of Blacks in hi s Up Fro'~ Slavery. The new "freedom'' was short lived and illusi•:e, Washington observed, because the e.x -s lave bad no skill, no land and no place to g o. 11 Emancipated " Blacks were not farin g much better than their fore-parents. DuBois had b e gun to raise some of the broader, gloh al issues of Black oppression and to place the Black Experience in its proper perspective in The Souls of Black Folks. Dur ing the second and third 60 �decades of the 20th Century, Black scholars, activists nnd writers continued to record the Black Experience with telling accuracy and drar:1a. The founding of the NAACP, tbe Urban League, the Association for the Study of !'Tetro Life and History (Carter G. Woodson, 1926), The Crisis and Opportunity t~1a.gazines, the li terar:r journal Fir~; tbe flourish inc and prominence of ragtime and early jazz, the development of Black operete.s and rnusicalR--all helped estal )lish the mood and the Black trends of the times. The three publications-- Fire was sbort-l'i.ved--published so,ne of the most important Black Literature of the Awakening 8t1d offered awards e.s in- centives to writers. On the seneral American scene, science and industry were developinc rapidly. Indications of this were the radio, wireless, technolocical warfare and t he autori o~)i.le. The "new Psychology" was taking ~old and the real i s t11 of tbe previous literature was bowing out to natur~lj.s>1 . T'his new mode is seen in the works of such wr4ters as Theodore Drieser, Evelyn Scott and WilliaM Faulkner. Tnterest in local color and dialect, w1.1 ich had dor~inated the later portion of the 19th Century~ was also dyinc and the Black American was "re-discovered" b:~ whi t.e writers as a literary fiBure for realistic fiction, drama and poetry. in,ite writers sbo publ ts11ed popular accounts of Black life j_ncluded DeBose Hay11-1ard, Sherwood Anderson and Carl Van Vechten. Revolts in interests and manners characterize~ Anerican society; Black cri. tie ,TameR A. E:mr..uel po:i.r.ts ot~t (Neg~,!'°. 61 �new Freudian awareness by e scaping tnto exotic ~lack cabaret life." Hughes records this exotj_c :i.rn'l_ ul .:;011ce 1 n his auto- bioe;ra.phy, The Bic__ §~~ (1940). recorded these white ~-Tume1~cus other Black writers 1 'd i versions n: I~cKay in A Lone; Way from Home and Johnson j_n Alone; This Ha~ ( a. 11 tobiog 1,aphies). Johnson also fictionalizes this roma.nticizins of Blacks in his novel The Autogiography of An Ex-Colo ured :Ia n (publisbed under a pseudony-m in 1912 a.r:d unc"icr his own na;·. :e in 1925). In the book, Johnson also discusses .r a e;tii::ie in r;rent. deta.5.1. The drama of the period was do n inated o7er 'b :r Euce ne O' n eill--who -;-.ron Pulitzer and Hobel prizes. Two of O'neill's plays (The Emrer·or Jones an<l Tbe Hairy Ape) rd ntecJ e.t tbe psycholoe;ical involv,~menc of Blacks and wh:i. tes nnd ::,u _r.·:r•;ested, 1,1 any critics feel, tr.e mixt. ure of fear, ha tree~ n r:.rJ ::,c" 1- irat ion man:r w11i tes 1 have for Blacks. The Emp e-r•or Jone ::; Ol"id All God's Chillun Got Win::;s featured major Blac:k cr i:n-·D,::. Lcr1~; . convinced t,he ·t-101, ld, before a first-rate dra.: ,a.tist. 0 1 nc:'il.J., Anie ricEi. bar! not Lb:i.t it could pro<Jnce IronicoJ 1:·, 1:1--,·)1 :c;h, one of tbe vehicle s for O'neill's talents was a Black actor, Charles Gilpin, who starred in The En1 peror Jones. The l'Tew York Times said Gilpin was able to "invoke the pity and th e terror and the indescr:ibable fore g odinr.; wbich are part of t he secret of The Emperor Jones. The Glo'be reviewer o}, serve<1 that: Gilpin's is a sustained and splendid piece of actin g . The moment when be raises his naked boa~, ~g ai nst the Moonlit sky, beyond the ed g e of the j uns le, and preys, is such a dark lyric of Lb e flesh, such a cry of the 62 �primitive being, as I have never seen in th e theater. In the comment, of course, :i.s some sugr;estion o.f America's preoccupation, during this era, with the exotic savac e--a trend that had continued from Jack London (The Call of ~he_ Wild, The Sea-Wo].f) and tbe white write r s of local color: Thomas Nelson Page, Joel Chandler Harris, George Washington Cable and others. However, many of the writers of the period, like O'neill and Dreiser, had oegur, to shake off the r;1ystique of the American Dream and deal insteac1 with "illusion.'' Such was Dries er' s the rnc in his no,,eJ., An ~ 21e rica n Tra gedr (1925). The f oundinc:, of Poetry: A ?{a ge.zine of '1 e r se, b:r Harriet Monroe (1912) si c naled the b irth of the New Poetry movement in America. Most of the new work, including that of the Imagist poets, was showcased in Poe try. In 191.5, the antholoc y, Some Imag ist Poets, appeared to rival dissident factions which wanted to dispense with t raditional forms. Imagism owed much to Ezra Pound's theor i es and to Frencb Symbolism as well as Oriental and ancient Greek poetry. Chief spokesman for the Imas ist poets was Amy Lowell who was joined by John Gould Fletcher and Hilda Doolittle, among others. During the next t wo decades the c roup waged a successful battle aeainst the dissidents; b ut they also re-worked traditional forns and cornered a new readin g market for poetry in America and England. One of the poets of the period was Va.chael Lindsay, advocate of rhyth.11 and the reading aloud of poetry, who is credited with having 63 �ndiscovered 11 Langston Hughes. in this 11 Blac k poets who participated revi val 11 of Ame rican poetry were Penton Johnson and '1.Jilliam Stanley Braithwaite. The most si e;nificant develop1,1ent of the period, however, was the Bla.ck cultural flowe rins , principally in Harlem, which has become known as the Harlem Renaissance, the 1':e c;r o Awakening and the Negro rcenaissance. Central to tbe Renaissa.nce 11 11 (critics differ over whether it should be called such) was the migration of southern Blacks to northern urb an centers. Uith the working -class Blacks also ca::-;1 e the Black intelligentsia, artists and activists. Current Black creativity or scholarship cannot be understood unless the Harlem Renaissance is placed in proper perspective hecause the Harlem period is the most important bridee existing between slavery and the modern and/or contempor 8ry eras. During the first and second decades of thi s century, nomantic idealis m and prospects of the "Tieconstrnction 11 were beginning to loose hold on Blac k Americans just ns the American Dream was diminishin 6 among ma n:.t w'b.i tes. The declininc; influence of Dunbar (amonc poets), Booker T. Washington and submissiveness-type of Black leadership, allowed room for experiment ation and new voices. Most Black poets discarded plantation dialects and sentimental themes. Harcus Garvey, a West Indian who came to America in 1916 and who founded the Universal !Ter::;ro Improvement Association, had reached the hei~ht of hi s influence by 1922. Considered the most influential 20th Century Dlack �leader until Martin Luther Kin~, Jr., Garve7 was :ailed on a mail fraud conviction in 1925. ?,bufC1.~..-.A.l.9_n ,;, R musical by Noble S issle and Eubie Blake, played on Broadwa:- and opened the door for other rroduct5.ons 0f its kind. Jai1~es Weldon Johnson edited tbe fipst Ar.1eri.can a. n t1:olo r;y of Bl a.ck Poetry, T~e Book of American He:~r_<2__"Poetry ( 1922). Johnson's work was followed in quick s~ccesston h7 five other poetry a ,-itholor;ies--all in the 2 0 's. Tl:rn :r were: Negro Poe ts 2n~--Th€)_~.'..._ Poems_ (Eo::ert Thomas ICerl in, 1923) An Antholo[;:,- of American :Te g ro ',- erse 0 Jew-"an Ive:r White ----a. nc1-v1a1·Fere'11 ;)ton tfac'Eson, ·1"9~4) Negro Song s: An Antholo;-i;:,- ( Cle J1.e r. t ~·Jood, l ':'.2h) Caroling Dusk "'(Count.e0- Cu'fle n. , 1°2?) 'r:, :.'._OUr 11 .1. Jegro - --15-· , ( .1-1."1__ :.n•n L oc~rn, · _ 05:..::,,E ~ 1 ,.,..., ' ;. , c:.. 1 1 Of notw also was F.F. Cal7e i t o~'s An Antholop7 of American lTegro Literature ( 1929) which conta.inecl 61 pa£~es ot poetry. Cullen and Locke we re t6o of the c aj or fi ~ures of t~e HarleM Renaissance. along wi tb Claur1e :;cKay, -Tohns on, Hu r:_-bes, and Jean Toomer. Locke edit e d the antholor· y which heralded and chronicled the new Elack 1,100d a~1d acl;ievc1:1ent ri: The l:ew ~:egro: An Interpretation (1925), whicl: rer,1e.1.ns a classic today. He also wrote th e equally important A Decade of Negro Self Expression (1922 ). nhodes Scholar fro m Penn- sylvania, Locke recei.ved a :Ph.D. in 191~ fro :r_ Harvard and is still considered as the foremost interpreter of Black creativity of the Renaissance. Cullen publishec3 Color, his first book of poetry, when he was 22 and was insta~tly recognized as one of the best ~oun p poets in America. adopted _son of a I~ethod ist-r.1inister, Cullen while married to DuBols' _d e.ue;hter, Yolanda. 65 was for a TI1e short Fe also wrote �novels and drama, tra-v-eled (like inF.J. n:- or the wr iters) and wrote abroad (The Blac\c ClJrist, 102':\ Fra n 0E, ). Like :-:cKay, Cullen wrote in the more ~ormal tradition of Enslish poetry. Ct1l len' s r.1odel., in fact, was Jo1.1n Keats {see "To John Kea.ts, Poet., at Springtime''). Still cons:Ldered t }1e h est "formal" writer of the Renaissance period, Cullen was meticulous and careful in his poetic worl~1anship. He wrote in Spenzerian stanzas and, a.ccordins to e. former teach 0r, ,nFt:; he.Ye been the first poet to write "rime ro:rnls L1 Anerica. 11 Cullen, Arna Bontemps (Introduction, American ·Tee;ro Poetry) has observed, was among those Black writers of the 20's wbo went to "The Dark Tower II to ~,rood over i) e in~ called "He r;ro ff poets. Deflect in('.: today, some cr:i tics seek to dimin5-sI1 Cullen's achievement by sayine; he wan not 11 of 11 the Black :Sxperience-- but stood to the side and reported on it. Characteristic, however., of his dramatic power and flawless craft is the famous poem "Heri ta. ge 11 : What is Africa to me: Copper sun or scarlet sea, Jungle star o:..." junp;le track, Stronc bronze men or res al black Homen from whose loins I sprani·: When the birds of Eden sa.nc? Long and relentless in its use of poetic devices, nomantic homage to Africa and tropical imagery, the poe';1 probes hidden fears and questions of Black men., who if they think at all, Baldwin says, are "constantly on the verge of insanity." Cullen, however, is probably best known for his sonnet, "Yet Do I :Marvel," which has been both praised and castir;ated. Critics do not see~ to be ahJ.e to a cree as to whether Cullen 66 �is saluting, pj_t:,r in;; or r.1erel:; toleratin r; t,1-,e existence of the Black poet. Perhaps the pro'.J lem lies in t11e a ln;J:l g ni t y of the adjective "curious 11 : Yet do I marvel at this curious thins : To make a poet Black a.nd hio. bim sin:;! In addition to Cullen, other key poets of the Harle:n-Awakeninf, also published important volumes and added to the critical I I flutter. -1 I Johnson published Fifty Years and Other Poems (1917) and God's Tro:nbones (1927). i.-Jith his ~:,rother, J. Rosarnond, he edited The Book of American Jre t~ro S pirituals (192.5) and The Second Book of Am.erican Hegro Spirituals (1926). ·while in London, Iv'IcI".:ay published Sprinc; in Hew I-Iampshi_~~ (1920) and in 1922 he publisbed Harle:~1 Sba_~ow~_ i_n the U.S. He also wrote three novels and a stutl-:r of Blnc:<: "!'Tew York. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Johnson said 11cKa:r bclons ed ''to the post-wnr .r_:roup and was its most powe1~ful ·voice. rebellion. 11 Po was pre-e minentl:r the poet of Probably 1)est known for his po-werft:11, angry sonnet, "If He I'.iust Die," llcKay was also a sensitive poet of nature. Initially, h e wrote poetr~ i n his nati7e Jamaican dialect (he came to the U.S. in 1912) whicl1 earned him the title of Tiobert Burns of the island. HcKa:r clonked ':iolence in many of his poems, as in these lines from h:i.s sonnet, "The White House": Your door is shut against rny ti ;",htened face, And I am sharp as steel with discontent; But I possess the courage and the grace To bear my ang er proudly and unbent. VicKay traveled to Russia in 1922 where an atte:1pt ·was made to use him as an anti-America propa~anda in connection with the �1919 riots and Ar,1erica' s racial r r•ol·,l orn . JO' s NcKay hobnob'be c.~. w-t th s ucl~ H!"'i T· 1 1~he 2n' s and ters 8. nd ne 1.'s onal i Li. es as George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, 8incla5r Lewis, Isadora Duncan, and Max Eastman, who wr•ote a movi t 1p, his posthumous Se lee 'cec, ~ nl~oo.uction to Poer: ,s. Hughes and Cullen won nati.o,1al r e co_s nitlo:1 (ar.d poetry awards) at abou~ the sa me ti ne. parison ends. There, howe~ e r, the com- Hughes was 0~10 of the Hi.c'l. e st tra v ,::. le cl of all the nenaissanco wri t ers. and 01.ultj_-talented, He ~as also t~e ~ost pro~i c iovs 11:d. t:!n;:, success.f ully tn all ,:::: enreE_. Hughes, who Hhen he died ir:. 1 ")67 wa. 2. t·h c~ H~cfost translatefl. American author, later 1,·3 C8. .i w l:nown as the :l n t;err:a ti onal poet laureate of P.18.ck peorl e . his famous poe m 11 Bis C8.reer :) e c e. n in 1919 with Tl7e Ee e;r o Sp e aks of 'Ri ve,,,s," :t.n ·which he spiritually united t~e Blac k world. He was to ~eco me the most quoted and read Black ro e t--amon G everyday Blacks. Known for his musical quality and experi nIBntal ~lank verse in the Hbi tman-Lindsa~ -Sanc~~) U::'.'J st y le, Hus hes or-i c inated tbe 0 practice of reading poetry to jazz and was one of the foremost promoters of music-poetry lo ve affair. Black poet-critic Jay Wright (Introduction, Henr y Dumas' Poetr:,;__E.?E T-"i y People, 1970) noted that not untll th e appearance of Du ,,,as was Hup;hes' knowledge of Spiri.tuals ana Gospels was ri-v·nled, Hughes, like Du111as was to c1o later, haunted Black r01l g ious and secular concerts. DurinG the 20's, there we r e scores of concerts and Black musicians to see and bear. of experimentation and growth. 68 Black Kusic, it was a period ~as ti ~G had b een succeeded by �first Classical and then Neoclassical Jazz. The plantation minstrel tradition was dying and big bands were beginning to form. In 1927 Louis Armstrong, having organized his own band, began playing at the Sunset in Chica g o. at the Cotton in Harle m the same year. Duke Elling ton opened In a way, Hughes was more obvious successor to Dunbar in that he carried on the dialect tradition, but dissolved it of Dunhar's sentimentality and rural flavor. Hughes honed his ear on the rich, sponta- neous cadences and syncopated rhythm of the new urban Blacks, sometimes surrealistically combining them with the natural sights and sounds of the cities, as in "Jazzonia": Oh, silver tree! Oh, shining rivers of the soul! In a Harlem cabaret Six long-headed jazzers play. A dancing girl whose eyes are bold Lifts high a dress of silken g old. Oh, singinG tree! Oh, shining rivers of the soul! In 1926, Hughes published his prize-winning volume, The Weary Blues, and in 1927, Fine Clothes to the Jew. He was one of the greatest students and handlers of the Black Folk tradition-which he imbibed realistically, genuinely, alle g orically and mythically in his work. Johnson, too, was a prodigious and wide rang ing talent. Some have called him the true "renaissance" man. As a scholar, Johnson is known for his anthologies and his se minal interpretations of Black culture--music and the Spirituals in particular. Of great importance is his antholo e y, The Book of American Negro Poetry where in an illuminating Preface, he 69 �cites the four major Black artistic contrib utions to America. 1. 2. J. 4. The Uncle Remus stories, collected by Joel Chandler Harris The Spirituals ("to which the Fisk Jub ilee Singers made the public and the musicians of b oth the United States and Europe listen") The Cakewalk (which Paris called the "poetry of motion") · The Ra gtime ("American music" for which the U.S. is known all over the world) Johnson is also noted for his work with t h e U.S. diplomatic corps, his pioneering work with the NAACP and his brilliant employment of Black idioms and ps y cholo g:r in his poetry and discussions. His "Lift Every Voice and Sing , Black national anthem, was written in 1900. 11 called the Johnson's brother, J. Rosamond, composed the music for the poem. Another of Johnson's famous works is 11 0 Black and Unknown Bards," in which he i mmortalized the makers and sin gers of the early Spirituals: 0 black and unknown bards of long a go, How ca.me your lips to touch the sacred fire? How, in your darkness, did you come to know The power and the beauty of the minstrel's lyre? .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Heart of what slave poured out such melody As "Steal away to Jesus"? On its strians His spirit must have ni ghtl y floated free, Though still a.bout his hands he felt his cha.ins. Who heard great "Jordan Roll"? Whose starward e y e Saw chariot "swing low 11 ? And who was he That breathed that comforting, melodic si gh, "Nobody knows de trouble I see 11 ? One of the most unique voices of the Harlem Renaissance, however, was Jean Toomer, who along with Huehes, Cullen and McKay make up Locke's Four Negro Poets. A complex of person- alities, talents and racial mixtures, Toomer was a constant 70 �eni gma to critics and fellow writers. Althou gh he ad mitted that he was of seven racial strands, he acknowled g ed that 11 my growing need for artistic expression has pulled me deeper and deeper into the Ne e;ro group. 11 In 1924, Toomer•s Cane was published to g enerally unenthusiastic reviews. However, a number of writers of the new school--Waldo Frank, Sherwood Anderson, etc.--lauded i t . Cane, normally lumped in the cate- g ory of the novel; is an unusual and complex set of short stories interlaced with poems and at least one play . Set primarily in the deep south--in Geor g ia--it also deals with the urban impact on mi grating Blacks. Love, racial conflict~ sex, violence, reli g ion, nature and a grarian the mes are all explored directly and alle g orically. Today Cane is re g arded as a classic and is extolled b y Black intellectuals, writers and teachers as the greatest single wor k of tee Renaissance. Robert Bone, in The Nee;ro Novel in America, sa:i.d that Toomer was the "only Ne gro writer of the 1 920's who participated on equal terms in the creation of the modern idiom." Bone was, of course, comparing Toomer to "Stein and Hemingway in prose, Pound and Eliot in poetry." Most of the stories in Cane are introduced b y a single stanza prolo gue as in "Karintb a": Her skin is like dus k on the eastern horizon, 0 can't y ou see it, o can't y ou see it, Her skin is like dusk on the east e rn horizon • • • When the sun g oes down. Obsessed, it seems, with beauty and na t ure-cou pled with a passionate intellig ence and lin g uistic v irtuosit y --Toomer was just as comfortable with sonnets. "Nov emb er Cotton Flower" closes with the followin g co u plet: 71 �Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear, Beauty so sudden for that time of y ear. Racial pride, the lower side of Clack life and a ro mantic engagement with Africa, however, were the main ingredients of the Renaissance literature; and most of the writers employed these themes directly or indirectly. musicians, scholars and activists. So too did the painters, Garvey had set up a re gal court reminiscent of ancient African Kingdoms and had infused his followers with visions of returnin c; to the "homeland". His "court" was resplendent with hierarchical titles and lavish regalia for parades. his fleet of ships. Black Star Line was the name of The prevailing spirit of the day was one of Black indul gence and many whites sought for, and got their share of, it. The Black Awakenin g was not the exclusive pro- perty of Harlem. For as Kerlin pojnts out (Preface, Ne c;ro Poets and Their Poems), the mood of change spread to other sections of the country. Some of the re gional or community anthologies published were: The Quill in Boston, Black Opals in Philadelphia and The Stylus in Washing ton, D.C. too, were the collections and studies of folk songs. Important, Kerlin's "noteworthy" collections for the period included: Negro Folk Rhymes (Thomas W. Talley, 1922) The Ne gro and His Son~s (Howard W. Odum, 1925) Ne gro Workaday SongsHoward W. Odum, 1926) Rainbow Round My-snoulder (Howard W. Odum, 1928 ) Wings on My Feet {Howard W. Odum, 1929) American Ne gro Folk Songs (Newman Ivey White, 1929) Other brilliant and exciting poets and writers shared the Renaissance scene--thougb they are normally over-shadowed by Hughes, Toomer, McKay, Johnson a.nd Cullen. 72 Some of' these �writers--most of whom did not publish volumes until the later period--were: Arna Bontemps, Waring Cuney, Robert Hayden, Sterling Brown, Owen Dodson and Melvin Tolson. Prose writers of the period included Eric Walrond and Rudolph Fisher as well as Hughes and Toomer. Bontemps, antholo ~ist, critic, poet and novelist, published in leadinG ma c azines of the period and won numerous awards for poetry. His first collection of poetry, Personals, was not published until 1963. Cuney is known for his brevity and preciseness as in his poem "No Images" wherein he laments the pli pht of a Black girl whose proud past has become muddied in the concrete and asphalt jungle of the city because: • • • there are no palm trees On the street, And dish water g ives back no ir,1a r~es. Sterlin[; Brown, like Bontemps, pursued the folk tradition while cultivatins an ear and technique that rivaled some of the best modern poetry. His debt to folk idioms and characters is ob- vious in such poems as "Odyssey of Bi c; Boy, 11 "Southern Road~ " ''Memphis Blues," and "Lon[_:, Gone "--all appeari nc; in .Johnson's anthology. Brown, who contributed to periodicals of tbe period and wrote a regular column for Opportunity, also published important critical studies. Dodson wrote verse plays and collaborated with Cullen on at least one writing project. He too won numerous awards for his plays and poetry . llayden and Tolson, both si~nificant modern poets, were to be beard from in succeeding decades as critics and outstanding teacbers. 73 �Related Suh-Topics for Unit 9 1. 2. 3. 4- 5. 6. 4 "The Harlem Renaissance" Through Poetry The Ja.zz Idiom in the New Poet-r:r Plantation Life in the New Poetr~ Changes in Dialect Usa ge in Poets Between 1910-1930 Universality and the Black Poet Ela.ck Life Seen Throuch Blnck Poetry, 1920-1930 7. The Impact of Blues and Jazz on tbe Poetry Religious Influence on Black Poetr:r, 9. Africa as Seen hy the Harlem Rennaissance Poets Divercent styles in Early 20th Centur~ Black Poets Comparison/Contrast of Blnclc and 'Hhi te Poets of the Period Major Themes i n Black Poetry , 1910-1930 8. 1910-1930 10. 11. 12. UNIT If 5: THE :MODETIH BLACK POETS (1930 - 1954) Li tera1"'y/Social Background: .-f'n en the stock market crashed 1 in 1929, white patronization of Black artists ended. Blac k creativity and scholarship, however, had grown up durin ~ the first three decades of the century, and i~portant writing and musical development continued. Mi p,ration of Blacks to northern urban centers was stepped up hefore and after World War II--with many Blacks being attracted by shipbuildin ~ and other war manufacturing industries. Afro-Americans have participated in every U.S. military conflict since Colonial days. Durinc World War II and Korea, however, they were used al~ost exclusively as fi ghting troops (between 1943-45 Jim Crow was abolished in the Armed Forces). Nevertheless, Black soldiers, returnin g home from European and Pacific war theaters, still faced unemployment and lynching; and in so me southern cities were forbidden to appear on the streets in military uniforms. 74 Baldwin is one �of many perceptive American writers to note that Black men, seeking the fruits and the realization of the A meri ca □ Dream, tried through out history to adjust and "fit" into American society. So, in face of official Ameri can contempt for his humanity and his welfare, the Blac k soldier march ed with an "equality" of death into tbe Korean "\Jar. James Weldon Johnson had opened the dismal period of the Depression with Black Manhattan, a social history of Harlem. Black Manhattan was one of t l1e dozens of studies on urban Black communities which had he0n be~un by works such as DuBois' Philadelphia Negro: A Social Stu~~! (l f'.<)9 ). Like Johnson, many of the poets and artists turned their writinc skills toward the recording of Black social problems and artistic achievements (e.g., Johnson's Black Americans, Hho.t lJow? and Charles S. Johnson's The Shadow of the Plantation, ~ oth in 193~). Some of the writers were subsidized b:r HPA c;rants while others mana g ed to obtain jobs as teachers and iournalists. like the common folk, walked the soup lines. Others, It was durin 13 the period of 1930-.54 that white schools of higher learninc started accepting more Blacks, as students and teachers. Generally, America witnessed rapid advancements in science and industry. Radio drama became a cultural mainstay and the motion picture ind us tr~ provided a new and exciting diversion for America. Baseball continued as the "national pasttime" (for Blacks, it was the era of Jackie Robinson). ,Tack Johnson had already bec;un to dazzle America with his pugilistic skills. It was the prize fighter Joe Louis 75 �(the "Brown Bomber"), however, who captur ed sports-minded America with one of the greatest records in t h e hoxin g hi story . Louis's defeat of German Max Xchmelin g (193 8 ) came at a crucial time in U.S. history--when America's rising '~'l i ght amon [; tbe world of nations was being challenged on tbe battlefield by Hitler. Two years earlier, a racist Hitler h a d refused to acknowledge the feats of Olympic tract star Jessee Owens. In prose and drama, white American writers continued to straddle a thematic path between realism and the American Dream. A distinctly 11 post-wa.r 11 group of writers e merged. Dominating the period were Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis, Willa Cather, Thomas Wolfe, O'neill, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, John Dos Pe.ssos, Katherine Anne Porter, Erskine Caldwell and Carson McCullers. Usinc; symbolism and alle gory to attack war, decade nce a nd the atomic bomb, American writers often took ns models s uch Russian writers as Chekov, Dostoevski and Tolstoi. T~ny employed the stream of consciousness technique--a st yle inf luenced by the "new psychologyrr and Irish writer James Joy ce--wh ich allowed for uninterrupted explorations 11 streamed 11 their references. 11 on part of characters who A similar mood prevailed in the poetry--much of which dealt wi th social decadence, war e.nd the mechanization of man. E.E. Cumrn.ings, known for his t y po graphi- cal trickery and general linguistic and syntactical experiments, was one of the most relentless critics o~ bureaucracy and war. Such themes had also concerned T.S. Eliot, considered one of the greatest modern poets, in such poems as 11 The Love Sonr; �of J'. Alfred Profrock" and "The Wa.ste Land. 11 The Imag ist poets continued their development via sucb voices as "H.D., Ezra Pound and Marianne Moore. 11 Other modern poets were Conrad Aiken, William Corlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, Archibald McLeish, Hart Crane, J'ohn Crowe Ransom, Allan Tate, Richard Eberhart, Randall Jarrell, Robert Frost and Carl Sandbur ~. Crane, Eliot, Pound, W.H. Auden and Stevens have been called the major voices of the modern American Poetry. Historically, Black Music had been marked by white imitation and exploitation. There always exists the need to create a "white" musical face that can be di gested bJ Americans at large. From the minstrelsy of plantation days to tbe sophisticated operettas and musicals of the 2O's, this pattern bas continued. During the modern period, Be Bop became the musical heir to Ragtime, early Jazz a.nd Tin Pan Alley. While the bi~ band .-· and Black composers--Basis, Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, W.C. Handy, Eubie Blake, Noble Sisle, ctc.--continued their important work, different kinds of experiments were f, Oing on among other musicians. From these new formations and probings came some of the giants of modern Black Music: Miles Davis, Charlie "Yard Bird" Parker, Lester "Prez" Young , Sonny Rollins, Gene Ammons, Art Blakey (who studied drums in Africa), Ghano Pozo (Afro-Cuban), Dizzy Gillespie and Babs Gonzales (Bop poet e.nd singer: I Paid My Dues, 1967). From the musicians and their supporters emerged a.n underground "hip'' lanGuac;e. This tradition, of talking in metaphors and encoded cultural neologisms, had begun during the Renaissance. 77 Often, too, Black �vocalists were featured with the musicians. Some of these song stylists were Ella Fitz : erald, Sarah Vau gbn, Billie Holliday and Bessie Smith--wbo died in 1937. The migration t o cities also saw tbe continued rise of urbirn or bi[ city Blues. By 1954, however, the Blues bad ~one tbrou Gh several i mportant periods of development. Some names associated with the modern period were Louis Armstrong , Fats Waller, Ca h Calloway, Pops Foster, Eddie 1 ~on" House, Robert Johnson, Johnny Temple, Ro osevelt Sykes, Elmo James, B.B. Kin g , Jimmy Reed, Josh White, Sonny Boy Williams, John Lee Hooker, L5. Ghtnin 1 Hopkins and Big Joe Turner. Several notable Black literary explosions occured durinc the period between 1930-.54. Important were: the publication of Native Son (Richard Wright, 19~.0 ); the pub lication of For My People (Margaret Walker, 1942); tbe nppearance of Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison, 1952) a.nd , winnin g of the Pulitzer Prize for poetr:T (Gwendolyn Brooks, 1950 for Annie Allen). Na tive Son, a novel, featured a Black prota G;onist named Bigc;er Thomas who symbolized, and in many ways conte.i ned, the anger, ra g e and pressures felt by ur b an Blacks. The book was the first by a Black author to me.ke the best seller list and was also a book of the month club choice. Durinc the same period Wright, who died an expatriate in France in 1960, published several other novels, short stories, books of essays and miscellaneous prose. appeared. In 1945 Black Boy, bis autobiography Wright is significant for many reasons, foremost among the~ being that be was the first Black writer to deal , �accurately and on par with tbe beet fic t ion of t~e day , with the philosophical and psychological complexit y of the Black urbanite. In doing this, he opened a new ran r e of possibilities and freed Bla.ck fiction in many ways. Second, Wri ght is generally considered to be the juncture where one sho uld start a serious study of the Black novel. durine this period: There were other r ood fiction writers Rudolph Fisher, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude :McKay, Huch es, Arna. Bontemps, Ann Petr:r, DuBois, Frank Yerby, Eric Walrond, Chester Himes and Sterlinr; Brown. \•Jri ght, however, was the first to forge and sustain a maj~~ Black art piece out of mythical and racial materials in a way that no other writer had. Baldwin, who would dominate the comin3 years, indicated his rigor and genius near the end of this period (Go Tell It On the Mountain, 1953). Miss Walker, a Mississippi housewife who teaches literature at Jackson State College, was 22 years old when she wrote "For My People "--one of the most famous poems in En f:lish. Her book by the same name won the Yale Series of Youn ger Poets award in 1942. Rieb in cultural folk references, Bleck phono- logy and social history, the slim book briliantly traces the hope, humor, pathos, ra c;e, stamina. and iron dl c nity of the race. For My People lacks the daintiness, bared an ger and romantic idealism of some Renaissance Black poetry. The poems are true-grit experiences informed by the oral cadences and the religiosity of Blacks. Yet, along with these folk themes and intonations, Miss Walker presents excellent sonnets and quiet free-verse reminiscences in luscious and prismatic �imagery ("Southern Song 11 ) : I want my body bathed a gain by southern suns, my soul reclaimed a gain from southern land. I want to rest a gain in southern fields, in grass and ha y and clover bloom; to lay my hand a gain upon the clay baked by a southern sun, to touch t he r ain-soaked earth and smell the s mell of soil. Ellison, who has not published a novel since Invisible Man, remains one of the most controversial fi gures in American Literature; much of the controversy arising from what he says outside of fiction (see Introduction). Communist-oriented papers generally condemned Invisible Man when it first appeared. They held t hat it was a "dirt throwing '' rit ual for Ellison--wbo combines naturalism and complex symbolism in the book. Black novelist John Oliver Killens also gave it a ne gative review. Generally, however, the work is considered, by Black and white critics, to be a great novel--perhaps the greatest American novel. It won the National Book Award in 1952 and in a sub- sequent poll of 200 journalists and critics, it was j ud ged the most distinguished single work of fiction since World War II. The winning of the Pulitzer Prize by Gwendol y n Brooks (and Ellison's accolades) told the world that Black writers had mastered the "ultimate" English literary crafts of poetry and fiction to a degree which no longer called their abilities into question. Many Black critics feel, however, that there were excellent volumes, before Annie Allen, which should have received the Pulitzer Prize. These critics say Black artists, like the Black Experience, come periodically into fashion 80 �(e.g., Harlem Renaissance)--to be tolerated at the whims of white literary b astions, despite their proven abilities. The citation of Miss Brooks was a citation of the Black Experience, howe ve r--despite the fact that the prize was not a major announce ment in the Black communit y . caught up in the p ost-war mood, Blacks, job-searching and a quest for social equalit y , were not readin g much poetry. Miss Brooks i s universally reco g nized for her sparseness and complete control of poetic de v ices. In one interview she said she loves th e "crush" of t he lan ~ua g e. A fine example of her effecti v enes s within spatial limitations is the parents: people like our marria g e MR.Xie and Andrew from "Notes From the Childhood and th e Girlhood ": Clogged and soft and sloppy eye s Hav e lost the li ght that b ites or terrifies. But one by one They g ot thing s done : Watch for p or ches as you pass And prim low f encin g pinch in g in th e g 1 ass. 1 Pleasant custards sit b ehind The white Venetian b lind . Enflamed b y the spirit and exa mple of the Harlem Renaissance, Black poets of the pre- and post-war y ears continued exciting experiments. Miss Brooks recalls that a brief encoura g ement from the " great" Ja mes Weldon Johnson when she was a child spurred her own her way. S o~e of the poets of the Renaissance, however, quit writing alto g ether or be g an writin g in another genre. Poet Bont e mps also wrote novels--the mo s t famous of 81 �them being Black Thunder (1939, an ada ptation of t he 1 8 31 Nat Turner-led slave revolt. He edited and wrote, and some- times collaborated with others on antholo g ies and b io graphies for young read e rs. Ne gro: 1764-1949, With Hughes, he edited The P oetry of The co nsidered a b reak through in modern Black literary activity . One of the handful of Ren a issance Black writers to surv ive i nto the S e v enties, Bontemps died in 1930-54 as the a ge of Some have called the period b etween Langston Hughes in Black l e tters. 1973. Indeed, Hughes remained prominent and productive throughout the three periods-Renaissance, 1930- 54, and the Contemporary era. Durin g the pre- and post-war periods, Hu ghes continued to turn out everything from new s paper fiction columns (Jesse B. Si mple) to juvenilia to play s. period included: Hu ghes volumes of p oetry during this Dear Lovely Death (1 9 31), The Dream-Keeper (1932), Scottsboro Limited: Four Poems and a play in Verse (1932), New Song (1 938), Shakespeare in Harlem (1942) and Monta g e of A Dream Deferred, among others. Black poets and writers continued to "pr otest" in their works, carry in g on a tradition, as Hay den notes, Ne gro writers." "traditionally associated with Perhaps the period currentl y discussed is amply capsuled in these lines from Huc hes' famous poem "Dream Deferred 11 : What happens to a dream deferred? . . . . . . . . . . . . Maybe it j ust sa g s Like a heavy load. Or does it e x plode? . . . .. �Hughes in poetry, like Wri ght, Ellison and Baldwin in prose, faithfully recorded the Black mood. Like the others, he also predicted the social violence of the 60•s. poets and volumes of the period include: Other important Sterling Brown, Southern Road (1932); Tolson, Rendezvous with America (1944) and Libretto for the Republic of Liberia (1953); Naomi Long Madgett., Sonr;s to a Phantom Nightin gale (19hl); Selected Poems of Claude McKay (posthumously, 1953); Hayden, Heart-Shape in the Dust (1940) and The Lion and the Archer (1940); Cullen, The Medea and Some Poems (1935) and On These I Stand (posthumously, 1947); and Dodson, Powerful Lon g Ladder (1946). Also writing and/or translating durin g this period were Dudley Randall, Samuel Allen (Paul Vesey), Mar c aret Danner and Wri ght {who also wrote poetry). Black and white poets exchanged ideas and socialized, as Black and white intellectuals had done throughout most of the history of America. Many of the Black poets of the period., consequently., were introduced to publishers and the reading public by well-known white poets or critics. Such a practice was to come under fire, durin g the late 60•s and 70's, by some Black poets and cri-tics who felt that whites could not judge on Black writing . Reviews of the period were generally favorable to the Black writers who showed great finish in their work. Hayden, Walker, Brooks, Tolson and Dodson were among the poets who received hi gh praise for their technical virtu- , osity. Stephen Vincent Benet wrote the forward to Miss Walker's For My People., Allen Tate to Tolson's Libretto For the Republic BB �of Liberia and Hayden won Hopwood Awards twice and accolades from Poetry: A Magazine of Verse--re ga.rded as the white American olympus of poetry. One of the most important antholo gies of the period was The Negro Caravan, (1941) edited by Brown, Arthur P. Davis and Ulysses Lee. The first inclusive antholo gy of Black Literature, it re mains one of the outstandinc textbooks of Black writing. Brown also published two important works of criticism, The Negro in American Fiction and Ne gro Poetry and Drama, both in 1937. In 1954, as American soldiers prepared to return from Korea and television glared to consume the world, the Supreme Court decision of May 15 r,losed the book on one era of Black American History and opened up Pandora ts box on another. Wright's Black Power ( l 95Ld, a commentary on his experiences in Africa's Gold Coast, may have been more than just a hint at the what was to come. Related Sub-Topics for Unit# 1. 2. 5 Post Renaissance Black Women Poets Black Poets and World War II 3. Black Poets and Lynching 4. Universality in Black Poetry 5. The Coming of Age Technical of Black Poetry 6. Modern Technolo gy and Blac k Poetry ?. Music and the Black Poet 8. Blues in the Works of Modern Black Poets 9. The Influence of "Swing " on Black Poetry 10. The Influence of Be Bop on Black Poetry 11. The Inf.luence of White Modern Poetry on Black Modern Poetry 12. Distinctive Black Poetic Voices in the Modern Era 13. From Margaret Walker to Gwendolyn Brooks 14. The Folk Tradition Continued in Black Poetry 15. Black Poets VS White Literary Establishment 16. Black Poets and White Critics 17. - Langston Hughes and the Be Bop Tradition 18. Langston Hughes and the Blues Tradition �UNIT # 6: CONTEMPORARY BLACK POETS : CIVIL RIGHTS TO BLACK POWER; PROTEST TO BLAC K ARTS ( l q51t to Present) Literary/Social Background: Upheaval, violence, chan r,e, ideology, rhetoric ••• are us ed in describin g the contemporary period. world. Revolutions (of all k i nds) characterize the From Cuba to Vietnam, Harlem to Chile, Pakistan to Watts, Ni geria to Indonesia, Kenya to Berkeley, Jackson State to Kent State--the facts and s ymbols of change are dramatic and violent. By the mid-Fifties Be Bop w~s decli- ning and Jazz's greatest living interpreter, Charlie Parker, was dead. Musicians and vocalists be e;an prob ing new forms under the leadership of such forces as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Wes Mont p.;omery, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Count Basie, Ornette Col eman, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughn, Ella "B'itz gerald and Billie Holiday, who died in 1959. Miss Holiday's name and fame a gain reached a worldwide audience when, in 1972, Diana Ross, formerly of the Supremes, starred in the controversial movie, Lady Sing~ the Blues. Saxophonist Coltrane, a ma j or i nfluence on the current generation of musicians and poets, died in 196A. An innovator, he sparked new interest in music with his ''sheets of sound" approach to playing . The Fifties also witnessed the maturation of Rhythm and Blues, Popularized primarily by Black disc jockeys who developed lar ge followin gs. The DJ's employed oral dynamism in conveying their messages over the airways. Interweavin~ the records with lively ~lack social news and commentaries, 85 �the DJs anticipated the popularity of the new Black oral poetry of the S i x ties. Spin-offs fro m t h ese essentially Black broadcasting st y les were pro grams li k e Bandstand (started in the late F i fties) whick were modeled after Black record hops. White y oung sters watc h ed Blac k s dance, listened to Little Richard and Chubby Checker, and tried to imitate it all on TV and in the i r homes. This period g ave birth to the f i rst white superstar Soul artist--Elvis Presley . TV's e x plo i tation of Rhythm and Blues (later called Rock and Roll) was one of the most si g nificant social developments on t h e contemporary scene. Black critics and social historians note that the new social music, and the dances accompany ing it, freed white American y ounr; sters from the prudish and self-ri ~hteous inhi bi tions of their foreparents. For the first time, wh i te Americans b e g e.n to use their pelvises when they danced! Generally, American science and industry de veloped more rapidly than in previous periods. Russia launched Sputnick, v.r\\A:t~ a feat~was followed by an American-Russian science and space-exploration race wh i ch cont i nues today. Telestar paved the way for televised coverage of g lobal activ i ties while biochem- ical warfare and atomic research became the ni ght mares people lived daily. The American literary scene was swamped with political novels, satire, wr i ting s on the war and experi mental journalistic prose. The "underground" newspaper continues to be a major vehicle for much of this new writin g . 86 Much of the �symbolism and psychology that had been employed in writings earlier in the century is still present. Ho1'ever, the influ- ence of the writers from the Depression and war years is diminishing. Black and Jewish writers occupy the literary stage where there is talk about Jewish writers succeeding the Anglo-Saxon writers and the Black writers succeeding the Jewish and so on-- in the same upward spiralinp.; process I" sociologists said has characterized the i rri_J.r;rant cycle in the cities. Contemporary Black and white prose writers of inf'luence include: John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, Bernard Malamud, John Hersey, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, Ernest Gaines, James Baldwin, Flannery O'Connor, Albert Murray, William Styron, William Demby, John Barth, William Melvin Kelley, and Irvin Wallace. Black writers are included in the general listing because during the conte mporary period many of them achieved recognition oh par with the best writers everywhere. Accordingly, some important contem- porary poets (Black and white) are: Stanley Kunitz, Robert Hayden, Eberhart, Robert Penn Warren, Gwendolyn Brooks, Theodore Raethke, Karl Shapiro, Melvin Tolson, John Berryman, Henry Dumas, Robert Lowell, Richard Wilbur, Paul Vesey, James Dickey, Imamu Baraka, Sylvia Plath, William Bell and Ja~es Wright. Many of the Black prose writers and poets (some from the pre- and post-war schools) died during the contemporary period (Tolson, Bontemps, Hughes, Wri ght, Durem, Dumas, DuG.or~, Rivers, Toomer, Malcolm X, etc.). Indeed death, in one way or another, not only preoccupied writers (white and Black), 87 �but was romantically sought out in many cases. Kenneth Rexroth cried out: Beat poet '~Why have 30 American poets committed suicide since 1900?" Those poets not concerned with death were investi gating decadence or the deathness of man's errors and indul 8ences. The development of contemporary poetry cannot be viewed properly without understanding the 11 Bea.t" period. A hy-· product of the Be Bop era in Black music, Beat poets emulated the hip mannerisms and aped the 11 man alone" and the societal drop-out i ma ge that many associated wi t h t he musicians. Some musicians and critics a gree that Be Bop was the Blackman's way of rejecting the commercialization of h is art--and playing "Something , can't play . 11 11 in the words of Th elon i ous Mo!:1k, "they (They , mean i ng whites). I mp ortant Beat poets included Lawrence Ferhl i nghetti, Rexroth , Allan Gins b er g, Gre gory Corso, amon g the whites, and Bob Kaufman, LeRoi Jones and Ted Jones e.mone; tbe Blacks. Another Black poet writing at the time and loosely ali gned with t he Beat ima ge was Russell Atkins who founded Freelance in 1950. The Beat Movement, which nurtured occultis .n, re j ection of t h e Establishment and an existential view of life, was centered in New York's Greenwich Village and the San Francisco Bay area. The movement died in the early Sixties. Kaufman is viewed by many as the unsun g patriarch of the Beat era. Black critics say ma j or white poets of the movement enthusiastically took their cues from Kaufmants innovations, but were not so enthus i astic in their reco gnition of his avant garde work. - - -- - - - -- --- Kaufman's poetry is �recorded in anthologies and in his two voluMes: Solitudes Crowded with Loneliness (1965) and Golden Sardine (1967). As a kind of spiritual heir to Toomer, Kauf man is a complex, sometimes fragmented, but brilliantly ori ~inal poet. His work, like that of many of his contemporaries, influenced by Eastern religious thought and the occult. Stylistically, Kaufman has the "sweep" of Walt Whi t ma.n coupled with the best techniques of modern poetry. He passionately experi- ments with jazz rhythms in poetry and often invokes jazz themes, moods and musicians. Many Beat poets and enthusiasts later joined or were spawned by the Civil Ri ghts struggle which was intensified by Rev. Martin Luther King , Jr. 's Mont gomery b us boycott in 1955-56; sit-ins and other dramatizat i ons of se grepation and discrimination; the challenges of Jim Crow in travel in 1961 (CORE); the widenin~ activities of SNCC (1961-64) and the March on Washington (1963). Other si gnificant activities en.flamed and inspired the hearts and imagination of American youth especially. The Muslims (Nation of Islam) growth to 50,000 members by 1963 and the Congressional action on Civil Rights Legislation were two seemingly unrelated but strategically important events. The growing influence of the Muslims suggested that many Blacks no longer believed America was sincere in its pledges to implement changes once they became law. Abetting their distrust were the continued killings, night-ridings in the south and harra.ssment of Blacks in public places and their ~omes. 89 With the bitter taste of �Emmitt Till 1 s murder still on their tongues, Blacks reeled under the killing of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, King, the Kennedy brothers and the three Black Panthers killed by police in their sleep in a Chicago By 1966, however, Black apartment, among other activities. Power signs and slogans had be~un to replace the ''We shall overcome--Black and White To gether" exclamations. Young Black America adorned Afro ho.irdos o.nd African jewelry, attended cultural festivals, back-to-Africa rallies and poetry readings and began reading co~munity news published in revolutionary broadsides and tabloids. Rhetorical forays by H. Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael, young SNCC officers, set off a flurry of state and national laws arainst inciting to riot and the transportation of weapons a.cross state boundaries. Large and small cities i gnitep in flames that set the stage for gun battles between police and the often "imagined" snipers. These confrontations were repeated in scores of cities after Dr. King was assinated in 1968. Poet Quincy Troupe captured the shock and horror and chronicled the official reaction in his poe:n 11 Whi te Weekend": The deployed military troops surrounded the White House and on the steps of the Senate building a soldier behind a machine gun 32,000 in Washington & Chicago 1,900 in Baltimore Maryland 76 cities in flames on the landscape and the bearer of peace still lyine in Atlanta ••• And the last stanza, ~roupe notes with curdling irony: 90 �Lamentations! Lamentations! Lamentations! Worldwide! But in New York, on Wall Street the stock market went up 18 points ..• At this writing , fallout from the Black Revolution reverberates around the globe. Black journalist Thomas Johnston reports Irish revolutionaries sin~ '~e Shall Overcome." Posters and emblems commercialize everythin g from African hairstyles to the raised clenched fist--the initial contemporary symbol of Black unity and definnce. A wave of Black movies--called Blaxploitation--beginnin p witb experimental flicks like Putney Swope (1969)continues to capture a multi-million dollar theater patronage. Black movies retrieved the crippled movie industry from the brink of disaster. Meanwhile, the murder, incarceration and poli- tical harrassment of Black men and women made them heroes and heroines in Black communities--yet ironically s ymbolized the torment and what some Black journalists called the "genocidal schemes" of America. Criss-crossed by paradoxes, political contradictions, social revolts and religious ambivalences, the Black commu- nity nevertheless continues to be re generated b y its singers and performers. Co_~temporary Black po.~ular music has not OJ.A..bi-,1\,{.(" ~ .4 0nJ wi·~ .1,~('v(:~ ,ct] ~ only reached unprecedented~mohey-making capabilities. •n Blues, said to have died about 196.5, c;ave way to 11 Rhythm Soul 11 - - "I'm a Soul Man," as Sam and Dave announced in the late Sixties. The Impressions told lovers that you "gotta have soul" and Bobby Womack reminded listeners tha.t the "Woman's Gotta Have it "--presumably _ risoul. " 91 Black recording companies �are in a boon, the two largest ones heing Mo Town (Detroit) and Watte,5tax (Memphis). The current period has been characterized by the Black superstar--sometimes called "super Ni gger"--in everything from sports to movies. Curtis Mayfield's soundtract album Super.fly (1972) sold more than 22,000,000 copies and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1971) set records for album sales. Literally dozens of singing groups--modeled on the quartets and ensembles of the Fifties-are releasing albums re gularly. These folk or "soul" poets have become more politically "conscious!! in recent years and many plant political messages and ex eltations of Blackness in their works. Much of this new wave came on the heels of severe criticism by Baraka who admonished Black popular singers for doting on unrequited love. Baraka said too many Black singers are preoccupied with "my baby's gone, gone" themes. Black consc i ousness activity--and creativity in general-has flourished inestimably. Related involvement has included: Development of Black acting ensembles; opening of free schoms and Black universities; establishment of Black Nationalist communes; increase in the number of Black bookstores, African boutiques; establishment of Black Studies programs on white and Black campuses and, in some cases, quota systems for enrolling Black students; the escalation of Black demand for "cream of' the crop" jobs such as TV announcing and hosting of TV variety shows; expansion and creation of new roles for Black newspapers, magazines and radio stations; 92 �formation of national and state Black Con gressional Caucuses and similar units in most professional associations and, finally and importantly, new enga gement with Africa and her problems and possibilities. Indeed, future trips to Africa-- to the "Mother country" or "Homeland"--are discussed at all age and social levels~ Much of this renewed interest is understandable in light of the emerr-,; ence during the contemI porary period of several African nation states and the I increased fraternization of Africans and Afro-Americans. Malcolm X, cannonized today by great numbers of young Blacks and Black intellectuals, did much to foster current interest in Africa. Gunned down at a rall y in Harlem in 1965, Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) bad already been expelled from the Nation of Islam. His newly formed splinter group was known as the Organization of Afro-American Unity. His Auto- biography of Malcolm X (with Alex Haley, 1965) which (as be predicted) he did not get to see in print, chronicles the odyssey of bis various phases as Malcolm Little, hustler "Detroit Red", Malcolm X and El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz. Malcolm was lionized by Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Ossie Davis, Baraka and various other scholars, activists and artists. Black Poets, especially, have found Malcolm a continuing source of inspiration. A partial indication of Malcolm's impact on poets can be seen in ~or Malcolm: Poems on the Life and Death of Malcolm X (1967), edited by Dudley Randall and Margaret G. Burroughs. Shabazztt Robert Hayden noted that: 93 In "El-Hajj Malik El I I �He X'd his name, became his people's anger, exhorted them to vengence f or t h eir past; rebuked, admonished them, Their scourger who would shame them, drive them from the lush ice gardens of their servitude. At the First World Festival of Ne gro Arts, held in Dakar, Sene gal, in 1966, Hayden was awarded the Grand Prize for Poetry. A major event, the festival was attended by experts, scholars, artists and enthusiasts o.f the Blac k Arts who gathered for 24 days to hear papers a.nd discussions, v iew art exhibits and cultural performances, and give preliminary direction to the Black Arts Move ment. Pr e s i din B over the ' festival was Leopold Sedar ' Sen~hor, ' Sene galese President, , ' Damas) and one of the architects (with Aime Cesa.ire' a nd Leon of Ne gritude. Ne gritude is a philosophy o.f Black humanism and corrals, according to its ori ginators, th e Black my stique or reli giosity . The term grew out of t he associations of Black African intellectuals, French writers and artists, and Black American expatriates. African-oriented publications such as Presence Africaine and Black Orpheus have renewed their interests i n Black Ameri- I I can writers. Likewise, Black American journals and popular magazines (Black World, Journal of Black Poetry, The Black Scholar, Essence, Encore, Ebony, J e t, etc.) he can to publish more materials by and a b out Africans. The revolution in the Black Arts was si gnaled by many events includint:s the First Conference of Ne r.;ro Writers in March of- 1959. Langston Hughes was an i mportant f igure at 94 I I I -I �the conference--as he was at the Dakar p;atherin 9; seven years later. The First American Festival of Ne gro Art was held in 1965 and the Second AFNA took place in Nove mber of 1969 in Buffalo, N.Y. Interlacing these and other con- ferences, symposia and conventions were exciting developments and experiments in New York, ChicaBo, Watts, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit and Washington, D.C. During these periods of social turmoil and artistic upsurge writers and poets often al ipned themselves with ideological positions and re gional mo ve ments. Consequently, communities Black Arts communes and re r.; iona.l brands of Black Consciousness Grew concurrently. Splits between older Civil Ri ghts workers and Black Nationalists were paralleled by splits between older writers and younger practioners of "Black Arts." The splits were not alway s clear-cut, however, for many older activists and poets j oined the new mood in spirit, thematic concern and personal life st yle, while some of the younger writers retained the influence of the earlier moods. Complicating things even more were the variants on the dominant themes of each camp. Gwendolyn Brooks, Dudley Randall, Margaret Danner, Mar garet Walker and John Oliver Killens are among the older group of writers who vi gorously took up the banner of the new mood. Younger writers whose works imbibe more "tradition 11 include Henry Dumas (Poetry For My People, 1970), Conrad Kent Rivers (The Still Voice of Hariem, 1968, etc.), Julia Fields (Poems, 1968 ) Al Young 95 �(Dancing, 1 9 69 , e tc.) and Ja:sr Wri r.:ht (The Homecoming Singer, 1972) to name j us t a few. The creative promise of this period was dealt a severe blow with the untimely deaths of Dumas and Ri ver s i n 1968. These poets are deeply inf'luenced by the moods and preoccupations of the period (Black self-love, racial in j ustic e , vi olence, war, Black Consciousness and History) but the y wor k along tested lines and experiment within careful and thought-out frames of references. Most of the write rs of t h e period (their styles and ideolo 8ies notwithstand i ng ) have f ound themselves enc;ulfed at one time or another i n h eated debates over questions related to the "Black Aesthetic 11 , the relationship of writer to rea.der, appearances befor e Black and ~1ite audiences, and the part that pol i tics should play in the life and works of writers. At this writing , t h es e discussions continue in most sections I of the Black World. The flurry of ideological and aesthetical debate among the poets (and other writers) has often been precipitated or attended by critical writings, historical studies, social essays and public political statements. , I I I Some of the indi- viduals associated with initiatin~ the plethora of rhetoric I on the question of a "Black" aesthetic (and related issues) I are Ron Karenge., Gwendolyn Brooks, Baraka, Addison Gayle, Jr., I Hoyt W. Fuller (Black World), Edward Spri ggs, J. Saunders Redding, Ralph Ellison, Larry Neal, Ernest Kaiser, Mel Watkins, Ron Welburn, Dudley Randall, Lerone Bennett, Jr., James Emanuel, Toni Cade, John Henrik Clarke, Don L. Lee, 96 I �Ed Bullins, a.nd Stanley Crouch. A numb er of important studies, literary and cultural, by Black and wb i te writers, aided in whetting or prolonging the critical thirsts. Some of the important and/or controversial writinr s of the Contemporary period include: The Militant Black Writer: in Africa and the United States (1969), Cook and Henderson; Black Expression (1969) and The Black Aesthetic (1971) Gayle Jr., ed.; Muntu: The New African Culture (1961) and Neo-African Li tera.ture: A History or Black Wr_i tin g (1968 ), Jahn; Langston Hughes: Black Genius (1971), 0 1 Daniel, ed.; Black Poets of the Unit ed States: Paul Lawrence Dunbar to Langston Hughes (1963, French edition; 19 73 English trans., Douglas), Wa gner; Before the Mayflower (1962), Sha.dow and Act (1966), Bennett, Jr.; Ellison; Understanding the New Black Poetry (1973), Henderson; Colloquium on Ne gro Art: First World Festival of Ne gro Arts, 1966 (1 968 ), Editions ' Presence Africaine; The Ne gro Novel in America (1965), Bone; Mother is Gold: A Study in West African Literature (1971), Roscoe; The Crisis of' the Ne gro Intellectual (1967), Cruse; Native Song : A Critical Study of Twentieth-Century Ne gro American Authors (1968 ), Mar golies; p y na.mite Voices: Black Poets of t he 1960's, vol. I (1971), Lee; Blues People (1963), Black Music (1967), Home: Soci~l Essays (1966), and Raise Race Ways Waze (1971), Baraka; and Give Birth to Brightness (1972), Williams. A number of Black critics, artists, and activists heatedly denounce whites who research or criticize Black literature, saying that only t h ose who bave lived the 97 �Black Experience can write about it. Another croup holds that whites can report on Black writing if they are sincere and sympathetic. The Black Arts Movement, as the contemporary period has been called, took place in the shadows of what many Black social critics have called the "second Reconstruction. 11 Hence, much of the writine is a revolt a ~ainst political hypocrisy and social alienation. In the earliest Black Poetry of the period, many writers showered disdain and obscenities on the "system" and whites in r-;enerEi.l. that thew wouldn't take 11 Notin g inte gration 11 i f it were offered, younger poets derided American values and attitudes. 11 Unlike the Harlem group," Hayden noted, "they re j ected entry into the mainstream of American literature as a desirable goe.l." Of course, more than a few of the older poets were writing in the Sixties and are writing today. Many of them, however, were sometimes laid aside by yound readers who were unable to separate "poetry" from the fiery declamations of Carmichael, Brown and ennumerable local spokesmen and versifiers. Often the poets exchanged superficial indictments, indulced in name-calline and, as groups or individuals, be ~an rating each other on their "levels of Blackness'' even thou gh no criteria existed then and none exists today for such judging . Much of the dispute centered around the question of who "started" the Black Arts or New Black Poetry movements. in the Spring, 1971, issue of ConfrontatiEn: Third World Literature, I stated: 90 In an article A Journal of �While it is true that there o.r c leadinc li r hts of the Black Arts Movement, it is an emphatic lie to say one geographical re gion of the country is solely responsible for either the main (and Ma j or) writin c output or kicking off any tradition of Blacks writing about themsel ves. To take such a contemptuously arro gant stand would be to write off the Black musical past. Aggression has been the tone in much of the contemporary poetry. This is partially due to the presence of some who selected poetry as a medium of expression beca.use of its deceptive simplicity and briefness. Many of the "poets" obviously have no genuine interest in developin ~ their craftsmanship. On tbe other hand, the current period con- tinues to witness a c;rowin 0 and wide-rangin r_; concern for poetic craft and knowled f e. S ome of the t h emes t h at concern contemporary poets a re: Black History Self-love and Development Africa, including Words, Places and Customs Black Pride Community Development Hero-Worshi p : i.e., Malcolm X, Joh n Coltrane, Dr. Kine , Muhammad Ali, etc. Casti gation of White_s_ Violence Uncle Toms or submissive type Blacks War Social Injustice . Music including musicians, instruments, ori gins, , accompaniment to rea d"ings Black Langua ge, including street talk, intonation, inflection, rhythm, etc. Poverty Interracial Dating Black Middleclass Guerilla. Warfare Interracial marria ge Poetical satire Racism Black Children Eulo gies for slain activists or artists Reli gion, especially Islam Hypocris y Undisputed a s one of the giants of the New Black Poetry Mmrement.. irnd j tl'l re] ated_____nat.io__na.listic tdeolorries and appen- ·I I I �----- - - - - -- - da ges, is Imamu Amiri Baraka (I~Roi Jones). Baraka is a towering symbol and example for many of the new poets a.nd activists. He has also influenced older writers (Brooks, Randall, etc.) as well as musicians. As playwri ght, novelist, essayist, poet, and spiritual consultant, he mystified (some say terrified) America with visions and solicitations of her doom--implicitly at the hands of Black guerilla armies. Freedomways editor, Clarke, noted in a 1970 Atlanta conference, that Baraka is "one of the most talented individuals on the face of the earth." However, Clarke warned Baraka 1 is courting sultural disaster and misleading others in his "use of esoteric and remote Eastern symbolism" (a reference to Baraka's Muslim and Arabic influences. Like many Black 99 .... 't. �musicians before and durin ~ his time, Baraka took on his present Islamic name. He also divorced his white wife in I An enigmatic I man and writer, Baraka has been said to reveal a persis- I tent "death wish" in his writings. I the mid-Sixties and married a Black woman. In the prefe.ce to Black Magic (1969) be acknowledged this critical reaction to his work: The Dead Lecturer (1964) and Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note (1961), volumes of poems, are Baraka's referents by his unusual life. I . I You notice the preoccupation with death, suicide, in the early works. Always my own, caught up in the deathurge of this twisted society. The work a cloud of abstraction and disjointedness, that was whiteness. European influence, etc., just as the concept of hopelessness and despair, from the dead minds the dying morality of Europe. There is a spirituality always try ing to get throu Gh, to triumph, to walk across these dead bodies like stuntin for disciples, walking the water of dead bodies Europeans call their minds. in the above passage. I Baraka's complex work is rivaled only In 1968, he received a j ail sentence on a charge of ille gally possessing a gun. P.E.N., an inter- national association of writers, voiced protest a Gainst the sentencing on grounds that Baraka 1 s ri ghts were violated. The organization and Baraka's disciples were appalled by the judge's courtroom use of the defendent's poem "Black Art 11 : • • • Fuck poems and they are useful, wd they shoot come at you, love what you are, breathe like wrestlers, or shudder strangely aft e r pissing . We want live words of the hip world live flesh & coursing blood. Hearts Brains 100 �Souls splinter i nr fire. We wan t poe ms like fists be ating ni ggers out of j oc ks or dagger poems i n t h e slimy belli es of t h e owner- j ews. Black poems t o smear on girdlemamma mulatto h itch es • • • We want "poems t hat kill." Assassin poems, Poems t h at s h oot guns. Poems that wrestle cops i nto alle y s After a short stint as director of the Black Art Repertory Theater and School in Harlem (wh ere h e was aided by Askia f Toure, William Patterson and others), Baraka moved b ack to his native Newark--which he renamed the Community for a Unified Newark. 11 New Ark"--or ganized Fro~ this position, he continues to launch numerous local and national programs including Jihad Productions (publications) and national Black political conventions. Just prior to t h e Harlem epi- sode, the near-dissolution of Umbr_E._ ma gaz i ne had occurred when the editors disa greed on the fate of n poem. Durem. by Ra.y A si gnificant development on the Conte mporary scene , ft)(J~ Umbra was founded in 1961 by ,_T om Dent, Ce.l vin Hernton a nd David Henderson. During the Sixties and into t he Se vent i es, literRlly hundreds of Black poets started writin r: and publis h in r: --in tabloids, magazines, broadsides, anthologies and indi vidual collections. Si gnificant clusters of poets occurred in geographical re gions. The atmosphere was enhanced by a number of African thinkers, artists, poets and novelists who arrived to America to teach, lecture, perform and travel. The importance of this interaction among Bla.cks from various parts of the globe cannot be overemphasized. In the Sixties Black writers and students be gan readin G African, 101 �West Indian and Afro-Latin writers. Langston Hu r:hes acquainted American audiences with African literature in his anthologies: An African Treasury : Essn. ys ,_ Stories,_ Poems By Black Africans (1960) and PC?~2Tl-~__f_!:'._o~--~1~-~-~c_ Af_!'_~ca (1963). In 1969, Trinidadian Wilfred Cortey edited Wh_tEpers from a Continent: Africa. the Literature of Co~tempora.!'XYlack Other scholars and writers also wrote critical studies or edited antholoe ies of African literature. Black writing received a si ~nificant boost when in 1971 SenGhor was nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature--thus fulfillin g James Weldon Johnson's 1922 proph ec;',r t h a t the first Blac k writer to achieve substantial i nterna tional fame would not come from America. S ome non-American Black writers now publishing or l i vinc; in the U. S . ar e Ni r,erian novelist-poet Chinua Ache be, South African poet Keorepetse Kgositsile, Ni gerian poet-playwri e;ht Wole Soyinka, Ghanaian poet Kwesi Brew, South African critic Ezekiel Mphahlele, Nigerian poet-playwri ght Ifeany i Menkiti, Martinique poet- , playwright Aime Cesa.ire and Guianese poet-scholar Leon Damas. The writers fraternize, exchange i deas and compare styles. Mphahlele, for example, has written critical studies of Black American writin8 (Voices in the Whirlwin~, 1972) while Miss Brooks has praised African writin r.; ("Introduction", in Kgositsile's My Name is Afrika, 1971). Mazisi South African poet, Kunene, wrote the introduction for Cesaire's Return ' to My Native Land (1969 translation). Many of the Black American expatriate artists and writers returned to America during· the current period for either - - -- -- - - - - 102 I 1 �temporary or permanent residency. Added to this flurr y of activities and changes were the establishment of Black publishing houses (Broadside Press, Third World Press, etc.) and hundreds of student and community newspapers and literary journals. During the contemporary period a number of important anthologies have been published. Some of the more notable ones include Beyond The Blues, Pool, 1962; Sixes and Sevens, Breman, 1962; American Negro Poetry, Bontemps, 1963; Soon One Morning: New Writing by American Negroes, 1940 - 1962, Hill, 1963; New Negro Poets, Hughes, 1964; Kaleidoscope, Hayden, 1967; Black Voices, Abrahams, 1968 ; Black Fire, Jones and Neal, 1968 ; The New Black Poetry, Major, 1969; Soulscript, Jordan, 1970; 3000 Years of Black Poetry, Raoul and Lomax, 1970; New Black Vo~ces, Abrahams, 1972; The Poetry of Black America, Adoff, 1973. In addition to these and other nationally distributed antholog ies, dozens of collections of Black Literature were compiled and published in various re gions: Watts, Watts Poets and Writers (Troupe, 1966) (Schulberg , 1969); South, Fress Southern Theater by the Free Southern Theater (Dent, et al, 1969); Chicago, Jump Bad: A New Chica go Anthology (Brooks, 1971); East St. Louis- St. Louis, Sides of the River (Redmond, 1970); New York, Three Hundred and Sixty De grees of Blackness Comin g at You (Sanchez, 1971) and Harlem: Voices from the Soul of Black America (Clarke, 1970); Philadelphia, Black Poets Write On (Black History Museum Committee); Newark, Soul Session (1972); 103 �Detroit, Ten: 1968). Antholo gy of Detroit Poets (South and West, In many re g ions several components have merred to form cultural and performing arts conglomerates. It is often at these centers that white movie and theater moguls (" \) ... ~. -~~...,. ~ ·; find new talent for the~ wave of Black movies. At this writing, the Contemporary poetry scene is embroiled in vigorous debates and conf'erences dealin r: with "directions" for Black writers, consolidatinG publishing houses, and getting published materials into schools (especially into Black school~. Caught (sometimes unknowingly) in the midst of these issues and questions are the older Black poets--some whom have remained silent in face of rhetorical provocation. Others, however, hav e b een quite vocal as in the case of Gwendolyn Brooks and Dudley Randall. Miss Brooks continues actively to support the younger writers h y w~y of' financial and moral encouragement. She supervises writers workshops, establishes poetry prizes with her own money and travels to read before conferences and classes. Recently she withdrew her af'filiation with Harper and Row and began publishing through Broadside Press. Randall established Broadside Press in Detroit in 1966 and also has set up poetry awards with his own funds. Hayden, who often shuns public displays of his allegiances, admonishes the young writers to keep hi s h standards of artistic excellence. He is recoGnized as a brilliant teacher as well as poet, and is known to work quietly with young writers and scholars. Hayden played a major role in raining recognition for Lucille Clifton (Good Times /1969J and Good News About 104 �the Earth, ' 1972~, one of the most s pl end i d of the new poets of the era. Some new and old name s closely li nked to the current period are Pinkie Gordon Lane (Wind Thou ghts), Michael Harper (Dear John, Deer Coltrane, History is Your own Heartbeat), Waring Cuney (Puzzles), Quincy Troupe (Embryo), Sterling Plump (Half Black Half Blacker), Jayne Cortez (Pisstained Stairs and the Monkey Man's Wares and Festivals and Funerals), Henry Dumas ( Poetry For My People), Conrad Kent Ri ve rs (The St i ll Vo i ce of Harlem, etc), Nikki Giovanni (Black Judgement, Black Feelinr , Blnck Thou8ht, Re :Creation), Ishmael Reed ( Catechism of A t,eoamerican "hl)Odoo ,t.hurch), David Henderson (De Mayor of Harlem, etc.), Arthur Pfister (Bullets, Beer Cans & Thini:i:s), Ima mu B~.raka (Black Ma p:ic, etc), John Echols (Home is l,ihere the Soul Is), Arna Bontemps (Personals), Robert Hayden (Selected Poems, Words in the Mourning Time, etc), Don L. Lee (Think Black, Black Pride, etc.), Sonia Sanchez (Homecoming, etc.), Dudley Randall (Cities Burning and More ~ , e r ) , Stanley Crouch (Ain•t No Ambulances for No Ni ggahs Tonight), Langston Hughes (The Panther and the Lash,etc.), Russell Atkins (Heretofore), May Miller (Into the Clearin g ), Austin Black (The Tornado in My Mouth), Mel v in Tolson (Harlem Gallery), Al Young (The SonG Turning Dac k Unto Itself), James A. Emanuel (Panther Man), Paul Vesey {Ivory Tusks), Mari Evans (I Am A Black Woman), Julia Fields ( Poem~), Stephany ( Moving Deep), Etheridge Knight ( Poems from Prison), Gwendolyn Brooks (Riot and Family Pictures, etc.), Roy Hill Ray Durem (Take No Prfso1;1.ers). 105 (g_~ Poems, etc.), This list is far from being �exhaustive but, rather, is represent~tive of the hreat poetic output dur i ng the Contemporary period. Many of these poets--Reed, Troupe, Youn g , Crouch, etc.--are also novelists and antholo~ists. Certainly the list grows and ch anges constantly, especially in view of the continual unf'oldine and the surprises of the present period. Suffice it to sa.y that the conte:npor8.ry mood of Black Poetry is multi-leveled and very complicated. There are obvious generalities; one is that man~ of the poets saturate their work with obvious Black references and cultural motifs. There is an anti-intellectual flavor in some of the poetry as some poets turn their backs on academic or Western forms. There is also a general disre ~ard for the esoteric, literary and sometimes secret allusions, employed in much of the current white poetry. There are exceptions, I 1-\ of course--nota.bly with the Muslim poets (Marvin X, Askia. ' Toure, Baraka, Sonia. Sanchez and others}. These exceptions can also be seen :Ln works of poets who explore African Ancestor Cults, Voodoo, mysticism and African lan cua ges. Evidence of this can be seen in the poetry of Ishmael Reed, , Askia Toure, Henry Dumas, Norman Jordan, Sun Ra, K. Curtis Lyle, Bob Kaufman and others. Generally, thourh, Black poets are framing their allusions, imaGes and symbols in the more concrete cultural motifs, as indicated in a line from my poem "Tune for a. Teenage Neice" where I view my neice as being "spiced as pot-liquor." 106 �Related Sub-Topics for Unit# 6 1. Black Poetry of Civil Rights Form in Contemporary Black Poetry 3. Black Poetry After the Korean War 4. Black Poet's Reaction to Vietnam 5. Black Poetry From Prisons 6. The Influence of Blues on Contemporary Black Poetry 7. Black Poetry as a Cultural Vehicle 8. Black Poetry Since 1965 9. Modifications in the Image of the Black Poet 10. Black Poet as Prophet 11. Black Poet as Revolutionary 12. Black Poet as Visionary 13. Black Poet in the Stru ggle 14. Black Poet as Preacher 15. Black Poet as Warrior 16. Africa Viewed in the New Black Poetry 17. Technolo gical Symbolism in Contemporary Black Poetry 18. The Black Woman Poet of the Sixties 19. Poetry and Black Arts 20. Music and Musicians in Black Poetry 21. Art as a Theme in Black Poetrv 22. The Black Poet and the Third World 23. Oral and Gestural Dynamics of Contemporary Black Poetry 24. New Black Poetry vs Traditional Black Poetry 25. New Black Poetry and the Western Literary Tradition 26. New Devices in Contemporary Black Poetry 27. Oral Reading of Contemporary Black Poetry. 28. Islam and the New Black Poetry 29. Langua ge in the New Black Poetry 30. , Christianity in the New Black Poetry 31. The Ima ge of America in the Hew Black Poetry 32. Major Voices of the New Black Poetry 33. Rhythm •n Blues in New Black ?oetry •n Roll in New Black Poetry 34. Rock 35. 11Soul II as Viewed by the 1,;ew Black Poets 36. Older Black Poets' themes in the Contemporary Era 37. Influence of Langston Hushes on New Black Poetry 38. Dance motifs in New Black Poetr3r 39. Influence of New Black Poetry on white writers and critics 40. Pan Africanism in New Black Poetry 41. Black Nationalism in New Black Poetry 42. Love in New Black Poetry 43. Black Poetry and Culturol Reclamation 2. 107 I I I j I I I I � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_07_09 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Course Anatomy & Development: Primary Texts, p. 25-107 Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. Description An account of the resource Copy of Course Anatomy & Development: Primary Texts. Page 27 is missing, two pages are labeled page 86, and a page is missing a page number between pages 98 and 99. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/2b961a62f2a23a95261fda8bfd5e2508.pdf 61a84f3528a089885c5e0e09b8d4f26b PDF Text Text HANDB~ b a ~ JRY by ~ugene B. Redmond This book is designed to augment courses in Black Poetry (or Black Literature) and to complement related areas of study: American Literature, Black Studies, African Literature or Studies, American Poetry, English Poetry, Humanities, Music, History, etc. It is also prepared with community-oriented persons in mind: Those desiring to develop writing or literature clubs, Black History study groups, special workshops and seminars for community gatherings or to commemo~ate an ~portant event or person. Outline I Introducti.on(Problems, range, Black identity, needs, etc.) II Course Anatemy and Development; Primary Texts A. Discussion of course organization and texts, including lengthy textbook lists and suggested related veadings. B. A unit-by-unit breakdown/discussion of a course in Black Poetry; the six units cover Black Poetry from 1746 to the present; eacnunit includes a Literary/Social Background and related sub-topics. III Exploring Black Poetry: Classroom Dynamics A. Detailed discussion of meaning and form in Black Poetry, including comments on reading the poetry silently and aloud. B. Commentary/explication using a represent~tive selection of poems 1D reinforce theories and statements already advanced. c. IV Student exercises including in-class and out-o~-class reports; also, a list of recording artists and Black orators mose works can be studieA in conjunction with the literary poetry. Glossory of selected terms used in the study of Black Literature in general and Black Poetry in particular{optional). (over) �V Brief note \warnings/suggestions) to teachers of Black Literature/ Poetry. VI Selected Bibliography, including.A. note which considers some of the specific problems of the student of Black Poetry and the Black hxperience. Note: This handbook is not intended as an anthology since so many such compilations exist. tiather it is seen as a correlative to the study of Black Poetry and Black Literature in general• yearly As a teacher-poet who/travels throughout the couatry to lecture c on/read Black Poetry, I have first hand knowledge of the needs of most teachers in this area. A handy guide to Black Poetry-- • in view of the countless anthologies and single collections• and the high interest in the subject--is the number one priority as far as teachers and students are concerned. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_07_08_02 Title A name given to the resource Handbook to Black Poetry, overview-outline, typed manuscript with handwritten edits Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. Description An account of the resource Handbook to Black Poetry, overview-outline, copy 4 https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/9406075f94798cf15a6b9f6ceae69b82.pdf 0773fbb4a6615ce9668319e9ba59bbdd PDF Text Text \j I ', \ \ \ HANDBOOD TO BLACK POETRY (overview-Outline) by Eugene B. Redmond This book is designed to augment courses in Black Poetry (or Black Literature) and to complement related areas of study: American Literature, Black Studies, African Literature or Studies, American Poetry, English Poetry, Humanities, Music, History, etc. in mind: It is also prepared with community-oriented persons Those desiring to develop writing or literature clubs, Black History study groups, special workshops and seminars for community gatherings or to commemorate an important event or person. Outline I. II. III. Introduction (Problems, range, Black identity, needs, e c.) Course Anatomy and Development; Primary Texts A. Discussion of course organization and texts, including lengthy textbook lists and suggested related readings. B. A unit-by-unit breakdown/discussion of a course in Black Poetry; the six units cover Black Poetry from 1746 to the present; ecCl:::h unit includes a Literary/Social. Backgr ound and related sub-topics. Exploring Black Poetry: Classroom Dynamics A. Detailed discussion of meaning and form in Black Poetry, including comments on reading the poetry silently and aloud. B. Commentary/explication using a representative selection of poems to reinforce theories and statements already advanced. • C. IV. v. Student exercises including in-class and out-of-class reports; also, a list of recording artists and Black orators whose works can be studied in conjunction with the literary poetry. • Gloss ry of selected terms used in the study of Black Literature in general and Black Poetry in particular (optional). Brief note (warnings/suggestions) to teachers of Black Literature/Poetry • • �1 r' I .• • VI. Selected Bibliography, including a note which considers some of the specific problems of the student of Black Poetry and the Black Experience. NOTE: This handbook is not intended as an anthology since so many such compilations exist. Rather it is seen as a correlative to the study of Black Poetry and Black Literature in general. As a teacher-poet sho yearly travels throughout the country to lecture on/read Black Poetry, I have first hand knowledge of the needs of most teachers in this area. A handy guide to Black Poetry--in view of the countless anthologies and single collections, and the high interest in the subject--is the number one priority as far as teachers and students are concerned. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_07_08_01 Title A name given to the resource Handbook to Black Poetry, overview-outline, typed manuscript, second draft Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/fcda96e9be2086469a225e51a67b426c.pdf 25187c7fe3ae96c1e47460e6343a6bca PDF Text Text DRUMVOICES : THE MISSION OF AFRO - Ar-:ERICAN PO TRY A Cri t ical History by Eugene B. Redmond �/I . i'1 BJll, 1 ,JQG ,:AP !lf(' A:' lND~X ! 'l'r/(s n:> :i bJ :i or;ruphy is rl.AAj r;ned . to :qe rve 1 1 .. 110 ,, ds of' be Linni ng and a.d ~'~·i'ed student s of Bla ck Po e try . I t is hau:'ltive sin c e man y biblio graphies re r,ea t th <! :, B.me items . No attempt 11 ) t i1 1te'l.ded to be e x- ha s been ma d e to cite the numerous single co l J. n ct i o1 , s of poems because c he c k lists an d spe ci a1 i zed bibliographies are •• vai lab le . ivloreover , most antholo p; ies, critical studies a nd histori e s, li: ;t such c ol lections -- in sel-ected hi bl i o g ra rh ies and bio g r aph ies • .)in ce ma n y Blac k poets publish p r i v a tely or wit h small and relativ ely unknown publishing houses, th e studen t wi ll want to examine re ~ul a r list i n g s and reviews in periodicals s uch as Bla ck World, Journal. of Black Po etry , .r,reedomways, Bl a ck Rooks Bu lletin~ CLA ,Journal, Black Gre at ~ o n, Obs idian: 1 ~ shArs list ti tJes on :i.nf> i.c.e c ,.,--:1erd ,Jf' ~heir books ; r e co rds al!d t ape s of r ead.i.ng,~ , i l'ld s core s of filn!s, bre a.dsid9s ,: s 1 ngle poems), p am- phlet publica.tj o ns and tracts can be obtained from individual p oets and the smaJl houses . Recently , lar ge r r e cordi n g compani e s li k e Folkways, F lyi n g Dutchman a nd Motown, have begun to rec o rd and dis tribute Black poetry . However, the task of lo ca t ing a nd deve l oping a chec k l is t for th e myriad p ublications a nd pubJishing activi tie s of Black po e ts still awaits s ome serious stud ent of Bl a ck li te rature . In the mean ti me t h ere are a number of import a nt bio-biblio g r aphical works which one can consult: Afro-Ame rican ~-ri t e rs (Turn e r), J.i ving ~_ f\\l:JY,()r> .e.n,1 I\ •llM ,_(rr_o.; Le Black American Autnors ( ShocITey ana Chandl e r ,5~ ij, , A Bi o-~iographical Dicti onAry of Blac k Write rs of the u . s . A. (Jac ks on a nd Page), I ndex to black Poetry(Chaprnan ) nnd Bl a ck 'vJrite rs Past and P r esnnt : A Bi o'Bibl i o g rphi cal Direc_1::_? ry (Rush ., \ -~ ey .. r'f' ••nd £.-r,.,..• a~a). �I :J.. r:E NERJ\l, t FSr:'i\HC ll i\J 1, e Adams , RusRell L. r:r_~a_t Ney:;roes, Past an_d Prese..!:1._t. _!he Art_hur _l~. Spin~a_1:.1:1___colle ction of N~ro Aut li o r R_. Bailey, Leaonead . Broadside Authors: Baskin, Wad e nnd Richnr<l M. lu nes. Bontemps, Arna . , (] % /1 ) 1-Ja ~; hing ton, D.C., 1948. A 13im•ra ph ical Di r ectory. Dictionarv or Hlnck r11lture . Detroit, 1971. New York, 1973. "The James Weldon Johnson Me mor_: al Coll ~_c tion of NeBro Arts and Le tters ." C fr C 1' Ch1 ca r, o , 1964 . _y_al:_<:_ _ll n ive rsity Libra.I..Y__0nz<'t_t-.!=_ , XVII I ( Oc t.ober 1943 ) , 19-26. 1 1H 7- 20 6 , Hrir,mrno , Russel r: . _n l a c], . Ame ricans _:!. n Aut oh io ,raph y: i\n Annotated Biblio- .3..ra_pl1v_ of Autobtop.rnr1i i c~ l'lnd i\utnhi<:r_ra_phi ra J_ Book s Written Since the Civil War . Durhrun, North ~•._ Burke, Joan Martin. and Events . _c_iy 'J_~!g_b_ts ; I! Current Guide t o the People} Organization New York, 1974. Chapman , Abraham. The Negro in American Literature and a Bibliography of Literature hy and about Ne gro Americans. Chapman, Do rot hy II. , Comp . Culver, Eloi se Crosby. n.c.'.J Stevens Po~nt, Wis., 1966. Index to Black Poetry. Boston, 1974. Great American Negroes in Verse, 1723-1965. Washington, c. 1965. Davis, Le nwood G. cals, Articles." "P a n-Africanism: A Tentat i ve Check List of Books, Period i - .fila ck W ".'ld, XXII (December 1972), 70-96. Deodene, Frank and William P. French. ~reli~inary Checkli~.!_. Black American Fiction Since 1952: A Chatham, N.J., 1970. Deodene, Frank and William P. French. Black American Poetry Since 1944, A Pre- / �9 Vo ls . llosto n, 1970 . Dic tionar_y Catalog of the Sc homburg Collection o_r_JJ~,_r_o Literature and History. 11 Vols. Boston, 1962, 1967. Drz i ck, Ka thleen, John Murphy and Constance We avPr . Annotated Bihliography of Works ~el a ~ t o the Negro in Literature and to Negro Dialects . Kalamazoo, Mi ch. 1969. DuBois, W. E . n ., and r.uy IL Johnson. Volume. Rev. DuBois, W. E. B. Ed. Encyclopedi_n of the Neg ro: Preparatory New York , 1946. A Select Bibliocraphy of th e Ne gro American . 3rd ed . Atlanta, 1905 . Guzman, Jessie P., ed . Neg ro Year Boo k , Tu s k ,• gee, Al a. 1947. Houston, Hele n Ruth . "Cont rilrn i ' na of the American Negr o to Amer ica n Culture: A Sele ct ed Checklist." Ru lle~tin -~~i?li~Lr..~ _\ y_, Jol . 26, No. 3 (July - September 19G9) , 7J-J3. l_ndex to Pedodical Articles by and About Ner, roes (formerly A Guide to Negro Perio~~~a} LiteraturP and Index to Selected Periodicals) . International Library of Negro Life and llistor:y_. 10 Vols. Washington, D.C., 1967-196 9 . Irvine, Ke ith, ed. Encyclopedia of the Negro in Africa and America. St. Clair Shores, Mich., c. 1973. Jackson, Ag nes., M. and James A. Page, comp.~ tionary of Black Wr ite rs of the U.S .A. J~n, Janheinz . A Biobibliographical Dic- New York , 1975 . .!l_Bib)j.ogra ohy of Neo-African Literature from Africa, America, and th e Caribbean. New York, 1965 . Johnson, llar ry A. ~t1_l_timedia Materials for Afro-American Studiefl . Kaiser, Ernest. 968). / "'T'he Hi story o f Ne g ro l-Ust0rv." New York, 1971. Negro Dir,est, XVII (February �K1d.ser, F.rnrst "c-cent Books ." Ma1or, C arence . f' ree- rlomw:ws , in (' ;1ch iss11<' . Dictionarv of Afro-American S Lrn g . 'ew York, 1970. Blacks in America: Riblfo<'raohical Essays. ---,-------- ---- - - - ---- - ~ - - -- --- - McPherson, James, et al, eds. New Y nr 1, , 1 972 . T\-fhlirwranhlr '1 1rvrv: - WaRh i n r ton, n . c., Porer, T' or0thy n. -- - - - ~ -- - - -----'--- T\-ir ~r 0 ro in Pr1nt. - - -- _ ____,1,,,-... _ _ -- - - Vols. 1-7 (1965-1071). " Earlv American "lc"'ro I rit _fn_p5: __ A l\ihli.o_f_rA:_Phi.cal_ Study." P.o s ;: o n, 1971. Tlorter , Tio ro tl-i'/ . -P or t er, no rot~v - D. rheck List --A-H~bli - - -onraohicaJ -~----- -- - - of Th ei r F r t in7s, 19oC'-19H -PucL-.ett, '' PW1' Pl lliRtnrv t-Plrl 1-1 -;_1es . M p ,1 n1 n°. rd. hv Mu rrav He il er. ------------------ Hoci t on, 197 5 , Ouerry, P-ona 1 cl and RohPrt E . f'lemin r>; . -Periodicals." "!\lack NAMes in America: "A Workinr Hihlior-ranhv of Rlack ~~1!:1_.i eR in P.lack Literature , Vol. 3, No. 2 (Summer 1972), Jl-%. Rowell, C'1;1rlrs II. "A I"\i.blio~raphy of n-fhl-forraphies for the Studv of Rlack American Literature and Folklore ." Jourmil. Tl lack f'x'1erience, A _._~ _ ~~':_hern University T.V (June 1 %CJ) Q)-111. Rush, Theresa, Carol Mpvers and Esther Arrata, como~s. WritPrs Past and Present: Hlack American A Bio- BihliogrA_Jl111cal Tiirectory . Scarecrow Press, 975. C. Sho~l<ley , Ann Allen an r1 Sue P . Chand l e-r, ens. A ni o r>; rrln11; r_ ;:._ ~ D -cectnr · , ----- - - - - - -·--- - . - -- -- N-2., •er ,, J_,~}_n_g Black American Authors: �'f chombttr ", , /\ rthur A. New York, J 016. J\_ 1\_i__t_J_i_o i:,ra p h 1 c_;-1_] __C._h_e_~k_l;_i~ t o f Amr r ican N~ro PoP.trv . (Scromburg Collection). Smith, Jessie Camey . }0{ "Dc>veloping Collections of HL:ick literature." Black World . (June 1071), 18-29. A P,_iop.:..r_a_P.hical History of~l~c_k s_ JE_ America Since 1528 . Topp:f.n, F.c\~ar A . New York, 971 . Turnt=>r, Darwin T. .Jilliams, n n. J\fro-AmcricAn Writf"rs . 11 comp . /\ Rihliography of Worl · s l 'ritten by American Rlack Women . " fL_A_ J_o_u_r_n_a_l_ Vol. XV, No. 3 (March 1Q72), 354-377. Work, lvfonroe N. A Bihlior,r~__; of tht> NP.gro in Africa __a_nd __~~r-~~ Yel]in, .TPAn F,,r,nn. 11 New York, 1928. /\n Index of Li.tt=>rnrv Mat· P.ria]A in 'l~~e__C:_i;_isis , 1910-1934: -fO �][ , J\mistnrl l ~~_n_d_u_n_,'\ _-__l_t _' Black J\cn d Prnv Revi e w Blac k noo k s P.11Jletin Black r: r eation Rlack n1 a ] O_Qt(' !Hack nrnh0us : A .TournaJ of J\f r icrln ;incl J\ fn ,-American T. i.tc r atu r e . -·--·------"-------· - ---- - ---- ----- ·------------- -------- - - ---- -- 'T'h 0 n1 a r '· Position lllnc k RPv i 0.•.J Rlack T'watr e rI,J\ Journa l C:onfront;it i on_: A .To11rrrn 1 of Third \forlcl T/tPr .1t u_r_f'_ i sis : A Recor <l of the Da r ker Rnces -The - - -Cr -- - . - - - --- - -- - - - - - -- ----- - ---- - nasein Dour.] ass_'_ 'lonth]_y Ebony F.ncorP EssE>nce �r.1.re Frerdom' s .To11rnal Fr Aedornw;1ys lla rl elll nunrtPrlv Ho odoo Black T.ite ratur f' S0 r ie s Trrmr0ssions The Jnurn;il of P .ncl · Pnrt rv Tlie Journnl nf nln c k Stuclies Th e Rlack r.xnerience ThP Journnl nf NP~rn fdu~ntj on - - -·-- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - . - - - - The Lib rm tor - :,• 'C - - - - - - -- - - \Ter~ro llis torv Rulleti n New York Amsterdnm ~Pws Nkomho Nommo Obsidian: Rlack Literature in Review Opportunity:_ A Journal of Ne~ro Life P1:_ylon: _ The Atlirnta ll niversity Revi ew of Race and Culture Players E_r_e_s_e_n_c_e_ ('._f_r},_c_a_i_ry_e_:_ r:_ul:_t~_ral _R evue of theye ~-i:_o~~rlrl a., Renl\-is s_a_n_c_e_.l!_ Roots: /\ .Journa of C.rittcal and Creative F.xnression --- ·- -- --- - --- -Soulhoo k �I ThC' Snurlwrn Workman Studies in Black Liternture Ex-Umbra Umbra Yardbird ReadPr �ANT11n1.orrns III•------ - Abdul, Raoul, eel. I_l~e___J_a_g_i_c of Black r>oc~. ~le\, York, 1972 . Ahdul, Rn.ou] nnd /\]an Lomax, ed. 3000 Years of l\l;1d: Poetry . Adams, 1-1:f.lliam, PPter r,onn and Ba rry Slepian, eris. New York, 1970. J\fro-J\merican Literature: Newark, 1966. /\fro-Arts J\ntholo_ey. u r,, Alhami.Bi, Ahmed and llarAn K. Wanf P,ara, eds. R1r1.ck Arts:_ ~~_ntho~~_y of Black 01 Creations. Detroit, 19 70. Amhrose, Amanda. ~ - Nam·e is Black: An Anthology of Rlac l: Poets. New York, 1974 . ..-,. I Am the Darker Rrother : \!doff , Arnold, ed. An Anthology of ~~d_E:._~n Poems by NE>w York, 1968. RlA.ck AnlPri.cDns. "'.'\ Atdoff, Arno]d, ed . It TR the Poem Si.~inr, Into Your \:, idoff, Arnold, ed. Americans. ,., THack Out Loud: New York, 1971. Anthol~ of Modern Poems by THack New York, 1Q70 . Atdoff, Arnold, ed. The Poet1:.Y_of JHaclz America. 'I,:, New York, 1973. Arnold, Davi<l, Ahmos zu-Bolton and J. Shifflet, eds. ;i 1o. Yi~-· The Last Cookie. Vol. I, 1., San Francisco, Calif. 1972. Raker, Houston A., Jr., ed . Black Literature in America. New York, 1971. ".\ Harksdale, Richard and Kenfeth Kinnamon, eds. Rlack Writers of America. ,:.J New York, 1972 s Rattle, nol, ed . Ren. (;hetto ' 68 . 1968. ewarl(, 1969. coul Se~sion. Reni~, Irvin:-,, ed . New Yorl·, The Children. Rp]l, Rl"'rn.1rd W., eel. NeP York, 1071. '!0rl<>rn and C:ont0n:i.r_orarv .i \fro-Aric>ric1rn "Poetrv. The Rest of 4n Acres r>oPtrv. New York, c. 1Q7 2 . Bost on, 1972. �Hlnck PnPts ~rite On! Ph1.1Rclelphj a, 1CJ7n. RontPmps, Arna, ed. J\mPri cnn ''eo, ro Pnetrv. --- RontPmns, Arnn, cnmn . ~ -- - - ---'-=--- ---- - - 'lo rl rast to T\ontennc;, J\rnn, cr1 . r!Pw Yorl·. 194]. rnlrlen Slin.r._pr s . r P,1rn s. New Y0r k , ]Qfi ) . ew Yorl , , Vol. 1-lTT. P.nycl, S11P Ahhntr, Pr-1. _T>_n_<>~n_s_ _h~_B_:1:_;i_c_l·_s. 1070-107?-,lql'/. P,n~man, Pnnl, r d . Ym1 f\ptter Believr Tt. RA It 1 nronks, r.uPnrlolyn, erl . .Tum.r__Bad: Rrooks, r.wendolyn, ed . A llr oadsirle Tre;isurv . imore, Md . , 1973. :n r~y~l eJl_ro Anerican l•!riters. r:nlverton, Victor r. ., ed . lHncl· Mr-f.c.,q . eds. 'T'he Ne~ ro Caravan. Antholor,v of Ameri_c nn WhiS_!?_ers_ from a Continent: 1 rw \fashin~ton, n. C., 1963. lpw York, 1970. An Anth olo Py . 1 r>r ro titPrature . New York, 1929. The Literature of Contemporary York, 1 ()69. Chambers, Bradford anrl Rebecca Moon, eds . Literature. T.PP., Arno, l Q69. !_h_c-:_ __r._l_n_c_l{_ \-Jo!1:l;i~: Cartev, Wil free!. l)etroi.t, 1971. Detroit, 1971. An Ant_h_o l o:3y of Afro-..:.½1xon Poetr_y. Cade, Toni., e<l . C:l iapel llill, N.C ., 1935. A ~J ew C.hi.r .1_r::, Antholo:y. Rrown, Sterltn ,o, A., Art ·• ~ur P. navis~2 nd Plyss<'s Rurninp Spear: Fort Smith, ArlrnnsAs, (.STo.rtin~ ~,tk v'oL,m ~-,Y\Kie 6o~d<>t\ L~~eJed.J "-nnua,Lecl•) T\r;:1wlev, f.r nl:u'lin, ed . New York, l 041: 1971. Rirht On! Anthology of Bla ck New York, 1Q70 . Chapman, Ahraham, ed . Afro-American Slave 'Narrati ves. Chapman, Abraham, e d. Black Voices: New York, 1970. An Antholo gy of Afro-American Literature. ew Yor k , 1968 Chnpman, Ahrahflm, ed . ;1pw Tllack Voices. Chometz k v, Jules and Sidney Kapla n, eds . Anthnl~ v from tl-ie vassach usetts Review. New York, 1971. Black and White in Amerjcan Culture: t An,11,...rst, Mass., 1969. �Clarke, John Henri k , eel. Jlarlem: Voices from th ,, So ·1l of nVtck America . New York, 197'1. Collins, }forie, ed. Coomhs, OrclP, Pd . Rlack PoPts in f.rench . f'.1 o, ! York, 1972 . We Sr__cnk as Liberators_:__ Youn°_ rn;:icl, _P_~..E:..~· r.ornish, :-Rm anrl Lucian W. Dixon . New York , 1970. Chicory ! _ Vo11n (), VoicPs from 1=._1'..-.e__n_lack Ghetto . New York, 1969 . D ,l Jf · CrornwPll, nteli,A, LorPmrn N~rn ~u_t_~ _rs . Tu r nerc;, and r-va IL nykes, eds . New Yorl·, 1931. Cullen, CmtntPe, ed. _<::arolinR Dusk: An Anthology of Ver:~ ~ Ne13ro Po e t s . New Yorl<, 1927 . Cunard, Nancy, ed. ~-PP,ro Anthology. London, 1 Cl34 . r.nney, l!ari n " , T.i=rn r, Rto n llu r, 1-ie ~ ancl Pruc:e II . Poets . few Yor k 11 rirht, eds. T.inc:o 1 n l_lniversi~ 19S4 . Danner, '1ar " aret. The P.:::-ass House. Danner, Har l'aret. B_e ~r_<2;1.2.:.. Richmon d , Vn. 19611. Pichmonr1 , v~.. , 19f.9. n:1vi c!, .T.--iy, e el. Davi!':, Art1;ur P. ancl ~n 11n .'crs P-.eddin<>, eds. inr __from l7nn _to t 11P T'resPnt. Roston, 1Cl71. navi.s, (;harles T . llf'rl nn n ti?l Walden, C'rls . nee, R11hv, Pr1 . r.1owchil rl. nreer, TJprmnn, ecl . ,...~avri_l_c_~l_r:_:_ _ ti e r ro Ar1erican Hrit- On ncin_r T'.lack: _ Wri.tin.13.s hy Afro- New Yorl · , 1Q72. · Amr-r.icc1n T.iternture by Ne"ro Autlior,=i . n,-, . F.dwardR, C:r09,ory, WavN' Loftin and r.rer,ory Ware, eds . WeelinP, _ Thinkin°, _ Reactin~ •• . . The Rlack Co1'l!11unity Circa, 1971. The F.<litors of Vant8~e Press, compilers . !\Iew York, 1972. New York, 1950 , New Voices in American Poetrr_,__19 7 2 . �T-:llmm~ Pichard an (1 Po or t n' r1air, c>cls. Thr . J\'r._r_tr,n /\1 tholo~y of ~!ocl0rn Poetry. '!0w Yor1, , 1 071. f.'.T11anuPl, JaiTtPS /\moricn. Feldman, /\. and Theoclorf' r:roqs, 0ds. ' Jew York, 19FiP,. and "U f' Cne P0rkins, Pds. F t1'.'Cll<' PoPtry n_r Prison: r-orrl, ''1rk ARron, ed . r:1ov11nni, 'Hl~H . T', l ne t . Tnsif'htg: _ s1..-.nific,1 nt· Literature h_y /\fro-Americang Nir,ht _ ( Cro,rn, ' 1n ry An i't>, eci . , 1 o ri P :,_ S0ftlv . Ne,1a r k, 1. 97] . h_; MRn..t._'"ou r-'oun c1 ··i e J\_g_ai n. Rost on, 1972. ·--:eorPf' 0 ·asha. T::mmett Williams, J ohn Rohert Colom ho and Walter Lowenfels, eds . New York, 1973. _0.P._~n-~o_Pti::y_. lasJam, C:eralcl W. , ed . Fo_r_g_~tten Pages of Ame_r_ican ~i_terature. Hayden, ~ohert, David nurrow~~nd Frederick Lapides, eds. Literature . Po0ms hy JHack r.hic<l~O (D11 S;1h le "-tuseum of Afric;:rn American History), c. 1971. Pri.irnnPrs . GrosA, Ponf11 t Dar_! _ ~"111nho11y: _ i! eP,ro Literature in Bo ston, 1970. Afro-American "Jew York, 1971 . Hayd en, Robe rt, eel. Kaleid oscope: Poems by American Nei:;ro Poets. New York, 1967. Jlende rson, Stephen . _l!_n_cler~ta nding th e New Black Poetry; Black Speech and Black Music as Poetic References . ll ill, Herbert, ed. 194()- 1%2 . New York, 1973. _So_o_n, One Morn~:_ New Writ inf' by Amr,rican Ne~r-~e_!;!_, New York, 1963 . Hollo, AnsPlm, ed. ~e'.:_r_o_ V_,:,._r_s~..:~ London, 1°r,t, �llonkin,, Lee Bennett, comp . On Our Way: _Poem~ o_r _P_r_i_,1_c:__1rnrl. Lov e_. New Yo r k , 19 74 . '.! ew Ynrl<-, 1966 . Hughes , J.ani;ston, ed . The Ro ok o f Ne~r o Humor . Hughes, Lanr,ston, ed . Lo. Pocsie Ne8ro Americain e . Paris : Editions Segher s, 1%6 . llu~hes, Lan~ston, ed . llu?,hE's, Lan re; ton nnd Arna Ron temps, cd s . Rev. ed . THoomingtnn, Ind . , 1964 . !:ew }1egr o Poets 11 . S . A. The_ P_o_r·_t_r_y__o_f__t h_e_ _N~r_o_, _1_9_4_6-19 70 . ~nrden C:ity, New York, 1970 . llunter, Paul, P,qtti Parson and Tom Parson, ed s . Revo] utiomirv Poems. .foci son, nrucc, ed . Q70. Seattle, Was hi n?,ton, Jmaees : __ An Antholon_.y of Plack Literature. The WhitPs of Thei r Ey e s: !'-rook vn, ~-lf'H York, c . "C:et You r Ass i n thP. Watr•r and Swim Like ~e": 19 72 • Na rra t i v e Poetry from P.lac k 0rA_J__1:_r3d it ion. C:ambri<l~e, t'.1. ssachu set ts, 19 7 4 . Jackson, Bruce, ed . Wake 1:P Dead }fax:__ Afr o -Americ;m_ 1forJ.·son.i'Ls from Texas .Tohrnrnn, .Ti1T'1Ps l!el,lon, eel . 1'11e Boo! of ,\r1P.rjc,1n _' "0rn Poetry . R.cv . ed. l!ew Yorl~, 1n11 . Johnson , .T:ip10s lle1rlon, c, '. 'T'~p nook of A• 1ericrtn '! 02:0 S_rirituals . 1Q2';; Tlw C,pcon<l T\crn 1< oF tleg r o Snt r Huals . .Tones, T.o~oi nncJ Larrv ' !eal, 0<l s . Jordan, June, ed. Soulscr · nt: 1Cearns, f.'rnncts r. . , e<l . ture for the 1970's. 1\] acktoWl" ~lPw Yorl,, 1921°> . nJ.nck Fi r e :__ An Antholo__:y of Afro-Ame r i c an Afro - Ame r ican l'oe_t_ry . T~P Tila c k Exnerien c e : ~ ew York 1'lew York, An Anthol5?8Y of Ameri c an Liter a- 19 70. U.S . /\. Carden City, New York, 19 70 . '1oston, 1q71. �1-'C'nrlrirl·~, Hnlph , ed. Kerlin , Robert Afro-.\mP ric1rn Vo1cf'R: T., ed. 1 q7r1 'R-1 970 'R. Ne~ro Poets and Thrir P nr 1s. N<'w York, 1970. ? ncl ed. Washinrton, D.C., 1935. 1<in~, \foodie. P, ac k Spirits : A Festival of tl<'\' ·; 1.Rck Poets in AmPrica. New York, 1972. Knir,ht , EthPrid~e , ed. BlRck Voices from Prison . . 1ew York, 1Q70 . ~ramer , ARron, e<l . Anthn o~ v - - - - - - - - -An -- - -- - 1 nn ~ree<lom's SidP: of ~~erican Poems of Protest. New York , 10 7 2 . Lane, Pinkie r.ordon, ed . Discourses on Poet_r~'• Vol. 6 . fort Smith, Ark., 1972. LR.nP, T'i.nldP r.ordon, ed. Popms hy Rlacks (Annual). T.anuASP, Annctnrl, €'rl. Fort Smi.th, Ar k ., 1973. r.rPo 1 P VoicPs: _ PoemA in Frf'nch _hy Free Men of r.olor. F.<l . Edward M. Co]emPn. Centenn1.a ,l P<L l.ockP, Alain, eel. Four._Negro Poets. Locke, Al1'li.n, e<l. ]'_he New Negro: Waslilnr,ton, n.r.., 1')L,5. New York, 1 Q27. An Tnterpretati.on. Long, Richard A. and Eugenia Collier, eds. of P~~-~e and Poetr_y. 2 Vols. Lowenfcls, . lfalter, ed . Lowenfels, W11lter, ed. New York, Jqzs. Afro-Amerjcan Writi.ng: An Anthology New York, 1972. From the ne] ly of the Sh11rk. Tn A Time of RPvolution: !\Jew York, 1973. T'of'ms From our Thi rel World. New Yor<, 196() LowPnfels, WR ter, eel. J?..2..e:..t s of Torlay. .1 ew Ynrk, 1961,. T.owenfcls, Wa tPr, ed. The Writin_s_~__the WaJ_l . :Is I 121 L &Shdl!S r.11rden City, New York, J.%9 . Major, Clarence, ed. Miller, Adam David, The New Black Poetry. ed. Dtces or New York, 1969. Black Bones: Black Voices of the Seventies. Roston, 19 70. Miller, Ruth, ed . 97). R]AckamPrican LitPratur€' 17~0-PresPnt. Heverly Hills, Calif., �1/ Miller, \, ayne Charles, eel . A Gathering of Ghet_t_o_ 1fr i t_ers - Irish, Italian, Jew_is~, Black, Pue~t~ Rican. Moon, Bucklin , ed. New York, 1972. Primer for White Folks . Modern Poetrv from Af rica. Moore, r.erald and Ulli ~eier, eds . ~urphy, Beatrice . F.ho_!l_y Rhythm . Murphy , Reatrice, ed. Murphy, Beat rice. 1 :-- New York, J938 . I9day's Neg ro Voice2 . /. x. 1 1;:is j \•r 111!1•, i, 1.c10 0c1, . 111 ' "'j_cholas, A. '·' ., erl. P o_P__ t r;;I_o_:._ f _;;___ So_.:::_;__· ] __ lforfolk Pr:ison Rro hers. New Yor k , 1970. "A.sterpieces rif Vo_1<_P_ l'.r_ Thls _ Baltimore , 1963. New York, 19/¼8 a nd 196~. Ne~ ro Voices. elson, Ali.cP "unhar , crl . Gnrcl e n Citv, }Jew York, 1945 . }' <''i-f' "' " ew V ri r 1,z , ~fornin ! Eloouenc" . ' !eF Ynrk, 1914 . 1071 , Y0r J.- , Jq7 ·L ''.pv (Introduction bv AJria Lewis) \ 'no Took The Weieht? Boston, 1 °72. OsofsJ.:v, r:il Prt, oel. Puttin ' on Ole ";rnsa: The Slave ':nrrA.tives of T-ienry Ribh, Wil1:i..,n1 W. Rrown<ilz-c Soloman tfor':hrup . Patterson, Lindsay, e el. :ew York, l qfi9 . '"' from An Introduction to Rln.ck T,itPrature in Arne ricaJ v 17Lf6 to thP Present. 1.Jashinp,ton, Il . C: . , 1969. Patterson, T.indsav, e el . A Rock Ai>ainst the W-i nel: nlack Love Poems . New York, 1973. Per1<ins, Fnr,ene, eel . P,lacl· F.xpressio~_:__ ~n Antholo~v of ":ew Rl ack Poets . Chica?,o, 196 7. Pool, Rosey F. . , ed. Revond the Blues: New Po ,~ms hv Ame rican "Jegroes . Lympn~ Kent, ~nr,lano, 19(12 . Pool, Rosf'y E . , ed . Porter, Dorothy, ed . Ragain, Kathy, ed. Randall, Dudley, eci . Rlac< PoPts . Ik Rende Nievwe "l e r, er. The !'.n~ue: _!::_~r ly Negro Writinz, 1760-1837. Rert Bakker, 1964. Roston, 1971. _Q_c~asional Papers, Plnys and Poetry_; Vol.I Kent, Ohio, 1971. ]2_:l_a_c_~__P oetrv: Detroit, 069. A SuppleJTJ_P_nt to Anthologies Which Exclude �RRndall, nuclley and 'ar~;-i r et B11rrour>hs , ed s. DeRth of ~alcolm X. i::'nr_ \Jalc o ] r l__l'oems on the Life and netroit, 1969. Randall, nudlev , ed . !'!ew Yor k , 1971. The Bl;,c 1( Poets. I eo. r..edmond, r.11 rene ;/\:~i_c:I P~nf the River: A ~(ini Antl1nl o r, v 0 f Black ~friti.ngs. F.ast St. Louis, Ill ., 196°. 1 0 :1e cromancers from Now: Reed, Ishmael, ed. W1:__1:.tiM,_f~r the 70's_. r.arden City, N.Y., 1970. Yar d2._tr~eader, Vol. 1. Reed, Ishmael, ed . Robin.son, William H., ed . Dub uque, Iowa, 1969. ew Yo r J,: , 1 9 72 • For Love of Our BrothPrs. Rollins, Charlemae Hill, comp. Sanchez, Sonia, ed . Bc-rke ley, 1 Cl 72. Ea rly JHack American Poets. Rohinson , William JI., ed . Nommo. Rodgers, Carolyn, ed. A~1~ntholo ~y of Ori~inal American Chica ro , 1970. New York, 1963, Christmas r.if'. Three Pund red and Sixty De3 rees of Blackness Comin' at You. New York, 1071. Schulberg, Rudd, ed. From the Ashes: Voices of Watts . Schulte, Rainer and Quincy Troupe, eds . Giant Talk: ~ew York , 1967. Third World Voices. New Yor k , 197'i. Shapiro, Norman R. ~~Vde: Black Poetry f rom Af rica and the Caribbean. New York , 1970. Shuman, R . Piaird, ed . A (;al_axv of B_lack Writn_~ · Shuman, R. !-'aird, ed. Nine Black Poet~. Simon, Hyron, ed. d New York, lq72. {elen D. Hutchinson, eds. 1 a, Standfo)\' BarhAra no<lds, ed. Literature. Durham, "J.C., 1968. Ethnic Writers in America. Simmons, Gloria M. and New York, l ()71. Durham, N.C., 1970. rnack Culture. I, Too, Si~g America: New York, 1972. Black Voices in American �.. . ' Ta lley , <rJ.onil S !1 Por t erl • Trt ylo r, r: l y de, e d . Ui1> tnn'7 a n <l IH ~ct: _A_,, eri r. rt . 1 n: fn J\nt 1olo r> v of f'etr o it Poe t s . -Te-·- - - - - - - - -- ~---~- - -- - - - -- ---- Tr ou pe , n11inc", e rl . P a tts Poets an d 1Jr i t e r s . pr . 11 e rs r J.0s Ann-e] Ps , 1q68 . f', .:1 cl.;: Americ nn T.itPn1tur r : Vo r hees, U .11 ian ;ind f'oh r-> rt W. 'ew Yo r k , 19 73 . r1 r cl e n Cit", t uffa l o, np, , Yorl : , 19 74 . 1•1 '1' . , ·1 nton, New Yor '- , 1922 , 1968 . Fo r t Smit'1 . ·\ r k . , 1Cl68 . 'l'isdal e , C. e LP s , e d . Turner, Dnrw i n P ~e Poetin' . 1';1sh i n' Br ien, 8d s. Poet r v . Tli_• Rrmm 'T' l~ hv ~!P !"ro StudPn t s at 'T'allader>a Co l lp ,.,,., . C'olun hu s, Ohio, 1970 . An t h o l o ~y of At lw n a , T' e nn (c. 19 32) (Schorn- ~ ½ur ~ r.o l lecj1 on . Wa s h1.. n r, ton , 1-1111. i mri n . and Samuel Reckof f , e ri s . Wat kins, Jfel, e d . Bl rt c k Rev i ew No. 1. Watkins , ~!e l , erl . lH a c l< Revi ew No . 2 . , Sylv e s ter C . , ed . An Antho l op_y Ne w York , 19 7~. o f 011ts_ta ndin<; P. l a c l: ~~r_i_~e.:..r s. 1}atkins T\l ;i d : T.ite rntur e : New Yo r l: , 19 71. .1 ew York , 197 2 . Ant h ology o f Amer i can Ne<; ro Li t e r a t u r e . Weisma n, Le o n a n d Elf r e d a S. Wri ~ht, e ds. New York , 1944. Bl a c k Po e try fo r All Ame ricans. New Yor~, c . 19 72 . Wert h e im , r.ill a n d Irma r o nza l e z, eds . Talkin ' Ab ou t Us . An Anthol o gv of Ve r se by American ,lhi t e, 'lewman I. and Wal t e r C . J ackso n, ed s. 1 Wilen t z , Ted a n d Tom Wea t he r l y, ed s. Poe t r v . Ne w York , 1970. . ;itura l Process : An Ant h.9_½> ~Y of New Bl ack ~ew York, 19 71 . Woo d , r. leme n t , e d . Ne g ro Sonr, s, An Antholo gy . Woo d so n , r.a r ter G., ed . ~ ~o Orators a n d The i r Orat i ons. Wormley, Beatric e a n d Charles W. Cart e r, eds . ctro Ne groP.. s: ".O t he rs. Gir a rd, Kansas, 1g 24, ("J . P ., N.D . ). Washin p, ton, D.C . , An Antholo gy of Ne g ro Poetry by Work s Pro r r e ss Administration.(Schomburg Co llec t ion) .1. (' Younp, , J\l . , ed . Ya r rlhircl Read e r Volume I I . 0li Be r keley , Calif. 19 72 . 1925. �A. r.f'nera - - --l /\clams, 1.-.'illiam. Afro-Alrlerican Authors. ,\clams, Willi.ctm, co. AJ len, SamuPl. Boston , }Q 7 . t\fro-1'n1erican Literature· ' 'onfi ct in n. Bnston, 1970. "Ncr:>ri.tude anc1 its RPlevance to tlw t\merican Ne~ro Writer . " , ·e,,, York, 1 () (,0 . 1:_h~:. _A_211_e~i_c_a_n Negro lfri._ter an d Jli.s Roots. naraka, ll'lnl'lu t\mir i (LeRoi Jones). Baker, Jlo us to n A., .Tr. "The Rlac k Aesthetic " . "P,alancin;> th e Persrwc tive: Americnn Literary Artistry." T'p. 8-20. Ner,~__nigest, XVIll A T.ook at E;irlv Black Negro J\mericn_n___!J:!__e_rature_!:._orum . Vol . 6, No . 3 (Fall 1 ')77), '15- 7r,. nak er, ll ouston t\ . , Jr . Lonr. !Hack Sonr,: F.si:iays in P,] ack . American Literature and ,".'I _Cul_t~Ec>_. C.h;irflottesvil e, Virg., 1972 . v Jr. RakPr, TJ011ston A., "U...tlli, C?/4~ , and the Literature of Rlack Al'lerica ." XXI (September 1972), 30-35 . Rontemns, Arn;i . "Tl-ie nJack Renaissance of thP Twenties." nontemps, Arnr1. "The Jlarlem RenaiAsance." Rontemns, •\nw., en . 13ontemns, \rna. The. Saturday Review of Literat u re, ThP Harlem TTena issance Rc>rr.e~herec1. Ne.w York, 1972 . "Th f' '.'-'er-ro Contrih11ti.nn to 1'mericc1n T.etters." "le~ ro_~PFerencf' Ronk . 85()-87 ~. Bl__ack World, XX 1':'.d . John P. navis . ~nPlePood r.liffs, The American ~.J., 1966. fjP· �'i 2-5 R. P. on t c>mns, /\ rn n . "r.,1,....0us 1!T'A <\ 1tliors . " Braw lev , RPnir1min . ~'c r,_r_o ln_,•s r, V rTT (.Tune 1 QSO ), 43-47. F.a r l v '.'er, r o Arl er ir;in Pri t cr r:. ------.. ----- - - ----- - r. li r1p C' ll i Jl, t . r.., 1935 . P. ronz , S t Pn lt cn 11 . lla r J. e r, ~c>n.1 i ssnn ce At1th or s . 11 r,roo k s , Ru s s 0 11 . n rown, l.l nv d 11 • 'ew Yo r v, 19fit•. T11c> rol'l JC Spiri. t and t he N,~~ ro' s ~lew l nol: ." "BlAc k f.n t:!tles : CJ .A Jou rn al , Nnmc •s as Sv"'l hols in Af ro -Ame r icnn Lite r a tur e . " Studie s in n lnc ·. l.'ft0rntur e , l ( Sprin r J q 70 ) , lfi-411. t,l,r i c.f>. ~..o.Ph.f ~m l! r- ;t.M• Lo~ An~e..L.es 1 l'l 7 "3, "The American RacP Pro b l em a s Refl c>ct c c in A.lnP r ican Li t e r a - B~-0~-~~TL0-yd ~1e:c1:-ru -ai:~ k '+.Jr,T,cn, 0 11 rown , S te r l in<> A. ure" . 7'1,_P_:T ou_r _n_A_1__o_f'_~~e f?, r o Ed uc at i o_n, VJIT (lg3C1) 2 7 5-290 . "Thi' NPw Ne 1> ro in Li tt=>r a turf' (1 925-1 9 55) ." Rrown, S t c> r li n r A .:!'_h_i_r_t~✓- _Y_e~ r_R__A_ft er_w1_rj_ . Th_c>_:"!_~_w Ne g ro Fd. Rayfor<l 11. Lo ~an e t. nl. Wa s hing to n, n . C ., 1 955. Pp. 57 -7 2 . CA v erton, Vi c tor r. . Thp Lib erat ion o f Am er cAn T,iteratu r P . Ca lverton, Victor F. "The Ner,ro a nd Ameri c a n Culture ." New Yor k, 1932. The Sa tu re.Jay Review o f Lite r atu r e XXII (Septemb e r 21, 1%0) , 3- 4 . Chapman, Abraham . " ThC' Jl r1 r lem Renaissa n ce in Li t e r a rv lli st o r y ." CLA J ourna l , XI (19~7), 38 - 58 . Cl a r ke, John Henr ik . " The Ne g lect ed Di me n sion s of th e Ha r l e m Re n ais sance." ~la~k World, XX ( 1ov e mhe r 19 70 ), 11 8- 129 . Clarke , Jo h n Hen r i k . "The Orig in a n<!f: rowth o f Af ro-American Li t e r a ture." _D_i_f:..e.:."l_~, XVII (December 1967) , 54 - f> 7. Ne gro �Cla v, Eu<>en e . Cong ress_ . " Th e Fcl. e~ro iT' He n rv Ha r t . ece,t America n :.i - Pratur c- . '' .-!ew ··o r k, 19 35 . ----i c tavton, llo r ~ e R . " Io. eo :og i.~a l Fo ,-e: e s _•_ r, tr Pp , 0 j ' ";- 113 . \·'<1rk o t ~leg ro Hr i t e rs . " and Rey on d_:_ T e 1'/ep r o \·Tr it er i n th e l10 te~ S t ;i te s. 1 966 . AT'1er i c ::i n Writer ' s r ,-i . Herb ert Hill. An ge r New Yo r k , Pp . 37-50 . Co l Joriuium on Neg r o Ar t : Th e First World__Fes tj.._v..:_'l__l_.E.L_l\l~l'.r_o Ar ~ ( 1966) . P r e- sence Af ric a ine Editions, 1968 . Conrad , [a rl. "Ame ri.c a n Viewnoin t: Cook , Me r c er ancl Step h en Henders o n . t h e Un itrd St a t e s . Co oke , M. r, . , ed . Rlues Sc 'rnol of Lit era t11re . " The Chicago The !-'ilitant !Hac k 1-'1 r iter i n Af r i c a and Madison, Wis., 1969 . _"fo_ rl_e_r~_ Bl ack Nov e l ists_:__A_C_.o llec_t_~o_i:i_~f Cr ~t_ica_l Essays. En g l e woo d Cl iff s , N. J . Cos r, rov P , 1-.' l l l i am . " . o d ern Black Writers : LL · er a tu re Fo rum . Vo .. • 7 The Di v id e d Self. " No , 4 :,Hr; ~cr 19 73 ) . _!-l_e,g r o Amer ica n l.'2(' 1 22. Cruse, !la r old . Cul l en, Co unt ee . xvvvnr '' Tl e na rk ·i'owe c · . ·_'.llll_9_r t t.: r-"' ~-"• n or,th l v column, 1926- 1928. (\Tin t er 1 °71- 19 72) , 376- 195 . DuBo i s, W. E . B . The Soul s of Black Folk. Elea ze r , Ro be r t B., comp . of Ameri c an Literature. Elli son, Ralph . Chicago, 1903. Singer s in the Dawn: Atlanta, Ga., 1934. Sha d ow and Act. New York, 1964. A Br i ef Supplement to the study �JJ.,.w . "Black Art and Arti.sts in Cleveland. Eme~ ~ i Ka, Leatrice W. Artists in Cleveland." Evans, Mari. 11 Black Art and BJack Word, XXII (January 1973), 23-33. "Contemporary Black Literature." Black World, XIX (June 1970), 4, 93-94. Fabre, Michel. "Black Literature in France." Studies in Black Literature, Vol. 4, Mo. 3 (Autumn 1973), 9-14. Fleming, Robert E.""Playing the Dozens" in the Black Novel." Studies in Black ~i terature, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Autumn 1972), 23-24. Ford, Nick Aaron. Annual "Critical Survey of Significant Belles Letters by and About Negroes." Ford, Nick Aaron. Phylon, XXII (1961), 11 9-134; XXV (1964), 123-134. "Black Literature and t he Problem of Evaluation." College English, XXXII (1971), 536-547. Ford, Nick Aaron. Black Studies: Threat or Challenge? Port Washington, N.Y., 1973. Ford, Nick Aaron. "On the Teaching of Black Literature with the Aid of Anthologies." College English, Vol. 34, No. 7 (April 1973), 996-1013. Ford, Nick Aaron. "What Every English Teacher Should Know About Black Studies." The CEA Critic, Vol. 36, No. 4 (May 1974), 19-27. ... Fuller, Hoyt W. "Black Image, and White Critics", Negro Digest, XIX (November - 1969), 49-50. Fuller, Hoyt W. , ed. 11 A Survey: Black Writers' Views on Literary Lions and Values," Negro Digest, XVII (January 1968), 10-48, 81-89. ee-..-..,. r Fuller, Hoyt W. "Perspectives." Negro Digest and Black World, monthly column. Fuller, Hoyt W. "The Negro Writer in the United States." Ebony, XX (November . ,.~ 1964), 126-134. Gayle, Addison, Jr. 10 Years Later." "Reclaiming the Southern Experience: Black World, XXIII Gayle, Addison, Jr., ed . in the Creative Alts , . (September 1974), 20-29. Black ., ~::- -,··· :, s~ :.C"m : New Yor: The Black Aesthetic Essays by and About Black l\fflericans �Gayl e , ~ddison Jr., ed. Gera l d , Carolyn. Th e Black Aesthetic. Ga r d en Ci ty, N.Y., 1971. "The: Black Writer and His Rol e ." Neg ro Digest, XVIII (January 1969), 42-4 8 . Gibson, Donald B., ed. Green, Elizabeth Lay. Five Black Writers. Ne w York, 1 9 70. The Negro in Contemporar y America n Literature. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1928. Hairston, Loyle. "Is Black \'Jriting American Lite rature?" Freedomways, Vol. 13, No. 1, 197 3 (First Quarte r), 50-54. "The Awakening of American Negro Litera ture 1619-1900." The Black American Writer. Ed. C.W.E. Bigsby. Deland, Fla., 1969. Vol. II, 41-51. Haskins, J i m and Hu g h F . Butt s, M.D. The Psyc ho logy of Black Language. New York, 19 73. Haslam, Gera ld W. "Two Tra d i tions ir. Af ro -Amer i can Literature." Research Studies, A Quarterl y Publication of Wash i ngton State University, XXXVII (September 1969 ), 183- 193 . Hill, Herbert. "The Negro Writer and the Creative Imagination." Arts in Society, V (1968), 244-255. Huggins, Nathan I. Harlem Renaissance. New York, 1971. Hughes, Langston. The Big Sea. New York, 1940 . Hughes, Langston. I Wonder As I Wander. Hughes, Langston. "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain." New York, 1956. The Nation, CXXII (1926), 692-69 4 . Hughes, Langston. Hart. "To Negro Writers." New York, 1935. Pp. 139-141. American Writers' Congress. Ed. Henry �Hughes, Langston. I "The Twenties: Harlem and It 's Negritude." African Forum, (Spring 1966), 11-20. Isani, Mukhtar Ali. ,, "The Exotic and Protest in Earlier Black Literature.I\ Studies in Black Literature, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Summer 1974), 9-14. Jackson, Blyden. Vol. 35, No. 6, Jackson, Blyden. "A Survey Course in Negro Literature." College English, (March 1974), 631-636. Annual "Resume of Negro Literature." Phylon, XVI (1955), 5-12; XVII (1956) 35-40. Jahn, Janheinz. Nee-African Literature: A History of Black Writing. New York, 1968. Jeffers, Lance. "Afro-American Literature, The Conscience of Man." The Black Scholar, II (January 1971), 47-53. Jones, LeRoi (Imamu Ami "C"i Baraka), Ho'l'\e: Johnson, Charles S. Socia:i. E~says. "The Negro Enters Literature." NE,w York, 1966. Carolina Magazine, LVII (May 1927), 3-9, 44-48. Johnson, James Weldon. Along This Way. Johnson, James Weldon. Black Manhattan. Keller, Joseph. Forum, III New York, 1933. New York, 1930. "Black Writing and the White Critic." Negro American Literature (1969), 103•110. Kent, George E. Blackness and the Adventure of Western Culture. Chicago, 1972. Kent, George E. "Outstanding Wdlrks in Black Literature During 1972." Phylon, Vol. XXXIV, No. 4 (December 1973), 307-329. Kent, George E. During 1971." "Struggle for the Image: Selected Books by or A')>out Blacks Phylon, Vol. XXXIII, No.4 (Winter 1972), 304-323. Kgositsile, Keorapetse. "Language, Vision and the Black Writer." Black World, XXI (June 1972), 25-27. Kilgore, James C. • "The Case for B'_c•·:;k Literat.ure." Negro Digest , XVIII (July l969)r 22-25, 6 6-69. �Killens, John Oliver. "Another Time When Black Was Beautiful." Black World, XX (November 1970), 20-36. King, Woodie and Earl Anthony, eds. Black Poets and Prophets. Practice and Esthetics of the Pan-Africanist Revolution. Klotman, Phyllis R. The Theory, New York, 1972. "An Approach to the Teaching of Black Literature - Or: What's a White Lady Like You Doing in a Class Like This?" The CEA Critic, Vol. 34: 2(,) (January 1972), 12-15. '-- v Lamming, George. P!,eseoce Afrjcajne- Nos. "The Negro Writer and His World." 8-10 (June-November 1956), Pp. 324-332. Lash, John. Annual "Critical Summary of Literature by and About Negroes." ~hylon, XVIII (1957), 7-24; XIX (1958), 143-154, 247-257; XX (1959), 115-131; XXI (1960), fll-123. Llorens, David. "What Contemporary Black Writers Are Saying," Nommo, I (Winter 1969), 24-27. /( Llorens, David. "Writers Converge at Fis~ University." Negro Digest, XV (June 1966), 54-68. Locke, Alain L. "Dry Fields and Green Pastures." Opportunity Journal of Negro Life, Vol. 28 (Jan. 1940), 4-10, 28. Locke, Alain, ed. Loggins, Vernon. New York, An Interpretation. The Negro Author: New York, 1925. His Development in America to 1900. 1931. Margolies, Edward. Mason, Julian. ture Forum) The New Negro: Native Sons. New York, 1968. "Some 'l'houghts on Literary Stereotyping." Negro American Litera- Vol. 6, No. 3 (Fall 1972), 63-64, 70. Matthews, Geraldine A. and the African-American Materials Staff. Writers, 1773-1949: Mezu, S. Okechukwu, ed. Black American A Bibliography and Union List. Modern Black Literature. Buffalo, N.Y., 971, �Miller, Ruth. Backgrounds to Black American Lite rature. Miller, Ruth. "The Negro Writer and His Relati on ship t o His Roots." ~ Negro Writer and His Roots ....i, Mitchell, Loften. Murray , Albert. Black Drama. New York, 1960. Scranton, Pa., 1971, The American Pp . 1-8. New York, 1967, The Hero and the Blues. Columb i a, Miss o uri, 1973. V:io: ct r,tauoa1± Press, Murray, Albert. The Omni-Americans: American Culture. Murray, Aibert. Neal, Larry. New Perspec tives on Black Experience and New York, 1970. South Again to A Very Old Place. "Any Day Now: New York, 1972. Black Art and Black Liberat i on." Ebony, XXIV (August 1969 ), 54-58, 62. "Our Prize Winners and What They Say of Thems el ves. " Opportunity, IV (1926), 188-189. O'Brien, John. Interviews With Black Writers. O'Daniel, Thurman, ed. New York, 1973. Langston Hughes, Black Genmus: A Critical Evaluation. New York, 1971. Redding, Saunders. "American Negro Literature." The American Scholar, XVIII (1949), 137-148. Redding, Saunders. To Make a Poet Black. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1939. (Reprint, College Park, Maryland, 1968). Rourke, Constance. New York, 1942. Sellin, Eric. Llterature, Shapi ro, Karl. "Tradition for a Negro Literature." Roots of American Culture. Pp. 262-274. "Nee-African and Afro-American Literatures." Journal of Modern Vol. 1, No. ~ ~!70-1971), 249-2530. ~ "The Decolonization of American Literature." ,.., Bullettin, XXXIX (1965~ 842-853. Wilson Library �Simon, Myron. "Ethnic Writers and Mainstream Literature." The CEA Critic, Vol. 34, No. 2 (January 1972), 20-25. Spingarn, Arthur B. "Books by Negro Authors." The Crisis, 1938-1965, annual feature. Studies in the Literary Imagination Vol. VII, No. 2 (Fa l l 1974) 1-152. Number: (Special The Harlem Renaissance). Taylor, Clyde. "Black Folk Spirit and the Shape of Black Literature." Black World, XXI (August 1972), 31-40. Thompson, Larry, ed. Vol. 139, No 3. Thurman, Wallace. "Black Words." Yale Li ter ary Magazine (special issue), (Fall 1969), 2-40. "Negro Artists and the Negro." 310 1927), 37-39. <J Trimmer, Joseph F. Black American Literature: tion. ·~ The Ne w Republic, LII (August Notes on the Problem of Defini- ~uncie, Indiana, 1971. Turner, Darwin T. "Afro-American Literary Critics." Black World, XIX (July 1970), 54-67. Turner, Darwin T. In A Minor Chord. Carbondale, Ill., 1971. Turner, Darwin T. "The Teaching of Afro-American Literature." College English, XXXI (1970), 666-670. Turner, Darwin T. , ~ -an...~r~~.t anCz. Richard Wr~ght, e~ii c; Voices from the Black ,..--, Experience: African and Afro-American Literature. Wade, Melvin and Margaret Wade. "The Black Aes t hetic in the Black Novel." Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 2, No. ~ Walcott, Ronald. C and spa,ire." "Ellison, Gurdone and Tolson: e 1972), 391-408. Some Notes on the Blues, Style Black World, XXII (December 1972), 4-29. Washington, Mary Helen. 1974), 10-18. Walth am, Mass., 1972. "Black Women Image Makers." Black World, XXIII (August �West, Carole Cannon and Allc · Williams. in the Secondary School." "Awarenes s I Teaching Black Literature Journal of Black Stud ies, Vol. 3, No. 4 (June 1973), 445-471. Whitlow, Roger. Black American Literature. Williams, Kenny J. 1787-1930. They Also Spoke: Chi c a go, 1 9 73. An Essay on Negro Literature in America , Nashville, Tenn., 1970. Williams, Sherley. Literature. Give Birth to Brightness: New York, 1972. Wright, Bruce McM. "The Negritude Tradition in Literature." Literature, Vol. 3, No. l Ye l lin, Jean Fagan. Young, James 0. A Thematic Study in Neo-Black (Spring 1972), 1-3. Th e Intricate Knot: Blac k Figures in American Literature, Black Writers of the Thirties. Baton Rouge, La., 1973. !tudies in Black Io:d ■ ••R ■ G•••a ~R& I �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM 13. Poetry Baraka, Imarnu Amiri. "Black Revolutionary Poets Should Also Be Playwrights." Black World, XXI (April 1972), 4-6. Barksdale, Richard K. "Trends in Contemporary Poetry." Phylon, XIX (1958), 408-416. Barksdale, Richard K. "Urbr'1 Crisis and the Black Poetic Avant-Garde." Negro American Literature Forum, III (1969), 40-44. Bell, Bernard w. The Folk Roots of Contemporary Afro-American Poetry. Detroit, 1974. Bennett, M.W. Berger, Art. "Negro Poets''. Negro History Bullentin, IX (1946), 171-172, 191. "Negroes With Pens." Bland, Edward. Bone, Robert. Mainstream, XVI (July 1963), 3-6. "Racial Bias and Negro Poetry." "American Neg::-o Poets ! Poetr y, lxIII (1944), 328-333. A French View." Tri-Quarterly, No. 4 ( 1 9 6 5 ) , ~~ f Bontemps, Arna. "American Negro Poetry. ·• Bontemps, Arna. "Negro Poets, then and Now." Braithwaite, William Stanley. The Crisis, bx (1963), 509. Phylon, XI (1950), 355-360. "Some Contemporary Poets of the Negro Race." The Crisis, XVII (1919), 275-280. Brawley, Benjamin G. "Three Negro Poets: Horton, Mrs. Harper and Whitman. Journal of Negro History, Vol. 2 (Oct. 1917), 384-392. Breman, Paul. Bigsby. "Poetry Into the Sixties." Deland, Fla., 19E ' . "Poets Who Are Negro." Brooks, Gwendolyn. "Introduction." New York, 1973. ed. C.W.E. Vol. I I , ~ Brooks, Gwendolyn. ed. The Black American Writer. ~MU:· XI (1950), 312. The Poetr y of Black America. Arnold A doff, v �Brooks, Gwendolyn. Report From Part One. Brown, Sterling A. "'l'he Blues." Brown, Sterling A. "Negro Folk Expression: and Songs." Phylon Detroi t, 1 9 72. Phylon, XIII (1952), 286-292. Spirituals, Seculars, Ballads XIV (1953), 45-61. Brown, Sterling A. Negro Poetry and Drama. Wash ington, D.C., 1937. Brown, Sterling A. Outline for the Study of the Poetry of American Negroes. New York, 1931. Brown, Sterling A. "The Blues as Folk Poetry." Folk-Say, A Regional Miscellany, (1930), 324-339. Bush, Roland E. "Negritude: A Sense of Reality." Black World, XXII (November 1972), 36-47. Carter, Lawson, Robert Hayden and Judson Phillips. How I Write I. New York, 1972. Cartey, Wilfred. "Four Shadows of Harlem." Negro Di gest, XVIII (August 1969), 22-25. Chapman, Abraham. "Black Poetry Today." Arts in Society, V (1968), 401-408. Charters, Samuel B. The Poetry of the Blues. Collier, Eugenia W. "Heritage from Harlem." New York, 1963. Black World, XX (November 1970), 52-59. Collier, Eugenia w. "I Do Not Marvel, Countee Cullen." CIA Journal, XI (1967), 73-87. Davis, Arthur P. "The New Poetry of Black Hate . " CIA Journal, XIII (1970), 382-391. Daykin, Walter I. "Race Consciousness in Negro Poetry." Sociology and Social Research, XX (1936), 98-105. De Costa, Miriam (Sugarman). "Social Lyricism a nd the Caribbean Poet/Rebel." CIA Journal, Vol. XV, No.~ (. un e 1972 , 441-451 . �Echeruo, M.J.C. "American Negro Poetry." Ellison, Martha. Poetry." Phylon, XXIV (1963), 62-68. "Velvet Voices Feefn Bitter Fruit: A Study of American Negro Poet and Critic, IV (Winter 1967-1968 ), 39-49. Ely, Effie Smith. "American Negro Poetry." The Christian Century, XL (1923), 366-367. Flasch, Joy. Melvin B. Tolson. Fowler, Carolyn. New York, 1973. "A Contemporary American Genre: Pamphlet 1 Manifesto Poetry." Black World, XXIII (June 1974), 4-19. Furay, Michael. "Africa in Negro American Poetry to 1929." African Literature Today, II (1969), 32-41. Garrett, Delois. "Dream Moti.f in Contemporary Negro Poetry." English Journal, LIX (1970), 767-770. Garrett, Naomi M. Poetry." "Racial Motifs in Contemporary American and French Negro West Virginia University Philogical Papers. Gayle, AddisonJJr., Claude McKay: Gibson, Donald B., ed. The Black Poet at War. Modern Black Poets: XIV (1963), 80-101. Detroit, 1972. A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1973. Glicksberg, Charles I. "Negro Poets and the American Tradition." The Antioch Review, VI (1946), 243-253. Good, Charles Hamlin. "The First American Negro Literary Movement." Opportunity, X (1932), 76-79. Heath, Phoebe lmne. "Negro Poetry as an Historical Record." Vassar Journal of Undergraduate Studies, III (May 1928), 34-52. Henderson, Stephen. Understanding the New Black Poetry; Black Speech Music as Poetic References. Horne, Franks. "Black Verse." New York, 1973. Opportunity, II (1924), 330-332. & Black �r"\ Jackson, Blyden and Louis D. Rubin Jr. Black Poetry in Americaf: Two Essays -.J in Historical Interpretation. Johnson, Charles S. Baton Rouge, 1 9 74. "Jazz Poetry and the Blues. " Ca r olina Magazine, LVIII {May 1 928), 16-20. Johnson, James Weldon. James Weldon Johnson. Jones, Edward A. "Preface." The Book o f America n Negro Poetry. New York, 1931. Voices o f Negritude. Kerlin, Robert T. ~ Ed. - 3-48. Vall e y Forge, Pennsylvania, 1971. "Conques '- by Poetry." Th e Southern Workman, LVI (1927), 282-2 8 4. Kerlin, Robe rt T. Contemporary Poetry of t h e Negro. Kerlin, Robe rt T. 11 1\. Pa i r of Youthful Negro Poets." Ha mpton, Va., 1921, The Southern Workman, LIII (1924), 178-181. Kerlin, Robert T. 49: "Present Day Negro Poets." Southern Workman, (Dec. 1920), 54 3 . Kerlin, Robert T. "Singers of New Songs." Kilgore, James C. "Toward the Dark Tower." Opportunity, IV (1926), 162-164. Black World, XIX (June 1970), 14-17. Kjersmeier, Carl. Lee, Don L. "Negroes as Poets." "Black Poetry: The Crisis, XXX (1925), 186-189. Which Direction?" Negro Digest, XVII (Sept.- Oct. 1968), 27-32. Lee, Don L . Dynamite Voices: Locke, Alain. Black Poets of the 1960's. "The Message of the Negro Poets." Detroit, 1971. Carolina Magazine, LVIII (May 1 9 28), 5-15. Moore, Gerald. Ed. "Poetry in C.W.E. Bigsby. Morpurgo, J.E. 16-24. 4 "'-\ e Harlem Renaissance.: Deland, Fla., 1969, Vol. II, "American Negro Poetry." The Black American Writer. t~ Fort n ightly, CLXVIII (July 1947), �Morton , Le na Beatric e . "Negro Po e try." Negro Poetry in Ameri ca . Bo s ton, 1925. Encycl op edia of Poetry and Poe t i cs. Frank J. Warnk er,')._ and O.B. Hardison. Ed. Alex Preminger, Princeto n , N.J., 1965. ~ 558-55~ <Y "Negro Po e ts, Singers in the Dawn." The Negro History Bulletin, II (1938), 9-10, 1 4-15. Oliver, Pa ul. Blues Fe l l This Morning: Oliver, Pa ul. Conversations with the Blues. Pool, Ros e y. The Me a ning of t he Blues. New York, 1960. New York, 1965. "The Discovery of American Negro Poetry." Freedomways, III (1963), 46-5 1 . Rarnsaran , J. A. "The Twice· ;orn Artists' Si l ent Revolution." Black World, XX (May 1 971), 58 -68 . Randall, Dudley. "Black Bards and White Reviewers." The Black Position, Numbe r 1 (1971), 3, 15. Redd i ng , J . Saunders. To Make A Poet Black. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1939. (re- prin t Coll e ge Park, Maryland, 1968). Redmond , Eugene B. "The Black American Epic: Its Roots, Its Writers." The Black Scho l ar, II (January 1971), 15-2 2 . Redmond , Eugene B . I "How Many Poet's Scrub the Rivers Back?" Confrontation, (Sp ring, 1971), 47-53. Redmond , Eugene B. Lance J e ffers. "Introduction." When I Know the Power of My Black Hand, by Detroit, 1975. Rodgers, Carolyn M. "Blac k Poetry-Where It's At." Negro Digest, XVII (Sept. 1969), 7-16. Rollins, Charlemae. Sheffey, Ruthe. Famous American Negro Poets. New York, 1965. "Wit and Irony in Militant Black Poetry." XXII (June 1973), 14-21. Black World, �Sherman, Joan R. Invisible Poets: Afro Americans of the Nineteenth Century. Urbana, 1974. Smitherman, Geneva. Black Poetry." "The Power of the Rap: The Black Idiom and the New (Also Twentieth Century Literature , Forthcoming, 1973. available through ERIC). Stauffer, Donald Barlow. Taussig, Charlotte E . v. A Short History of l\rne rican Po e try. New York, 1974. "The New Negro as Reveal e d in His Poetry." Opportunity, (1927), 108-111. Thurman, Wallace. "Negro Poets and The1.· r Poetry." Th e Boo km an, LXVII ( 1928), 555-561. Tinker, Edward Larogue. Les Cenelles, Afro- French Poetry in Louisiana. New York, 1930. 1,,.' hite, ~l f'wm n n I . "AriP ric a n Negro Poetrv." Snu th AtJ an_t ic nuarter] v, XX (1921), J M- 322 . "The Pmhr.'.l 'PoPts." ~!_AJ:.n_stream, XVI (.Tulv 1963 ), 7- 1 3. "The Undaunt e d 'Pursu it of Fury." Valenti, Su zn nne. "Tlw P,lack Diaspora: and lU nc l· Ame ricans.'' / Wa gne r , .Tean . Time, XCV (April 6 , 1970). 98 -100. Ne gr i. tmle in th e Poetry of West Africans ~lon, XXXIV (ncc emhe r l Q7J), 390-3QR. Le s poPtP s~ , r e s cle s f.u1s-1Jn i s: ct a_n_s___]:.a__p ocsi e <l e P ._J~u~bar a L. Hu {' hes. Wa gner, Jean. Paris, 196 3 . Rlac k Po ets of the Un i ted Stat r s: Lan__gs ton ll u r, hes. Walker, Ma r Raret. White, Newman I. Le sentiment racial eto reliqieux From Paul Lawrence Dunbar to (translation by Kenneth Du u p,lass) Urbana, Ill., 1973. " New Poetstr.) _'Phyla~, XI (1950), 345-354. " Racial Feeling in Ner,ro Po e try." South Atlantic Quarterly, XXI (1922), 14-29. Work , J-'onro e N. ( 1908 ), 73-77. "The Spirit of Ne p. ro Poetr y ." The Southern Horkman, XXXVII �J\hraharns. Rorer. De_~-- -~i:..rn in the Jun_P_l_~:_ 1 errn ~arr at ive Fol k lore from the Streets or P1-ii]a de½2_hfa . _ Hathoro, "Pa . , 1964. n. J\hrahar,s, ~nr,er Jou_1~r:i:1 l_ of Arl P ri.can Folklore, 75 "P l avin?, the Dozens . " (1%2), 7nCJ-lR. J\hraharns, Roc,pr D . Adams, E.C . L. PrentirP-l! a]l, 1q1n. PositiveJ:1_JHack . Nigger to 1\ligp~. New York, 19::'.8. <l, Allen, 17 • i.lli.am Francis, CharlPs Pickard \·J~re a nd T.ucv '-ic' 'i.m r.arrison . Son<>s of the Pn-lter1 S tates. New York, ]8fi7. ,'\ n r.l r.0ws, '-'nlachi anrl n,rnl 1'. 0wens. Np1• Slave crlitions, 1929 and 1951. Rlacl : T;0_1 ,,., ua~e_. SPymour-Smith Puhlishers, 1.971. Paratz, Jonn C. ;ind Pop0r '.·'. Sl-iuv. Rrewer, .T. Rrewer, 1 1,,son. .T ~ •~r1chin~ Rlac 1 : r. 11i.ldren to Pead. -~~-- Ch_~sts, And ~t__her_T_~~'!,r,ro Folk Tnlf's. ''Tl-if' R]ues." Brown, Stcrli.n5; A. "1Pr:ro Folk Exnressi.on: J\.....,... A11stin, Texas, Phyl.01:_, XIV (1958), 286-292. Rrown, Stcrlinr. A. 1'\rown, Stf'rlinr: E._l~'l_on, VT (101~5), 354-161. "Amf' ri.ran Per,ro FoH:lo re." '!nson. r.enter for s ,,frituals, Seculars, Ballads and "t1er,ro Folk Exnression. f! l. Folk Tales anc Anhorisms." P~J-o~, 11ol. XI, At~anta, Ca., 195(). '--" Charters, S;i_muel n. _T_h__~C~_1r1try Blues_, New York, 1 q5o. r.laerhaut, navid,~_l:1S~:___Jar1;on in White America. Conley, Dorothy L. Crnnd Rapids, 1972. "nri;>in of the . 1 err.o Spiri t uals . " Th'=.._2egro History Bulle.tin, �Corbett, l ~ciw;url P.J. "Students' Rir t tion nnd Co~municntion, vo· Courlandcr, narold . to Thei.r ()pn La 11 nua g C> ." YJ,'V (Fnl1 1974), 1- 11. , eP,r_o....!_o_lk Music, P . S .A. Ne,· York, 1067 . J. Curt is-~urli n, ~:a ta 1 ie . Dalby, Davi c1. Col_l_e?E_: Composi- "-'.(' 0 ro •o½-2o~s. Ne1-.' Y0 rk, 19 l <3/ 19 l 9 . "Afrj_can Survivals in the Lan~u.'.l" f' and TnHliti.ons of the Wind- wr1.rd '-'riroons of JnmAi.ca ." :.\frica_1: Lrinf'ua?,e Studies 12, 1071 . Tl,,.~,, 1,'. D Jlalbv, navicl . New lforlrl. a. nJ T\1ac1A~· Phi.te : :'at terns of ror· mnicati o n in Arneric rt__/r., the /\frtcnn Studies Pro~ram. navis, Ossie. Inclia1 1<1 l'nivcrsit,· , 1°70. "T'1P fn C'. i.sh LanP,uaPe Ts '.ly En0rny ." J\mf>ri ·an Teacllf'r (Apri\9.196 7). JncStefano , Jo l!anna S . En~li~ . Language, Society and Educrit-ion: A Profile of Black C.A . Jones Pub., 1973 . Tli llr1.rd, .Toey T.ee . !Unck En~lish: Its lli storv and Usage i.n thf> ll. S. New York, 1972 . Diton, Carl. Thirtv-S x South Carolina Spirituals. Dorson, ~ichard ~ . , ed. Dorson, ~ichard ~1. nundes, Alan, eel . African Folklore. n. Fnglewood Cliffs, N.J., 19 73. Some West African 'Proto-tyries of the Uncle Drums and Shadows: Athens, Ga., 1940. 1-landv, E . C . anrl Ahbe NilPs, eds. Harris, Joel Chandler. (New eel. : New York, 1972). Treasury of the l}}.:_1es . New York, J 949. Dnddv .Jake the Ttunawav, and Short Stories Told After New York, 1~ 3 <1 . T-Ja~ki.ns, .JamPS and PuP,h r. 1973 . Readinr;s in the In- 'Pon_u_l_ar SciP.nce, XLVIII ( NoveMbPr 18()5), 93-104 . r.eorgi.a Writers ' 'Proiect . Dark . New York, 1967. Mother Wit from the_.1:._au?,hinr, Barrel : "rvolution in r.'olklore: Remus Stori.0s . " New York, 1Q72 . American Neg ro Folktales. terpretat i.on of Af~o-AMeri~~n Folklore. Ellis , A. New York, 1928 . Rutt~ . .,.,hp nsvchologv of Black Language. New York, �1u rs ton , 'i'. orn "PalP . 1 .bcksn n, Tin tcf', e c! . .Tahn, .T.111h Pi.nz . ' 1u 1 cs and Men . 1:J;il, e 11 n np ,1 d Phi ade] n'd ., , J<P r; . Af r o - Anc r i c :in l ' <' r 1· son° s f r or, Texa s fan : P,lue s An d " o r 1, Scml!s . f.'rc1 nkf11rt . 1 1n . , 19(- 7 . ~rankfur t , .Tones , T.PPoi. . "• a c 1: ' !11sic . l( r ehhi.Pl , llrn r v F.clw:u d . 'PW Vo r k , l C1 fi 7 . /\f ro - Amer i can Folkson 0 s : Snea_k_e_r_c;__'l_n__ ..:"l_e~ _Y_~r:_k__ r. ~ 1 q(, 4 . . /\ Stu dv in Raci.:11 anrl Na - "' Res ,., i'lrch Report 3288, Vo l . 2, 1969 . Coon P. ratifve V T.ahov, \H lliam. Lan ~uar,e in t h e. I nner Citv : nacu la r. S_t~1_rlies in th e Il l a c k En g lish Ver- Ph i l c1 d el nh i c1, JC172. V La Doj'\ , William . Soc ioli n Pu i stic Pat te rns . Ph iladelphi a, 1Q7 3 . V Lao oy\ , Hillia m. Wash in~t o n , Th e So ci_a_l_ __.~ tra_tific a tion of Enr,lish~'ew Yor k r.ity . n.c . : V La b o" , Willi a m. Cen t e r f or Appli e d Linquis t ics, 1966. The Stud v of Non- Stand ard Engl ish . Champ a r,ne, Ill . : Cent e r fo r Ap plierl T,i nrp.ii s ti cs, 19 7n . Land e ck , Rea tr ice . T:C_!l_?_~s __o f Africa i. n T'o l k So ngsof th e Americ a s . Lef fa ll , De l or e s C . a no J am es P . Johns o n, comniU.Ns . lH_b} io r._r.'.'l_r_hy . Loman, Tien r,t . New York, 1961. n lack En gl ish an Annot a t ed W:rnh in gt on, D. C . , 1 Q73 , Conversat i ons in a Ne ~ro nialect . Wa s h in Rton , n.c. : Cente r fo r Appl i ed Lin ~u i st i cs, 1°67 . LomRx , .Tn h n Av P. ry ;mcl Alan Lomax . Ameri.ca n Rallads and Fo]k Song s. Lomax, Joh n Ave ry a nd Alan Lomax . Ne ? ro Folkso_n~~s~1_1 g bv Leadb~ , New York , 193A Ne w York , �Lovell, John. "11eflections on the 0rir-jns of the> Nepro Spiriturll." Negro /\.mcricn.n_ Literature r.orum, III (l96Q) , 01-97. "aior, r.1nr.cnce. 1,farsh, J . P, . T . Dictionary of Afro-AmPricanSl_·in<; . The Storv of the Jubilee Singers:_ With ' l P'-' Yorl-, Q70 . Tl1pj r Sonrs, 7th ed ., London, 1877 . Matthew~, M 11 Sor,r> Sour.c0s of Southcrni.Ams. l'nivPrsi v of /\.Jnhama Press, 19!18 . CL/\ .Touma], YIU (1 °(,9), 5 7-61. ~fors0, .T . Hitchc>ll. "T1w Shuff]i.n<; Sncech of Slr1vC'ry: Enr.lisl:_, Vol. '34, No . n '',lc1ck f'nglish ." ColJ:.Pgi::_ (March 1q73), 334-843 . ncium, llownrr \·' . and r.uv B. Johnson . The Nepro ancl His Songs . Chapel !Jill, N. C. , J 9 25. Odum, llowa rcl 1-lashin~ton and Guy 13 . Johnson . ~! . r. Nep,ro Workaclny Songs. Chapel Hill, . , 1 n 2 n. 01 i.ver, Paul. P.luc•s r.c] 1 T,lis _Morni.n~ : _ The Meaninr, of _the Blues. Sandilnnrls, Alcxancler. /\. llund r ed and Twenty Negro Spiritu~ls . New York , 1960 . Horija, BasotoJ.1nd , 1951 rlnrl J Q(i/; . ScarhorouP,h, W. W. "N0r>,ro r.oJklore nnrl nialect" . Scar.hourouP:t1, Dorotliy. A_I_e_n3_, XVIT (18()7), 186-192 . On the Trail of Ne[\ro Folk So2:&_s . Cambridge , Has s. 1925 . v SliirlPv, 1:nv. 'T'],(, P,on 1· of thp nlu<'s. New Yorl·, 7qr-,1 . rross-Culturnl /\.nl'llvsis . Shuy, f'.on0r \.' . Wns',i.-,ptnll. 11.r ., 1972. niscovcri..nn /\.meric;in Dialects ., C:hnmnn r. ne, Ill.: 10tJiQ.., }1 ntf\l . r.ounc-i 1 nf Tel'lcl-iers of Fn~lish, l 9fi7 . Sl-iny, Rn1>0r H. T'ield_ Tcc 11n\~es in an_ 11rhnn T.:1n~t1<l_1'C' S t ~ . llashinPton, 11 . C.: C:Pnt0r for -"-rrltecl Li.n 1 uistics, 19(,8 . Sl-inv, T'o n 0r 17 • ~c;!:_c_i_:1__ ni.;ilects ;in.-1 l ,1n~ un ~e 1 _:1-1r...1_1_i:_n~ . , on~ t 1r1tf\l rnu11c-i] of 1'Pnc1 ers nf fn".1 i sh, 1061, . C:hr1mrnrn<', TJl. : �P<lshirwtnr>, "' .r,.: -of r,ontr>r for Apnli.Pcl Unnuistic c; , JC) 7n. ___ Otlv--r -P;:ir r> s, Pt1rni c r.ro1ins~ ~n rl -C111 tures. - - - - - - -- - - - -·-· _,.__ - -- - --- - - . - -- 1 1s An :;,· lP!';: Tnrns-F.thnic Educa- r t ion r,o 'TIT" unication T-'ounrlation, 1CJ71. Smith, Arth11r L. ;:i.nd J\r>r 1 roa L. Rich . S111ith, Arthur 1.. -~h_eto_r_i.c of RPvo_l__u_t:__t_o_n_:_ __ S;:unuc] Aciams, Roston, 19fiQ. RhPtoric of R]ack Rcvoluti0n. Smith, i\rt'lur L. and StPrh,m Robb. TliP Voice of nJ.;:i.ck Rhetoric: Selections. Ros- ton, ]CJ71. Smit l1erman, r.P.neva . \\ "' r.ocl Don I t Never Change I : Rl::ick rnrlish from a Rlack Per- Colle~e Enr,lish, Vol. 3L1, No. 6 (March ]_()7J), 828-8]3. specti.v c ." Spaldin<c, llenry n., ed. F.ncycloped j~c_1~f_ Rla~ 1, Folklore.' And Humor. Middle Village, }'.ew Yor k , 1()72. Stewart, 11.A. "Cont:fnuity and Ch:rngP in American Ner,ro Dialect." Florida Lanr,ua~€_ --~P..r__ort 7-:) (1 %8) . Sulliv:1 n, Philip F. . " Huh RRbbit: r.ojn ~ Throu r,,h the Chanr,es." Studies in Black Literature, Vol. t.., No . 2 (Summer 1973), 28-12. Talley, T. W. ~_ro Vol k Rhymes , Wise c1ntl Otherwise. Thurman, llowarrl. Turnf'r, J.orP.nzo D. nee_r__~iver. New York, J.922. New York, 1955. Africanisms in thP r.ullr1h Dir1lPct. llniversity of Chicago PrPss, J(l4Q: Tlniversitv of Michigan Press, J.()74. Twj_r,r,s, Rohert· }l;i.ss . , 1973. n. Pan-Afr:f.c an J.anrur1.1:£. in the WPstern llemisph~re. North Quincy, �Twini..ni'. , l!,1.ry Arnold. tive." f._T:._A_ Journal, YTV (lq]()), 57-F,l. W<'lm<'rs, Hillir1m E . White, 1 "An Anthropolorica] tool: n , Afrn-AP1<'riC"fln T'olk Nar:i.a- Pwrnan I. J\frico.n Laneuar.<' Structures. Mcri_can \lo frarn, FFtltPr A . Washinntnn, n.C .: n . C.: Work, .Tnhn W. - - - - -- -- -- - - - Foll-- SonP,s . CPntPr for Applied T.in~uistics, 196g. 1ona J--1. Clarke, rnack-l·'lti_rc Speech_ RelA tinnsh~. t.Pnt<'r for Appliecl Lin<1u I.st ics, 1 g71. ""!e~ro r.'ol]r_ Songs." - r.ar.i~1riclp,e, Hass., 1928 . A Sociolinr,u1.stic nescri..r.._t_in n of netroit "e~ro Speech . Wo] fram, !Ta 1 tPr A . ,rnci Wo.shin~ton, NpP,ro llniv. of Cr1.lif . Press , 1973, 0n_p_o_r_tunity_, T (1Q~3), 292-294. �:-~. DISC0r.RAPHY J\1\TT) TAPE I'::lf'X -----·------- - - - - - - - A.Collections (nhono~rn1~ f-'rl . hy ALrn T,or1nx . 1.ibrarv of Con r;re ss ,, 2 As ch Jr". Afro-A1;1l"' r-Jc: .~ n_ C'.n-!.ri_t11,,_ls ,_ \'ork Sonrs :1rnl 11:il_lads . Ed . 1,v Alim LoM.,x . /\ r.nthc•rinn,_ nf r.r0nt Pnctr" for r.hilclrPn,_ Vo l . _ ?. . \• 1 /rwendolvn P. roo ks . Folkm1vs CFledMon Tr: 1 7- 3A . A l!Rnc1 is on the r.;ite . f\ir . hy Rosco<' Lee Rrown0 . F'o 1 hrnys 904(). Atlantic 1350 . tA~P Senes . An1erican Poems of Pntriot:ls1:1 and Prose . /\nj_mR) Tnll"'s Told in r.uJJr1h Dialect. Anthology of ! usi.c of P.J c1ck Af rica . -----· - ----- ··----------------A 1 :',nt_~o_l_n_P_y_ _o_f_~~e-.f_Y_:?__P_o_r:._t'._3_ . Incl. James Welclon .Tohnson . I'd . hv nuncan F.mri.ck. Caedmon AAFS L4l1-46 . F.vt>rest 32511/J . Fi. by Jirna flontem f' S . (ReRd hy Langston lluRhes , Ster in r, T>,rown, Clnude McKay, Countee Cu J e• , '!a r ga ret Wa) k e ~Gwendolyn nrooks .) folkwnys R0co r ds FL 9 7') 91 . Ra~ism : __ A .J ourne_y_ Through Our Time . Cullen. V3nguard vsn nir. hy Maynard Solomon . I ncl. Countee Recorded by Hugh Tracey. Columbia KL 213. 792 75. Ran tu ' lusic From Rritish Ea st Afric a . �Reen in _t hP Stor.m so 1.onp, : _ Snirituals .:inr. _Shouts , Chi lrlren' s Came _Sonr,s . Folkways Records PS ') ~V12. RCA Victor 1,0C 6nnr . _R_e_1:'.'l_f _n_n_t_0_ l'lt __r._r1._r_n_e_g_i_P_ I0_ll_. l~yond _thP P.l nes_: Americnn NE>r,ro PoPtrv. Erl. 1 •' oscv ,v 1· • Vinette Carroll, Cleo LAine, Cordon J1Path, nroc l Peters.) P.l;:1ck _Scrn_r in_ Prose , Po e trv ancl_ Son.[:, \lo • I . Ppr Poo] . (R0acl hy ARC() RC. 338 . f . hy Vi nnl e Burrows. OJn . Snoken Arts SA P.lack Sc_<>n_0_ in Prose ,_ Poetrv and Sor~_['✓ Vo l. IT. Perf. hy ViRnie Burrows . SpokPn Ar t s SA )011 . nlack Sp_i ri.ts. lot01-m/P- ] nck r.orum B - 456 - L. The Rlac k Voices: On th 0 Streets in Watts. Classics of American Poetrv . Weldon Johnson . ALA Records 1970 Stereo. w/r.artha Kitt . Tncl. Lanr,ston lfur,hes and James Card~an TC 2041. (:u_l_t _n_rn_1_ _F_1_n1,1-r_r_i_nL :__ J1~t;ci_:1_<:_ _R_n_d_T_:._1:__t~_r:__A_t_u_!_<::._ . F'olhmys F'T. 9(171, FL 9792 FL 9790, 1 FL () 7 :1 ~ , F.T 2 8 Mi , FT. 2 C) 4 l , r. A 2 A') 9 . -- neep So11th Sc1crecl and Sinful . Perf. by Ressie Jones. Southern Journey Series. Prestipe I ntrrnat onr1.l 25005 . Discovorin" T.i ter11t11rc>. Incl •. fames 1-!e] clon .lohnson and Lanp,ston Hur.hes. Th0 So11nd of 1.Hernture. DruMs for r.ocl . Hou~hton-Mi fflin 2-262-18. (Recor d od live in Carneroone, Cnn f_ o, Ethionia, Lihrria, Malaswi, ~x_ll_l_o_r _i _nr __T._i_t _P_r_a_~u_r_!'_. ExquisitP YPl.1.ow . \.I /f :irtha Kitt. llouphton-Mif f lin 2-2()248. Incl . Paul Laurence Dunbar. Theatre Alumni Associates. Suny, J\lhany, Npw YCl r k . TzCA Victor tSr.27 il l �Prcstinc Tnternati o nn l 25n02. _TJ1_e_~ _l _o_r_v__o_f__"_P}~r_o_Jl_jc..s_t_o_r__y_. Pritten nnd ' ;nrr:1tE> cl hv T.nn '· ston Tlur,hC's . Folkways vr, 177S 2 (nrw no. FP 75 2) . r.ocl ' s_ Tnmhon_rs aric1 Sr] rc:tPcl 20th _C0nt111y ~~r o Pnct r__y . Johnso n , .t\I ·fcP Childress , ;rnd P. Jay Sidney . Jazz C:a nto_ - Vol. T •__ Poetry Jazz /\lhur1 . John ' s Ts]nnrl,_Its P~nnlP nnd SonRS . Frlncationn] Audio Visual 75 R 440 . Rearl hv LanPston HuP,hes. World Paci- Folkways FS 3A4n. Les Ral]ets_ /\f'riuli ns ,1 e Ke ita Fodeba, Vol. Missa T.uha . Perf . hy James Wendell L nisgues Vogue CLV1 .X 29 7. ~ . ~ Sunr. hy Joachi.m Nr, o i and Les Tro ubadours du Roi Ha-._clol\in . Ph illi p s PCC nnFi. Hu!=!ic nown 1io1'1c. Er1 • hy C:harles Erlw;ircl Smith. Music From the Sout l1. Folkw1:ivs FA 2691 . Fi.eld Rec ordin r s hy FrrdC'ric RRmsf'y Jr. Fo kways FP 650-59 . Music _of Jcriu,1todal A~ r i.ra . Nation!'ll Poetry Fcstivn1. Recor ded hv An<lre Didie r. Folkways FP 4402 . Incl. r.wenc1nlvn n r ooks nnrl L11n r ston Tlui;hes . of Con Pr es s IMO 386R, 3R69 , 3870 . ) Ne ~ro Plues and Hol la rs . Ed . by Marshall W. Stear ns . AAFS L59 . Library �!fo~r_o __T':_o_:!:\ ~~1_s_ic of Africa~nd America . i 1 r.r Folkways 4 r,1)0 . Perf . by Ella Jenlr.i.ns a n cl r.r oup . ef:_~_ _r:_o_l}c. _~_'.1,V_tJ:JA.s_. Folkways :-A 23 74 . -.../ Fo kwavs RPcorrls P/117-418 1171-4711. ''0P,ro r.o_llc _~u_s_-t_c:__o_f __A_l__a_l:__;~:~'1_. Ner, ro r.onson~s and Tunes . \.1/ Elizar,0th Cotten. '!er,ro "011,_ Snn?,s for Youn :> Peo£_le Su~ }Jer,ro_ Po_0ts in l'SA. _1 l,eadhC'_l ly . Sun" hy HeclcUP Ledbe tt e r T-'ol1<ways 9 7 91. Fol'.:ways 9 792 . c>g ro Prison r:a~ \lark Sn n~s . hl e~rn Prison ~on"s. 'olkway s FC 3526. Folkwavs 441 7 / :> 41, 7 1 / 4 . lle r,ro T'olk Stories an<l "usic . Jegro Pof'ts_ Antholo<>v . nv 1 Folkways FE 44 7 5 . P0 r f . hy Mississ i ppi Stat P PPnitPntiarv Prisoners . Trn(litinn RPcorcs TLP 1()20 . er,ro_ ~Pll _ious Sonrs_ancl Services . T'd. by TLA . Rotkin. AAFS J.10 . ~ 1'_ey_r _ o__S_o_n_P,_s _, _S_t_o_r_i_e_s__a_n_d_ _P_n_e_t_r__y_ f::.9_1:_ _Y_o_u_n_f ___P e_o_1J_)_e_. 1'Jer,ro \-!or'!( _Son7.s a n d_ Calls . :_r_~_e___ew__Rl_:ir._1,__P_o_E:_~ry_ . . ew .Tr1zz Po0ts . f.'.cl. Ed . by Play not kin . -, ec o r rl s FC - 7110 , AAFS 18 . 1"'.rluca t io n al Aurlie Visufll IPR 136 . hv Walte r LowPnfels . New_port _1()'3 8 , t-faha11<1 Jackson . 2.,sn n. A . Fo 1 kwa vs AR Re c ords RR 461 (B r oadside ). Co lumhia r,s 80 71. v. nr,n . rir_ '_ n :rnr _0 Son<>s an,1 'T'un0s . cord in" ,\/\f.'S T,(). Re cor cls r-s - 11nn,q , r-'.<l . hv n . A . Rot'·i n . T.i hr<1ry of Con°rPss Re- �an<l T',c>n T/ri<•ht . i.'nrl,.1 n.'lcific R.ecorrls. _f'_o!'-_t_r_v__n_f_ _t_J,_r_ tc.<>r_o_ . Poets for n0,1ce . I P,pa, 1 hy SidnPv Po;t\tier anil '•n ris 11elacJ.-. . ncrf. hv Owen Dodson. Spok0 •1 'rts 90) P_ r:Jorv r.LP-1. FiP.-25S2 . wet rd ~o_C'_t_r_" __T_n_t_C'_r_n_,-i_1:_i~_!'_fl_l _ Tncl. E ~ e . 2 Ar · o HPR. 71'.i2 l3. Poets nf ' 10c;t Tnrli.C's . R._ayn_in' CANlm0n s. .l _;i,- 7-_ i.n a ·'1ii _r-c,__\Jo_r_l_:__cl . 11 r~fl~ctinns on ;1 1:17(). PPrf. hv ThP "ntts Pronhets. r.i_ft o f \In :crmclon Pic 1· 10 Tl1e Rhvthmc; of thf' \for rl . a 1 ' Al.A 1971. ' thr-r : fod <· rr Verse . Writ ten and ::11rrn t ed hv La rr~to lncl. Lanr,s- llup,hes . Folkways FC 7340 (nrw no. FP 740). P,oots of nlnck AJllerica. Vnit0rl StatPs.) (Traces Black Music from Africa to the Caribbean to Fol~wnvs Q704. Savannah S~vncor!\tors~Afric1rn Retentions in the !Hues . _SeJ_m_;i_ _r_r_P~C'_rl_n!"_ SonP,s . ....- nocumentr1ry Rccordinr hy r.arl Ren ert . S:J.dn~_y_ Po_ttiPr RPads Po0tr.1._of the Blackman SinJlers_ in _t1ie nus]~. Procl . bJr,aul Oliver • 1 '/noris Belack . ~~usic, poems read by Charles Lampkin. Folkways FH 5594. l! nitecl Artists Ficker Reco r dinr, Servicr> XTV 25689 . (T'!-)irty three s1<ip rope p,ames rec11rdPd in r:vanston, Ill. .) SonP,s_ o_f __the_Selrn1' ' Tontromc~_Marc 11 . P <'~ r. 1 ,y "ett ''ee r, P.r anrl others 5j>cctru111 in__nl Rcl: :__ r>o0ms by 20th Centur_y~r_· PoC'ts. Folk- Folk - Scott, Foresman and Co. 4149. �Sp).ritua ls rt_ Foltlo rc. -~_i_r_i_t_u_n__ls . St1, .,~ by Harry Belafont c . Pcrf . hy P01,1rtrd Univ. Choir . RC.'\ 430 - ?13 . RCA Virtnr T '! ~126. S~ken Antholopy of J\meri.cnn Literature: the 20 t:h C.cn tu_r_y . Johnson and CounteP C11llen . (Rea,] hy Jm'1PA '.- 1 • Incl . James Weldon Univ . of Arizona nr e ss Rrco rds R63-1127 . Jolrnsnn, L;:mpston Hu{>hf'S , Co1mtee Cu .1 Pn, ()wen nod son, rwPnd nl yn n roo ks .) SA-P-18. Ster_l_:IA~. _P._r _o_\·:'_!1__P_e_<,:1_s_ ]'_i_r.; __Poetry . T~_e__S_t _0_ry_ _o_r_:1__,7__7._z_. 1-.'ri.tt Fol kw,, vs FT . 9790. rn anct Nar r :itcri hy 1.,nr,ston llur- 11c s. Foll~wc1vs FC 7 312 . Stnt~r-1.e _fnr f'rcerlorn ._ Fo]kwnys FH'i7J 7, Fll551 J, FD5525, FJl5 5 ()2, Fll5522, FD5252, FH5523, FC77 57. Toda~ PoetR, Vol . IV . Incl . Robt . Hayden . :r_o_u_".. 1 _Po_rn1_R_ _f_o_r __T..'2_'lf'._h_ _r_"..°_.!:}_e_. C:nec1 r· nn nrrn rds, Tnr . V.1 . urs -!n T.Hrraturr•. Scholastic Records FS11004 . non T.. T.rp's. fthPrfclPe Kninht 1 R Poetry. Inr (1_')71.) . Tnrl. Jamrs l'el rlon .Tnhrc;on. llo 11 r- 11ton- 1iffli.n '.'-26/1Qq , ll., 1·1al1r To :• rt110_r _ rhil rlrpn_:__ T' 1e Sun <; 1-iy 11jnni.r n urrnPs. _1Hnc 1~ Scrne__ in P rns~ Pnetrv _and _SonP,. Ref\d anJ Snoken Art s S". 1030. ~:or1,' r.,nn ,1 c; ''r<>ro Snirit,,nls. ·--- --- - - - --- - ~--- ..I>- ·------ - Pr>rf. Brait1i.wait e , f'.cl11n r c . TR .:i.n d s. Aro,o P.n1it1Pai.t0, fclwar rl . P;isks . ,-,,,, ,isle nu, l11 l•il]0p S i.n rP rA. 1184 / 5 . Ar?-,o PT .P llf1J. Folkways FA 2372. �'', rown, r.l;,inc . Sci:>:e t 11C' Tim0 . Rcarl nn ,.' Su!1" h.r Hrown, StcrJ.in". nncl nurhC's _T.anr,s t oj Rrown, srr,rl i.n ·' <1n<1 1 laine 1,rown . Vault 131. \fo r ks of Sr,,rlinl'.c_ r,_rown and Lnn~s ton ft1p}~Lani; s toj f.olkwr1vs 0 7 94 . A-"lama SCW 1 rn . r.ortez, .J;wne . C:p10hr:1tions nnrl Solit11d 0 s . Strata "'- Ea st ~ecorrls, Tn c . SES -7 421 . Crouch, S tan]ey . Flyin o Du tchm,_ a n FDS 105 . Cu llen, C::ountPe . Dorlson , OwC'n . To MaJ,0 A Poe t nlack . The Dr cnM Awake . Ca e dmon S-1'1nn . Spo ken Ar t s SAJ095 . Fahio, Sr1 r ah WE>h s ter. Hoss Sou l. Folkway s FL · 9 7 Fabio, Sarnh \•'eh s ter . Soul Ai~_'._!J ~ u l Is . Giov anni, 1''.ikld . L:lkc A _Rin.r_le On A Pond_. r.iowmni, llH:ld. . J'ru_tl1_ _T_s On I t s Way . 11 upl-ics, L,inc'.ston . T~ughes, Lan .~ ston . THack Ve r se . n. Fo lkwa y s Q7l] . Niktom L12nn . San111 (J 97] ~ R,~kt-On RQ~ {I_(< 05001 , Rudcl;:ih 20()5 . T)id You Ev e r Hea r _T_~ ~-~l~_~s_? Dig :• illn ' s Renctition s of. .• Tlnited Artists ~L 3()47 . Hughes , Lrn.o ston . ThP flreaM l<'..ecper _and nther Poems _of J.anzston ~1p,_he~ . Read hv Lan~ston Hughes . T<o]kways FC 7l04 ( new .'. o . FT' 104) . �Poe!"ls P,y L.-i.naston . Htwlws . Hughes, T,;i_n",Ston . Reel 1 hv Lin~ston 1 111r,hes . 11.fr~ Records 45L1 . Hur.hes, T,an"ston . v-rr: llunl-v,s. 1rn f.'orun 1, The Poetrv of LanP,ston Hur.h r s. Cr1edT!l C\ n (1968 ) . 1_27:_ (C;i_ ecJno n 12 72) . 5 '3 . Johnson, '.!r>l r1o n .Tm'1es. '~o ur Readtn<'.S From C:n rl ' s Tromhon •s . Johnson, .T rtmc->s \'cld on . r.or1 .Tohnson, r.orJ ' :; Tronhoncs . .Tonrs, .J.1r1Ps \.'elrlon . 'r; Poll·wa ys FL 9783 . Tromhoncs . Rea d bv 11a rol r1 Scott . Bl;icl· :1n' l\<'ri utifnl ... So11l a nd 'iacln0ss. l.<'';c,~. ny .T;imes W. John son . The T.nst Pn0r-c; . r.hns ti.s one nt . The Lnst P rw ts . T 11c l..:i.st Poets . RJ U<' l'ni ted Artists Ji.h .1r Prod1 1c ti.ons Jihnd Jno1 . Th11mh TITS 1') . Past l! jnd AssocL'.1tes, li o1 1P,l as J. The L1st Poets . ri.erlmonrl, rw•rne P, . Scott-Peron, ra 1 . Scott-Heron, C:il. n nor 1 T.i.nks and Sricrerl PL1ces . 1\lack 1?.iver \.!ri ters 110- 13 �,I Scott, ' l0rnn . ~i] . Sr1 ;1 l l J\t 12 Stl1 And Len n·: . 1';:iJl: fl vi.nP. 1, utc 1 1"lfln Prod . , Lt d . FDS-111. Van Peebles, ·:pJvin. J\in'_t S_':!. Pnosc<l _to T'\ io Vc1.n Ppohlps, '·'elvin . ",r e r Soul. /1_ ~ctt . 11r ,1J. J\ & ~1 SP /11(, 1 J_J·! SP f',-, nth. 4223. • (3 , ~ing J..0 noe t s ( tape) P,rool• r, , r.wen d o] vn. r.';:i"lil v Pictures. r.r.1anuo1, J ,1P1 os /\ . Pr1nt l-ier 1·1an . Emanu0J, .J An c s /\ . 1'11 e n ,r rlsi.d e Vo i re s. 'T'rcE'ho11se and Oth<>r PnPms . t-40.rpe.-.> Mic. h o.e L). -~fii',~et-~ ~ llod~c s , T-'roncJ.i,., Jolene . Jeffers, T.flnce. f.roadsidc · '.\1ices . Blacl -. WisdoTTJ . Knight, rtherid~e . ~_pirits 11ncha_ined . Poems From Pr ison . J.ee, non T.. Peadin '_Anrl Ra.JlT)in'. Lee, non J. . lie Walk The Wav of The New World. Randa 1, nudlev . Broad s ide Voices . ;md~ _C_.i_~i-~s r,urnin-; . Pomecomi.n 0 . Sanc11e:>:, Sonia. !'~!:___~'l_<i_d_T)nD People . X, ~arvin . LP-RR-1 . Broadside Voices . The !~ock_~_g_r v Ou':_ . 'Poem Cnun --- t Prnoe111 - ~- - . Broa,iside Voices . Br oadside Voice s. Broadside Voices. ~roadside Voices . 'roph_ets . f o r . /1. Ne\l nav. Black ~an Listen . nroadsido Voi c e s. nroar1side Voices . Sanc he "'. , Sonir1. 1 This Land_. Rr oacside Voices . Randall, nur lcv and [ n a n ~ f a r r , ~ . Walker , t1argarPt. r LLiri 0·1~ °P r, esS• Broadside Voices . ~o~~~_g_r:.y_, Scream . \! . ~ r !> ,·\y o I=' Hroadside Voices . Lee, Don L. f·lurphy, Tkatri.ce IJ Broa ,' s j de Vo i ce,. 2v__~1,_n_c:.!_~n_ess__1:_s__th~ _P,p ~ ~r- l(~ositosi.lo, l'c=>orapctsP . Hr nndc..l d e \7oj ces . -Qwr, tiiai;i;:fbw. \J n Rroadside Voice s . Broadside Voices . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Text Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_08_55 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Bibliographic Index, p. 576-623, typed manuscipt with handwritten edits Description An account of the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Bibliographic Index, p. 576-623, typed manuscipt with handwritten edits. Also includes a title page. Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/0318a207db970ce6b5c4f3bd6cb2cd72.pdf 46de4982032e9055b3eb577de0aa2885 PDF Text Text \1 L I /' u I\. ( 4~8 ~ IIJ 495'~ 81 ,, '-'I .3'} his <{It/_...,.__,,..• ( , w« :_.._....,__.,_cC. , 4 '} i 6.-&J u lf ':.f?' f,,v (. >IA t1 it f, t ~ J tt ~~ l/ t/J Nso 11 X- ~ fo -t" 1 {, (.J {J.1;.b - 7[3 II ~ •f " 1/V(M •-·"~ I..J cl ,( ~ " l ,-o > ~,, JT '1, ''Lt,.it ,, /I B \ \ '\ \, __ ,. ~ c1<., ~ t1r1 r ~ 5'~ 't g ~ I ( fl O"b"- I ri I/ 7r 2·? ,, a,J 6 j I/ /j r fN ll ~ l/1 H 8-r ' 7 B ~(., �f,r,u_ :? 7 1 ()o..,.flz '.JI-; 11 A ( : IJO I 7 ��114-- ;;;di ~ t'l I 1rl l l / 3?t- .,, , keu ,,d a , t !8 <! m;;J11)1 ,uwt l<!J-dl - /. ~ll- - 4;,eo<I J4",ij4 ~ 'J ii,:~ rj a - ~~~ ~ , . , uJ~ .l>t-U d:118'-17/!-bruv ~ Ebna.; ? 'x/2,{-,w ~n- /4 M - -f,) = ~~ ~ /723 . ~~ 11 ;(1/Ulb.e/-UJtt:J)wv '<5;.. ;;~1;~; 5t;f; ry!;.;J/; I '(!7ra~/ ...., �._:, - ffi~ du.,~ r ,, �kft · 1.u.L \3::-m ,,tlk i+e" tL, ~ ,,~ ,'(~ .J. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Text Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBRWritings_08_37 Title A name given to the resource Handwritten notes and edits by page number for first typed draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B.