14 10 650 https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/e4eec4d0d314b40e9a48aeb44c15344b.pdf a0fbf1b49d8bb1faca52f47fd90374b3 PDF Text Text s & The Black arts Movement One ajor difference between the cu ltural/ polit c Fl '-' ~==-•, of the twenties and the sixties/seventies was location: the Renaissance I· rips literarily, if not always geo~ &r ~~i;f can graphically, in Harlem; but ••m111•-•••..,.mf\.successor~ North__, be found in ~ve~merican communlty with a substantial .._' • ~ r (.),Jt>.. l \ a.A,t;. ~ A,t Ld,~ If • B1ack , _ ' population.~To be sure, the cll'lture arrl political arms weddings interlocked. But suchA_ifl@e~,a~ieR of t h e Renaissance were, on 71 ha tJ6li.~ntered =~•-~ 1 . never r ... ~J'e) Black Poetry; but often "stars" of the New -1;~;;:::·it',;,... the J ilil!!III poets "outside II fl# their poetry. itllliillli"a?S.•-Iiiiimlr 0r, of "continpi ty,." "wholenes§" and ..-e,i' :Iii& 'iO' > ~t """',,,n.l:J'l,',,.H1c.c; the sta~"outside" topical and emotional stimuli "inside" what was indefensible as "poetry. 11 , 1, This AsnuJ meant t ~ t s had no connection whatever with a~literary &,~folk poetic tradition~ such. Instead f'theirs t' 0 •' JJ . Ju~~ /,.,t,. ~ was a tradition of immediacy, political urgency,,-rewspaper~i--ea±i~y, combined with high-shcool type punch-lining. 11 ~ This is not \is) not being written 4lllllil poetry"(of whatev er definition) was or that charlatans wer 0 always on the "take." There is much evidence to support the beli~f that dozens of these soothsayers were sinc e re and honest--~had 11 i1 y chosen what appeared to b e ~ " simp1;.sJ 11 and fastest II vehicle for expressing thoughts about " Revolution, 11 ,\ 11 Black llejti ve Go7sciousness" of their 1ilili~iji.'1~~",t';,. A\tiate.ls:am.,..~:s;~~:i:b~~oets-activists J:M,f.J µJ ~ ..!.. - -.. oj !,v,.C.~.tl giv )J. :'fiip.]l["ed two things: sometimes 1§~ r 1 ck vj,riters to~1 " /.,,.,,,., r,1,,,~,,. langtuage. · ·~ ~,.._liil-,i.;1;&..-@fll~t-i!"I~ ...,;,,, language was easier to ma ster \tniiti!!!ih that sincere expression, no; matter h ow poorly arranged, carry the d a ~ o e t r y . - c o uld / �insert pg 1 No , nothing remains the same . And my spirit~ reaches out to you my love without apologies without embarra s sment with only the thought that this is right for us that moving towards you is like touching leaves in autumn •••• .............. our minds and spirits interlocked like death . �2 the insi.. ncere versi ~iers more often than paving the way~not fell by the wayside in a short time, · rj~ke the Phoen:lx bir . mounters • more soa .r.-.awtl...iillil1191!1!111111!'!!!!~, a number the early phase-- ~~d. woodshe4,~~ became much better handler~ of 1the 'OAN,1 1UJIL~ t./J-44', (a._ f I late{/sixties Blzk lomrnunities all over America • 11 had bem abll Jhi,g turned up side down by police and I.Ws,~okesmet(~7Z.., of the Black nevolution . ,.j RM Young shock troopers like Carmichael, Brown, Charles ~oen, Ron Karenga, Huey Newton and ~ldridge Cleaver 1 II had al ready forced the "old time Black leadership to take a seat. Now, with father having destroyed son(Williams, Baldwin), the poets were free to declaim, proclaim and exhort . This trend alone was aqa1R0~ a shock to th~dition 2 t ·.,,--since it created a f~ood of polemicists and pamphlateers who ia JMnr;r ina+.ta£1sss would not discuss poetry in historical contexts. It ~ (J,{f(,fl-lfAJ,'t w ~ - by labeling i tsel~ .~'Bla~~_.:_./HiJ".,._,. L -d..l~ . ~d)/l,Udl.P5 '7U-' ~~o.~:~·,o·~ .J.,_ and renegoti1tin~ i s own 11 roots. "i;-n ~aaat sent~c."ft of the • • • f ~ J~ ~ ~ l ! \ ~ j.u~ , u ~I ~~ ; ~ew Black Poetry I\ 7a .___non-poetry or anti-poetry( in a ,J.i tera;1y c»":'TM~ ~ ~ conte.llrt) because)~ t tli d primarily on subtlety and k Ji I 8 ''c401 ii): references. Yet it remains to be seen what impact this stance in Ela.ck poetry 'Wi. 11 have on t/iiiiii' the literacy trends in Afro-Americ8'-• fBlyden Jackson ( Black Poetry in Americru,:, for example, beginA hms own discussion of the New Black Poetry by ;::{'analogy between the ~ buildinga+RPJ?;J~i:Siifi C:sii -~t-- ;;t. rise in ~ 1 eracy and the popularity of ag poetry. Stephen Henderson (Understanding the New Black Poetry) assures his readers that Black readers or listeners clearly 11 understand'P what their poets are saying as judges of Black aevthetical and are participating more and mora4"l?wi,bil. t Jg·r41 sf t J • qualities in the poetry and the poets• d e l i v e r i e s . - - - - - - - - - - - - - . J . �3 ~ i l e this cha pter will conclude with a few broad critical •• s observations, the,........, immediate aim is to continue the II t!),{:3 po~try • s developmen'l ~~/M "~~~ • oach• e r e are dozens o ~~ l.x/l~},114,1,(.JC.,J ffi .._ ~--lllilll•~~examine • • _._...,,,..,.,.'" ' ,/4 1~ .// to the New Black Poetry. One theme, structure and saturat j on(Henderson)' ,-.... or its several typestGarolyn .Hodgers, eee bibliography). a 0 tarting \Gayle, Fuller with important names is another way; the Black Aes e 1 preach al e AA tLi,,./~ ~ :tie mine.. 'l'hen there is the magic of Black poetry(Baraka, 'f oure, ~~ Neaf/:)~ The music is also a favorite p:a.th\Stanley Crouch, Mi chael ~~ l,n"r' HerpeJN. One could go on and o~: but the poetry has been written and r one place to start is with ~ asts Jeno bieta11:gr M ~~ role in the new;;:;,;: · 2 31 ergence ,o, Qo..,;,"'"~"'lf•/New York.,.'11/1:#~ k,!;; : to 1 iOiitl"!tf'§iJJil bt 11 1 ua l y; but it did not, m @xv J:J... ?:i. iib played a key .. ~ as said e a rlier, play the key or only role.---CSI:eaiP.Ll:' 06h01 A,reas of the E a st(Phil a delphia, ~or~ b.... l.w..,r1 { Boston,~hing ton, D.c.) ~~ in the boon • .__ _ _ I Bl Midwest cent e rs were Cleveland, Chicago, lJetroit, l:!. a st and ~t. Louis, Kansas City, to name some. in the S o u t ~ ~ was :c·r.Mllllllllt ~ a 0 t. Louis- rtelated events also took place another "rising" in Atlanta, Nashville, Jackson, Baton Rouge, •r uskegee, Houston, and Toogaloo. The West added richly from Los Angeles, ~an Francisco i ay a r ea, 0acramento, and Seattle. Interweaving developmentsj!I/;{~ poetry were numerous Black Arts activities C:.-:~onnected to cultural or nationalist programs)looated a~settlement houses, community centers, •=-••y11 t.MA.AU,,, ~serr...l-nation of ideologies, centers for the~ · , ; IE Of anti-pc,verty projects~ and educatmonal institutions. The high knthusiasm and vogo~!f~ ~ ~--0""' ~ Black-orient~ evident in the plethora of tabloidl' jo po~ers, ¥] S31awulooks ,~ pample-ys., and recor t-1..~ ... ~~~¥-1;.e-...i.Ql..e were the MIik new Black bo o kstores, African curio shops, walls of respect" (Cleveland, Akron, Chicago, St. Louis, New York, Bewark , etc), W weekly festivals and jubilees, writers• conferences, writing work- 4 1 �4 shops, the fiood of liberation flags(Black-green-red), a. ~Black-oriente?tal~~ and other physical{power signs and handshakes) or culturaJ&lit ~frican clothe~, hairdos and jewelry). New Y~~k wasf\..9m&;g"0Pe of the aeet important show-paacel for the ..post~ \..Y_ears / new consciousness. It h a d the residue of the e n a i s ~ t h e ~h omburg ·n Harl,aa~ibrary and Micheaux 1 s Bookstor swell as ~urrounding communities which p lugg ed into its sockets. New orgF~~tions such as thei;;;;;R Barbara Cultural Council - Ann Teer 1 s Nati acii: Theate~d the Harlem flowered in the amazed light of olfer instituttions Jl-t like Freedomways 1Lnrtft {?1arke and .i....arnest Kaiser) ••._ xffi new poets: Tour~~~1Lee), Hande rson, published many of the - Clarence Head, Welton ~mith, Lloyd T, Delaney, W.D. Wright, Joanne Gonzales, Mari ,t;vans and others. l''reedomways also offers lively ..an..Q. commentarj es .on.reviews ,iii#poetry, lit erature and the Black Arts scene. From the variegated atmosphere of New York gushed forth a tide of Black poets#, some had~ w C)\made t h e i r - . mark earlier: Henderson, Larry Nea1(1937- need( Ii1Qffl8.8l ctnd 8!&fl8iiee), Patterson, ;:;un-Ra, Dumas, June Jordan ( 1936- Ji 1 Sonia ;:;anch ez{l935), S.E. Anderson(1943Len ), Victor Hernandez Cruz{l949Chanaler(1935- Hernton, Quintin Hill{l950- Jones, 1946- J, Q. R. Handt ~ rtay J ohnson( Barbara ~irnmons( J, Lefty ~ims{ J, ) , Lennox ), Jay Wright(l9 35- Lloyd Addisonitl931- ), I , Arlington Jones(l936- ), Lethonia ), Yusef Iman ), Odaro(Barbara tt~tone, \~ elton Smith(l940- Spellman, . l : ! . d w a r d ~ e n c e 1•1ajor(1936JRichard Thomas(l939- ) ), Lorenzo Thomas(1944- Kattie M. Cumbo ( ), ) , James ), Jayne Cortez(,r$.,.~Jatts, 1938- , ), ), Ted Wilson( . ), ) , Barak a, ,-.. J, Yusef Rahman{ Ronald ), Clarence heed{ , '1. J, John A. Williams, Lebert Bethune(l q37- ,, Kirk Hs71(19• ), ), Albert Haynes(~6- ), N.H. Pritchard(l939- ), Bobb Hamilton( ) ~d Bullins(l935- ), i~ oward Jones(l 941- Audre Lorde, John Major{l948Raphael(l940 - -'Si,.;,,=-1!:!:i~~~ ),.:.; ), ), �5 ' ,, 'I ) , .Nikki liiovanni (via ll'isk, 1943- hmanuel, C"'lvin Forbes( Tom Weatherly(l942M. Corbin, 1949- ), Ron Welburn(l944), Mae Jackson(l946- Julius Lester(l939(1947- ), Djangatolum(Llwyd ), ), Joe Johnson(l940- ), ~louise Lofton(l950- ), / Felipe Luciano ), L.V. Mack(l947- ), Charles Lynch(l943- )' ), Quandra Prettyman( ), Larry Thompson(l950), and K.W. Prestwidge. ~ew yqrJc Theplack Arts scene,. cm i I l c of ~etry specifically) was all-a-whir with the:. •:,a excitement of publishing and reading poetry aloud w-.JJ.id 3( were at the infinite number of gatherings. Joining these youngerf• d-'J•l older, often revived ones. Hughes :?'f-e"Sffl~t! of the proceeding• until the amc of •his deathA1967J. And there were old, as well as new, outletx for the poetry4 which was being read at the Apollo, Carnegi~_Hall, New ....._~),,,,,._ ~ Lafayette Theater, ~lugs ~ast, Mount Maris Park,~ountless com1m unity centers and churches. ~ " s t of these poets were not n a tive New Yorkers; i-+,=111:l!lat be ackna] @4i,i'd tbilo~a rreat number o&Ct:m were not er etuall ~ N-uring the height of the .black Arts Movement--but often in Youth Brid~e) , outlying areas like Bridgepo t, rt"e, f'redenonia, Brockport, Rutgers, Brooklyn, Boston(~lma Lewis's Genter for Afro-American Culture), and Bedfor~ ~tuyvesant. But, while they h a d separ~t.e Black Arts programs, " ms,ve~ in,... c:::J,.,..., a ., most loo ed to ew York•-••• .le Acrro wan ti an a elptthe Umbra Workshop 48ilii=~~... but there were •-=~: Harlem Writers Guild Clar ""' fouglass ~II-•e~•APoetry Workshop.,'\ :t., Killens), ~" 1 " the Columbia Writing pr:~am( Killens), 1 Black Arts rtepe~tory an (- chool Baraka, ~nellings), ~d tJ I \PEP> n ~ 3rJJt k l PM MM e,iri9f§iitg vp av• n~ N:38 aiJEtsice mui ae. 011il!lias Umbra(l963) /1tf{.vAmong the i1l1Jtee:s:iik-t1',journals were,.Soulbook(l9 64 ), Black Dialogue(l965), ~ Journal of Black Poetry(l9661), Pri'de, __ . -·····"··- .. ...... .... ~, . ...... .., Black TheatreJii (1969), Cricket(l969), Black Creation(l969), AfroAmerican:A Third Wor~d �b L@terary Journa1(1973, ~yracuse), BOP\ Bl a cks on Paper,, Brown UniversityJ, 1964), C0 ntinuitiest Words from the Cormnunities of Pan-Afric~City College 1~ew ~ York~1 19'(4),JObsidiar tB ~ ~ - - - -- J , 197.5). During a speech at Howard University's First Nat j onal Conference of Afro-American Writers ( .1.~ovember, 1974 ), TourJ, recounting the tumultuous years and develop- saia.r.t' ments, those responsible' for the '' Black artts and aesthety movement" were "activists as well as artists. ~ """,_._~was . _ most ~ e-i,;1:: 11 a _ -- ilKL t as Ba raka returned to .~ J this panticular f\ -. Newark ( relllaming it 11 New Ark") and chang~ his name~ {!;mamu Amiri Bar~ka), reflecting Tl ~ ;,:fl r~ti~· Av\.~ . the . . gre~J. influence of ~Isla.mt:,m • his new,-. 'Bid£ Wi cg Having a, . 4,c:; ,~tJ;Rff¥u~i!Wtrvojee-t "to re-educate the nearly half a million Ha rlem Negroes to find a new pride in the co l or," he movedtoes abl. h r--: - ·.-f t' '-5~ ~ L f: ~ r" _r- . ,j) J ~ewarlyjSpirit Haus-;;, and, ::=;uch spin-outs ail }fieAfrican I1ree Sc.nool(with .(J I (. ~ , /~ its Kawaida doctrine), ~ommittee for a Uni~ied Newark, and ~helpii launch several n ational Black ~olitical ~entions. 470} VJ..A. ... 74 He was""'-aa-s....~a;e.founder of the 19WN! rife-ridden Con gress of African f>eoples ' During truf~fots(insurrectionaQ(in Newar:atk, Baraka was arrested with several companions and charged with po s session of two handguns . and ~ ammunition. Between his arrest and the trial " Black People!J" was published in ~vergreen heview •• The poem openly encouraged looting, theft, murder of whites, and general insurrection: "What about ,____ that bad short you saw last Qeek 11 ; "You know how to get it, you can get it, no money down, no money never"; "/ne I owes you anything you want, even his life"; "Up against the wall motherfucker this is a ,,,--.. stick up!"; "Smash the window at ni-A,fght"; "Let's get to gether and kill him my man•": ••• let I s get together the fruit .s4ib Mau ... of the sun, let is mak e a world we want black chil dren to grow and learn in �do not let your children when they grow look in your face and curse you by Baraka returned to Newark and organized the Black Community LJevelopment and ~efense a'organization(BCD). ~ ~;:a:-;e,;;tia:A~!'Mtft!:!m::IC8l~•~•·.a.lloy.€efforts in t h e e 1 e ct ion of ~..,...!!!!!II&_ enne th Ui b s oI_;J.9'9'@8-tllllt ...~11"'m!P'jlP'lO!'Jlll£i-oo~i..,,lijJll~cr,iwn!&Pl!!~1PP:;~,l?J.::.:DiiP ~~P-~~!Ml~---~~..,.-•~J:aa"""'~~~~.,t;:i~ -a.t C having impact ,... , . 4' Dlkf:~pegional and national Black political/poetry see~ Baraka's pictures wLth bandages from the 1967 scuffl~ with Newark police) began appearing on walls of cultural centers, dormito llt and homes. O j. At, /; ,_?bservers, however, were somewhat wary of Baraka, having seen him go through the "changes 11 from Beat poet with a white wife, to Harlem and Black Arts, into Newark and political work(for great insight into all t h i s , . e Th~dore Hudson's # From LeRoi Jones to Amiri Baraka, l-973). · ~ ,J.r"., ( ;,cb~/S/J! d(. ~ L~ ~araka 1 s influencesMfS••l!!!!!!!!!!JI- in most centers of.,..ruetry---~places 1 ✓---" ~ where his poetry had not actually been read; or, if read, not fully understood and digested. It was not unusual to hear a Black youth quote a few lines from a poster-poem o~ from a live readi~~¢1Jlld,S. but who, when questioned about ~· ~ w rks, ~ di<) no. t kn<?1:i )the name of a sin~ one. Dead Lecturer#, I (_~ ~ , 'W .I ~~bsll!-fubii~he'd Black Magfec: Poetry 1961-1967(1968), In Our Terl,>A l'j ribleness(1970), ~pirit, 1ieachtl972), as well as numerous essays, stories. With ~ Neal he co-edited Black .l'iretl968) which, along with Ma.jor•s The ~ew Black Poetrytl9 69, snow-cased the new poetry. �8 ~ n the Forward to Black .!:''ire, Bar aka c a lled 1:1~Jr. •~ "the f<lrnnding Fathe rs and Mothers, of our n a t i on. We rise, a s we rand rise(agin). By the rower of our beliefs, by th 11 p ur,ity strength Using j,((J v-{J~ of our actions. 11 • t--a st a ccato grammar, .M"'1lil!l!l!ll""''N!~!lll!'I-.~ the poets and writers as: The bia ck man. ~he black artist. The black man. The h oly man. The man you seek. The climber the striver. The mak er of p e a ce. The lov e r. The warrior. We a re -chey wh om y ou seek. Look in. Find yr s elf. Find the b eing, the speake r. The voice, the back dVst hover in your soft eyeclosings. Is you. Is t h e creator. Is nothing. Plus or mimus, y ou vehicle1 We a re p resenting , Yourvarious selves. ~Je a re presenting, from God, a tone, your own. Go• on. Now. He thus sets t h e "tone 11 poets/philosophers, r much of what had al, a perceptive critic and b a lanced t h eoretician, h a s p ubli shed two v o lumes1: Black Boogaloo: Notes on Bl a c k Libera tion{l969, Jourhal of Black Poetry Press, l:''orward by Jones) and Ho odoo Hollerin' BeBop Ghosts(l975). His Afterword to Black Fire is tantamount to Hu gh es' resenting 11 artistic a nd political work" th a t mu s t be " called a r a dical p e rs p ective II Black Fire should be read 11 a s if political, social and of Western exhor ting oth e~ writ e rs, Neal continue: Wlt have been, for the most p a rt, tal k ing about co n temporary realities. "e have not been t a l k ing about a return to some g lorious African p a st • .but we r ecognize the p ast--the total pa s t. Many of us refuse to accep t a truncated ~e g ro history �9 which cuts us off completely from our dfrican ancestory. ro do / so is to a~ept the very racist assumptions which we abhor. Rather, we want to comprehend history totally, and unde rstand the manifold ways in which contemporary problems are affected by it . ~ C ,J.f) Speaking fmint;t;:1:r!~hindsight o Neal add: There is a tension within Black America . And it has its roots in the general history of race. The manner in which this we seewistory determines how we act. How should we see this history? What should we feel about it? This is important to know, because the sense of how that history should be felt unites or separates us. he sums of what can credo or modus operandi of the Bew Black Poetry and the Black Arts Movement: The artist and the political activist are one. They are both shapers of the future reality . Both understand and manipulate the colledtive myths of the race. Both are warriors, priests, lovers and destroyers . For the first violence will be int ernal- the destruction of a weak spritual self for a more perfect self. But it will be a necessary violence . +tit the only thing that will destroy the double-consciousness--t~e tension that is in the souls of Hlack folk . It was the kind of challange that sent many the long night of the soul to purge himself his enemies o f ~ people . ~ i c a l l y speaking, a~S.~~t;;;;' poetfinto r e al or imagined ~.-n.!lr, it was Baraka 1 s "Black Art 11 that set much of th: pace/rd'fll form :f: 'n the r ew Black Poetryt Poems are bullshit unless they are tee1ilh or trees or lemons piled on a step. Or black ladies dying of men leaving nickel hearts ~ �10 beating them down . Fuck poems and they are useful , wd they shoot come at you, love what you are, bre athe like wrestlers , or shudder 1 strangely after pissing. e want live words of the hip worl d live ~ flesh & coursing bloo d . Hearts Brains ~ouls splintering fire . We want p ~ems like fists be a ting niggers out of i oc ks or dagger poems in the slimy bell i es of owner-jews . Black poems to smear on girdlemamma mulatto bitches whose brains are red jelly stuc k be tween 1 li zabeth taylor 1 s toes . Stinking Whore ~! We want "poems that kill . " Assassin po ems , Poems t hat shoot guns . Poems that wrestle---t cops into alleys and take their weapons leaving them dead with tonges pulled out and sent to ~reland . Knockoff poems for dope selling wops or slick halfwhite politicians Airplane poems rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ••• tuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuh ••• rrrrrrrrrrrrrr r ••• Setting fires and death to whities ass . ••• •• •••• ••• • •• • • ••• ••• •• We want a black poem. And A :Bla ck World . Ji:et the world be a Black Poem And let Al l Black People Silently or LOUD 0 peak This Poem �.f• 11 ..._ sangtj.ine _ ~lrwi:!~1$JJ!MIBl&Glii~often sited as the_itembodiment of the Black Aesthetic and a rejection of white culture and life style. Poems, Baraka states, must not only have guts and earthiness(like Black5) but they must also be weapons and shields against racismt, f police, mer t hustlers , crooked politicians and status-climbing Above all exalte Blackness ( "sons " "lovers 11 "wa rriors 11 "poets 11 0,.if~tk P~Bla ck bour~eos1.e.1'These then are the dominant themes JHt-mu?~ of ~- ' ~ ~ " ) the New Poetry and the philosophies stated~ith radical ~v. from coast to coast. Baraka•s purge s ) xt-end~ through poems like " Poem for HalfWhi te College ::;tu dents," "The .hacist," "Little Brown Ju~ 11 ( 11 WE ARE GODS), "W.W. 11 \attack on wig-wearing women), "OIVIL RIGHTS ----POEM11( 11ROywilkins is an eternal faggot"), "Ka 1Ba, 11 and fi/nally, \.../ in 11 leroy 11 ') ~~~oa.li..-.P8'1~~ his l a st will and testament: vfu.en I die, the consmiousness I carry I will to black people. May they pick me apart and take the parts, the sweet meat of my feelings. And leave usellrul a th e,ii;(_ter bullshit rotten white parts ~ • I alone. j)} f .rA '(' - But there are also/\l9ve poem~ ip the later period, caught up in A e, 1~ the stressed life of irlackness: "the beautiful black man, and you, gtrl, child nightlove, ••• : We are strange in a way because we know w:ho we are. Black beings passing through a tortured passage of flesh. (rn"his ~1 l''orward to"1c. Black Boogaloo , Baraka says of the world: "the soldier poets will change it. 11 What Neal's volume chan ge d has not yet been ascertained but it certainly contains ambitious apq sµccessful ,, ~ (),JJ/-J;t-1r; ) oetry. His debt to,fhe older generation of poet~~an be veen in poems vJ-9 -.) 1 },,:-r' I • , / 11 11.kef\"The Middle Pa~sgge and After, "Love bong in the Middle Passage, '' "Garvey's Ghost , 11 "Lady Day," "Harlem Gallery: l''rom the Inside, 11 11 MaJ:. ,,-n· • ik.; ',,vw~J,./JU\.I,(.,('."(' ~ co lm X--An Auto biography'!) 11 Making use of mysticism, chant an · / �rr Olorwn ~ Olorwn • • • see~ ;rhe Ji iil',i,. Middle Pas sage II +-I. ~. pillaged• "A.Aa-.a "Love ~ong in ~I "cthe horror of "The Middle Passag€ After.,_ " 11 .uecked, stf!cked, ~ fl!:w ad Jlw the n. ~' M&;±@wof sea- death mornings . i ".t\.unt ti ~ _.,\poems ]9e~'Song, ~ "Jihad, 11 9 rishas 11) ~ reveal · "-..in-cerests a /l'l}A., in sypernaturali sm, f\rrican philosophy and~lusive,;mystic a l powers i n ~ ~ ~eticPll:JiF11 the "word.1• He 9Tf lilJ 5, seel?sff!o implement the ideas he stated in alll. ~ e c i a l Black issue of..-, Black Fir~ an~TDR( The Drama Review) Bll:ld!llll'~in . _ summer of 196e . The issue , edited by TDR s contributing edito b . . .Bullins , compiled ideas and plays rooted ~ ~eatured work by x 'irie special issue projected many of the concerns oft he New Black Poetry. Ne a l ' s "The Black arts Movement" was a blue-print for Blac~ts and political chang e . ~choing · ; i:ra. Black <1 lai l fl. r e ~4'1Ulb!ll8Rt · ,.,, alienates him from his comrnuni ty ) 11 ffl. "e:-rw ~~a# · concept of the artist that • Black Art is the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept . As such , it envisions an art that speaks directly to the needs and aspirat i ons of Black America . In order·· to perform this task , the Black Arts Movement proposes a radical reording o!k.he western cultural �13 ,_ aesthetic. It proposes a separate symbolism, mythology, critique, and iconology. The Black Arts r ---.. and &:'..!!!-ii!• Black Power concept both relate broadly to the ~fro-American 1 s desire for self-determination and nationhooa. Both concepts are nationalistic. One is concerned with the relation betx:,; art and politics; the other with the art of politics. ~-n~1J-£f"u:lln~tol,11 f-; · r was not wi ■ 11 ~aaparj/-te" aesthetic 1 g ~ a - 4J.' 33:g sac Ji&dJ.,..by all Black poets, artists,, rll a Vii or intellectuals. Neither was there a complete lMir.,&iiiii.•f(or under- standing) elllll;a..._among~~ponents.1iiiiW11111ic==t:::a:::ca••~-. .- -.• For a boycott of Major·s The New ·••.-ed being ..RP'. rou · was a whi tef ~~~'-'-•~~e'!'!~ffl"'1!P!llt,f!flel!l~ffl~!-,.•priggsfhad not objected eaJer to use of his work in Black !''ire, also published by ~ou 1121 s sea a fa! >p 1 ! ggs *°si tion statemen~: wJM~~ •t b 1'"'1dl'.0 tt' * ls fie h lMOIVl ,~~liahsd a ftob&~lo 'f ile Journal of black Poetry(fall, 1968)~ how in the hell are the black publishers ev er going to get off into it if not by the assistance of the writers. how ~ are distrub~qorships everi going to mature witn~publishers if the highly marketable works of wm keL ly, wms, 1 neal, ef bullins, j. killens, ja leroi j, or the like never comes their way? does the concept of black power and black arts extend that far? i say yea, i ~pri:ggs joined say yea, yea. a.,, large number of critics and practijoners ~ of the Black Arts--Toure, :eal, Crouch, Bul~ns, Goncalves-in the controversy over ~ri ter$ 1 • .,a 1 1 1 £~ m5£ ties ta 1!1m av.... Despite the controversy, howev e r, rn] J · ' apueared as,:_ kaleidoscopic offering~ the tf,w B l a c k ~ • �lij. Major included a perceptive and .fl. tting Introduction: • of black reality is often studded in these poems THE INN ER crisfs by the swift, vividly crucial facts of social reality; which fconsists in part, anyway, of all the implications and forces of mass me dia, the social patt e rns, the bureacratic and mechanfucal ~ nmdiums of human perceptions, even :iarof the quickly evolving nature of the human psyche in this highly homo genized cultur·e, in all of its electricl processes and specialist fragmentation. Black reality, in other words, is like any other reality profoundly effected by technology. Th e crisis and dr ama of the late 1960s overwhelms and thre a tens every c r evice of h uman life on earth. These poems are born out of this tension. ~ In his own po etry, Major ~ l D o a t Vietnam, a lienation, impending world destruction, B1ack history, music, mytholo gy, and personal excurs i ons into Urn ::s221!i. C. dreams. He published The Dictionary of Afro-American Slang(l970), Swallow the Lake(l970), ~yrnptons and Madness (1971), Private Line(l971), The Cotton Club.(1972) and The ~yncopa ted Cakewalk{l9741/ as well as novels and essays. He has also di fe ~te~he Harlem Writers Workshop. In the a c l m o w ~ a j o r ~ ow~ JLr' lrlAJ() . mfny ;J • Lowenfels, Ishmael heed, ttaphael, Art Berger, velton Smit Hoyt l<'u er, Nat .tien- toff, Dudley Randall, Russell Atkins, Bremen, Al Young,~avid rtenderson. of his style: spacings shapp punctuation, tidbits of world the racial s tatement f!,atire or exhortat i on), and exp erirental tUPograp:\?;y. rtecalling l}is 11 passage 11 he sees "Tonto Sambo Willie 11 --noting that even Mexico-"an assk issing nation"--now has £he 11 sup e r-biionde 11 on its 11 billboards. 11 �In the midst of .,r-- ~vigorous 1 y promvt1,K ~ bpriggs f\.. Ahmed~ editors of N ournal; Baraka, Major, Nazzam Al tributing editors. Editor-at-large Bullins was later joined by TourJ. In the seventies brnie Mkalimoto was added as a contributing editor with Major's name disappearing. Major, Handall, Neal, Spriggs, Bullins , Baraka, and A l h ~ l l served as gues~ors • ianusic An im o • ant c(and outlet influenc'e'"i onr"5e new • • ~ poetry, the Journal was "in many ways born of Soulbook and n The Dialogue"(Goncalves, now D~ane,~editor). s~ the newest poetry, zeroing magazine continues to in ~ o n other areas like the West Indies(~ummer:n_zf73), printing lively news and announcements, as well as reviews~ticism. Its spring, l9 68 , issue, for examp le, was dedicated to Joseph T. Johnson, who had recentl7 been killed • . , - Abdul Karim Toure, edited Black Dialogue with Sprig~and Gonvalves serving as associate editors. rtelocating in New York in the late sixties, Dialogue 's new editorial board was represented by ~priggs, Nikki uiovanni, Jaci ~arly, Elaine Jones, S. E . Anderson and James Hinton c:Q · 1 A1hamisi and Garolyn Rodgers became Midwest '3~itors; Spellman, Julia Fields an d Akinshiju became editors for the South;~ /'iiiiiia' Joans and Kgosi t~le took over::t-,. Africa and a t - l a r ~ o o k I s ~ow incl editoriai board =-rls24mtn1 Hamilton, Alhamisi , Garol Homes , ude~::: Baba Lamumba, Zolili, Ngqondi Masimini and Shango Umoja . mong the . administrative staff is Donald Stone(Rahrnan ) whose work appearls#t. Spriggs, Tou:rJ , and Black Hi_y Larry Mille~(Katibu) , Blues , 11 at Spirit H o ~ 11 Transcendal full of chanyaat:J. song and l_in,:;,Xperimentation, fuses the world of Black music(and mucisians) ~ t h e "strife riddled concrete �16 bottoms of skyscraper se a s." Rahman•s influences, obvious in his ~ a re name, se en in his statement that a "riff 11 so hilgh and grand "Could be Al lah. 11 Fina].17- winding the poems into a tribute to the Black womanl "Bitter bit her bitterness hummingn J, he ~ rejects Christians a nd whit e s a nd warns that ~ s pea rs shal l rain •••• 'r he ~ i n f l u e n e is also seen in other po e ts oftre period: Spriggs, Toure, Baraka, Iman, Neal, Alhamisi, Dumas, flJllll mo along with poeta of the era . Ni k ki Giovanni Tre s e J •s women Lorde, June Alexis was by way of Tennessee and Fisk Universitl wh ere she wa s a of Killens' Writers Workshop. C <$A a series of volatile prose-like statements which were startling: J.M7..,..,,t ~coming from a woman. lack Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judg ement ( 191,0~ Re-Creation appe a r e d ~ 1 9 70) ~972 and •••lihl.a book Black Song(l971}. Comes 0 1 ~ My House of poems for children, Spin a uoft Her antholo gy of B~ack a women po e ts, Night oftly, was published in i970 and she has recorded albums/ �17 written an autobiography/nd series of "conve:_:;~tio~' ~;(/,/) 'N-e-01,1~ with Margaret controversial -iifil~~new poet ~, acoo.la,.d ~ l e of the Yea :a, :b~e :ein'l!e BR8 uo s _ ~ i n magazines like l:!:bony, 1 and Essence; app e a r ~ on the Johnnny Carson Show; tt.-4..0., sou ght-after~peaker on the college circuitj (j ' and labeled . i lberfo rce; the "Princess of Black Poetry" by the Ida Lewis, Encore editor. Denounced as an "individualist" by Madhubuti (Lee) and praised by Margaret Walker and Addison Gayle, Nikki Uiovanni denied Show,hosteO by Flip Wilson) ~ a "nevolutionary.' singing of "God Bless America II on nat i onal television, a~ter receiving the 11 Woman of the Year :W.ward, 11 prompted letters ,t o Black publica tions "Uf Liberation": Dykes of the world are united 1''ag gots got their thing to ge ther (~veryone is organi~ed) Black people these are illr facts Whe refa.1111 y our power •••• Honkies rule the world •••• The most vital commodity in America Is Black people Ask any circumeized hankie •••• ~ ~ j t i e fil::_al stanza of this p oem~ wa rns: / Our c h oice now is war or death Our option is s..... rvi val Listen to your own Black hearts 11 C0 nceming one nesponsible Negro 'With too much Power" echoes other themes in the l~ew Dlack Poetry . ·l'he "responsible ne g ros II are �18 "scared' and on the run. fsabM· tells he~ your tongue must be remoi.e d sinre you have no brain to keep it in check \~.h'.e flections on April ~' 1~68, 11 ~ a n act of war. 11 she Dr . King~ ~~~ In "fhe Great Pax \Vhi te II she paraphrases the a section from Genesis in the ~ible,cml!i noting thatt the word was '';D;3t9.}°; "S@iH½ ~g_ all nigg ers." Occasi~naJ} , A jutted throuep. thp otherwise polemical Jrlr~lli,,o!'I~. "Beautiful "hug what i like to hug ." There /(,,,()' emotion-freighted language as in "The True Import of the Present Dialogue, Black ve Negro 11 : Nigger 6an you kill Can you kill Can a nigger kill Can a nigger kill a hankie Can a nigger kill the Man ••• Can you stab-a-jew ••• .--::---,,... Can you run •Bllit. a protestant down with your 1 68 ..l!.,ldo rado ••• Can you piss on a blond head.... ~r~{Ji~ The poem continues) reciting names of the "enemy" a n ~vs a nd wrong-doings visited on Blacks, finally asking~ffiM~~ Learn to kill niggers Learn to be Black men Much of what Nikki Giovanni was saying in the sixties moved~ Blac k youth--it was not always safe or chic to disa gree even if you wanted to-and some of it was admirable. But these things do not make her work dedtensi ble as poetry. 11 My Poem" and II Poem for Aretha II are certainly worth~ �19 subjects but they fall leisurely down the page , angling here f?nd, ~ ) there but revealing nothing of the insight into human beinrs--~t one ~inds in - ru4 ~oem by Helene Johnson , Margaret ~alk er, Gwendolyn Brooks , or Jaynfe Cortes. V from the early pe riod, is a believable flow ~ i n the conversation-like language istic of €haracter- her poetry) and the details pull on the inner reaches o f ~ the collective Bla ck experience as she unfolds the storf of family fun and misfortune: your biographers never understand G . your fatherf's pain as he seils his stock "-- and another dream goes And though you're poor it isn't poverty that conc erns you •••• My a newer Nikki Giovanni. House The venom has lessened, though some of the rampage is evident in a poem like "on Seeing Black Journal and V~at ching Nine Negro Leaders IGi ve Aid and Comfort to i ,, the ~nemy~ to Quote Richard Nixon . Again therec4j~~Re~ 11!1!:lil'i~~~vi gorous interest in a stylisticf or linguistic d ·th • The poems~lid!amiM!il!BB love, the city, childhood ~ ites of woman-passage), Afri ca and Afro-ltrnerican culture. ~er promise and potential c an be glimpsed in 11 .n.frica I": on the bite of a kola nut i was so high the clouds blanketing africa in the mid morning flight were pum ed away in an angry flicker n of the sun's ton ue.... ~ ' {J;ri ~ infl~c 't<-~-- about themselves arrl their world . �20 like Mae Jackson who won Black World 1 s C0 nrad hent 1t3howf Rivers ~ward, have the "stuff ii of poetry in their writings. Can I ~oet with You was published,.. in 1969 by Black Dialogue Publishers. Nikkm Giovanni a II □- wrote t h e turn, dedicated the book to her. Nae Jackson, in is full of the "complaints" that quickly became monotonous in the poetry of the sixties. In themes and usages, the poems resemble Nikki U-iovanni s work. "To a rieactionary, ntellectua~Note from a E'ield Ni gger, 11 ~ are familair of the new poetry. S0 nia Sanchez, closely identified with the alternate terse, explicit vers 7 and between the sprawling, prosaic meanderinglthat serv~the auditory demands of the new a diences. Formerly Crried •1 to the poet ~theridge hnight, sh~A~~L2aj,e~8"d activ e ly as a omecomin playwright, poet and teacher. Her books are ea Baddddd People(l970), ~ 7 1 ), It 1 s a New Day:.Poems for Young Brothas a nd Sistu~,f..iii,i,ove Poems (1973) and an anthology from her yo~g Writers Worksh op at the Countee Cullen Library in New York, Three Hundred and Sixty Degrees of Blackness Coming at You(l972). 9"Malcolm" is ~ament and a night-fmlled memory for her: Yet this man this dreamer, thick-lipped with words ----- will never speakW again and in each winter when the cold air cracks with frost, I 1 11 breathe his breath and mourn my gun-filled nights. 11 ;:t;; �21 Her II for unborn malcoihms 11 , however is another approach. O:onstricting attempting to words, structure, and achieve a Black s'breet speech, she teihls Blacks to "git the word out, 11 to the "man/boy" who is taking a :ihd>liday. murderer 11 shit 11 11 " will die t o. An experimental· 11 Blacks are blk/princes 11 dief wbo80 OJ<pet ~onia Sanchez 1;$'11mi.•ni-. erisive la imeli~s e flood of t 'hip to his hite "faggots" "° n o ~1 4 ange!fJ~-~-..~·( 11 deni ti on for bl~/children"): a policeman is a pig and shd be in a zoo with ill the other piggy and animals. until he stops killing blk/people cracking open their heads remember. the policeman is a pig. (oink/ · oink.) -- joined the poetry of Black love and man~woman unity, seeking particular style and voice to heal wounds of doubt,.ai mistrust and loneliness.In "to al ~ s;.ste11'.'s 11 she sa'js "hµrt 11 is not the /' ' "shd be in. #. -;(}ht' Black m."'anAmg es them "turn in/side out." /~ journey ha ' c~ar~i~d her from the fire o~~the ,--Ill/' blatant revolutionary to the qui e't~ I /> -t::re:tt:, of Love Poems- -beln~ ) ong the first of the new poets to fullfill Handallls prediction th a t Blakk �22 poetry would 11 move from tr~larnatory to the subjective mode. 11 s r1.t~1Ji:~a j. publi:h edf( Who --~- June Jordan Look at Me ( 1969), ~---.;...__-::::_::--" ~"".--7"f<.•"'"7~•-.. Some Changes ( 1971), an anthology Soul~crip,.t(l970), and a volume of poetry ~y students in CJ'W'lt-f~·~ J' workshop i,p BraeJril!,n, The Voices o f the <h ildreb(l970). ast HerSJ••k volume of poetry his is a New Day(1974). Concise, analytical, her and book-folk based, her poetry is also a free verse style characteristic of practically all the r ecent Black poetry . "uncle Bull-1Joy 11 relates the death :tll~t,&&1tli!li!llil!t1N1111111tdbl!l!ilei'!ll!l-ll!l::i:t!iMtil......... lillii:ll~ of a man whose eyes "were pink with alcohol ." The manner of Black men, expensive shoes, and alcolhol. ~d fin al ly: His brother dead from drinking Bullboy drank to clear his thinking saw the roach insi d e the riddle. Soon the bubbles from his glass were the only bits of ch a rm which overcame his folded arms. Audre Lorde 1 s 11 Rites of Passage 11 (for MLK Jr) Now rock and remembers Quick children k iss us we are growing through dream. Much of Addre 1 s Lorde 1 s recent work r' a concerns young people; even the the title of her la,!t,book/;Erom a Lad Wh e re other People rnllLive(:}.973), carries the awe and dream of the child 1 s world. She writes now about �23 teachers, men-women relations, seasons, dreams, "As I Grow up Again, 11 - and "Bla ck Mothe r Woman" 'Who thinks of her own mother's strength when "strangers come to compliment" her: I learned from you to deny myself through your d enials. Alexis Deveaux Among the younger New York women poets , Judy Si and ~louis Loftin sing out. ¾Judith's Blues(~ published ·n 19(3 ;,fz ~l.iilil(llfjileMreteiiiLi!~~!fblr.-,. A/,/1 by Broadside Press. fill: E'.iii h.?JiHM 111Li1 Cult ' 11 ' ~'Schizophrenia"), "Women ' ,n ,.and~ 11 l the " Youth . JJaffodils"- -although the titles do not reveal I -1 - () tMflecting Judy ~immons• sustained study of psychology , poetry yields its mean~g as the multiple layers and ingigh.ts are In i;.,,- ~ »4Nl!I~""° • UI the "animal squats" next to the "piano" and a mouth that stretches from 11 forehead to abdomen 11 • But the poet assures herself that if she does not lose control ) it won't come back inside of me4 J C~ 1\ I l:l Elouise Loftin 's poetry indicative perhaps. of A'. hful, zesty imagery, ,-new technicians' ease. "ttain ::Spread" informs that L~t night threw her legs open to me •••• I She has the new woman ftl{nowledge of social I ., \I(J"W often found among tl\e r;fGl:mt!§ l?il.l:'1 bm gh),. I and the caught 11 if they ca tch you with your pants down and wit: "get t in /h t~k. �offing your guard or peeing for free if they catch you doing something crazy with quates around it and try to make ~ou feel like you been catched you must be doing 0 ~I ( ~.) Spirits in t h e Streets(l973) is Alexis DeveaUlt's strang e but fascinating -~-e,.~ VCCOunt of L,J growing up ili/J,w" I HR in lj rlem. A • est Indian mother/ dis- pairs over a husbandis~e ating him~-~..,.,,,A.:.Al't"o\...t','V~~ ~ lord why he be a t that woman so? an them children god only know' what's gonna haJpen to them. eatin poison. has lye. eat you up inside jesus have mercy. you aan 1 t be t~o careful with children. you got to watch them every second. The world is so evil honey you know what i mean? merciful jesus shame them with word. re present only a fraction younger(and older) New York area poets. S 0 me others are Eath erine ~olomon, Gayle Jones, Stephen Kwartler, Vanes~a to name just a handful. Poets who got their star puplished new . items. ( I> J_. intro ducedV y Jones. in the the e a rlier period also s Felix of the Silent Forestll967) was J. published De Mayor of Harlem in 1970, the same year he re-looated to Berkeley. ~ssentially a Harlem poet, �25 Henderron Surveys everything from the "Harlem rt.ebellion, Summer 1964" to "Harlem Anth r op ology. 11 The transitions and outreachings of these ~,. f 1 1 ; in l q {-,8 poets are also evident inwu ,QP8Ml of Toure who s.;puRt a ~erie& e.£.. WE!nt . . to teach B+ayk 0 udies at ~an l<'rancisco ut a t~ fl~ Vi f d!.)llh1 College . His works are Juju(l970~ and Son~ail(l972),t,Published by Songhai Press and introduced by Kil lens. Toure 1 s "Soul-gifts II are arnp1yJ,jiSMj1, with philosophy , Black history, Black music, Ismamic influences, ,;VJ §.nd " Juju" which w.:i'8Jerl!J,ei'B Coltrane I s hornA ncascading fountains of blood and bones." Songhai ranges from'~Nilillfii•-- of Diana Ross and magical power s · ncere acti vistsjillr thPll:ila@,eze:f ideal Black society. Tourt~liiiiiM~~ _,,_.,,,,,... /I d -iihe ~ ;;,,, I uences ~e../ Blackfoetry emanating frorl!)\flew York area: Neal , Dumas, Baraka , Goncalves , Coltrane, Pharoah ~anders, Cecil McBee --all • J called "Poets of a Nation-in-Formation. 6:ai';-~ .;$'\Y8~f~ll!,/1.\,N~ - such proje~Wakra, a ne Boston-base 11 mo;:m~ t 1oua:.i can be seen in . ,,,..,..~..·j dev!foted to the examinatiQn a(# "of events, the arts, ideas"; _B_e_t_c_h_A_i_n_1 t_(l 974), Celes Tisdale's anthology(Broadside) of "Poems from AJica 11 ; a new anthology of young poets, We Be Poetin 1 ll974), Tisdale~riters Workshop Anthplogy, No unifying thread runs through the work of New York area poets, except that of a relentless acceptance and pursuit of therr /71Al·-i., __ exarrrl,,natjon.Blackness. One 1'298 ob n Q:'e,however, th a t -;g~••IIIQit." mystici ,)tthe occult, cosmic-musical forms and-- • and the infl unee of Islam are more eviden~ in the poetry of other regions. But these are, of course, generalities which await more hindsight and research before they can be finalized �26 di'· life blood while it repaid other eal, for example, w..all is a Philadelphian ed up.,.lllllll&iiii•lialllllliiliili~~ in Harlem, who attended Lincoln, b with occasiona+ short stays at Yale, Howard, ~outhern University, and Kent State University. . .• ~~. &a ~ pattern\ ~ ..,~~~==~::mam.'!a.-•-,.i~..fimilar .c:111-lllliiiiilll• ~ dozens of other poets who criss-cross " ~ ylvania,:tll!!lft University--lllh-ich produced Tolson, diverse_,. othb-JVt'roup of· Hughes, et --- l\ ~ • ~verett Hoagland, . Converging at points like the by Neal, I ller, tlh.eoretician Jirym ~tvwart, and Ma rybelle various JW""'W of assi s tan c e. Philadelphia poets found 1(1'3 adj p~ and ;pJJbl j shii.iAg gntlit:i I Ah• .rb:.i ~ Other Phil a delphia poets · 1 / from the older school, F. J. t:>~ L~...\aet~2: ) ~ ~ .q,.,.., a. Gre j n ev..P-- ~umith Clarence Ma)oney, Pat Janet M. Bro~ks, Garo:a. J en~fer, Don Mizzell• youthful po ets i;;;;;aa 45 /f!l4;..i-..1111111.-ial!t 8ft& ll½Sl±J liIOIG\ \1/orks by in Black Poets ~rite On: An Anthology of Bl a ck Philade l phia Poets(l97O) publi shed by the lee&l B1ack History Museum Committee. • • • Harold Franklin:'....,1itFi:l;ee Introduction :i... ,rhicl:i lffl s t a tes: 11 ilR A BLA CK PO~T IS A KIND OF WARR IOR"-- �27 Philad!.bphia sentiments to those in New York and Bos thus linking i~ tJ',4.1 Bla ck Butterfly, Inc., was ~c various cultural/political a ctivities in Philadelphia . n. ~ ss-roads for ~A:.4"'JJ'V"lil<~v~ ••blii@.-id•·•••••~o~2~211111!10~£ Maloney(now .Chaka Ta~~- Dimensions of Morning 11 was published in 1964» in Paplona, ~pain• Friday: 2 A.M. 11 Good celebrates a "sultry brown girl" who ·'seems a superior a. C". 11: .-;_._. > ~ rhyme rhytbrn~nd ma,a them hard-loving hard-talking hard-loving cfol black dudes Ana:t them fine-looking fine-tr~lking fine-talking fine-loving them fine soulf sisters •••• x ~ "llbl V "\;t_he short-] j ved oaJ '('iiM:G&~ -e!1e ttills e J!! .Pitt sburg'ril\was. born ~mack Lines: A Journal of Black ~ ,Studies ( 1970,. 7P +a· a e J area ~ p ublished Pi t t s b u ~ e t s like .llid Robefl!on , - August ~vilson, Joanne Braxton , as well as po e ts from the Midwest like Al G~over Armst~g an d Redmond. The university of Pittsburgh Pref.ss opened up to Black poets tha t same yearf, publishing 1'1ichael Harper(Dear John, Dear Coltrane,1970; Song: ~anl I ~et a Witnes ~ 1973), R0 berson(When Thy King is a Boy, 1970), and Gerald B~rrax(~other king of rlainf., 1970) • .ti.oberson•s poetry runs the gamu~ of themes and styles-- �28 ~ -·-~ from neat Jal• ~ is t fl to slanted spacf ings and slashes . In "mayday" there u.,, ~ "underside of heaven" and the warning from one ., .!1! 141& --. ,f misunderstood that he is "armed" to fight the final kindling of your dreaming . 11 0thellol Jones Dresses for Dinne r " is a satirical look at the "Guess Wrio•s coming to Dinner" theme . After dating t~, ~ ae,f;;'* Cc white woman , the n a rrator "w~ 11~ rw-nnered . ~ 11 l<AA D. C. where • • • - - _ .~ Brown the late six ies . Howard, by now' i continued to teach&i to I 1 e le adini-:ilack ,. in the new • a d 9o;npla -d :ane poetic h istory hile Howard I s the early days of ~terling Brownland into the Howard Poets) , the school has- number of younger writers rt° iddings . atmosphe re was of the @@l■ lil•u-MP-t Guianese p oet d eepened and broadened by t,b;e a ppointment~ T~Gi~ sand Stephen Hend:e:e,eon~who heads• LJ the Institute for the Arts and Humanitiefu~~ward u.A\.4 ~ . . .\ ~ 1ttt·1V,,,-a~ ,t.,L played out against a series of developments in the surrounding �29 lthe Institute In addition 'to-15"amas and ttenderso~ .ilRMos A h as be en ~ It lilt! 9!1111 Madhublll.ti(tee), Killens invaluable. so f a r , ~ r a ka, Gwendolyn Brooks, in the First Annual Symposium ~ .uoans~dson_\Jfitcr:f!:;fa ctiis.{~ Lucile (.;lifton, Goss, cott-he ron, Adesanya Alakoye, Miller, and Hari .c.vans. Tour:, Johnston and Kgositsile were guests for :BIik a pro g ram exam~ th e African 6ultu r al Pres ence in the Ame r icas. ei::c•~ets h ave r eco ~~ ~ been invited to re a d and bE... ~A"ene.d r or,A p e rmanent audio/video library: Jayne Corte z, (.;rouch, Davis, ~lllllit Sarah Webst e r .tt'ablbo, , Har p er, J e f fe rs, J o ans, .Redmond, Sonia Sanchez, Scot x - Heron, Brucs ~t. J ohn, Marga ret Walk er, a nd Jay i·; ri ght. ,.-- 1 - (1- • -~~n 1968~ eal said his ,......M "' "plh.ilosophy" was "to purge myself of the whiteness within me and link completely with my Bla ck brothers in the stru ggle to de stroy the enemy and rebuild a Bl a ck Nation. 11 He ap p e a r ed to be working a t tha t t a sk for a while before the Afro-beric an school clo se d. In "Today " he said t h e tone of his life r esembled a " growled minglegjt" the groan of the past •.• x and he lamented the jungles wh ich had been deflowered by nap a lm •••• ~arl Carter, another D. c. po e t, .8r;pears in Under s tanding t h e ~ew Black Poetri. He evokes the s pirits ol-::__~heroes 11 ~of Memphis, New York, and l~a shville, 1 Or 8 n geburg, Jac k son, recalling tha t during a riot in Nashville he was Hiding somewh e re i n my mind with Eldridge Cl eav e r •••• "Roots" is an unsuccessful attempt to fuse the drama. of colchloquial Black langua ge with a f ormal ~ glish na rrative about his gr andmoth e r. �30 Other poets living or publishing in the the sixties and seventies 1-' were D.c. area during Bernadette G-olden(l9~-9- Henlen Quigless(l945over the years con ributed · to the g rowth of Black poetry. She edited three important anthologies: Negro V6ices(l938), ~bony ..kb.ythm(l947) and Today 1 s Negro Voices(l970). Her own volumes of poetry are Love is a Terrible Thing(l945) and, with Nancy Arnez, iae nocks Cry out(l969, Broadside). He r ~ poetry has moved from a traditional meter to a tra ditional free verse dealing, in the new pha se, with tensions 01.r¼- caus e d by u i3 9 white" and 9 11 Blacko/,) and war. She is currently di rector of t he Ne e- ro Bibliographic and nesearch Center and s e rve s as managing editor of its ,C,. Clifton(l936Sa.m:x Cornish a nd Yvette Johnson(l943- )iJ, ) h a ve produced poetry tha t holds them in good st e ad. Good Tfmes(l969), Good News About the ~arth(l97a) and An OrdinaI'J' lvo ~volillJles produced by Lucille C1ifton who also writes many children's booki. She currently t e aches at Coppin °tate Coll~~e ip Baltimore wh e re she lives with ~NA ~ her husband and six children.~itles ~·•IIJ!!l~iiiii.i~llllii-M,a-lilliilli~.-"""-i!!i"llfi,,_--........_ ~ about her s p iri,,.t a n d ~ temperament. ~ • • • • • of d pre ssion and bleakness, it ~~ndeed warming to see someone proclaim Good ,............._ News! 11 .l:!.ldridge" is comp a red to a meat "cleaver" which wi ll not "rust or break. 11 And th e re is humor, irony and truth in " Lateley 11 : where the "always drunk" d e live ry man says: 111m 25 years old and all the white boys my age are younger than me.I i- �31 But while a 1s 0 ~ .1::9:?;;;f Ckn O ',r ledg sing ~ ·. t ~il ,,_, ~ ilill i go od times in the kitchen , ~eille '-11 !ton •rh •t M __ v "hal colm," nb.ldri· dge , n "Bobby Seale , " and the studeent-participants a t Jackson and h.ent states . gives a Black •11111!1.b• or contemporary~ a l'Aaozen~ Good News Abo-wt the Eavth, r'.biblical stories . Host are unique , like " /tt this kiss soft as cotton over my bre asts all shiny bright something is in this night oh Lord have mercy on me i feel a @:arden in my mouth between my legs i see a tree G An Ordinat-iry Woman is oo nsciously woman and the poems , like those in other volumes , deal with e v ryday thing s- - "ordinary '' things . become ~ "H owe'ver, she has,._,a.~~a::~:=• more"mystic. , N rre;}J and allusoryt4 7 as in "Kali", "The Coming of Kali, • Mood. n AA ! 11 He is tireyd of bone , it breaks. He is ti red of eve I s fancy and Adarn 1 s whining ways . ".tier Love Poem, "l{"i::>alt." "God's �32 Corfnish is a poet, teacher and editor. His books include Angles(l967), Winters(l968) , Your Hand in Mind(l97O), Generations (1971~), and People Beneath the Window(n .d.). ~~ith w. Lucian , ::.&., edited Chicory: Young Voices from the Black Hhetto(l969) which developed into a series still being p~blished by the bnoch Pratt Feee Library j n cavjunctj on uiie:l;;ft 1'fte~ommuni ty Action Program Current editor of Chicory is Melvin l.!,dward Brown . Cornish • P'ei•-•iw;i-b~ stylistic language. ~ @!O~dr ammunition a n d ~ r e t c i s ~ ~ s l of he tells "MIDDLE CLASS GIRLS WITH CRIPPLED FINGERS WAITI NG FOR ME TO iIGHT THERR CIGARETTS": your fingers 4 2 l hsi&&EJHiftlJtW f folded in your lap control the serpent in your eyes your face never staring with a smile in your ruffled color your eyes pmpulate the brick with restless stares. r.-These Baltimore poets, and others,. continue the vast line of poetry output ths t embraces the ~outh •ra=-,."'" many �33 \1944I • ~ (New Orleans) Margaret Walker, Alice Wai'lt~fl,t±Iilit'1e Lane, iii BLK.8.R1·SOUTH . poet , ~ (I < , tJ, 71.(~ fl l,.~t ~ p the Ix-umbra poets( North Carolina ventral University),~ etty Gates{Miles ,, J C I • 1 Col1 ege, Alabama), Gerald 1JJ+~~J~LaAe le X(Leslie Powe ll), Leo Ja. Mason ~tlantaJ, Lorenzo Thom he iliil: :_~~':t!!i. ; g<1 o•• The pe s bi J s rf? 111 ~x~h;~~ pro grams which, since ~outh h a s ~ rec ei the late fifties, have flow of = poets and teach ers older ef paibi&aj to and from the ;::,outh. Some wel,l lmownjn~es -•a• Tolson , Jef f ers Johnson(Hames), Braithwaite, Hayden,r_nd ••P.i:D•Vesey. poets iP?l de ivv0' ounger South are ~udre Lorde(Toogaloo), Redmond( Southern), Wright (T oogaloo i=md Talladega), Spellman (: Io rehouse), and ~ ~sile(North Garoli~a A?:T ). The ;::,outh, too, has exp e rienced ••tllllllll!lili• 7 iK dramatic changes as a result of the he Free South(ffi ~ _j ymbols are everyw"here: e Dashikm Jheater~n tremendou,_..,~4kg (_; ,..,_ ~ , Black N ~~ovement. - · New Urleans,.SUDAN South/West poetry-musica.theatbr group in Houston, the Theater of Afro-Arts in Miami, a nd Atlanta's Black Image. In Atlanta, ~pellman organized the Genter for Black Art which publishes Rhythm(l970). Stone became editor, ~bon(~igemonde Kharlos Wimb erli) poetry editor and 8pellman editor of essays and features. The summer issue of Rhythm was 197. also a memorial to Donald# L. Graham (1944-1971), poet-theoretician who succeeded KilHms as di rector of the Writers Workshop at .B'isk. ~raham,~rr:snsmiwisama xaax M.. who was also a musician, h a d publis~ed three books: Black ~ong , 8oul Motion, and ~oul Mot on I I . hhythm said he "was running one of the baddest worksho n s in the Soutb.J" People's co ·1 le ge in Nashville Margar e t Walker in Mississipi/ a1as1 j.,w s and "teaching at the hevolutionary 11 . at Jackson °t a te Colle ge !l:973- hoste4.~~7f bi-centennial celebr • tion of the publication of Phyllis \fueatley • s Poems. XXXJlft ilhc celetn abion somewhat from the stance -- �she took in For My People. Yet Prophets for a New Day(l970) and Octob e r ,_1--,_,., ·u ..L<., ~ ~ ,u.u_:1.,..~i~ , a11d,,,. (,'p,:ti,. Ri ghts Movement A_~ its She writes about 11 Birmingham," "Street Demonstrat i on," "Jack son, Mississippi, 11 'fihe March on Wa ~ g ton, and the new pro ~ 11 "Jeremiah, 11 a Legend" she says "Isaiah, "Amos," 11 .joel~' a.Rei erl;:k@P9, In 11 ts: 0 ford is Andy Goodman, -~~ Michael Schwerner, and James Chane y , who 8!11~ "opp r e ssion" in Louisiana, M~ssissippi andbeorg ia. October~I fl b® a quieter riety of••~verse iorms incl~ding the ball a d .ner own unique in "tlarriet Tubman.'' .:::>1,,e sti 11 ;r,?Jre112 a drlu . sonnet t in "For Mary McLeod Bethune 11 a nd ~ earlier 11 1''or Paul Lawrence Dunbar." poet is suggested in with the p oets telling us f 11 .1 want to Write " ,--..., • I want to w rite son.jg s of my people. '-""' 01ice Wal k er, novelist a nd poet, sha res the st a te of Missi sippi~ ~ 19 68µ Petunias with Ma rgaret Wal k er. Her volumes of p oetry are Once~ana. RevolutionarYA the title of , is probably ~,.....,.1,4(,~ (1973)f,.which, judging from othe r st at ements she has made, mi~t be o • ' • Her p oems some s a t ir e. A poem in Once r e lates t h e story of the y oung Black man who wanted to inte grate a wh ite be a ch s in Alabama--in the "nude. n She k t lieorge · Ahistory an~ folk-strength �35 is made of : ~"romance" that 11 blossomed 11 and t he in ~ pews at funerals; women with fists that • • • "battered II doors; ~ "Sunday ~chool , 0 irca 1950"; a "backwoods woman" wh ~ killef to water the petunias/JI ind of " Hage 11 : also writes The silence between your words rl:¥lls into me like a sword. Yet an~ther Mississipian and poet is Julius Bric Thompson , a history Hopes tied up in Promises was pµblished in teacher at Toogaloo . ~970 and aims at li ing the new consciousness above mere "hopes . Thompson writes about being a Black man in Mississi p pi , Martin ~uther King, and "Black ~over..11 I series~ poems "Delta Children , " 1 o~~ In Louisiana much new poetry has been arriving from the pens of young and, old poets alike . ~u-Bolton, now in D. C. , edits -.....:---- Hoodoo I through bngrgy Blacksouth Fr ~ss ) in DeRidder . co-edited The Last Cookie.lJ based in DeRidder, .:1an Francisco , a nd Geneva , New York . Hoodoo I, dedicated to two Bla ck students killed by policemen on the campus .....-, of ::;outhern University in Nov 8mb er of 19 ·121 contained work by Lorenzo Thomas, May Miller, Pinkie Lane Kalamu Ya ::Salaam, Jerry War d , and other southern- based poets . Hfodoo 2. & issuel published in l975 , contains work of< • ii 11 3 , a double more southern poets: �36 ""'-~~:..w;~~~~~a~n~ :\ .<"\ Arthenia Bates Millica Uharles Rowell,as well as selection• from t~nJ the braader ~ an:e world of Black writing. Press will also publis ~ volume of poems. t'diiWii iiiiiiiiiPIIIK bnegery Black~outh A Nig, erer Ament, Zu-Bolton 1 s first ►~ \!ider the g ud~ ·ce of the late English $. ~ short-live I/ ■ C I /'nairrnan, Melvin A. Butler , ~s ablished t e ac .1!.xperience) C several £Oems by Alvin Apbert , the first issue of' which contairie<l]lpbems, a 'Southern alumnus who now rL resides in New Yo rk and edits Obsidian: Black Literature in rteview. Aubert s Against the Bluestl971) . I ; surveys blues, love and his Louisiana heritage. Pink@. Lane , n~w ~nglish Department .;;:'-head at uouthern, published Wind Thoughts(l972) as well as sev eral Broad- sides: Two Poems(l972 ), Poem~ather(l9I2), and Songs to the Dialysis Ma chine(l972), all ~ f s : & - - ' - > o u t h and est, Inc., of Arkansas. ~outh& and West is also the publisher of the annual ( 19~9, 1971, 1972-l} rwhich Poems by Bla ck Pinkie Lan C ~ / ermanent editor. inaugura ted the annual Black Poetry Festival In the program of the first festival, l,Dx he stateciJ: in The Bla ck Poetry Festival provides a rare opportunity to bring together profeS"S"ional a nd apprentice poets in an effort to define a nd legitimize all forms of Black poetic talent as a prelude and postlude to defining-and legitimizing the reality of Black people . Hopefully, t he results of our efforts will be a bett er understanding and a grea ter apurecia tion of the lives, aspirations and achievements of Black peop~e . TI I j.l"°frre •-• festivals, "- ( c~ ..,.;..~ Southern has attractive a number of poets; 1 ~lq 7t-1l) _, Madhubiti , Sonia Sanchez,~ Randall ,'rre'a:mori~ Bolton , Fnigfit , ~alamu S a l a ~ ~ Aubert, Luc~ ""ITlifton,v eal, ,'\.udre Lorde }I .Lrma JJTcLaurin. The festivals, which included student poets and mus ici ans , have inspired a Poetry Workshop under the supervision of Howell , an ~nglish instructor. The first two volumes of Poems by Blacks contain a rich lode of oouthern riting �37 poets : Leon~ . Wiles( Philander .::>mith College), blijah Sabb(Little Rock) , Booker T . Jackson( Little Rock), Eddie Scott(l"1emphis) , Otis Woodard Tuske gee Institute (MeJD,phis) , Arthlil.r Pfister (Mbllfhi,,, Beer Cans Bullets .;.,-Things & Pieces , 1972) , Upton Pearson(Jac k son , Mississippi) , Jacquelyn Bryant( h eridian) ., Lois Miller (Baton Houge) , Barbara J-ean hnight (iviemphis) and h.atheleen rteed (Shreveport) . Although Pinkie Lane Lane did not edit the first two ~ issues of Poems , she acted as aavisor ana~ was subst antially r epre s ented . :::;he is a gifted, ,,: skill and 7 3 gr.di I 7 7 ·:uzb. word-manipul a tor with consummate passion .~:ll■b~i--~l•~k North of Baton Rouge in .New Orleans, the .t< 'ree .::>out h e rn Th eater haA burned out by the late sixties , but~5'€ttt1;iw9~0aff?E1lfl!I~ ~ Nkombo which 4lllll the work of BLKARTSOUTH writ e rs . Tom Vent , one of the founders of FST, and ~alamu now jointly edit the publica t i on . Some BLKA RTSO UTH poets are Isaac Black, Dent, r.iiiii_- 0alaam, ~ lienaldo .B'ernande z, Na y o (Barbara Malcolm,, Raymond Washingto4, and J ohn O .r eal . Again, no single thread ties these poets together- - except the o r "movement'' in the outh • ~ h e ir con- cerns for the movement are o f ten expressed bett er outside of the poe try than in . I n 19 69 BLKARTSOUTH published i n dividual volumes of poems by Salaam( The Blues h er ch ant) , Fernandez (The I mpati ent hebel), Nayo (I Want Me a Home ) , and Washington(Visions From the Ghetto) . " Racist ~ Psychotherapy" is Black 1 s blue - print for i l A Afro-American salvation . He advises Blac k s to spend less time r a pping and drinking and more time w o ~ ha rles at Mississipp i State" Dent says I h ear p eople wa iting for the riot to be gin in t heir hearts • ••• Of ..-..."The ~ Blues , 11 Salaam says: it is not sumbission •• • • of his work is speechy . Salaam has al so published Hofu Ni h.wenu: My Fear Is l<'or You:t( 1973) which received a mixed review from Rowell in the 0 ep tember , 1974, issue of Black World . Salaam i s ~ editor �38 of the New Orleans-based Blac k - - -----,=--- Na yo writes a 11 -~ dtime "h question , ' when we gonna h a ve the revoluti o~ "cW the moth e r I! . castigate whitey and prais e Blacks . But , Jdlh I •ot"'"'F Y}1,-m4:l!~!b ~ · - . · ~f!"""K'• they wrgbout south e rn life , le d Congo Writing 'or~op . There are also writing workshops 0 quare Dillard and Xav i e r Univ ersities ~ A Julia• Fields, still living in ~o rth Garolina , c111• •-- brought oug l!.ast of Moonli ght ,--_ in 19(3 , but testimonies is "High on the Hog 11 one of h ~ q u e n t which ~ est a blishes herfigp_t • to h a ve "caviar 11 or "Shrimp souffle" over ~ L Ja )_i,. stances-t• a~ A"'-n7of-r,ic J I revol u tionaries, she says;lf.e h a s E: 11 "gut b a II or "Jowl . " ~c over-exotici zed b'y rt<t I/MA. ,, A 1 ,. ~~ ,,,!:,,. I,../,,.. ea rend 11 the right to enb lrt(sh • She has e v en heard "Maus Maus" scr e aming and ~Romanti c izing 0 i pain . 11 from both But The i"@/3/ x/o~ le'f.-t in po~ts of lJt!f<1. ~~YJ,8jil-c. Fl'7 Thet(con- s s!en by somra;~jor juncture in the New • Gwendolyn Broo k s talk 4Jabout it in her auto - b iogra phy , Margare t v~alker discussed it with Nikk i Giovanni in their published " conversations , 11 Blac k Worl d. a r g \¥,i t e rs ~u 7 l er wrote glowingly of it in e c onfe renc e were David Llorens , ~ Fuller ~ Milne r , Clarke , ~ennett , Maggaret ~anner , Nikki Giovanni , Randal l , Lee , Margaret \-Jalker , t>onia Sanchez , Jones , and Marg aret Bur r oughs . �39 . ., 1; il provided the first writer s. ~wendolyn coHl..ly res p ected" afte r ,,,. I"'"' just h a ving f l own Ja to Nas h vi l le from 11 whi te -whit e ~outh Daij:ota. 11 P-owever, she was amon g t h e first (with Handall a nd .1:'' u l l e r u p t h e babner of the <ii? of to take J the Black Aesthetic 2nd the causes of ,,,.l the young writers . t!i.S; + Such action, of course, was dis n leasing to a numeber of whi , e and Black poets, not the le a st among them Hayden -who rmfi:Dses e~o acknowlege the exist~nce of a ~'' who expre~red l:Jj s feelAngsaboPt i "1u!,'&.<Pf!ti@ A.aesthetic + tr for Blacks md bie :moe J io ;pee,i:::tiisa p?eiett 12n~aleidos~ope • • • Janua ry, Bl ack World po11)af BJaolc mibcrs wrd er!i:tics • Although the Fisk conference has been followed by dozens E. ~ no 1968 , ollifJOfs Black colleges all over the South, Midwest and st, ;,here is still but Cf"'\. monolithic st a nd *""dire ctions" 771 a g'r: some writers keep trying ; to give them anyway . One indicationg of t h e healthy diversity among Black writers is the journal Roots, published at Texas Southern University • .C.ditors are Tommy Guy, Jeffree James , ·.1,·urne r Whorton, and Nance \rJi lliams . Volume I, number I contains es s ays, art and ( the works of ~PA trt.er i ~emsn poets , most of them southerners. The poetry, d evoid of monotonous theme or style, represents a broad rang e ~ of interests in supreme" says 11 ,# • ai@~lfllm!~~ subjects and forms. ?m 1 lo in 11 a love all my eyes gazed forever backwards ." In 'she 1 11 never knxow" :Mick ey Leland writes of various a s pects of the social and pl;tysical l an dscape, including the "Kinky haired boys" -who build 11 arsen~ls of s traw." ~ la rence ~ard notes in "nanging On' " that ~ the rent h a s gone up , eviction is Ao 1 ..g, t h ere is no food for r the baby, and Han ging on aint easy •••• j ahmad j . 1 s title "rtard He ad 1v1akes a ~oft .1:-iss" i mp lies t h e poem's statement . ~taszy: eternalizes, "like a good high, '1 for Tommy Guy in 11 Brother . 11 � 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_26 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, B. Griefs of Joy: The Poetry of Wings, p. 1-39, 1975 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. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 Description An account of the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, B. Griefs of Joy: The Poetry of Wings, p. 1-39 with additional page 1a. 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. 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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). 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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. 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" 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/9d2563405437f3b198a16775de1116d4.pdf 1ad35d6d5980763968fcc17cd7917904 PDF Text Text .AND UN1(110 1:JN BARDS 'o black and unknown b2.rds of long ago, How came your lips to touch the sacred fire? - -James We ldon Johnson J. Black Expression: G_ this ~ t e r , as in~~i_'i.{ ores, ~lack creativ@ mind ::i:: will attel'lpt to ple.ce •·•~·!:!!!:::l}:~~me-,1111:11-=••wi~•~~La...- wi tti~the spirit and letter ~rican-Americ Unfortunately, many~~• early scholars played down or ignor~d ~ African influ~nccs ei t he r1' • This was c ertainly of on brief every- mince most antholo vl!k:!t~~. . . . becausel\one will e of Black literature and poetry omit these items; and 'lc,_...,. hard-pressed to understan l:.J:! I a a rut 0 Dunbar use of folk matoria.fts(see,(J. ohiison, v Walker and others). Bronm, �(} wt 4 ~ olr! . a .J discussing <l/1- t h e origins of Black expression, . 12&£!g'?: + • 0 it,(, ment i on,,.,.illl!-lliiil(h~the role of the pre-industrial African(and other) societies . ~ grio . t s-s t ems f rom th e group o f ar t i. sans kn own as lillDi,: --=:-.-:--- h lore. -~ ._ a, ' r • • • • •.'· ~- • human1';'.:~•i~ of iMlll!IIIIIIII family and national~ ~ .. Originally ~ e d to recite--without flaw--the geneologies , eulogies, victories l. cal ami tie s~:m:f::::l:i::i:ee:::=ll:c:t::::i;J;1:::t;i11@1-e~~~mm- of the folk, the griot(like the •11111• lead his reportage with iiiilliim'ii"ftE singer of Spirituals) had to spice itementM.1~~.~ ,~;,,iµ~c,-,,~ iia:IB:i1111a~Hardly a Black younsgter grew up ( even in recent times) without input from a .Ac-et °(j griot(uncle , grandmother , big brother or sister , mother or ~ather, job preacher, etc) . The ,__,_ of the griot, like that of the mater-ceremonial . ~ t societies a#mistake drumrner;R wa s so , t). , i mportant that in many 4 ~ could sost~•---- life. 1· - very · j 7. early ~ -ef ~~,~~~.:~~~5£::1'.!l:lr~e . adjustment r. griot life his ii • nu mastery of technique and inf0rm- Like the drumm~r, he ------1.w•~ undevstud~eJ, ~ .l. a••••BY t(is trainingje,.a:;:t;;1.;ax:l,:-'!!!l!!'J!"'!!"'e-iiiei• a certain psychological '/, ~ to ;;,;gd J?eali!la'6ioP I i i !!Hlln the significance of his job-- o 11 contain(anr,1dvi~e o~ the and centuries passed, this heirloms 11 of the community. -Om. ~ A.s years 'factual" information wa s conve rted into a lore, cosmologyA web of racial consciousne ].¥-, and legend; it became a part of the vast emory. It became the legacy with which ev e ry new born bhild learly , then, the myth- a nd legend-building poet has a past to dip and a future to predict, project and protect. ~ ''.' any violation of the pas~present or future constitutes a serious crime against one 1 s ancestors--against one's parents, a gainst one's blood, against one I s god.;,'t that the poet --griot --}s not some haphazzardly ~ arrived hipster or slick-talk er P#fl J1!f1J simply l!!F6.c:w.w:i~tired old phrases. ~ To the/lgriot-sing er-poet the job of unra veling the complex network of his past and present-future worlds is a painful but rewarding labor of love. �.ttf J';(n· 1/,Ti, A: 1e B a.ck Experience n the United States continues via the African Continuum: a complex (~cJ,.-4) ~ · ) (5ee~ 1 ~ h ~ J . ) . of mythica\, linguistil' gestura\, psychological, sexual,M~ phvsical and religious forms. - 11 }l. This complex is e~idenced in M~4 the day-to-day attitudes~of Blacks: their sacred and secular (~ expressions, their physical appearances, their dress patterns and their family life. Jot only in the United States, but , in the Caribbean, lrtbe West Indies, in Latin America, in all WlrJitl IM\,~~ (J4 th t-l«' lM J) J-it'.l •. ~ r n,,..,..Jr,. ,.,_ - -tfiey areas of' tbel\ :t:ie:opePS.i'\~-~~-A£ri-ean--e-.xffae-tJ • ~ Aexbi bit �~~t~ ~ '-1 ( I ;r:; t characteristics peculiar to the nature of indigeno s Africans. /J • }..,,.,,.,._ -jJlllmu-J'!!. , 1 fl ac,-,-,pmtlm~ ~ eral Black 1/xP.ression~ 'fi~::· :; ,.. · "'/\Black ,ulture; and {-OfMl) p ft~) (Aiu r,'\ the art~st c "expression--tradi tional Black Jommifni ties did people·--is a more sophis- not separate ~ l i f e ticated form boned from the '""eneral "storehouse." No one bas yet put their hands on exactly what moment in time and where the first African sounds or movements were incorporated into nwhite" or Western frames of references or vice versa; 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 horri.fied by eem:e- of the observations and conclusions of some Black and white 11 "" researchers.n In an unflinchingly brilliant analysis of Black African Oral Literature, presented at the First World Festival of Negro Arte4 (1966) in Dakar, Senegal, Basile-Juleat Fouda , noting that 11 oral literature is as old as creation, 11 Archival Literature of Gesture." revelations, Fouda said: 11 coined the phrase Concludinc his important "Thus in the Black Africa of tra- dition, literary art is an anonymous art because it is a social art; it is a social art because it is a functional -rtt; and it is functional because it is humanist. is not bounded by color. 11 t:t29J, ~esearch Black sociologist E. Franklin Frazier (Black Bour~eosis) h e i ~ there were no significant carry( ~ l.1/ t N\,ll.,~~TI.l,Q~ overs~from ~frica to tbe United States. (Slavery, Frazier said, "stripped" the African of his culture and "destroyed" his personality.) White anthropologist Melville Herskovits (The Myth of the Negro Past) proved without a doubt that 41 �there were African nsurvivalisms" operating daily in Black Ameri?ans culture. (fo (!J; lR'-9. t<,M,.., 1..J. ~. -To.. ?, 1,1,. 1 IvvA1, • I~ • •'f ) , 0 ..,.. ,.,.t _ w1.>.,".mt T>-J. •• >Vhlk oc ~ If ,, ,,.,,flu '1 , 6!8¼112:ft I -- p . ~ Rudimentary Black/x~ression~Na.... a~ ~ w erous . l folk forms it produced (field hollers, vendors shouts, chants, worksongs, Spirituals~teflues Gospels, JAzz, }{hythm 'n ,Blues, ~ '-.!~£~ ~oul Music) f~~ ases for,lBlackA:5cetry. S<>11~ ~ The N f":"' .;::,/ ,~~{ · r.f early tM-clstle~fo~Ms ~ere almost always accompanied b y what we have come to call __J.. _ .(J,,r1~ 11 \.!,I dramaticl ideogra1!1s "-ir-o~c~._ :1~.P:.:ld lr;-/-<rtk~. ~ three basic~ ar istil°"~odes/\lfu~ and Drum. ';; ~ ~ M.t li~ ~ " 4 . · Ol1 ~eans or communicati-, over distances, the dr~yed~ar?'-i~~ role in t ~ e s of traditional ,8") 1 . .i\.frican peoples. -1 The career drummer, like the BlacK~musician today, went through years of grueling practice and preparation-·learning not only drumming techniques but the legends, the myths, ' the ~P-~nin~s and symbols of which the drum was derivative. Dance always accompanied song--Fouda refers to the "acoustical phonetic alphabet 11 --sp that the complex web of ora.l nuances ~ was tµ h. IT~ate ,J. .. ,,.,J Obv1ously, when teaching or entertaining , the artist/teacher had to present his material in interesting make-up, props and i mportant subject matter. A Jn..t ~~, n<YtrtvicariousAbut one of the act and �'lche #8.m'i .time: T '-lile such a prospect boggles the mind, a serious study of these forms and the general tradition will \~ ~ye-opening for many a disbeliever. Early Black American oral and gestural art forms init.t ~ ~ LJ.u,., - • heri ed the~above mentioaed ~ri±t-t'e. In lang~~§e in (<.iui«, ) dance, and, more importantly, in points of view~toward time, -i,, . life and death, the cosmology of Africa ~ ('4~~~~-~4) "continue~in the Black efulture o- the Western Hemisphere. Specifically, in- 1 for mation was conveyed by~.a of aphorisms, riddles, parables, tales, enigmatic dances an jokes and poetry. 01,'.\~t ,>(.o(.(,' ) §o"'ill'ld~o J ··.nL'!O--·• que~utte ances, puzzles, t rfunt~ The pattern remains in tact today. -- .Jahn ments many examples of the African ncarryovers 11 and "survivalisms 11 operating in the Western Hemisphere. One can f nd the tradition -' ' · 4.t1-ni6' 1, 1/; ~ "vw 4(ru{t in Black poe s,~inistevs and~family,._,ga~herings. The scintillating Black po'et I'olson operates ~ 1 the old eni gmf'l t i c ( ~ ~ ~ frame when in "An Ex-Judge at the Bar 11 'be says: Bartender, make it straight and make it twoOne for the y~u in me and pn~.frp. tpe me in you. t" ~ N ~ i-fc · 'JI ,Ju.,kd t £ti.•, ~ . « > t.W Ar ·AIMlft~ ~ ..-.~~:.<, ~-. '', e''t. N _ I .1~ Tolsonl\.ends the poem~ ith n equallw en· gmat·c rn c : '~ <) Barte n er , make it straight and make it threeOne for the Negro ••• one for you and me. /, . ~UJ ' I n t he Sp rituals (t:5.e.:.:::~n~ml'?3"S't'ttmi /4 '~ Bi ..............,""-¥·) one finds s milar debts to the African tradition of song, dance and drum. ~ ::. r- So too in the shouts and hollers where (J f:.M n NOTe:it ~ actual African ·wor ds and phrases were iftnii,ie.11-, used. A Hence we can say that the traditional African phonology and ritual, modified on the anvil of slavery, were operating and continue ' . ~ " " " ~ ~;r nu.~~· [r;, to w 6 . . 9· ' �1t vi .lviJ 1.,, ~ ~ ' fA"t--- J for ms of Black American ,,E'xpression. The African slave, forced to acquire functional use of English and to re j ect surface aspects of his reli gion, went "underground tr so to speak and became bi-lingual and bi-psychical. Hence, while much of the thematic material of the Black /o1k tradition is taken from the harsh difficulties the sl ve encounte r ed in America, A:frican. tonal scale and the employment of the blue tone, the development of a distinct body o:f folklore and a rich language to convey the lore--all represent the African's resourcefulness. Cross-cultural ¢As however, in--for example--the Spirituals which, in many cases,.. ~~, were influenced by tbe English tiym t• j Other consicteratio~ .., include t h ~ e o~ European instruments ~araka points out in 1 Black Music, that the piano was the last ·, nstrument to be td' mastered by the Black musician!f The reason ous ht to be obvious.), the Black adaptation of songs beard in t h e 11 bi g house," the continual re-styling of American fads and the employment of B.blical imagery and language in songs and sermons. Langston Hughes noted that the Blues usually dealt with the theme of the re j ected lover and personal depression. Hughes/ first volume o:f poems, in fact, was entitled The Weary Blues. ~ however, the Blues, like the §pirituals, . ' I. , .,.,~• I ,,i,.ll J., l( r 1 ,f.x, 11 ,~ �I ., I . • �Rather, as 3 ~ and Howard Thurman (The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death) note, underneath the complaint is a "plaint": things must get better or change! For as the slave said: Freedom, ob Freedom, bow I love thee! Freedom, oh Freedom, how I love thee! And before I'll be a slave I'll be buried in my e;rave And go home to my aker and be Free! �I ,1) nA.,k. ;~ ..;--F"e, 11<!&1.4 __::j( t'w:,, , ~~~~ . . '\~ht / -- �"Tryin I to get home 11 -~~For many reasons , the use o~e word 11 spi r i tual 11 Black reli gi osity is a misnomer . Current h ·"'-U-vwcn..1 new information an rch into I': us that the entire BJa ck world i s 11 responsible to a tai~IIIMQ.....~ili::Bi•c~~~~•~ , ida~ 11 . spiri tua~ 11 : i . e ., informed by and hi~er orde r"--the order of God or the "gods . 11 The e.xhuberance , the spontaneity, the ecst a s , the trances , the t~lking and flair in tongues , the racial flavor/ in dress(church and nightclub) , al~ point up the interdependence and t h e integrat ion of v arious modes and points of view in the Black community . Professor\1'ork describeS • · 11 it as r this difference and this oneness . " The contemporary Black poet l2B1 11 Hayden understands this integration when, in a poem to Ma~lcolm X, he excf laims the "blazing oneness" of Allah. Further proof is seen in the emotional abandonment of church secula r picnics , socials and othe r events of merriment . One has only to "---:::-~a~lft~e~rJn~a~t~e~~~~~ listen to Arebha Fran lin -..-. Gospel and ~ pues to see this unity of expr") ssion pe rating todayf ...nd c ertumly it is cl ear in the , work_s, of t ~ ~ ~l .e.....s~ S""'infe::::.; ~w5d,Hawkins~ g e rs. a n ~ a !' fs a more vulga :r:dzed manner i n Blip \•ilson(Rev~ Leroy) . ,\_Btill , it mmportan and break-doi-m that we offer the tra ditiona :gortrait/of Black folk expression --so as not to confuse or invade notetJ4(chapt er II) W J ~· 1·~ ~~lll'!l!I...Q that t he most ( .liant\ intimately }influent i alQnd b ~ ~ Black poets have ;understood this a s pe ct of Black cu lture. Almost 11i thout exception(and Ke rlin, Br01.-m and others 1.mrn young Bl a ck writers to follow exarnnle) Black poets since the Civil Uar have avai led themse lve s of i n te gral folk rudime1 ts--even when they did not use them in poetry. It is still a fact that Black culturefdespi~e the r a cist and technolo gi cal barrages of the ~es t) still remains mo~"o/lt;_te at ed' than other JC I I: cultura l uni t ll in America. �5hou.lJ l �.' ��I I I ' J Chapter I :(.I insert(pl2) .... Professor Work 1 s 191.5 study was remains a l and mark in the study of African and Black American songs . His work provi des many.: answers to questions and issues that h a d b e&. z * been ( and contmnue to be) muddied by the waters of insensi ti v i ty and careless research . j P'f!o:cSr)::\;?,,. W;;; l I iii"- hi efforts , "undertaken for the the love of our fathers ' songs , " gives clear connections between the African ~nd Afro - American f olk song. ::::is main concerni.' is for the reltgious songs--although his s commen~on form and style are of general value: In America we hear it(the song) and see it acted in the barn dance , on the stage , in the streets among the children; in fact , many an occasion is enlivened by this spec ies of mus i c , the interest in which is intensifi ed by the rhythmical patting of hands rhythm and feet. This / !l\DlIXU is mout strikingly and accura tely broughtlll!IB out in their work songs . ' t 1 " " he emotionalism and uongifi ed ilat intensity of ~ Black Amerio ~ ays "He worships not s o much because he ought , the as be - I c ause he loves to wor@hip." Th "worship , " of course , is the kind we reintegration of into the ferred to earlier : the~!lliii.lQ~ id::u sensu e c stasy sweeping ritual is "as natural to the American Negro as his breath" : Indeed, it is a portrayal of his soul , and is as characteristic as a re his physical features. Hear him sing in his church, hear him preach, moan, and give 1 gravery 1 in his sermon , hear the washerwoman .' .. singing over her tub, hear the laborer singing his accompaninent to his toil, hear the child babbling an extemporaneous tune_aallfitl!!IIIM!,'1!!111~ been educated and who have been influenced by long study , find it difficult to express their musical selves in any other way . �.' possesses both pure song(the Black song , as is readily observable , verse ahd chorus plan) and chant(use of interjection s and expletives) qualities : Poor man Laz 1 rus, poor as I , Don't you see? Poor man La z 1 rus , Poor as I , Don ' t y)u see? 1:·Jhen he died he found a home on high , Be had a home in dat rock , Don ' t you see? the deeper , more psych?logicalf ..._, meaning of th es e songs , Professor Work ~ a s r;rw,,t. . " there are closer relati ons betwe en the soul and musi cal expression~ than have been satisfac tmrily explained. These relations can be felt , but any accurate description s ,:;ems beyond the grasp of man ' s mind . 11 Nevertheless this important study goes on to :pim..Rirrxm:mll classify and number th es e songs of : J oy , Sorrow, Sorrow with Note of ~oy , F aith , Hope , Love , Determination , Adora tion, Patience , Courage and Humility. Pir o f esso 1 U e !Fli:J k ke most scholars of the Spirituals , ~ i n t s out that the re is no hate , :fowe v e r , resentment or vi~dfct~r;rss i n them./Dr. Thurman , theologian and f p h i l o s o p h e r ~ ~ n n i n g s of turbulencetf:~drllll!ll::llllili!R ~ M WJA~~~He--lft'Tm~:;i!!tl;M'1311 , Dr . Thl2mna ¥gr the slave. Li of anxiety and fear , the slav ~ developed a rather stoic such an atmosphere attitude in which he saw death as inescapable a.nd as , possibly, the only remaining ____ p lant a tion lords ~ Vehicle for media ion · i th t h e ~. The s1 a ve could take his 01.m life , if ~ •ranted to--as he did many times in preference to slavery or separation f r om family andi or l oved ones . Dr . Thurman ' s brilliant analysis must be r ead by any serious student of Black thought a nd culture . �. /JI J Folk Seculars 1')wt I( insert ffl l I I wdi. Al 0:. II I I \l , 1 ~0, I, 1 I f;:'oLL--}-( ~ ive~~~~ll:9a~ observed t hat t he re is a thin line betwee secul a r world,._f a ck This is true for many reasons--some of t hem stemming from the African tradition of inter-rel a ting all aspects of life. As John M' Biti (African Heligions . < and Philosoph1 ) , Gabriel Bannerman-Richter and others point out, the African takes his religion(his beliefs) with him where ever he goes. eTls st -'ild~NliilQPii{ Jahn, 11T 1 Bi .L"frican ti and others) also remind us two languages a»e inseparable. Again ,...--,. the ways of i-i.frican peoples(see Mphahlele's i hi~lwind) i Black .8.rneri ca are expressed in 11 inte grated 11 terms . True, th7r'fl._.-;.,__~ tension between and religious communities-~but so often(and most different hats on different occasions. 0 tudy, Re v. Jesse Jackson or a rlev. I k e or a ,iC,t,n We have also observed tha 'T'ba t is, ,.., a gain, th e c as e of a Lev. Ada~ Clayton Powell J ' r (~ many motis;> o :~ip re ssion are interchangeable. song{, designed for -a....church or other reli gi ous be re-cu t(modified) for a s e cular--so ground has be en the training/a91!l!M.-.1Ai~ ~1:::~=~ if you will; see Frazier's The Negro Ch urch in .americ for most in Black popular music as well as for important orators, race le a devs an~ community businessmen. I Against the fore going al part of the ri ch storehouse of Black folklore. Through songs, aphorisms(my 1 y 11 You don't believe f a t meat s greasy. 1 and "If you grandmo ther!U e to ain't gon' do n othing get off the pot ! " ), f ables(see Aesop), jokes(s e e minstrelsy and the Black comed (over) tra~tion), blues and other enduring �..• insert for seculars p~l ! Then:e are numerous examples of the this practice. During the Civil rtights era, we would sing I woke up this mornin with my mind stayed on £reedom church though we were fully aware that olk szi-. were used to singing · this way: I woke up this mornin with my min~ stayed on Jesus strongly 's(and the Impressions') songs Many of Curtis songs sung in Black churches. Even Mayfield 1 s 11 1 f there, s A Hell Below") c 8 rry the Black church societal destruction, fla.-,vor--wi th their warnings, admonishments pleas for love(s e e also Nargin Gaye's pieces like 11 ::::iave The Wild 11 ) by the femptations ·sto ri cal theme of "searching" •~ p,r, ,, . ~~~1 Up This Mornin" is a blues idea expr e ssed above in the II ...~.iii!l:l!t!l:~&0 $~premes singing religious ~ 1# j the -i.;;.o.,;;;;..i.J,,W" Spiritual: "I Woke Up this mornin . 11 Stop in the Name of Love II we .,.,.t,a.C..,, "God. wanted to replace "~ove 11 with - 11 When ~ ,,_,.,111!'~!:f',ilorl--ti~t,Orte 11 .,.:s,. ' exchangeable and interahangeable words such as 11 Lord 11 and 11 "Baby" and "God"; "Sweet thing" a nd "Sweet Jesus"; and "God" and "Han." The reasons t "Mother"; Captain 11 and "Maker" ; for such usages, as we have stated , are deepllf enmeshed in the mythes of Blacks . Hichard Wright's "Bright and Morning .:>tar(in t h e Bible · lJI I ~ ld Jesus) becomes ,.,_son of ' ! t i n the s h ort story-,,,. by tha t name . The hero of The Man Who Cried I Am says 11 thank you man 11 to God after ~~~.::s:tl::l:Ig::::!:C:::mt.- • When we he a n a tune like ----~- ("when I heard my mother say 11 John A. William~ ) War's "Slipping into Darkness" we must understand the historical si gnfficance ; ,. ~tlfli:il•► and function of social art--just a s we must underst~=··= -= · onishe saac Hayes to D r,1/ ; 11 shet 11 in "~haft•1 �u seculars II form severe"&· tribulations, folk wisdom, joys and tra gedies, and the longings and hopes of Blacks during slavery more so than· the clues to the innertradi:.tion lie structure and Spirituals, ~omrnon workings of tne ack principles of folk psychology. It is, after all, back and forward to these folk materials that researchers will have to go if they are serious about de ·neating the feelin gs, emotions and t he ~ecul because ~jii5~;;i'i;;;:;r-t Ko.:1,i~_..,pe,e of Blacks. [ workin gs of the folk mind n0t as limited as th e 8pirituals,MU.±lJa:i::::e=mm$~a......lll._rtxlm:mu Bl a cks in the United bt a tes are aware of and have heard number ~ r::tihll..-"ill•~~ have had sust a ined the j to be informed entertainers to borrow freely from what they he a r-~~ while the folks "run and tell that" once of from the people are: M.a.I~-Q.~,.p....;tl::tf!:~ Pm~;cs:rr-t>--:cit::t::n T'~~""'f't--'t"l'-+-8"11'e'I'. song-S epithets borrowed directly James Brown's ''Brand New Bag, " "Licking Stick"(s e e "honey stick" in McKay's story ,,rr ruant 11 ) , "Give It Up or 'l 'urn It II Loose,'' "'l 'he Paybac and ''It's Hell"; !Ollte'11Ilmn•~ I"'l a!1!';in Gaye's "What 1 s and Going "Let I s Get it On•IIJ~W"; Curtis May field' s "Superfly"; the on:t," Jackson Five's "Get It 'fogether or Leave It Alone"; Flip Wilson's "What you ~ee is What You Get 11 (and the Dramatics' tune by the same name); Franklin's Aretha "Hespect" and "Run and Tell That"; and Jean Knight's "Mr. Big .:>tuff 11 --to name just a few. As with the Spirituals, whites(primarily abolitionists) were among the first to collect iecula of whatever type. Wil J iam Wells Brown, the pub1im edJ first Black nov e list and playwright, collected s anti-slave ry songs. (over) �seculars j Thomas ~1 entworth Higginson, writer and aboli tionistl who led a .black regiment in the Civil ~ ar, collected song s he heard among primar:ily con - his men around campfires and during marches. Though ce~ned with reli g~ song also - described some of the properties of general Black song delivery. One ofthe most important collections of these seculars ,ras put to g ethe r by Thomas \.i . Talley(of Fisk University, as was Professor Work). Professor Talley did pioneering work in the indentiftcati on a nd classification o f • • ~ Negro Folk Rhymes. Describing ~ ' the philos phy,za, struc~u::_ ~~ in some c a ses, origin of the~~as>-.~} ~ the Fisk sch ola r ~ ~ ~ e l l over 300 examples. Other important - -..__ 411¥1.,lll -44~ examp les end discussions of th e J3;r:l~W lroducts t~ ~~> secular folk life can be found int he works Oi:~wer, Spalding,,_ Chapman'# Brown(Negro Poetry), Abrahams(Deep Down in The JungleA and Bell(The Folk J Roots of C0 ntemporary Afro-American Poetry). Bell's work in recent(irom the ':;J:4'.P I r perspective C14,;tV~(l.CJ-/ ne B · · .tg 5 P£ u J F. au iii> ...._-h.~ Also valuable9 ~xamination .-.?~A iJb@1tii:Uitr[of '.li\laet:<7:se'. 3 k' -4'.eculars are a Ii regional works(such as Abrahams') including Dru..~s and ~hadows(§liiltG-eorgia and ~outh -....Life aucLb.rolina), Goldstein 1 s(ed.) BlackJ\Culture in the nited States, Lorenzo Dow ~ ~ f ,~ '6,N)uJt . Turner's work fn~Bttuliaff"'c;;~~and othe .s.(see biblio g raphy). By far -.. :1-l -~~c~u~l~a:f.r:._i!.~~~~~ the most#..~Tmc represent a tion of olk mate ials in the written poetry lJ iS fr-; in the war~ of Sterling Brown(see~outhern rload; especially Johnson~s introduction, and h i ~ e n t s in Ne g ro Poetry). Brown takes exception to Johnson's comment thB.t dialect poetry has only two stops--''humar and pathos,t.!.!- and E I trt implies that Black poets up until ~ his time had been remiss(or lazy) in not developing broaaJ.er uses and deepenini 1.....:.:-- th e meaning of Bl a ck life through the use of folk materials. The tradition of "tall" tale-telling is, oE course, submerged in the -- ' American mythos. So the Black nar:rator found iii C · tr a flexi b le atmosphere lover J �® f secular into which he c ould introduc e his own manner of storyt e lling and his 01.m tradi ti on of son1:s . As he had done in the ~? frituals, he gained a r esourcefulnes s i n th e the s ong or r• of language , ~ruments to accomp anf 'rg '- s t o r ~ l oped an a"?ili ty to seize u p on a good or amenable c ontext in 'll'h i ch t o ~ o ry ; ~ ::.or,~;:;..;;;:~~ ~om the v a ~ themesde a s/iai ethni c p oyp ourri of America. The grew up s ~ of b y - s i de wi t h t h e Spirituals . The Spirituals e ~ a t tempt • o f the sla ve to --~,, web to g ethe r his disparate (yetfmutual) wouib.ds. Spiritu a ls represent t he slave' preserverence and ~n man! ins t an c e s) hi s h ope and f a ith in mank ind. The 0 eculars, also '--lii!jiiilli~~!i in the shado ws o f the the nm,o= Bl a c k ~ ~·,u,, _-'- · 11 bi g h ouse , ( 11 r e flect t he soci a l life of ~~ / ~ ~ th e ~ In ~ song s a n d ditties , t he Black A er i c a n c ouche d h is l o ~ t t e r n e s s e s., but voiced hi& hopes and ~ c yni ci sms through the oblique, eliptical and en coded words an d s e emi ngl y unintel li gible ph onetic symbols . Th e se Afr ican fo rms(see Rappin' a n d Stylin • Out , Kochman) h a ve continued up to the pre s ent. Few Bl a c k y oung sters a re able to side - step the ri gorous ( and s ome time s pai nful) v e rbal dexte~rn@8 dema nde d :ft: I ha playmates aftd ee@88LM.1ttab&s du ring verbal s p a r ring matches t h a t inevit a bly tak e place. Ba rts :t;c;i U I I t I ~ forms of ~ b ehavior were "- might/ in tac t duri ng slavery--wh en a slav~rzTT, b e d i s cus sing a ma ster ' s or " old l a dy 11 during a ra t he r harmle s s " rap "(rhapso dy? moma " rapport?) with his Ula r ra ti ve) fe l low fiel d worke r s . F r ede ric k D0 u g l a ss repo r ts ,,,-....._ 11 c that sla ve 1128 over- seers t h ought sla ves sa11,,g p e c a use 4a l)v r()t.4, ~ ~~~~!!!£.. We know t hat · such Ha s n ot tne c a se~a nd that~~-~~l!flt'""'!"'e!M~-"'Uilllll~ i mpli ed "stea l i n g awayi' m 5 I •iFllli a lot more than wanting to r e ach t h e arms of 'l Jesus on the c ross . -:r enry Duma s ch roni cles similar"- o ~ in h is stortes d,f-~ and p o ems. An d iv1el Jat k ins (Amist a d2) d is c u ssed a n u pdate d vers i o~ of"-tn is ( o v e r) 16 �@ seculars . folk s i nger - h e ro phonenon in his article cl'l.lll•lllllJ••-lllliilZ!llli&a-ili&a on/James Bro~ . Tho @l he is•••l•m1 discussing a secular character, Watkins ' re v ela tions are Bhan Thurman ' s : that in the a bsurd context of similar to Dr. fRl · a f.1 I"') being o'W!le d.:f by someone el~ se, it i s £Ot l i fe or death that loom so importantly . One lives, ~ . (_IrMfr9dh .(J. ru; .t!,lli·son, su gp est:A, the day - to - day absurdity i n a sort of comic - tra g ic vice . Watkins says ~ James Brown's initmal ac ceptanc e by a b l a c k audien c e is fixed,, _.._ i n this crucial f a c tor. From t h e moment he sli, des onto the ..Ii :d ;tage, £ ~ whether unconsciously o r intentionally , his gestures , his facial expres si ons and even the sequential arrangement of his mate r ials ,-...,, external affirmat i ons of a shared a c ceptanc e of the absurd ore, more ing enously, of jiv ing . The impe c ably tai lored suits , whi ch he brandi shes at the outset, become meaningless ac coutrements j as his act pro g resses and, sweating and straining, he ge ts do ~m, lit e rally down on t h e floor , to wr ing the last drop '- of emotion from a song . . Wat k ins is ~ o r r e c t about the d r ess becoming 11 meaningle s s 11 to a Black audi ence ,~ s general thesi s i s ~ on targ et . b lsewhere i mp o rtanc e o f v erb a l a ili ~ Watkins , firmly understanding ef.. .in lare . IUac k-'./ says 1 r ap 1 or 1 11 it is common to hear bla c k women dis cussing a man ' s p r o g ram 1 on t he same level as they discuss his bank a ccount . 11 .._ gen~rallz_ Black:s ------ withhold t h eir judg,nent :fon ( o r a c e eptanc~ r fa ,r speak er or enter- tainer until he exhibits , in hi s dress - gesturet- rap , that · he , - . c:......:- underst and~ t he wellspring that produc ed the "Bl a ck and unk no'W!l b a rds . (over) 11 I �e f, ' ecula l'S Heturning ,XJ&Xmll briefly, to our historical a ssessment, we can . now see how th e fol k strain in Black wr itten a rt eveloved. F rom t h ~ "Song" recorded in the 1 8_5ors by Dou g lass, Dey gib#us de liquor, And say dat's good enough for t h e ni gg er. +.a t:Rl"f~ar of ~ 6a. " d e Cunjab Man" the latter part o f t h e 190 0 1 s, De Cunjah man, de Cunjah man, O ch illen run, de Cunjah man! the deceptively ~ as ~ " s i mple" employment o:f :folk expressionJ~vailed an i mp ortant antidote for the social mala~inherited by Blacks in the Western Remi s ph e re • ..., "De Cunjah man" is, of course, equivalent to the "thing s t h at go bum~ g in t h e night 11 i1 peg-leg, 11 11 bugga h -man"(lJunba r 1 s 11 0beah man. in Irela nd--and thus h~s olk sup e rstitions an d mytholo gy. But the r e aas - ~ ties also the 11 ~ " t i t t le Bt-01.m Baby"), t h e "rag ;nantl, raw-head and bloody bones II and( in places i k e Trinida d) the 1 ~lArA'l'JV' ~ Llt,l.lll'L'~ T.1ost of these superna t u ral characters -P1,itii!'!ll. .-i,M African 11 Blues and Gos p el Jubilee(held in Cliff Top, w. Va., in August and September of 1974) wa s "Tryin 1 to Get Home. 11 How ste a dfa stly the fol k tradition runs like a vein t h rough Black history, Ip the ~eculars(and the Spirituals) r::-, • f _, o.hAt;, ' stanza ;._;;;;> we .llliiil•b repeatedly he a r somethi~~the ,-;;~of illilllM{ "Rainbow Roun Mah !:>boulde r": I 1 m go n na bre a k ri '¥lt, break ri ght pas t h at sh ooter, . I' m go i n home, Lawd, I'm go in h ome. Again the u;e 0 f the word e,,...,,. n )d( { 11 Lawd " in a " s ecula r" song further bears out ~ . the A:integration of t h e fo lk expre ssion. Illfy"-si s ters often or exca.aim "Lord" or 11 Lawd" i n e v e ryday discussions about life. (over) interject � 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_24 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter II. The Black & Unknown Bards 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 Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter II. The Black & Unknown Bards, with addenda note 4 on page 7, an inserted page after page 12, and an insert for seculars after page 13. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/a87d67611dbb4a48dcf12179e95927ba.pdf 8f900f644c55edf8186640bf3d748e9d PDF Text Text CHAP.JEER IIJ:; AF/ijICAN I Voice IN ECLIPBE; I MITATION & ~GITATION , 1746-1~65 Sa aves, though we be en ro ll•d / tuk Minds are neverAsold -- from David Ruggles ' Appeal @, 35 ---· As we embark on a :m.D"l"BllmWIDW@immih -.... survey of the cha:m.onological development of Blac~ r y , it is important to remember that any study ot;:fiteraturef conc err);Jf. that which is "written" and "available . " ~~ made ~CXlllt:mmllt:m.x~ ; . r r ~m t:m:iiii'The fact tha-c~ writer hasAmore (1 _.,,. works accessible to the publi c than another writer does not mak e him/her »e g I IS 11 the a1 g r e atest' 1 or e ven 11 gre 2ter . 11 I n 8:luosts every '°jimnt:mwnam" era, quiet and important writers have been pa s sed over --.... !laft" in favor of literature that is more 11 timely, 11 "flamboyant II and "retJ.,,. velant 11 - - to use an overworked contemporary term. ·1iit: za21 ¼-t-e.n.t ~ d follo wing chapt e rs , represent a tions of the And while this book c ertainly I am including brief nanthology0 ven 9eo re'inforc e J. comments on styles , themes , subjects , language and other aspects of poems included, ~ the poetry. The fi £1<7JA it is hoped, will allow, student,lllld general r eader and tea che r :mwnmrrn;;;;;;&Dl:iczr:toa~ immedi ? te access to comparisons, contrasts and tent a tive analyses . There a lso is no over - riging effort to explain the works in a poem- by- poem breakdown. Howev e r , ~hapt er VII will offer an histo rical 11 running' an a lysis of several poems with t e !il~a..'"n.il1.e~t are emphasi s on how the poems can be read silently ~a~n~d~at1iio~u~d~.~ - ;j~;;.. o f the in themes somel\consistencies(and similarities)/that can be found in many of the poems . �UNir-, , L Blacks have been in the Western Hemisphere almost as long as whites. After 1501, most of the Spanish expeditions to the New World included Black explorers. By the time the 20 slaves-to-be were brought on a Dutch vessel to Jamestown in 1619, the presence of Blacks bad been felt for at least 100 years ,,. / Crucial to an understanding of early Black Poetry are the circumstances su~rounding slavery and. the political and bto. C0Lon1c«. L· ((J et vf, <~ ·y religious moods of~England and~America. British America did not follow the Greco-Roman tradition of the well slave. It was quite unlikely, then, that a 11 nfor,ned revolutionary 11 Black poet would emerge from a social and literary landscape so charged with self-riGhteousness and Neoclassicism (or from the Romanticism of the 1800's). Lucy Terry's "Bars Fight" (written in 1746 and published in 1393) could hardly be called 11 protest"; neither could the work of Phillis Wheatley, considered the finest Black talent of the colonial era, caught between contrivances of the Age of Enlightenment and the approaching 46 �on the class cs r.ti nat on" a v to Weldon · ers I y 1 I "' The ~o~~.a~~ical tradition that I reached its height in the poetry oF,nder Pope, had I already begun to die out with the death of Pope himself in I 1744. 1 All over Colonial America, however, white poets were I im tating the stiff-collared conventionality of that period. I I The moral issues considered by most of the poets (Black an white)--universal brotherhood of man, quest for reason and order, the Jeffersonian ideals of freedom, liberty and representative government--were removed from _t e everyday Some of the most liberal men of the . .M"."'8- ..... (Jefferson, Washington, Hume) implicitly justified slavery by suggesting that Blacks 1ere in some ways inferior. Despite Jefferson's pontifications on humanitarianism, he was unable to reconcile the disparity between bis puolic stands anq _qis_ f,e.ilure to maqµmit bi§...o;wn slaves,. ,..~ ;,;,t/,..Bwk. ~ rt ~ -Mll1l411•~, ~~ On the general American scene, the RevolUution J.~'Y I a national literature had begun to emerge. -,1 ehind, ~ J Fascinated with American employment of new technology (Franklin's lightning experiments, printing presses, etc.) and the prospects of unexplored regions of the New World, writers started recording travels and observing the mixture of races and religions. Although relig ous fervor was still high (Cab, inism, Weslyanism and deism had run their courses), pol tical problems dominated. 47 �Between 1790 and 1832 the new American government was being consolidated and the writings of men like William Bradford, John Winthrop, Cotton Mather, Thomas Shephard, Roger Williams, Edward Taylor and Jonathan Edwards were succeeded by the embryonic nationalistic works of Franklin, Jefferson, William Byrd, William Cullen Bryant, Charles Brockden Brown, Washington Irvine, WilliatA Gilmore Simms and James Fenimore Cooper. Irving, Cooper and Bryant were to become the early writers most taught to American school children. Often called the "New England Renaissance,n the early decades of the 19th Century saw increasing tension between New England puritanism ,_ and Southern aristocracy over the question of slavery. ,. .,.. Debates over s l a v e r y ~ continue:lup to the beginning of the Civil War. ~ The early part of the century also saw the birth of many of"'-America 's greatest writers along with/omanticism and rugged individualism. Mystified by the noble savage (Indians and sometimes Blacks) and challenged by the 11 new frontier," Americans began to romanticize their situation and especially ~hat of explorers who became the first original folk heroes. l\J :\.~ ,?riters who dominated the period from 1826-186Sincluded Edgar Allan Poe (poet and short story writer, credited with creating the first detective in American fiction), Nathaniel Hawthorne (considered the first great American novelist--The Scarlet Letter), John Greenleaf 'Whittier, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russel Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Harriet Beecher Stowe (one of the first white American novelists to :feature a Black protagonist in fiction--Uncle Tom's Cabin), Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, 48 �Herman Melville (considered to have written one of the handful of "great rr American novels--Mobv Dick), Walt Whitman (termed the ngreatest" American poet--Leaves of Grass). ~~ S.eme "Of b~•.>fleil'\ a.~e!: a:l"J . .~,,v~» . writers, primarily politic al a ti vis ts or abolitionists,~ .John G. Calhoun, . s} · i liii:ii-- William Dta ta!f Lloyd GarrisoP, Diiww~•~9Y~••••~and Abraham Lincoln. Usi ng their own and Black material, a number of white composers immortalized the era in songs--many of them nationalistic. It was during this period that Francis Scott Kev wr ote ~ y • ,e:, 11 Tbe w Star Spangled Banner. n Stephen Foster bas NJeen accused of merely putting to music t e songs that were sung by slaves. There was~tf~ncouragement, however, for Blacks to learn to read; ~~many slave owners indulged their chattel in writing exerciseias personal pasttimes and bobbies. So many of the early Black/oets, then, grew up in relative security. To be totally free, David Walker observed in bis 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 the only ones ~·A4t· P-mi this period ~P, =1, ZS ffflJi Black literary activity was highlighted by exciting slave narratives: accounts of escaped or freed slaves. these ' J, In addition to11.,essayists, like Walker and#\.Douglass, M.-..C:.1;11Pieoe, autobiographical The most pupular of an~fAe first recorded, was The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789). Arna Bontemps includes it in his Great 49 ~ ~~ �Chapt e r I TI ins e rt rr"l p6 ~ constructed ~assa, wh o also~penned some notable verses, a story p attern tha t was to become f ami liar to r e aders of early America: his or her that of t he escaped, freed or run a way slave who report e d~-- hardships Vassa rtumlxm.xm.:frn~.£l:6xm~ and struggles. describes his life in Afric4 u n unti l the time of his I ii I1 ki dnappling. m_r, !iMMie: is:6rirr2· l[fl)IJfmrltmnz:r. With vivid memory and detail, he -....!_lave come to ~ est ablishes t h e ~ bases for wna t wetcali t e "African C0 ntinuum in America.--. It is not~ust mere coincidence that this st a tement from 1$89 almost fits~~~ Ame ~ica of today;. We a re almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets. Thus ev e ry great event • • • is celebra ted in public dances which are accompanied with song s and music suited to the occasions. lit e rary Vassa 1 s ••gp.Ja!iag debut into this~g enre was fo l lowed by hundre ds of other narratives, ~ Writing:1760-1~3~, any of them fakes. Do r othy Poet e r, in ~arly Ne gro iscusseJ the problem of ••••tm-~ determining authenticity of the narratives. Mrs. Porter is librarian of t h e Moorland Fo~tion at Howard University--which hczs an oust anding collection !1111 on t he Bl a ck past . . . In her book •~ncluded: constitu t ions an d laws of beneficial societies; s p eeches before mutual aid and educ a t i onal societies; the peport of t h e earliest ro nual convention foe t h e i mprovement of free p eople of color; arguments for and against colonization; print ed lett e rs, se rmons, petitions, ora tions, l e ctures, es s ays, reli g ious and moral treatises, and such cre ative manifestat i ons as poems, prosef n a rra tives, and short essay s. Mrs. ,orter t ~ s sup the i ntellectual a nd lit e rary output of the early Africans. LAfrican, 11 ~,r;.,....-i!'8-~~8'4!1'4' ( wa s u s ed e;enere.us~J by most �(J} insert ffl(p 6 ) 2 spe A/'ft'VM,IVJ,;llil'"d ··,,r~ the era . vJhen "African" was not employed it of "voihoured," 11 Blac1>" ''an l!ithiop:ian C the someti~ (._and heretical ,J Placed againstt,r t f 11 • 3ophomor1c;\accua ations !il..l.~.wi~..;.i;;.""fllt--~,.lio,'-""';,;. Princess .,_" ~ some gf ;, - off,F ;_ ; 1$1 today's Black critics , these early disnlays of pride il8i mouth bqck to school! In addition to the plethora of pamphlets, broadsides, books and news organ that emerged from Black individuals and institutions during the period up to the end of the Civil War, lhhere was also In the early 1 much poli tica ial c · sness raising through oration'°t\,~U I ?• as · at rel chard Allen, Peter Williams , Absalom Ha · 1 Coker, ~;ijz::::;;,r;iij~ ,l~aii;-m;--,iiiir'"~'o:~~isoo"r""'immurfttutal aid II for Africans . onf set the ~ 22 Jfho . t t~ J missionary , atmi abolitionist and self- hel f programs 10:111 ,2 0 later by people like Jarena Lee , .l:!'rederi c k Douglass, R. Martin Delaney) Soj"a1,r,t1tkt""' and Alexander Crummell} :t.--- ~~ ,,_ 1'-,.,~•'J!IM.c-r·• The intellectual, religious and moral work of Blacks in the North wasp ralleled by the development of folk materials(the songs and stories) of Blacks on ;:jouthern plantations . In general few states , North or ~ outh, allowed educ atnonal or vocational opportunities for energies writers Blacks . T~~s the i..-k of early Blac and intellectuals , Mrs. W' ' ~• '\ • Porter~point , out, • setting up of various "African" slaves . Many ~ f @½Te • and the educated Blacks of the North also acted as conduits for the Underground Railroad,- .a 11mJ0i' mc,Hwa :for bhc litiu2tiisu2 • of s l a1re~.,. '-- popu] a:µ., The Rev . Allen,Areligious frusader and founder of the Bethel African (over) �9 3 insert ,fl ( p0) .... raarne C Methodist ~piscopal Church, seems to have been referring Black "sensibility" d es cribed by Vassa when he saids (in 1793) th a t he • a 11 was confident t hat there was no r el i gi ons sect or denominati on tha t wo u ld suit the capa city of t h e colored p eonle as well a s th e Ileth odi s t; ••• bure I am t hr- t r e ading sermons vi l l never prove so beneficial to t h e colored peop le as s p iritua l or extempore nre a ching •••• t,Xor 'mutual II concernsJ ~uch eviden ce exists, then, of Blacks banding toge therlfn e a r l y ~ days of + - ~ o ~ O i iliR :'ihi s tilGWibij I n ressure h orrors of sl a v e ry, t h e psych olo g ic a l .iiiii1•- the 'fhe of Northern "free~' 31S~erep risals in wak e of slave rovolte( such as those led byG~(?. Denmark Vese"W@ ) and Nat Turner~8 31), made for the a most unsettling ~ white Ameri ca' atmos pheDe ( see Walker's Anpeal). ' .rleporting on~ needn to vent ¥2 ·v fea r s 1 9 6tl) noted th a t son Black s, ~inthrop Jordan(White Over Black, ed three t h ing s: loss of identity, lack of self-control and sexual license. In an effort to esca pe t h e '' anmmal within himqelf the white man deba sed the l esro,surely, but at the same time he deba sed himseHt. 11 And a young Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, visiting America in 1 8 31, said racial prejudice wa s "strong er in the states tha t h a ve aboli shed sR.ave ry than in those whe re it still e~s." Ne e dless to say , creative lit e r a ture of the "arty" sort(though much of it was being done at t h e time) wa s not the n umb e r one priority ~ f a cing hell from all sides. Neverth eless~~ literary tradition Ame rica. The example of the narrat ives Bnd p lay �also worked r891B!mimllimi1Di r-m.d other social re form ~ Bis Ant~i lavery narp(l84b ) contained songs and poems pr rams _. :.,..,- , ,~ 1 ~~4',,,. · intellectual or artisan CfY\ c.-aJV"l,'VK-.n the dual~olef crealf or and a c tivist/characterizes the history of ~ Blac "---itlii!/Jtnt me·"i c ~ • ~ ,-mm y critics , Black a nd white, unaware of the stresses and demands on Black artists do not apnroach their ~derstanding_., subjects with the~t ee ann sr~ggiBI~c · Press , ); Political journal1sm~, a1s6 , was a strong vein in the development of Black A~erican writing j.Beginning with John Russwunn( • the second edi to Black c olle ge g raduate and fottfl~CI o~ first Black newspape , Freedaro~s ,&_µrnal,192 ~- 29 ), and evolv ing through Ruggles ' 1.irirror for TJiberty (first Black magazine , 1838) , Douglass ' Monthly(l84J.t-) and North Star ( 13 4 7) , ~o llami 1 ton I s ~ Anglo - A~ercan the tradition of Black journalism and ~ Ma azine ( 1859} , - on the i frican ex- perience w2 s firmly established. much of the journalistic writing{J took pros or cons on the question of imi g ration , colonization or I ~ f f i : m zimn or t he e 1 ev a t 5 on of the Black man s p 1 i gh t in America . During the early and middle years of the 19th Century , white ,,.- ~ travelers t h rough the uouth,)rimrRJP ~®J QQl)Z¥~t3" collecte d and compiled sla ve s ongs --.:>ecul a :l:Js and Spirituals . These songs would later form the nucleus for mu ch of the Black an d white writin eve of the Civil Wa ~ the Dred Scott d e cision themes. Onl the (a blow to slaves and abolitionists) Jilllliilillll:li!llllll!III!• help step up the demPnd s for t h e abolishment of sla v Ary. ~ , Th~ Dattern of the Black 11 "7NJ ,u,,.//4 Brown ' s 'l'he Black Man (/9~>) �CHAPTF.!R III contd "mean mean mean to be free 11 --liobert Hayden foregoing Against the,Abac~ground , the poets of Colonial - Hevolutionary .'.::>lavery America OIL- curious, tearmul, exciting, paradoxi c a l1 ~t,,~, and puzzlingf,31:Z~iae Biblical ijery, c l assical allusions and themes , hatred of slavery al :n~ ui,;h-am'giguous praise for slave ·~~~~e~s· ~of Africa, appeals and condemnations , mas ters , 'PeD~~ all become enmeshed in the intricate linguistic and psychological webbing of this early poet r y . In 1770, the privileged ~ At 17 years of age , Dtii;;;;;•:::i::i;~-,& slave girl Phillis Jheatley became the first Black "exception t:o the rule" in I an~A1erican I noetry . And for decades students of Aflerican poetry --~"'"'-gone about their recitations and research as though nothing or no one of importance ~ hapnened between :Miss \J:h.eatley and Dunhar. It was not until 1893 that Luc'y ~iiai•'1' ~ ·r erry~ s . . __ a l 746~ ~~:::~~ "Bar ' s Fight 11 -- the account of}rii Indian massacre in Deerfield, M a s ~ e to publi ,, light. And :illlll readers had yet . .\q'1S another 27 years to wait before Oscar fogeli~iscovered Jupiter - Hammon • s lillNt "An l!.,vening Thought, Salvation by Christ, •ith Peni tenti al CriesiiiiJi f" ( 1761) ~n the New York Pis tori cal ';:!,ocietyJ Jti~~J.UliV14'N"''1f (5.A ~ ~ ~ pc") ~ . • ..... ~ · mentioned · · · ~1ia t many antholo gies 0.mi t , /1.JO ~/ "bar I s Fight." 'T'h}s is understandably since 1-Tiss .Le y:,\never works . :Jl,; wrote, or at least p,e:=..,n, an literary America 1 s "first Ne r- ro poet," then, is important primarily for being just thQt -- first. Like Hiss 1:J'.heatley, Vassa and other 1Tew J.!,ngland sa.aves, New ""'ngland(Hhode Island) . she was kidn~pned as a child and brought to stui ~dtnessed the Indian raid reported in her 28-line do ggerel flair for storytelling. Hence despite the nee 11 obviously weak literary merit, 11 this first Black writer performed s �0- on e of the earliest service s of the poet -- tha t ofKinger of history -in recordin r a c tual names and places i n her narrative . ~ince she wa s 16- years-o ld and a servant gi r l , writing was surely not her aChieves som~ a gainst the o ral tradition in poet r y-: i t ten my children and you shall hear Uf the mid night ride of Paul Hevere, or A• story Now, childr en, I ' m goi n g to te l l you about r aw- head and bloody8bone s! an There wa s an o l lived in a shoe Qhe had so many c hildren she didn ' t know wha t to do . Compare the f o regoing line s August 1 ~ to twas , the twenty- fifth , ~evente en hundred forty six , T.he Indians did in ambush lay , Some ve r y valient men t o slay , The names of whom I 1 11 not lea ve ouh: Samuel Allen li~e a hero fout , and ~ · ~,. , the c onne c tioru will readily be seen . this poem apparent intentions . both the effects and h iss ·.L erry ' s "Bar ' s .ti' i gh t " Mi s s fo r an .t!Jbenezer Wells of Deerfield, Massachusetts/ ye a r s later e31 m iB ii::lNn...:h:er f12e2d om if! : U/'{p;m Id she mar r ied a free Black man , Abijah Princ e , by whom she had six children . Prince l a ter became the o ,mer of conside ralble land and was one of the founders of .:>underland, Vermont \,Jilliam Robinson( b;alry ,I · Black American Poets )~ l is t s JJfiss 'l'erry wi. th the rtorator" poets and rightly so . Other detai!.s about Miss Terry and the Princes can be obtained from George Sheldon ' s A His t ory of Dee r field, l1assachusetts , 1895 . �~lave poet and intellectual, Jupiter rta mmon(l720?-180 0?), ~ capabilities, into the provides I,tet another look Colonial Ame ~ica. Hammon mind-sets and limitations of Africans in is generally not regarded as an '1 important" BJ ack wri ter --but is a ~- distinguished for being the first• African in America to publishlllJ his verses. This he dicLll:lt!l!ml!II!!• ~n J:!,vening Thoughj"ioiil>composed in December 17605 1778("An Address to Miss Whillis Wheatly")~ 1782( 11 Poem for Children"J and in the mid- 1780 1 s( 11 An ..c.vening 1 s Improvement"). written in 178 ¥1' .'.Iii In his "Address to the lie oe o t a te o ,. tradition with cM>a§ p amphleteers•- like l~~ Htiggles Walker, others of the period. - sought freedom for younoer Blacks I do not wish to be free . 11 11 .hddress 11 , claiming that "for my own part This statement • •• l,.-~M su rfa cJ ; to b e the ultimate in self-debasement and self- denial}f but ifYtf/4.v::tr~ o,, 1~ . _, / 6 I st at!e~ents · · 11e, ~- alker, and othe rs, alb wt,{A >C t ~ ~_...,.,- 0 That H ~ himself was deeply reli gious is reflected in his poetry-- as · · many Black poets , e.g . , rtayden today -- and he obviousl;7" labored under the in f luenc & of Meth odism and the We sleyan JlevA-val(see ~ a r l ~ ~ro ~riting). In the poem to :tJfiss .Heatl ey, J{R_ J.t: it was th r o u ~ miaiiji': nnoo-tt-ee~siX,- that od' s tender mercy" that she n as k idn appe d from Africa and brought to America as a slave. And Hammon seemed, gene rally, to r Pflect with pre vailing white attitude toward the 11 darkll continent : "'o ne and evfil • engulfed in ignorance , barbarism y;/ Qbvio us ly not as well re a d as His s 1 'heat 1 "8!f!lll!!l inte 7 was unable to t ake hi;.fhemes to universa born a sla ve ~. (..;.., and belonge d to t he influential f ".mily of Lloyd's Neck on Long Islan~~was encoura g ed by his masters to write 2nd publish poetry • .®.(ov e r) �There is not a great deal of information ~' l ~vailable on the life of tlammon; h it is difficult to understand Blac k why a n i ntelligent man , who l i ved su ch a long life, mirrored almost c omplete ignoranc e of the horrors of slave r y - -despite ~t - the almost daily newsp a per and v erb al a c counts and discussions o f the "pe culiar institution . " _,-,e,,,~ ,.,,_,,..,,d were primari l y the~ ant · - B - I Hammont s , ..J /tJt,d,/',/.)~ material of hymns o f the period~x'is religious ferver--a t the time o f ~ u in r .c.urope and Colo:fnial America--co upled wi th his t.lfi!J-~Cil borrowings from hymns c onstitute his maj o r p o eti c effort . whi ch Hrs. "An Hvening 'r ho ught J" Porter tells us wa s probably "chanted during the delivery of a serma n , 11 be g ins : Sal vation comes by Christ along The only 0on o f God; Redemption now toevery one , That love his only word . Vear Jesus we would fly to thee , And leave off eve ry Sin , Thy tender lle r c y well agree; Salv ation from our king ; Like Miss ·r erry, Ba:rnmon was not primarily a poet . And hence , unlike C' Phillis Wheatley , one should n o t ,r spend too much time or be too harsh in criti c izing(or compihaining a bout) him. Th e basic stucture of the · .t:Jnglish hymn--which merged with the Spiritual -- as gammon interpre ts it, is an alternat i on of i:ambi c tetrame ne with a rath e r clumsy a b ---- rhyme scheme . Cbmp s r ed to oth r hymns , 0 it is no worse a nd is better than many . •~PllrilDl Vespi te the times , e nd ~ r hpw~ver , one is hardpres sed t o ~ ,1ith HamrJ.on I s I • • over �In Christi§n faith thou hast a share , Worth all the gol dl of ~pain . be fo un Critically inrtobinson ~~~dait~u ;xiax anthologn:J Works of ; critical- biographi cal The i.egro Author{l9Jl)' l By far~ ~ the most gifted an d complex poet until Dunbar , Phillis Wheatley was also priviledged as a young child and allowed access to Bo~ the;\lfbrary of John vvheatley--tio whom she was sold after being brought from Senegal when she was six or seven years old--where she read vorac iously . By the time ftll!P.,;,:.i:c:::.l=l~her teens she had learned to speak and write ,~nglish, and acquired a Ne-w .l!ingland .l!,duc 8tion which put great• eemphasis on the Bible and the classics . Her poetry-,,, like Hamm.on ' s , reflects deep interest in and knowledge of r nligion; but it it al so steeped in classical allusions and conventions of the,) eoclassical writing school . Critical attention to Miss 'iheatli,,y(wh/ lived a short l i ~ i k e D=baj}) has been both r 8ving and unkind. oenjarmin Brawley{The ~e gro ~enius) repE_rts th~t Jeff erson viewed her as beneath the dignity of cri~icism. Yet , genere.usly nraised~ other g reat. Jllersonalities of the day :at!! .,"received her work, G- eorge ~1ashington, so moved by~~ ner1'-crioute21::lllf:il;U9il{ "To His ..t!.xcelJ ency u- eneral tmi~ vashington 11 ) , invited .ao:-~21. the young poet to visit him at his camp at Cambridge, 1,1assachusetts --an invit a tion which she later ~ccepted and was tr eated as royalty. :Miss Hheatley 1 s earliest verses we re penned during the years of her :K'.R e • .,0,~ , . _ 0n the lJeath of the Rev. George ~lhi tefiel dl~ 117()/) 11 reflects a-"illllllll!M"if'l$ie~occupies much of her poetryJ:prc.i:sc fer ,fa> dea.~ �~ (!_5) ther members~-=-_l,U-~~.,_.,..~..,.,..., London who wel'e cum-ernea r b ,u,t railness and poor health, Miss \ heatley was r e ceived -Ib~GJl:t!lilit~ t¥ like a visiting dignitary in London 1 s literary circles ll ' ~ o 1.) The next yearj)11!>)1 and hailed as the "Sable Muse." -..::all.\,Awhi~n London, -she became the first african, and the second woman from america, to publish a book I of poems~ Poems ~ egro ;:jervant to Mr ,J~ oston.,. The ~olume, the only one l.e.y success in both Eng land in and the history of ~n glish poetry in America. Upon her return to Ame vica, Miss Wheatley's misfortunes seemed to come in such li ghtning succession that one won d ers how s h e with stood adversity as long as she did. First, there was the death of Hrs. ••he a tley 'l nd th en, during t h e 1770' s, the deaths of the remaining \lhe a tleys. then ma rried a Joh Peters, wh o 11 proved to be both ambitious e nd irresponsi- ble," f or -rh om she bore t hree thildren--all of whom died in infancy. Addit i ona J ly, the Pet e rs family l i v e in squ al.or a nd o verty, li "ke so many n e w ~ng land Blacks. Co~m enting on the circ umst a nc e s su r r ounding her death, Bark s da le and .n.innamon( Blac k_ 3 ite r s of er ica) ~--~----- ~~ with~accurac observe t he t: Her e a rly de a th provides a comment a ry on t he des p era te ma r ginality of li f e among Po s ton I s free Bl a c k s at th a t time. To Phillis Wheatley, at one time a privileged serva nt who enjoyed an ex- tremely beni gn mast e r-servant relationship, freedom's uncertainwere ove rwhelming. ties end insecuriti e s a nd i nsecurities vroctld µ2 obobJ y iHHJi@& Certainly, had she been initially free in Boston, she would probably never have had the time, the o pportunity, or the peace <bib' mind to write p oetry. For the state of freedom for the Bl a ck man in the 1780's-- e:uen in godly, li b erty-loving_ Boston--was • • • -r •Afo de Ioc,ctr1"1",(,(I_,, indeed prec a rious. _ The preceding explanation, couple :,tlW1 th the obs e rvations of \J alk er, }J.iKrnon �and othe rs, make Hammon' s s t atement about preferring not "to be free." somewhat mo re tolerable /. '/ 'l c ondemned . Some cri ti cs denounce her for not being invmntiv e and origmlh.al enough, clamming that she simply followed the conventions and themes asso ci a ted with neoclassicism:~ Truth , ~alvation, her so-called "pious ercy and Goodness. Some ~~~~•'8!1,J;e resent sentimentality 11 and accuse... her of calling on Chris<t when she should calling for she abolishment of slavery. Still others, II during the c urrent period, have ac cusef her of not being "Black ~ Considered · on the landsc a pe of the times , however, Ivii Wheatl e y comes off as a ss ' ......m- with hardly an~ equal among Bla ck , during a compa rsion or whi ye c ontempora ries. James Weldon Johnson of l"D.Ss '\•Jh e atley 1 s "Imagina tion'' to Anne Bradstreet I s "Contempla tion, 11 said " V.Je do not t h ink tha black woman suffers by comp a rison with the ; whi t e • " (_11 ~ & fj,r,,P,i,!!,-. J.o£t,..d) rinfg her life time Miss Hheatlyy n ublished some 50 p oems , almost haitf 11 of t h em el egie s; five or six no 7 j ti c a l and p a triot n ieces ( General 'J a::,hing ton" and ''Liberty and Peace" ) , andtremain d er nff1~,.,..,..,, J ~tJ ~ r e l i gious and moral subjects --as she s t ~tes in h e r title . Though --... de a ls with the question of sl s very--and she tentative reference to her own -pred:i.cament --he:r· work ma kes only sustainl!l a high level of emotional,~ linguistic , religious a nd ..g,r_eat~force. ~inee herooodel-k cla ssi c al writ e rs, one ~i:a..il.liii,...~ii::::t:•,,J£ese sources JIB,~l'lC:M> poeti c the.0v-h to un cover ~ ~ keys to~techniques and allusions . But one only has to read(alo ud) the followin g pa ss a ge from II ev. li-eorge to feel impact: "Take him , ye wretched, for youronly good , 11 'l 'ak e him , ye starving sinners, for y our f o o d . " Ye thrifty, come to this life-giving s t ream, 1vhitefield 11 • �"Ye pr eachers , take him for your joyful theme ; "Take~ him, my dear Ameri c ans , he said, aBe your complaints on his kind bosom laid; "'£ ake him, ye Afri c ans, he longs for you, mpartiaJ 8 avi or is his title due; "Washed in the fountain of rlede eming b l oo d , "You sha ll be son s and kings , and , riests to Go d. " x Mo re will be said of this poem in 6hapter VI I ; but we shou ld s t a t e that some ~f the ~reviou}'/}oiti c ism o f Miss Wheatley has been Llnc reasin~ temp er ed in light o f#eminis ~;i!t!lftCWJ;~:Wmutml!IWl a n d, espe c ially , effo rts by Black women writ e rs , llOlUi s ch olars and intellectuals to reevalua te her . Much o f her work i done in the hero i c couplet which dominated t he perio d of p o etry,..wr i t i n g . Thes e pent ame1fl e r coupl e t s (i;.Ihi ch would be popula rized in the 20th 1., entury as by hobe r t Prost) c a ll 1 unrhymed iampi c pent amet e r" for end- line rhymes to ap ear in two s , with 1 6 syllab les per line . Ro ger \II/hi tlow (Bla ck Ame r i c an Lit eratu re ) c ompl ains that Fiss Wheatley "falls short in 1,1hat Pope called the 1 correctneas 1 of diction and meter, that 'tle a r - perf e ct choice of word and me as urement and ,,reii;giini; of syitl able . 11 One cou ld ap;ree , i f Fiss 1/heatley ' s sole aim were sin ply to i --ni tate • But t he re is t hat she -- like Black poets always se em to be doing--wa s trying to achie ve a readable poem without losing the essenc e of the couplet . Afte r all , a s ~tephen Hende rson( Un d se r stanji ng the New Black Poetry,:4:) has su c;geste d/ many Bla ck Poets have thnir ear s x and thoug..~t r hythms attuned t h the spitirtual~,:man~s of the .written__. audien c e that l oves "extempore" deli v ery, even when the7l!ines a r e st r ict and tight . ,, Also , in p l acing "Their dolo112r is a diaboli c. dye II in Jlf:::;j:jiilt-~-e-e~~ ( "vn °eing Brought f r om Afri c a to Ameri c a") , de em her c olor ne gati v e bn t that she may not . despi t e he r c l o sin g coupl et : ov e r /tue:p:estl{, that others a possibility �Rememb e r, Christians, Ne groes, bl a ck as Cain, Hay be refined, and join the angelic train . that there is Wheatley was not insensitive, at Iii least to her on pre dice ment as a slave ~tlthout a fundamental and geneoihogi cal identify . In ''To fhe Hight t-i onourable Dartmouth, 11 she .,t;arl of· Should you, my lor ~ i llaim, says , while you peruse my song, Wonder from whenc e my love of Freedom sprung , Whence flow t h e s e wish es for the common good, By feeling he a rts alone best understood, I, young in life, by s eeming cruel fate Has sna tchi!d from ,1.fric I s f ancy' d XHXX li apDy se a t: What pangs excruciating must molest, What sorrows labou in my parentf~s breast? Steel 1 d w2s th a t soul and by no misery mov 1 d 1 Tha t fro m a f a ther seiz ' d his babe belov d: ~uch, such my case. And &an I t hen but p r ay Oth er s may never feel tyrann ic sway? Th:e canital "F 11 in "Freedom," t h e phra se "cruel fate," the sorrow felt for her pe rents an d the reinfo~cement of the agony via repetition ("such, such "t; see r1ar aret ·J alk er(s lines ''rlow Long ! 11 ) , place her <. J::H a c ~ 8 longs ide other'\voic e s t h.s t "'ea rch ed for answe rs to t h e f-M, of i n s anity t h" t enwe bbed them. Slilil::Gill~ pall Hiss ••healtley a lso expe riment s '1i t h ~estated el" rli er t ha t T~ is s imeatle v ' s;p-ma ge h a s sriift e d Perhaps t he c a pstone of thi s shift wa s the Jack son °t a te volle ge roetry 1 .i:' e s tival, held in lTovemb e r of 1973 to commemorate the 200th ~ni v er·sar y of the pub] ica ti on of Miss \IJhea tley I s (_t.1o.Mr) ... t.J) Poems. ~bony maga zi n~ di' a five-pa ge picture es s ay on the festival, -sp.mmnannmiix organized and hosted by Ha r r aret wal k er uoet - novelist (over) �(ff an d aire c tor of Ja cks on i:>tate ' s Institut , Life and Culture of Bl a ck Peopl e. Ac cording to/ ~bony ''eighteen Bla ck women noets converged 11 on the Black coJlege c am.pus to salute Hiss Wheatley , read their own poems and discuss poetry and life . Writer Luc i Ho ~ton noted that recently there has beeh more respect for the "slave girl who , under unspeakable circumstances , was able to write poetry or any literature at all . " c::.. list of,J In addition to Dr . Alexander, the 1poets included iaomi f Long hadgett , Mare;aret c• .ourrou~s , Narion Alexander , J\i:argaret Lsse DPnner , Linda Brown Bragg, Hari .C.:vans , Carole Gregory Clemmons , Lucille Clifton, i:>arah ·webster 1''abzbo, Ni l k"i Giova.nni , Audre Lorde, June Jordan, ·Tloria C . Oden , Sonia Sanchez , Alive alker, Ia Halaika Ayo Wanizara~ oyce vJhi tsi tt Lawrence) and Carolyn I • .ttodgers . Gwendolroc &rooks ' absence was conspicuous . The festival was also the ~ U b j e Ct Of 1 • ( Or-v. J'" n>- ~ 2 ~ JP Si]O ® ill t:®Gi , r itilfi a six- pa r e nicture ~ i t B_:ack 1vorld(1''ebruary , 1974 _ ). ~ Ghile of . comments wa s made by Paule Giddings , a young editor at Boward 'University firess : There is sometligg nrong with a criticql tradition tha t makes • - .-x::Phillis 1:Jheatley an historical footnote •••• Phillis '\rlheatley was b lack and this is the di ffernnce (between her r-md oth0r noets of her day) o.nd also the contradiction : ~he contradi t tion between her blackness which she recognized and never was free to forret by a thousand humili"'tions and 'White mercantile .l:!.ngland , a world th-_ t ,,m s never to be hers , wt 'Whose values she seemed to ., ccept . She was in a sla ve world, but not truly of it •••• It does no good to reproach a child for yielding to attrcctive influences when within herself there is no strong residue of any other infiuence or tradition . ±t i s easy to say she had no racial consciousness • .Lt would be fair to look at the chofu.ces she had and ascertain whether or not she was capable of enduring even more intense isolation . �Ms. Gidding,s has asserted what i:wpe a rs to to be a balanced answertt to the protest a tions of Redding , Brown, Brawley('no r a cial v a lue 11 J and oth e rs . It remains to be seen as to whe the r m:mxrflmlzm:mnn current and futu r e generations of Black and white mm.:triumJ stud ents will kepp I'iss 1,f ue a tley a 11 st a tute in t h e park" or bring her to the table of this first Black woman of letters 11 a nd 11 examine her blood and heart . Crtica treatment~already has been ex tensive ; Julian Mason ' s The Poems of Ph i llis W.h eatley(l9 66)~ critical introducti on! Robert Barksdale'> and Kinnamon I s C. Kuncio ' s 11 Some Unpublislj.ed Poems of Phillis \vheatley 11 (New n England ~uart rly, XJlll5IX XLIII, June , 1970t, 287 - 297)~ ~amr Loga i~s ' 0 IS Th e Ne gro Author(l 931 )~ BrawleyA,.The Ne p:ro · U' rte dding ' s To hake A .Poet Black , Shirley U-raham 1 s mhe ~tory o f Phillis Wheatley(l949) •end ilillllli.i-lU Jerry Ward ' s 0nd Charles rtowell ' s article in t h e Summor , 19 74, issue of .B'reedomwaps. �( 1 1+5-lROl) of the most in- W~ have already mentioned Gust a vus teresting of the e ri.rly writ ers, in Il!lltB!JblU1 another context. Porn the seventh and youngest son of a chieftan(in ~ssaka, not was tern Vassa(African name: Olaudah ~quiano) was fir t plantatio 1 i ~e r 1a), sold to a Virginia ---- His journeys.~ ater took him on s e v er al Atlantic voyR g es War. Vassa held technical jobs on ships as a result of his adeptness at the ~nglish language and his x He became a t ireless worker for the ab o lition of qlavery matics. and worked, briefly, n·1111•11al:mJ1Jftm•~ in behalf of efforts to colonize poor bl~cks of ~ngland in Sierre Leoni. Vassa is chiefly known for his Nar~ative(l789) which was a best - seller among abolitionists in ~gland and Am:erica. Slave narratives, we have observed, we re a part of a branch of Black writin~ which gave rise to auto the more sophisticate iographies(that stretch from Douglass throu~ Cleaver) which in turn laid some of the foundattion Baldwin and wq s not the first writer of a slBve Briton narrative, as is popularly thought~. ~ - - ~ Hannnon(no in LondK_Q relation to Jupiter) publim~A ~ar ative of the Uncommon ~ufferin s for American fiction. Vassa and ~ eliverance Qf r·t John Marrant published(also in London) Wonderful Dealings with J. J.'!arrant, A e Black.Q1~). Vassa, who we turn to briefly ior his efforts in poetry, included "Miscel~eous Verses" in his Narrative. His verse is interesting be c a use it helps to e s tablish the portra i t of a comple and many - sided ill provides man} it also · · further insight into the workings of the African mind making cont a ct wi t h RlllllillilUJ. white culture and especially Christiani ty-J/. 1ihile in his prose and speech - m8king Vassa was firm in his attacks on slavery, he proves in the end to be a believer in some ultima te for~~of "d e liverance . " - In the last line of the last stanza of his "Jerses" he reminds us that T P Y' �'Salvation is by Christ alone!" which is , of cou"Y'se,reminiscent of irammon 1 s onening line : Salvation comes by Christ alone Hever theless Vassa I s language is less saturated in Biblical terms than ~--rammon ' s . And the former , as verse writer, has a better control on the language . fn the ·'Verses" he i mnl>ic testrameter meter with an n annlies a driving a ab b rhyme s cheme ~ Those who beheld my downcas b mien Could not gues s at my wo es unseen : They by apnearance could not know The troubles I have waded through . Lust , anger , blasphemy , and pride , \Ji th legions of such ills beside , Troubled my thoughts 1.vhile doubts and fears C~ouded and darken 1 d most my yea~s. In the first stan z a quoted Vassa presages t duality and mental years to come• pressures that mo re sk illed writers would describe in ..i·,._c::1111aaui~n:aa Imp l ying hat t of the OPpres~ed Bla c k i s to keep his ~&•• Vassa says e v en those mo see him in his sorrie s t state c annot envision the suj!~erings he has endured. Dunbar thing in a different way in ear the Has k " more II e years later . And Countee Cullen would state it more than aJO years later in yet a diffe r.ant way . This '-a,...gpnarffilt f'8.bility o f Blacks to "keep c oo l" and adapt (see Johns on ' s The Auto biogr aphy of An ~x - Coilioured Man) under the most tryin~ circumstances has been promoted, nurtured and prBised by leaders of the r~ce . Vassa , then, is important as an early writer , not only bec~use of his skill , but for the insight and understanding he bring~ to the social 8nd r eligious pressures , demands and choi s es around him . There is a releasing therany in Vassa 1 s work ~=•~---a c ts as only one of numerou~A c ondui t s for Blac k an guish and outrage when the onti ons were slaver or d ea;uL.. �~~assa • s Narrative is most a cc essible in Bontemps I Great Slave 1'ifarrative s ( 1969 ). In 19f.. 7 Paul J..l dwards publi shed an edition of the Narrative including a c omprehensive introduc tion . ~ war ds also did a t wo -vo l ume Afri ca fa c simile Wnma~ reprint of the first edition ( l969) . Se e a lsoo~~• • ~ tiemembered : Narratives by \.uest h.fr.i cans. ;Crom the Bra of the S1°:ve Trad , edited by Phillip D. Curtin{ 1967 ). Loggins assesses the Na :l:7:uati ve ~ e z and Robinson provide s a h .m dy bi g rauhic a l-cri ti c a l i ntroduction . '1 rion L . ::it r ey t s Hore on Vassa can be found inK9triving to Hake I t My Home : Ame r i can from AfricaJ1964 )x and in Whitlow ' s Black American Li te rature . In the duc te d a gr a duate and po s t - gr aduate seminar on Slave 1~arr a tives at Iowa ~t ate University wh ere h e dire cts the Cent e r for Afro - Ame r i can Cu1 +-uv e . �The early and middle years of the 19th c entur y witnessed the matur a t ion of Black autobiography, politicBl activities . George - oses µortQ_i/)e.s 34 years old when ~JilJaim LJ_oyd G-ar,,,ison fovnded •~e Liberato 1'1, t he rriost influential..ailllll!!IBl and by we re mo re t h an famous of the abolitionist newspaners . And · 830 there" MaitltllliiK At11eri c a . Blacks in the Uni t ed utates had been stirred by bo t h here and in nlaces like Haiti , the Carribean Trinidad,,a!nl_.... l@ .Dspecia1ly inspiring during thiP ueriod waci the evo l t s chooner of slaves aboard the Spani-s~h---JJJ--li!li 1 Amistad. Led by Joseph Cinnue , a Nendi - speaking prince , the fif t y slaves , killed the c aptain, set the the ship t o Afri c a . An rehended, the Africans were escorted :iltI by t o ~ew Haven where the the would1!.x-f>resi dent John uincy Adams defended the Afri cans ' right to return to their homeland and in ~~ .~ eithe r the international sailed to Sierre Leone . A]M;S;;,.1;..;i.....~"""'•'!e"-r!!!'t,~l'ft'!!l!+--ifiiiiMiilile'lf::;:,, the connection between Liberation Front , apparently headquarte r ed in northern lia.lifornia during 1973 - 71-1-, and the Cinque of In light o the growing c0nsciousness among Bla c ks , fut was to be expected that A George Hoses Tiorton(l797 - lb83) would apneor to inveigh against tyranny and slavery . B ~ a slave near Chapel Hill to employ protest themes 1 0 arolina , Horton is considered to be the fir sq Black ~ , North volume of verse, ranged over the whole area of general and personal was first ovmed by a planter named L1 0rton who later rented him in the service of a janitor to the University of North G8 rolina . r .ry- c ve.nsat · s �m::iahla:mxim:rl!Em:km Horton exploited the academic environment by re a ding the .l:!:nglish c alled classics and composing poems . I Often the first professional Black wri t er, Horton hired his poetic s k ill out to students who paid him rath e r handsomely for composing II persona 1 ,t poems . fT.1 r · George IA . Horton , in 1845. 1-l s secon d b oo k o f poems , - Poe t i. c a l ~ k ors the Col~red Bard of North v arolina , was ...n~8@!8'8.Qao orton I s hopes tha t he would gain enough money from the sale of his books to se c ure his fre e dom were n ev er re a lized; and he was not freed until Union soldiers arrived in 1865 when his l a st volume , Na k ed Geniu s, was publ i_ shed . PhiJlis \~heatl that l:J) P orton I s themes are not d evoted , T.:r amvri.on and V,, ssa, for writing such line s a s those pe !Cl r in " On nearing of the int e ntion of a Gentleman to 11 'reedom" Purchase trhe .1:'oet I s : 1hen on life ' s o c ean first I spr e ad my sail , I t hen i~plor e d a mild auspicious gale; And f rom the slip ~ery strand I t o o k my fli p)lt, And sought the ne a ceful he a v n of deli ght . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . F ard wc s t h e r a c e to r e ach the distant goal , The needle oft was shaken from the nole; In such di s tress 1-ino c ould forbear to weep? Toss 1 d by t h e h eadlong billows o f the deen! i:.rorton goes on toe say tha t n.c.ternal Pro v idence '' sa• ed him when he was on the "dus k y v e rge of deep de s pair" a nd when '1 the last beam o f hope • P S almos t g one . " Yet orton writes bitterly of slavery as well as lightly of love a nd h umon ously of life J:. in general . Influenc es on his poetry are B'ff r on, Weslyyan Hymnal stanzas , .a and othe _v sour s es I from boo ks tha t he ~ e ad . In the poem from wh·, ch the stanzas above were tak en he pursues a rather monotonou s 1am · b"ic t e t ramet e r meter . But o er �in a poem like the way that Philli s Wheatley do es in her h ymn - inspired works . '.l'he effe c t is almo st Ballad- like : Hb.en first my bosom glowed with hope , I gazed as from a mountain top ~ s ome delightful plain; But oh! how transien t was the s c ene -- ltx fled as though it had no t been And all my hopes were v ain • • fit. .... . . . . . .. . . . . . Is it because my skin is bla c k , Tb.au thou shou l d 1 st b e s o du l l a n d s l a c k , And s c orn to set me f re e? Then let me hasten to the grav e , The only refuge for the slav e , Who mourns,i f or libert y . Al s o effectiv e and sustaininr in powerf i B " The S1ave· s ' ' eve when features t hre e - line stanzas with a fina l word refrain : " Fo r ever~" which is followed c olon or exc lamation mark . of his love poems and in ~ .' 11 · ' ""'""""LI',. , one mork , .tiorton I' 11:he Lover ' s 11 'arewell" is able ~ that INilM!l!m!!!m~broad !nderstanding of what i t means to say ~oodbye : I leave my parents here beh:i.nd, And alJ my friends --to lo v e resigned-' Tis grief to go , but death t o stay : Farewell - -I 1 m gone with love arway I In this and other pieve s Horton makes good use of dashes --whi ch allow him to develop suspense :and render his st2tements more dramati c. Because of its various uses , the dash has arri v ed as an important ingredient of modern and c one tmporary .01ack poetry . Contrary to many o f his learned contemporaries and predecessors , rlorton app¥ntly cons ciously thought o f, and worked toward , his freedom . rhis fa ct is re ~lected �-both in his life's work and his }iroetry{ .t<'or a purais a ls and sel n ctions of Horton's work s see Robinson's an t h olo gy, Collie ~ ,,,,,,.;J 1 0Cobb's Man of Letters--Ll- eorg e Hos e s i-f orton( 1886), r-!3ark sdale~nd An American 1..mnnamo~, Whitlo1.•r's study, Brawley's Ne g ro Genius, Lo ggins' wo r k, -:Redding 's study,:a:rul Richard \1als e r 1 s The Black Poet(l9 67).,.-B. Brown's ass es sment and Jean Wa gn er I s Black Poets of the u- i ted (1973-. own position, coupled with his sanguine delibery of fochk and emphasis, can be seen in 11 the followin g s tanza from 'r he Slave": Be s.ause the brood-sow' s left side pi g s Here blac k , Wh0 ° eable tincture was b y n a ture struck , Were you by justice bound to pullil them back And le ~ve the sandy-colored pigs to suck? t a tes �28 ~orton , of course , trails and pre c edes a long line o f orators and poets , many of -whom ke know very little about today . In fact , c ompa rati v ely speak ing , t here is a wide disnarity between the readily a v ailable insigni fi c ant I of vital data on Black s . wve do know th 0 t / the e a rly dec n des of the 19th century witnessed a developing con s ciousness 8.Y"'Onf Christian and political )1orthern inteful ectuals ~ t319.cl.rn and that mostl'flack wri t e r3;fnd edu c a tors turne d the ir att ention to the educ a ti onal , physical needs of 0 nd e duc a ti onal free and ensl8 ved Blac ks . O~ these and oth0 r matt e rs , Mr s . Port er provides ample proof and di s cussion in l!.iairl Ne i:r ro Writin . Occasional v erse was also some ihat of a tra dition among many le a rned Blacks BEU~ a s JD111ts:m was the pra c ti c e of writing hymns , an oth" r spiritual song s . On e s uch recorded by tlev . Hichard AJlen, deliv ery o f a sermo similar sounds ~ -;;1i;_~is 11 p s a lms Bpiritual ~fong 11 p r obably "hhanted or sun g durin g the . " Hev . Allen emplWYs internal rhyme by r e peating the middle antnd of line s. Varying his meter a n us i ng an irregular end- line r hyme s cheme , -••am he expresse s the religi o u s fervor the consumed many Bla c ks of the ~eriod : Our time is a - flying , our moments a - dyin p; , ~~e a re led to improve them and quickly a ppear , r 'o r the bles s ' d h o u r when J e sus in p ower , In g l o ry shall c ome is now dre wing near , 11 • e t hinks the r e wi 11 be shouting , and I 1 m not doubting , But c rying a nd screaming fo r mercy in vain : 'r here f <li're my dear Broth e r , le t I s n ow pray to g ethe r , That your pre c i ous soul may be fill 1 d with flame . Ano ther such examp l e is a "New Year ' s Anthem" wri ttien by r-i chae l Fortune and " sung in t he Afri c an .l:!;piscopal Church of St . Thoma s" on Janu a r y 1 , 1 8 0 8 . si �~rtune • s anthem is t raditional in its mmn:klgD ~ use of materials from liethodist hymns . B:e ;al tells the congregation to "Lift up your souls to God on high 11 "llho , with a tender father I s eye , Looked down on Afri c 1 s helpless race! two Robert Y. Sidney anthems "For the National Jubilee of the Abolition of the /::>lnve i Trade, Jamll.ary 1st , 1809 . 11 "Anthem I 11 begins : 1 DRY your tears , ~re sons of Afri c, God has sho,,m his gracious power; He has stopt the horri d traffic, That your country's bosom tore . 0 ee throush clouds he smiles beni~nant, See your net~o 1 s ~lory rise; Though your foes may from indignant, All their wrath you may despi s e . This stan,.fa is followed by a ''6horus , 11 In i;Jim 11 11 Anthem II 11 sh abbreviate form is Solo " d 11 ":==ae~Aand R ci ta ti ve . 0 11 drops the sole and recitative --keeping only the chorus : Chorus . Rej oice th nt you ·Here b 011m to see, rhis glorious day, your jubilee . 1 Sidney also wrote a h ~ M r s . by r eligious .., leai:l,ers Peter Williams Jr ., and Williams .Hamilton . Both men , c elebrate freedom, call for mutual aid among Blacks and preach the virtues of the Chris t ian God . Williams prai ses the 'eloquenc e /6 f Wilberforce II after whom 1 m: a predominantly Black university was named in Ohio . For detailed information on sources Mrs . <r1rter I s for these and Jru"1!11J! similar writings see .c.arly 1: e3ro Writing: 1760- 1873 . 11 0n The colle c tion includes~ very touching e xamples of ritings ~;i;1;;JYil ar;io., np~ ~fG.f~om" by 12- yeor - old boys from the Ne -r York African Free �30 (18 11 - 1 @9 3) is In readin g into the life and works of Danmel Blacks . i ~m ediately struck by his dedication to Educ atfor, univ ersity pre s ide nt, mis s ionary and poet, Pa yne was born in Charleston, S 0 uth Carolina of free p ~rents p He was orphaned and then t at 10 - ye a rs -oaa, ap n renticed to a c a ppenter an trained in cl a ssica l e ducati on at the local Minor ' s Moralist Society ' s school, he t a u ack students for fee a nd slaves free of charg e s t ni ght. Payne ' s travels took him to v a rious~.........-ct~ pla ces ~ t · s (.1.~e w Urleans , Baltimore , Cana da a nd twice to where he he l p ed exp and the pro g rams of the African En g l a nd ~ eth odist Ch urch. in ~ne"'exmina ry f or se v e r a l ye a rs, in in 1839,,Cll~a:ibml'!l~llU~ • op in 1 8.5 2 . m thel'lll•ilH n olitical a nd e duc r t i0nal urge Lincoihn(on Ap ril 14 , 1 86 2) to s i ~ t he bill to ema nci pa te s l a ves i n the District of C0 lumbia, and spearh e 8 de d the purc h ase of Wilbe rforce Un iversity --JNmil!-wi s e rvin .Cl'. as its 16 y ea rs. Payne ~evoted most of his life to t he c auses of f ree an d ensla v e d Bl a cks and to writin g poetry and r eli gious history . His Pleasures and Other Jv1 iscellaneous Poems was published in Baltimore in 1 8_50. t-Ie also wr ote boo k s on t h e hi s tory a nd mission of t h e A . H. E . Church • .1.Js p ecially value for its so c ial a nd intellectual insight into 19th eentury Bl a ck,s is Payne I s Recollec t ions of ~eventy Years Nashville in 1 888 . As a p oet Payne is erudite and imit a tive. Robinson correctly observes that a m~jor problem with the poetry is 11 the repetition of end stopped lines, and his dict i on, a hybrid of classical and Biblic a l voc a bul 9ries, can prove d i s tracting to many 1 r 0 adPrs.' I· uch of this we can for g ive, however, when He understand �Penry Dmnas 1 remar k that 11 a Black poet is a preacher . 11 Certainly a of and need preacher -- in f~ct or as poet -- knows very well the of for repitition . Yet Payne never fails to convince us his SPriousness • So hurt was law that , ef~e c ti ve in 1835 , wake of the 1834 South Carolina Black literacy(y illegal, Payne • 11 We find his wrote "The Mournful Lut e of the ..t' receptor 1 s l<'areweJ. enbossed concern for students in these lines : Ye lads , whom I hove taught with sacred zeal , For your hard fate I pangs of sorrow feel ; Oh, who shall no 1,r your rising talent s guide , Where v irtues reign and sacred truths preside ? - Payne is a handler of the lancuage , observing that 11 t WCl> r e volving moons shall light the shores 11 after the drea cl. law 11 shut the doors" ~ on educption for South Carolina Blacks . , gulfed in the religious and moral fervor of many nlack ministers of the period, the poet and orator reflects age-old concerns about de c eit and mistrust in such pieces as "'l'he Pleasures . 11 rte complains that Men talk of Love I But few do ever feel The speechless rcptures which its joys reveal:J,. l"len 11 mi stake love , 11 Payne notes , For grovelling lust , that vile , that filthy dame , whose bosom ne 1 er ever fe l t the sacred flame For insight into Payne ' s life and works one e ould go to any one of his nc onsiaerable number" of writings . Among others , they include The Semi the hetros ection o M tho dist ~ iscopal Church (Baltimore , 1866) and The Tiistory of • • Church(NashviJle , 186S) . exande r See also J o sephus R. Coam ' s 193~(Philidelphia) biography : Daniel, Payne) . ~ s t i a n ~duce t,;;;r")@I /i&,:,_,.,,,,,.,; ~ . , ; t , J ~ �32 Unfouuuna t ely too littl e is kn omi f of ~omantic poet John gifts and t a Jents. Boyd, especially since his work£~!~~ J · ma g e s are brilli ant, searin g and g enerally a ccurate even if they are not always connect e d in a way that mak es them re a dily ~cejsible. The only record of Boyd· is made available Esq., Deputy ~ecretary and Registrar of the by C.R. TTesbitt, Ne sbitt must have reco gniz e d the Government of t h e Bahamas. talent and the promise a nd he aided Royd•s noetry through publi c a tion in London i n 183\ . Boyd, it seems, was self-t a ught on New Providence Fis noemx Islan~ where he• remained all his life. 11 Va nity of Life:J. 11 was published in the February 16, 1833, issue o"sofl ,\:::t sc>(! Li bera tor. µ is 1834 volume is of,Jt;k; entitled rnhe Vision/ and other/ Poemsj / in Blank Verse/ by ~ob.n Boyd/ a Practic a lly ' unedited, the manuscript sc r amble," of the p oets of t he period• Boyd ts work owes debts to Milton, t he Bible and classical influ enc e s. Vision/ a Poem in Blank Verse" is i mmedi a t e l y r emini s cent Lost. Boyd skirts a r h yme scheme bu t emn loys a f a irly ~ ePular iambic pvt;;,/ pentameter met e r. All t h ing s consi de red, h is work~c an els tha the criti cism by St e rling Bro,,m th a t Bl a ck poe t s their styl istic awa r e ness. ,,,,Me thou ght the T• 11 la g in Vision 11 op e ns bril l iantly with: oon, pale re g ent of the s1ry, Crest e d, and f i lled with lucid radiance, F1un g h er hri ~ t g le ams a cro s s my lowly couch; And all of he a ven•s f a ir a:b.arry firmament Delightful s h one i ~ hues of g littering li ~ht, ~eflecting , li k e t o fleecy gold, the dewy air. In his "vision" Boyd encounters cha:nac t ers of both the he a vens and the hells. �33 \-l:hen the narrator , "dreamer 11 jo; ined the train 1''ervent hosannas struck the stonishll-d ear, As when in the midhour of c al:nrast night , StilJness pervadeth the awakened wave , Roused by the secret power tha t moves the deep , It heaves its loud surge on the sounding shore ; The"vision 11 is also peopled by 11 grim death end ghastly Sin" who "lay coiled, like snakes in one huge scaly fold, " and consider their 11 inexpiable doomr -; •" Boyd ' s tones re sacred and surreal and he assemles harmlessly complex subord inate clauses that h elp bufu l d 11 an exciting linguistic cre c endo as in 9c ean 11 : When the fiat of the most High , Thy fountains burst , alKl2t copiously Thy secret snrings, with amp~le store , r our{ d forb.h their ·waves from shore to shore Wide as the taters roll , oh, wav e . Boyd ' s work has yet to be appraised in terms c ommisserate with its importance . Robinson makes brief but · significant comments on his poetry . Ann Plato , another romanti c poet , is also one for whom there exists little of the important fa c tual data . This second Black merican female to publish a book almost skirts the racial theme completely . Her Lsse.x and .__..=.........,,-....,.~ tlartford in 7 PL~J. ;L Includin°/ Prose Bio ra hies w s published in tt--v'-- VJt'}.at little is lrnown of her comes by way of,__..~iiiifi:1148~- introduction to her bo,k w1J.ich ,,,as written by .ttev . J . 1·J. C. Pennington, pastor of the vo lo red Congrega tion2l Church in Hartford , of whi ch she was a member • .l.!Jxcept for her "'110 the .t<'irst of August , '' wr itten in celebration of the 1833 abolition of sl very in the British\ est Indi , �34 there are only al l usions to slav ery . · essays on reli ion , modera tion, condu c t and other conventional themes . These same themes are p r etty ~u ch par8ale l ed by the Of which deal f with home life , deaths of a c q iqntances end "rteflections , \-Jri tten on Visiting the Grav e of moral issues . a Venerated friend" begins : Deep in this grave her bones remain , ~he 5 sleeping on , bereft of pain; mhe langua e a nd t h e subje c t matter are sto c k but "Fo re;et Me No t" , each et>anza of which ends with the title , is well handled ~.nd has flashes of the p r ea chment on se l f-control that Vassa alluded to in his verses : ('"', ~~hen bird does wait th y absenc e long, Hor tend unto its morning song ; \JhiJe thou art searching stoi c page , Ur listening to an anc ient sage , \ h ose sniri t c urbs 1 af mourn fu l rage , Forget He Not . anparent in 11 hP .r~a ti ve s of America II where she asks : ".1.'ell me a story , f o ther , ple . . se , 11 And then I say u pon his knees . Again , as in aa!lll!i!I~ her c onte~poraries , we find the influences of 1mglish wri ters of a preceding e;Anerat:iion o r s o, the debt to Bi blical learning and . i<Q!l~N-. in rte chester , of ocrers 1 1 i mitation • • orator- p o et ~lymas Payson after t 0aching public sch ools ew York, took up pRstoring in 1 ewar k , 1 ~ew Jersey . One as a te e.hher was Jerimiah H. Loguen who become an iMportsnt social - reliaious le 8 Her "nd a Bishop of th e A•• u ° Churc h • ,:::, .&.1•.lll• �35 F gitiv P slav P o guen 1 s bio P'ranhy(s e e Nep-ro Ca r a van) a -oe,, red in 1859 , i n ~yrc cuse , un de r the title , "rn01.m, ri ' u.en., s we re man·? of' the orator - p oets , for a ve and a s a ~reem@ . his n oems ora lly, Ro ~0rs ' t h emes are unashamedly abolition no l i tic ql h~rnocris • \J erk ing poli t i cally on b ehal f of Blac k s , Ro ge r s a nnarently de s i gned ( e and Re eal of r iss .rark , 1855 ) Newa r k , 185 6 ) tot e ad aloud fro m n l a tform. Li ke , J a me s :W . ~1hi tfi eld, wh o c ame l a t e r , Rogers gave up h op e n Ameri c a ' s ever gi vi n g Blac k s a fair deal an d s aile d for Africa whe r e lie died after contacting a fever a f ew day s afte .,,, h e a r r ived t he re . ~..r is incisive n o-hole s - b a r ea.d a nn ro a ch to t h e polit i c a l c1ims.te a n d condit i ons of t h e t ime is seen in * 110 n the Fugitive ~lave Wt Law" : Law! 1 /hat is Law? The wi s e an d s a ge , vf t , Of e v ery c lime ,,,_nd eve r y a ge , In this most cordially unite , That 1 tis a rule for doing ri ght . An <:' the r inging c r y of t h e ,elo cutionist c an be heard later in the p oem when , in discus sing t h e fu giti v e bill , he as lcs 'Uld answe rs : Tha t Bi11 a l 11w? t h e South says so , But !-Torth Er n fr eeman answe r, No! Anti ci patin ~ the fiery a nd ~oJh i tfield( and 20th c entury "angry voi ce s 11 ) Ro gers continue s : ~Q8 t bill is l a w, gough f a c e s say ; But bl2. ck men e v "' ry ,rh e re cry "Na y : We I J. l n ev e r yi e l d to its control Jh i l e life shal l animate one soul At times biting and o ver - be arf inglyg h a rsh as a p oet , Ro ~ers resounds in 11 ·rh e t{epea l of the r-1iss ouri Compromise Gonside red 11 with these words : �36 "I want the land," wa s Freedom'l•s cry; And ::;l a v ery answered, 11 So Do I! By all tha t's sacred, I declare I ' l l h a ve my ju s t ~nd l a wful share . The Northern che e k s h ould glow with shame To think t o rob me iJi th built - in drama e na of my c lain . uts, Ro g ers a sses s ed t he s tate of t h e n a tion "Lawti• durin g h is ti me . In a line l i ~ t h e que stion i n order to beg 11 What is Law?" he i purno sely ~ring the emotional and rbetoric8l u ower from the words a nd to evo ke resnonses f rom ,.- s udience s . nefe ren c es to ttO~ers c:an be found in Hobi nson t s Math emf' tician, noP t, edu c " t a rl e s L. p are n t s . 11 e a r7' orf a nd ni ty work er , s on( 1818 - J 69c ) wa s born i n New Yo rk City of Tiai tian -r e qfl6ened t he Ne Y --.-.- as a 1nembe r of t h e a l l - Black ~hool where he late r retutmea S e e k ing t h e ministry , Heason was) attendance at the for ~ a cial r e asons, Theolo g ic a l Semina ry of th e Prot es t a nt ~pisconal Church • .r:..ventually, h owev e r , h o b ecame eli g ible for a p rofessor s hi p i n Math ematics and Bell~" Lett res I.""'( 1849) at the 11Tew Yo r ~ Central Co ] Je g e i n i ,c Grawville, INJ.u;.: G' A~ a..Jl- b8'Wi,. C~ , v ~ !vW r'l ~ , ( ~1'. • Courtl a ndt County. ~ -..:r ~ held v a rious e duc e tiona~ jobs including a principal s hip of the I ri sti tute for C.:olore d You th in Philidlelphia and g r ame1ar sch ool No. 80 in New York City mile H. Cordelia a y was a t e ache r t h ere. Reason was an intellectual end a sch ol a r but Has vocational c a reers~ h ere i n America . Again, not nrimarily a poet, Reason is competent as a n oet in 11 The Spirit Voicett wli ich opens with: Come! rouse ye brohltlers, rouse! a peal now bre a k s From lowe <' t islPnd to our gf' llant ·lakes: �37 ' Tis summoning you, who im bonds have lain, To st~nd up manful on the battle plain, and urges Blacks"'-i.l.lougl.l: J.i:\s fl'.'J rnlme) to fiP)lt for fr eedom and ounortunity. The poem(who(cornplete title is "The Spirit Voice or , Liberty c~.11 to the Disfranch ised 11 ) is indebted to the rh yrr.q n /couplet so famous during the era and whi ch had been used ri th great t skill by Phillis v-Jheatley It aupears in William ::ii"TlITlons 1 that of Me __ n_o_f_M_a_r_k_( 6leveland, 1887). ~ onier m.xrb.:kmxm orator - poets , Reason ' s ,.rork is designed to be read aloud in order to stir and move peoPle to a c tion . Therefore he exhort~, reinforces, demands , warns , admonishes and issues veiled thre 2 ts . ui s "s pirit voi ce 11 ( see the,/-ifrican Spirit Force) longs for the time when fr eedom ' s mellow li,,.ht Shall break, anJ usher in the endless day, That from Orleans to Pass 1 ma qu oddy Ray , Desnots no more may e a rthly ho:rrwr,e claim, lJo sl ves exist,to soiJ 6 o1umbja_1 s n ame • '-._!)~tic ~ The noem was written in 1841 and sh ows Beason ' s1ao1 itte~e~ched out an g~vc this fami1iar cry: 0 .t<'reedom l .,.."reed.om I Oh, ho v oft 'rhy lo v inr- children C"ll on '::'hee I In wailing s loud 0nd breathing: s shaft, Fow b e s e ech:ii-1g God , 'Chey f a ce to s ee . f "not unlike" the Spirituals this burst is! Certainly the student of thies p e riod of Bl 8. ck noetry will want to keep his rhyt hmic lyres attnued to the B1blical and innovati v e codences of those "BJack and unkno-im bards ." a s essments of d e ason see Robinson erlin. ~~~~~.....;;_:_.,;...;_~~-------~~Ul.l!6 /) a ~ �Anticipating ~he Afll10-American poie;nanc y and humor in tbi sK line by Langston Hughes American never Fas Ame ric James •· • to me ( 1hi tfield {l823 - 187t3) voiced mlllilial!l!llllll some of the most ~ otest pm.rnrful and angry yet heard in Black American poetry 1 ·,f ,. when he ~ published America and Uther Poems in Buffalo in 18.:,3 . Barber, worker for Black colonization, poet and pioneer journalist , ·lb.i t f ield had earlier authored various types of writing- s : Poems 1 1846 ; 11 -i:.row Long? 11 (published in Julia Griffith ' s Aut ograph ~ for in RochPster , 1853 )~ Fourth of July 11 11 Self- He] ir1.nce , Delusive t..ope , and Ode for the (in 'fh_e Liberator , November 18 , 1853) ; "Lines -- ~ As.dressed to ar . and Ilfrs . J . T . r1olly , on the Death of Their Two Infant Daughters 11 ( in Frederick Dou lass ' Pa er , February 29 , 1856 )•) and Emancipation Oration(San Francis co , 1867) . \/hi tfield is known chiefly for America:, whic was received so favorably that he ros able to leave his barber shou Pnd ~ote full time to making speeches for the abolitio~ c.?use, nor>lrin.- for colonization nroc·rams and generel black development . ~ ne had personal contact with both Douglass and novelist T·.artin Delaney who called the 1854 National .Dmigration Convention of Colored Men 1-!b.ich \ihi tfield attended . Douglass apuarently 3?esuected and admired Whit!B'ield . But the two men differed on the question of colonfuzatio n and par ticipated in a li v ely debate . Pursuing hisAposition with vigor , 'Whitfield established ·the Afri c an - American Hespository) in 1858 , as a pro - colonization T . t.. • - propaganda or~an . .-..... B:8.:(llpshire1 Whitfield spent «;imnm:m most of his life barbered @as.in Buffalo where~conductPd most of his colonization efforts . T!e xetPr , 1~ew appar ently died on his waw to look into the possibilities of colonizing Blac k Americans in Central Ainerica . Delaney had changed his mind ~nd the emigration scheme 1as never realized. �39 l l Li k e mo st of . b,ear he orato r- poets , \lhi tfield is writing to be _.,,.,."-"-_ · tened to and read aloud. Consequently much of ~~ ~4~~) orces his ideology a · ew.J o f Ameri c a . Swee t lan d of liberty r, • be comes for \fh.itfield/ ~ • Thou boasted land of liberty ,-and To thee I sing becomes It is to thee I raise my song, Thou l"nd of blood, .<end c rime , and vr ong. Like .Ko g;e rs, 1.lhi t f i e l dl did not beli eve Avneri c a was c apable of redemption; a n ~i s pre dec essor, he died on a jour ney to ' find something better . The idea o f "gi b ing " up on Ameri c a would anne" ~ themati c 'llly in t he poetry of lat Pr writers like Fenton Johnson , Lee , · Bar' ka and some of the 1.Fus lim noet s . It would also be i'11pli c i t in the expatriation of writers and artist s such as Paul Robeson, · 1 ~ri ht , 3ald-tln, Criester Eirnes and 1Ca therine Dunham. In a dri vinp; iambic pen tameter meter ( ~· vhich bas a ll the openin~s for snontaneous interjections and ex"rm0r:ic1:)' the 'nitAd .::it,,tes nletives , l/hi~-~d cCC ..t:.:i aazi&n of killing the Blaclr f'ons 1;ho fought for her 2nd of p-eneral hypocrisy . ~:rere one c rn see .1hi tfield antici na tin~ them, of in 11 1ords in the ;;;; c rrent slog;an , Fhich Fayden makes use T ourning illing p0onle to Time 11 : save;.,z;;~;:ei;,, ? • , ~ --- bon 11. more gen°ral, " i tfield c ontinues a similBr in -&- --=== re•rerent 11 1he rviisanthro p i s t ft but tones down to a / s2lute ~ "To Cinque 11 : All hai l! tho ugh truly nob l e chief , 'oWhofiroo iin e d to live a c oi-rn r ino; slave ; I �~hy name shall st8nd on history 1 e le~f, Amid the mio-hty and the brave: 1Jhi tfield praises the revolutionary Cinque 'Who I in freedom I s might 11 Shall beard the robber in his den; and ••• fire anew each freeman 1 s hecrt . Since i·Jhi tfieldl I s primary his uoetry, • •• • nolitical to get a/ 11me s sage 11 ovPr, ••lll.1. goal is as art, leaves som r" · Robinson uoints out that Whitfield 11 .., things to be W,lJ;:Jt:..f':!:""f/J-;""') is genuinely angry"~ and th~ the bitterness and force in his work in not to be mistaken for -Q'Ll_inruistic ~(lections of roilra.nticJvosmetic ./Hhi tfield.1 s poetry can be ~ Nerrro Caravan(l@41 discusses antholo~ e ana j 1'1hitfield 1 s uoetry "nd impact as does Loggins , Bro1.m /Ji. The most popular Black 19th century poet before Dunb"'r was .t<'rances E. W. Harper(lc:32.5 - 1911), ae!EL the first .Black ATTJ.erican to fee in Baltimore a publish a short story ( 11 The Two Offers , " 18.59) . Born \Jatkins , she was educated in Pennsylvania and Ohio , and spent most of her adul t life in the c a use of anti slavery and other types of social re form . She 1-1orked in turn for the abolition T'lovem0nt , the . ti Dndergttound railroad, the :• . M. '"" • Cburch and the ~Jomon I s lemperance league . According to Dunn(The Black Press) she contributed in 1860. by her narrioee to ~enton fter h. But is early death in 186L! she resumed her --- in Cincinnati , J ecturing in a lJ but twojSouthcrn /tf'tes 2.nd proTTJ.oting lEiiit Black self- he~p nrograms . Her fame rested primarily on her Poems on 1~iscellaneous :::lubjects published in 18.54 in Phi lideluhia . Iii& /le- very nopular volume~;;iiijiii,,;:, it went through ti enty editions by le74( ~illiam ~tiJ 1 1 s Underground Raiihroad, 1872). �~ p . tfo Lastly, we must note th 0 t o ppr-= ~ .J • on; -·-..!!!!!!! , -i , . 1'hi tficld ...._._._:,_ tc ~ mchL'.!: ~, » ~ n 'YO&q~-: . 0rv~ , r-e o erne9, ,-,i,,;. J ch1--o.nicler of world t r ulenc direct and~·er.iphntic ~~ poets he_pp non tyr -:- assaults that ny the "IIow Loni;:? 11 : I see -i-:r,e • ftug~ed Russian Be r" Upon the right of every State Its own affairs to regulate; To help each despot bmhind the chain Upon the people ' s rights again, And crush beneath his ponderous paw All cons ti t1. tions rights f:' nd law. :1.0 (£... sn /\ rbin t\'...,., [,l bal less, of t e �'. \ 41 U ~ Her literary 2ctivity · was stepped u .., ·Mo ses A Stor and inc l u ded -:! after the Civill~.raajr~iiilm:1~ of the Nile 18m1 1a11■•••••• ich vent through three editions by 1870} a volume entitled Poems c ame out by a seco ?'2 o_ fJIAJ~ /g9'.,hJil ffin · ~Aove l ) Iola LeR 'l.gree that 'rs • .Harpe r' s poetry is comes through iiir- with uo -rerful flam e s of ima ery and statement. 0 her models are 1 rs. rlemm s , 'whittier ence from the balled. 1m reading her noetry in public, -rhat I Johnso n ij;;,;;;;;.;;;~~ S"'nse of soundn for '1rs . narper was able to apneal to ( God ' s 'Tlrombones) C'llled a "highly developed fdQ.9,~ , ~~~.i3/11J, ~V644t>-) in f-ro - Kobinson tells us erican~ Sf.te aonarently lmew her limitations , that her nopularity ••• was not due to the conventional notion of poetic excellenc e , I rs . H2 rDer 1vas fully a mre of her limi t £> tions in that kind of poetry , it was due more to the sentimental , emotion- freighted ponularity what she had given the lines with her disarmingly dramat:i.c voice Pnd gestures nd sirr,hs and tears . Up tmtil the Civil \far , Mrs . h~rshness, 1arneri~ fovorite themes were slarery, its . 7 ...A.t, . ace nd the hyuocris~es of Americ'l. . She 1 :e c~retul to r:;atAt ranhj c c:et2ils-c·~,....._.,. 1-rhe re they wi J et the greatest resu t/ especially 0 rhen the noems are r ad aloud • .An examnle of th:i. s is fovnd in '1'l'he SlovEl !'Jother" : Be is not h0r·s, for cruel hands ~ay rudely tear an~bt The only urea of household love h~t binds her breaking heArt. A siT"Jilar play on · he e,.,,_otions is seen in noems li k e "Sonv.s for the Peonle, 11 "Double "~u ry Me in a Free Land, te.ndard"(with its sti r rings of feminism) and 11 �Ari ll•l'he 01ave liuction• " woman is not sol~ly responsible for her "fall,' 1 she su rreE'ts in "A Double Standardll edding that Anc1 wha t i B wrong in a woman ' s life In man ' s cannot be rivit . Bighly readable and less academic in her use of poetic techniques and vocabulr->ries , Mrs . H9rper is neverthele8S qui, te indebted to the is Bible for much of h~magery and Il;Or~ nB ssae;e. And she mIDBmsooil~ J? m 2zw.,rr a i a b le to b . ~d r lig:i ous forms in a noem I~ like ''Truth'' .Jhere she opens Hi th a debt to the Sniri tuals : A rock, for ages, stern and hfue;h, Stood frovming 1 gainst the earth and sky, And never bowed his haughty crest hen angry storms around him prest . 1,10rn, springing from the arms of night, tlad often b 0 thed his brow with light, Anc ~i ssed the shado 1s from hfus face With te11.der love nnd i:i;entle grace . ~ e i veral religious sono;s~crr·ested here; but she also loves t;:feturn to the themeJk <;;,rn as she does in "A Double Standard" 11 l1he ~lave l o~her . 11 In...-,:'v ashti II she tells of the heroine 1rm.o dared to disobey her dictator- husband . S<l!!l~!!lilll~-4The of wol"lanhood is expressed in the lP~tanzas : She heard again the 11..ing I s corJI11and, nd left her high estate; :::itrons in her e"'rnest womanhood, She calmly met her fate, And left the palace of the ~ ing ~roud of her snotless name -(9v e r) strength and determination �A woman who coul d ben d to g rief But would not bow to shame . Ce r tainly a compreh en s ive b -ig r a nh ic a l - critic a l study o f :Mrs . rtarp 0 r fl"'the Bark s da l e an d 1 innan on anthology 0 , r e c ent n~nume r·o us o t h r / anth olo r-ies . r-,..,. r rs . Aiar er I s vork s ar E' cri tic D}lY e xamined aP by Lo ggins, \ a gne r , vJhi tlow , Braw1ey ,<;' .oroi:.,m~ 1· of t h e 1 9 th_ ~ entury- 1974 ) ~ -. t ::Sherman:1111)( Jnv1. b le Po e ts : Bl a ck Ame ricans ,-t) f;p Li k e other writers , educat:kors Bnd activists of his day , Georg e B . Vashon lid22 - 18 78 ) cont ributed to the influential Anglo - African :Ma gazine ·which was published int e rmittently betwe n 1 85 9 until the end of t h e Civil \~ ar . Vashon h a d a good so lid education-- in classi c s and h ~ story-- a f Ob e rlin Colle g e wh ere h e · r e ceived his A. B. in 18¼ , 11 a nd M. A. in 1849 . Vash on, known chiefly for his Vincent Oglil which , _ __ rown tells us , "is t h e first n a r r Btive poem o f any length by a Ne i;r:: poet , " lilll!fil!Bii:J:illi••••~lllfJl!l1~mrl'-l::rmm ~istinguished h imself a s a teacher , la1 -ryer , lecturer and writer . He nra cticed law in Syra cuse, t aught school in Pittsbur g];i. , served on t h e fac u lties of Coll e ge Faustin in For- au- Princ e, P aiti, l~ ew York Central 0 oll e g e ( where he was a co l league of Reason and Allen) an d i:roward Unive -r si t y in D . -::: . wh e re he was a law professo r. l uch of Vashon 1 s poetry reflects debts to his~education and t h e influenc e of Scott and Byron . All a re seen in "Vincent Oge , " inspired by the coura g eous (but foolish) &][ CW efforts of Vincent Or e, a µ atian mul a tto who was "entrusted with the messag e of enfran chisement to the people of mixed blood on t he isl 0nd . " The zi!lliGt:. order h a d come down from the C0nvention in France , of which Haiti w1:1 s a colony . Int e rnf al disruption in ~rance(due to t he rl vo l uti on , 178 9 0 1799 ) had ech oed to its coloni e s in the Garrbb ean wh ere Og e led a �a short-lived armed uprisin~ that cost him his life when he ,,ras refused asylum in Spanish Santo D0 mine;o and remanded to the .J:trench authorities in Haiti . As :81~~iii,1P11;,• • ·?~'!'l punimIYJent and a warning to others, liiD: thP. 1i'~ench had Or:e tortured on the wheel 8Ild sevPred his body into four p2rts PP Ch of •rhi ch r· s hung up in the fo r leading cities of the ialand . Oge 1 s followers were either put to deathJ or imprisoned and thPir properties confic,ca.ted. Vashon ras as moved by Og:e l s example as was 1 fuitfield In the lengthy poem, "Vincent Ocr. ~, " Vashon i by Cinaue ' • o tralizes Oge in ~admixtu re of classi c al and Bib1ical language, using a pleasant iambi c tetrameter meter and an over dose of dissonance in his ab ab/ a a bb . The rhyme scheme which features an alternating style is somewhat remins c ent of vJhi tfield who breaks his rhyme nine scheme(see "Arn.erica 11 ) a f ter each group of ei r ht or/ :k& lines . "Vincent Ogi" and "A Life - Day" were both printed in 1tutographs for .t<'reedom :to r 1853 . For Vashon, the strup-~le is very much a liire , And Oge stands mid this array Of matchless beouty , but his brow Is brightened not by plea.iruret• s play; He stands unmoved--nay , saddened not , As doth the .10,.171 ....'.:.1ld mateless bird lll! i r Og~ , '!Rl " .. ~ ~ a 1rste:i~st11ru~e 1 presses on . __,,,.f ·' Vashon c arefully weaves the graphi c ~ det ~ils of ~ his protagonist ' s execution into the narra ive and) NC-h- t'tieM-1 anti c ipates the more iH3rJinpsdA such as Hohns o n , l c~ay, r..:rughes, Bro,-m and Dodsen : Fro1,ming they stand , and in their cold, St•lent solemnity , lhnfold The strong one ' s triurnuh o ' e r the weak -- �.' The awful gro an -- the anguished shriek -The un c ons c ious mutterings of despAi r-The strained eyeball ' s idiot star e -lhe hopeless c lench -- the quivrringx frame -'rhe martyr ' s death -- the despot ' s fh.ame . The rack -- the tyrant - -vi ctim, -aall Are gathe r ed in that Judgma nt Hall . Draw we a v eil , for it I tis a sight But fiends can gaze on with delight . F'1rnighted with emotmon and terro r like much of the ii He, Dod s on's 11 11 :f. McKay ' s n.che Lynching, , ament ' 11 V rk of l"rs . 11 arper, etueen tho · orld and setting the star·e for and © 11 "Dunbar ' s 11 'l'he "f-!aunted Oak" and ~ relentless narr ative • . 1s ashon 1 s ~ signa ~ "~ ~_,,. /I a ,,,,__.,~ sustaining power in the work of Black poets . Compare , for example , tb,e , his sonne t _, last&'two lines of the stanza above to r.,,-cKay 1 s c ouplet inA"'1 he Lynching ":, And little lads , lynchers that were to be , Danced round the dreadful thing in fiendish glee . ~ Unlike I~c hay , howevPr ., Vashon J:i•h ~N_:1P at the end : Thy comin[ fame , Oge ! is sure; Thy name with th ,. , t of L 1e verture, And all the noble souls that stood With both of y ou , in times of blood , \Ji 11 live to be the tyrant I s fear -- founded on a f a ctual event : the love - affair md eventual marriage b f a young white man and a light - s k inned Black . For selections of Vash on • S works see Autographs for .l.:''reedom anlfi Robinson ' s antholog"V . For criti c al di s c ,13 sion s see the works of Brown and B:rewley . �. • '6 U a As we prepare to move to the next phase I ,_1 in the develo t i s important that we tarry long enp:ugh to pay b rief attention ·w ' • J ' t > ~J'J ~;;l-l'blo?) ,., (JtSJ --Ji'/. to,.Sjg?n½ ft ho Creole p oet s t rmand tanuss , Vic tor Se j our. Jj,frr4LJJ"/.. - 11 Nelson Debros e es and Ni col Riquet . Somewhat of an anomaly in Afro-American literature and poetry , the ._ 6reole poets y are• nB vertheless imnortant if the mmnNmt:m. complete port 2ait of this many- sided 8nd complex tradition is to be understood . There is nothing typically A~eri can in thet poetry--not even in terms of American imitqtors of ~nglish forrns --and they rarely disnlay m.ny r"'cial consciousness or concern for slavery and general injustice . ' ! ~ J ,~,:: 0 - s, 8!½ 1 fluent in • speaking and writing French a-id from that influenc e their work derives a spicy melody and an ,-.., unhibi ted treatmr:mt of romantic love rmd revelry . Much .llll of the work is also intimate !'.Ind sonhisticated in its use of conventions and ma teria1 s ,,--.... ~ gained from l''rench ed 1c tions . ...,;sp neqred as ,; poets • -m,rk""'s ~, ·ep fjpet u71110ksd jr 11 the first D The Creole bl_ih ed anthology in a volume 7 adoition to l' rench , the Creole Doets also -Trote in Sp~nish , Latin and S:reek and 1- rere i:seneraJ ly from~we~lthy ~ land- owner class J. · ew Orleans C-reole newsnapers, r, 1union C0 nfederqte Bnd La 'rri bune, re:vved as a conscriDtea/soldi er in the Civil \ ar, spent some time es nrincipal of She Catholic School for Indigent Ornhans of Color • .ue also encourged literary and othe r artistic exnre.ps · on4 811ong fellow artists and solicited rk for Les Genalles . euf l d> gized his brother,Numa, in the poem ''Un 1''re r e/Au •rombeau de Son l''rere, i,e caJ linr.; that ''unfeeling death has cut you domi. 11 .l:!.,lsewhere Lanusse refers to depth ns "some other hand shutting vour eyelids . "~L Sfjour 1ived most of his life in France and only rPturned to New Orleans for brief visits to his mother . Son of a wealthy family, 7f~y �.insert ' '/fj p . 46 P 7 !114' About D2lcour little is kno1,m except th'1t he was born of e0lth;r parents who sent him to France in the e?rly 1200 1 ::: tJ, re- ceive a n-ood education . Returning to New Orleans ~ afte~hooling, he was unable to c ccept the racial tern.per Dndc..t~1iM .~lii1.Mc.J(.. ~ idency in 1''rance . 1 bile in New Orle ns , J:.owov r, he wrote a numbrr of oems, one of which was "Ver~e '.. ri tten in the L\.lbum of T'adanoiselle . " The poerrJ; 111k touching Jy relives the "ganlted skies" ...,nd r""~i' "gentle flaslj.es 11 which, to the poet , 0 re 11 less lovely" when seen an-ainst the lady ' s eyes Beneath tJ:.eir brown lashes . ~* tf r,lf6 Somewhat nau Lanusse gives the ~ccotmt of a "woman of evil" uho T-mnts to "ren,unce thA devil" but ,JaE asl{es : Before pure irace takes me in hrnd, Shouldn ' t I sho·-r my daughter how to get a man? 11 �r 97 ~ IM 21 of whi ch were st sged fun Franc e and three abilities"' s praised by 1rapoleon III in "New th ma jo r F r ench literary personalities of hi s and he day . mi s scope is wide r than some of the other Cre ole poets . F i s JI' "ta Retour de' Napol l o n 11 ( 11 rhe Heturn of Napoleon") ,,... i a7 is a and a c eleb r a tion all in one . \~hile euchogizing F apol , bejour praises both his and F ran c e ' s t r iumph s and glories . It i s a poem of flowin g , g raphi c exaltation . Opening • I Jz92£111 on the scene of a "sea II th a t "groans unde r the burning sun, 11 /!:.r r ates nd collapse o 0..-0 the g rowth ranee w,..,_a world power; And on and on she swep t , an unl e ashed t emp est gild·; and Fran c e moved on ahead . No more • .All is over . ••• Yet , hai l , O, c a pt ~in! Hail my consul of proud bearing . t l-ta t "death h a s lightning struck the people 1 s i:riant . Little is ~mown a bout the personal life of Debro s se ~ 11 sf wh ich , ac c ording to Robinson , "seems in keeping with his :-rai tian g a ined exp erience , in Voodoo, aspects of which he pra ctised in Hew Urleans . 11 In 1Jebrosses 111 Le Hetour au Village aux re r les 11 ( 11 Heturn to the Village of r e a rls 11 ) , he seems to ant i c ipate what \laring Cuney through the "dishwater" in his T)oem "Images . 11 The C ti see s Creole poet returns to the v~ll age t o find ~ Her spirit dances here and there in these enchanting places ::elf ■i g 1 and to locate -- that flowe r- bosomed g rove a gain, the witness of our secret pas s ion , and too , the cherished brook to which my sou1 4 would on this day c onfide its hau py memory . �tJJ1 • A 6iga.r-maker by trade , Riquet lived~ ' in New Orleans where he nursued 11 wri tj ng light v erses . Hi s f his life a vigrous avocation of Rondeau Redouble ~tl'lla1Ca z / Aux Drane \\ Amis"(,_pouble Rondeau/ Toliandid Friends") leaves no doubt that at serious in his avocation . Riquet smm A rondeau is a trench - originated l y rical noem of 13, or sometimes, 10 lines . Thero are two rhymes t h roughout the poem and the opening phrase is repeated twice as a refrain. The remotely reminiscent of the blues and Spiritual forms of Afro-American poetry. Riquet says that since his "candid friends are c aJ ling for a rondeau! J " he and his "Muse • . • must work a wonder. 11 The duty of the poet is he will "earn the name of poetaster -- from our c8ndid friends . " The Creole Poets are examined and represented by selections in , gton , D. C. , 194-~Robinson ' s antholor-y. See a~d Louisimna (li9vier Uni v e,,..si ty ~~ ~ ~,J,1,,Jj; United States nonulqtion internal soci~l in - ~Jl . protectin~ the soon-to - be-released slaves, the need to _deve loP and stn f ~ ~ educ "tional f8ciJ i ties for Blacks , aJ l d un bha J.o:i?~~J thouv.,h ~':!M~~MJ~~ fi it is cle q_ r that the works of many uoets leap the abbi t.,,,arily - i 'nPosed chinolo gical~ 't5o ilries, t:fie temperments , themes, diotj_o nal nreferences ~:ind limitations discussed o· enerally hold for mo!"t of the poetry of the period. ~ , /;)esni t the surprising successesJ nd~ a shes o :f bri lli anCil>;it intertwined with 0 mediocrity end comedy, the Bl8 c 1{ noet would la bot- long to remove _ image of a face" trrnt, in the words of Corr&thers, on the wild sweet flowers . " 11 Liet~ , like "the �~ ,& / - YX • {/f .2 _ /<{(c ) ) {Nt - 1 1 ~ ~ ~o ~/1, T ')) . 11,,n, -,j/ ~~ /, l ~~~~~~T~ To 0 La;- )\ /)l,1d")(,, ~ - ~, ~r V ; ) ,.,,a;t t () 1u �T I • 49 l.:;.B, eiJ::i <e • ha alt!! u:enre en; 4 here were oth r poets wri tin,.. and Ji== pubJ ishinr durin~ this sa rie 1© riod . ,. any of them nubl i shed their rkP in sing] e editions, ~ o'lies of A . _~re no anger extanfi. "Rr8Wle~, whose knotm rs 11 Ca esat> " who allegedly wrote but f.9r refPrf1 to a n0et 7 poetry is not PVailable . Ot1 er poems rnd th jr coJlect·ons are: 1 Haria .... nd rlarriet ' al½onar, Po~mE._~n Slavery (TI,ondo n, 17t,8 ); James T ontgomery , James U-raham, ~ . Benger , Poem~on the ~litjon of the Sl a v e_E_r.;_d~ ( London , 18oq) ; he •~est ID di a s and Other Poems n wnymous , (1811); John Bull , 'rh~av e and Other Poems(London , 1 824); Hev . Noah c. Cannon, flhe Ro ck of wJisdom ••• rro InteE_estip.-=g:.__:;:H-....L-_ s ( ew Vorir ,? 183 3); · ch Are Ad ed 0 everal nonY111ous , "'rhe Conll"1emorati ve Wreath : In Celebration of the .c..xtinc tion of !Terra .::i lavery in the british Dominions " (London, 1835); Anonymous , SlavAry in the British LJominions ( London , 1835); Anonymous, Ant i - .:>lri v e ry ___ 1elodie s (Hingham , 1'iasf1 a- chusetts , l @Jl, ); li0or@'.e ivhi tfield Clark , compiler, '11 he Liberty I i n strel ( ew VorJr , 18~11); illiamx Wells Brmm , Anti -::S li:ivpry H'1 r p{ 3oston, 1849 ); "A \ est Indian, " Chq_rleston , South 0 :=irolina : .a gati ri c ;poem sbm·□ JJ..i: , of being the seat of libert Br ought to J j gb t (Derry , ( London , 1851) ; Sam- - -- --- - - -- - - ---Darkne s s. Tew Hampshire , ? 18 55) ; George 1!. Clark , The Harp CF Freedom( 1 ew York, 1856) ; and Abel Charles (Neu York , lcr-1!_) . "' oma s , ~h0rosnel of S}qb ery � 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_28 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter III. African Voice in Ellipse, p. 1-49 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 Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter III. African Voice in Ellipse, p. 1-49 with an insert for p. 38, an insert for p. 46, and an unnumbered page https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/1b2eca3d97643eccdd4f741f94d5da5b.pdf 06f049679a071232c73885d958d7ca8d PDF Text Text V ~ I C ~ PTER V: A • ice a motherless ch·1a, Somet· es I fee lnn~ ~ ra s from hor1e; A lone; 1-mys from home . ---Afro - rrerican Sn · ri t, - 1 I OV i'RVIE ,J ~r~ r-~1s~·uption of chronology will be r1ore evident • in this chanter because urPceding ones . This is so alw,,ys a chieve* ame age do not N uoets oj_.he th n in reco1sni tion at the sa.r1.e time We hnve 1ooked t James eJ don Johneoon , mention him a ,ain in thieo for exqmpl e , b t we - ch2nter. In fnct--for reasons to be s O'm- - ,J 0 hnson overRh"'do rn alr,1ost the whole of BJ, ck noet,,.""r • and ·ur-)1e /\., S,,J 7 en , ,.., Melvin B. before ..ill be ViA•idd afte t- t;hem in ~e Ro st -fanaj_ s nee period . Since the primar, airi. of this st d is to "cite" the r1ost names and events in the n0velonment of BJr c ro ch to t~i s chanter Jill follo1 0 oetry , the others in - criticism -r.ill remain minimal , a, _J .s ~,Joml ""Orts-- oft he rorld . A..,nraisals of Black 1)0Atry, tl-ien, become a bit more diffic1lt since the Pl" c, noet c15r] ,,, 6 h21ro Pl[>ck iritA 'f! ~ u1n F"' til the second dnc de o f t o 20th centur, s 8een ar somewh t " CCQ,;JS ta either dt;\ to n f' '"' TI °'- "frgplr ntil the 19h() 1 s , ho.d very ~ e arnrr11ent 8 clc • not,., . '710 Ie :nt")t0rci~11s ta to fir,ht criti c,,1 or literary 11 J.ynchings . '1 bee t 1 .• ·J Jadtb 01 rith s he hich rJodels 1 ere ec-se ti 1 1 a, ,e,- co t · nue In tr.e ~9~0 1 ~ "exotic" esc'"' e ro ·ter- ~ '~), - (Yr•ecl "nd �~,; t1'rjlloeking whites ,-..:. o 11 en o_;age their ne·r Freudian a m ~ and forl-_get the horrors of the war . .___,, skj 71s uere often ~ 11 In the nost - nenaissc1.nce l • a;a. dire ted to mrds V'!lliii• intei:;ration '"'nd ,., v"'rious '\soc1_al nror-r ams . •1 is annroa.ch~~~ftBn scientifc and fiact - finding . The most incisiv0 and contin al b~pw to the Blac~ is a disresnect and rejecti0n the aener'"'l d:lli"eatmmt of BlGcks . Q.u120 parPllel' oet BJ::>ck ,-. ~ riticis~ of . noetrv is invariably politic81 snd !''lCial in connorn - -,i1Jst as most of -sb.C' _ oetry is' forcPd to be. Some poets ] Pment this- .....t'" J(ff •• rotest and ,., ger are the ·who le range of h :rrJan beh,.,v:i or is someho,-r m:l!ttLXlffMa.H. Dlaced off-limits to the 1 "-., bl H\1i~ I ~ critj_c1zed/\ 1'or not bejng :universe ] Afro-American poet I 11 for not being " 0 lack 11 P11.0 1.1ali. l'le 0 dless to sa;r, it i 8 r, di101rn"l.8 of "'Omo magn::i.t 1do ?nd no amount of -ilJ anr,1 ~oJvc it her • VJe d0 the P.J "Cl~ o'T'lment on oets: fro-rn this period on in our st, ords or Jamentations -1;1-,erc r1Ptt0rs , tho 1P-)1, oy_ Tn trd s ~v ns , Lenee i effArs , 0 RusRe]l "" ~ ) Atlrins ,,.._Pnd oth0rs) nere p blishino_; in . _ 196n b 1t <'lid no-s brine,: 0 11 t Ariod::icPJs befo~c sinvle voh1 es lP1.til then. Like-Fise �C /Jj)fa. o c.vi,iov J.;Ld/AJ - - ~/\ ,d '"• ... I<. Mo. .t '1 L In 1910 the population of I Black America was 9,827,763; Langston Hughes was a boy of ten and the NAACP was one year old. By 1930, however, the Black population would have increased to 11,891,143 (or 9.7 %); a major migration of Blacks to northern industrial centers would have taken place; racial riots would have scorched more than half a dozen American cities; the country would have engaged in and ended its first national war, and lynchings would continue to be among the most fearful prospects for Black r:ien . Booker T. Washington bad chronicled the hardships and bitter disappointments of Blacks in his Up From Slavery. The new 11 freedom 11 was short lived and illusive, Washington observed, because the ex-slave had no skill, no land and no place to go . '~mancipated" Blacks were not farin g much better than their fore-parents. DuBois had begun to raise some of the broader, global issues of Black oppression and •place the Black Experience in its proper perspective in The Souls of Black Folks. During the second and third 60 I �j II ., I l_, decades of the 20th Century, Black scholars, activists and writers continued to record the Black Experience with telling 1"'5Uncr accuracy and drama. L~ague;- '"the"' A~ssociation ng'ot 'the 'tbe trr1:ran , r the Study ..cr: ,/;;~~gro Life and .,, ~#f \ /)JJJ,, ..,1:.-P History (Carter G. Woodson, j ~A.;_~;!', 926).4P,;,The Crisis and Opportunity .-; -..;P magazines, the literary jou~ , Fire; the flourishing and • , -- ! prominence of ragtime ~itf~early ,~ z , the development of ,, I Black operetas and, ~sicals--all h . # \ and the Black t~inds of the times. . ~ ..tl" ped establish the mood \ I e three publications-;.. ~ ~ was sh9it-lived--published some o:f\ the most important \ Black J:M;,;;rature o:f the Awaken~n1,1 and _o~re<j. a)'ai,d;, ea in) ce~if ves to writers. On the general American scene, science and industry were developing rapidly. Indications of this were the radio, wireless, technological warfare and the automob ile. The ttnew Psychology" was taking hold and the realis m of the previous literature was bowing out to naturalism. This new mode is seen in the works of such writers as Theodore Drieser, Evelyn Scott and William Faulkner. Interest in local color and dialect, which had domi nated the later portion of the 19th Century , was also dying and the Black American was "re-discovered" by white writers as a H1'e± a1:r ~ · for realistic fiction, drama a nd poetry. White writers-Jo pu lished popular accounts of Black life included DeBose Hayward, Sherwood Anderson and Carl Van Vecbten. Revolts in interests and manners characterized American society . Black crit c James A. Ema nuel points out (Negr_£ 61 1 �as enviable but mysterious primitives, s~vages and .,.. Popular accounts of Black lif~, were written by .,, 11 known white writers iqcluding DuBose Heyward, ~ Anderson, and ·Euge~~ O'neill. I ; l It against th~ae and other myriad pressures and \ _ y,"t'I' \'~ \ \.J w---:~~.:..:-._:t:,:b~at. the Rl:1ick. ,A~aket;ti_ng o;f. th~ l920'.-~ took place. I [Add!;ional~;~- a n~~b:~- of ch:ng~s and _,dev~lopm:nts in Bla~k communities set off a chain reaction of cross-examinations, intense debates1 calls for changes and the charting of new directions. Accordingly, the student must understand the ~ood of the times in terms of: 1. 2. 6. 7. 8. The decline of Dunbar's influence among poets Failing su~port of Booker T. Washington's "accomadationist' philosophy. The continued disillusionmen~of survivors and heirs of the "Reconstructionf~ The development of white hate and intimidation groups (Ku Klux Klan, etc.). The continued presentation of "stereotypes" of Blacks in the mass media and creative literature of the period. The ".Jim Crow" laws of the south; job discrimination and general segregation in the north. The splits and confusion in the Black community due to the "new" middleclass; the appearance of West Indians in America and class alignment according to color stratification (i.e., lightskin, dark-skin, near-white, etc.). Much of the literature of the period deals with the theme of passing or miscegenation. { I n t e 1 e s ~ e ~ ~ " ' ! :t'rltt'""mt!t!'rf "'ffi.'a"t§Tlffi'r'• ·~tr-"tl'.f'hf Stld j'€b"t ffi? Mre ~i:11·~s~~i&B'i~~Uffl!~~~~~~""'-. Race riots in various parts of the country between 1905 and 1917. ~--, ~ ~ ~'(l!/.1ifl"1''" ''''- \~Jt~l1ere were "negatives fl . -~wwi;u·n·~·ve impetus to the ~ ~ ~~~, -~'t~ ' • - • '.,~,?- approaching rev9;J,.,~ -"'~ff la.c'R'.... ~o.a.,eJ.._Jand literary circles, ~. ~,4;j: , there J,j,~,.<M'also "positives." ""'~~~;.:4'< '!'-i.t~~,.';•,i;,...h ,._.. �, I I , Digest/Black World, Aug., 1969) that during the 20 1 s, many whites went to Har em to "forget the war and engage t eir new Freud an awareness by escaping into exotic black cabaret life." Hughes records this exot c indulgence in his auto- biography, The Big Sea (1940). Numerous other Black writers dcKay in A Long Way from recorded these white 'diversions": Home and Johnson in Along This Way (autobiographies). .. also Johnson · in his novel In tl1e • ,D rarila of the peri"od was dominated~~ by Eugene O'neill{lffwho ............... • ---- The Emperor Jones and All God's Chillun Got Wings featured major Black characters._. America had niSJ' efore a first~rate dramatist. ------- o•nei l, tJ~:la ib eodia- pro uced Ironically, t olgh, one of the vehicles for O neill's ~~••was a Black actor, Charles Gilpin, who starred in The Emperor Jones. �/ ,,, I ' with the exotic trend that had continued from Jack London (The Call of the Wild, The Sea~volf) and the white writers of local color: Page, Cable and others. IQiil. Shan~~ Harris, However, many of the writers, e@ rbhe !'OI i:ul" like 0 1 neill and Dreiser, had begun to shake off the mystique of the American Dream and deal instead with "illusion. '7 Such was Drieser 1 s theme in his novel, An American Tragedy (1925). The founding of Poetry: A Magazine 0~ Ver~e, by Harriet Monroe (1912) signaled the birth of the New Poetry movement in America. Most of the new work, including that of the Imagist poets, was showcased in Poetry. In 1915, the anthology, Some Imagist Poets, appeared to rival dissident factio~~,Jh!c?~~~ted to dispense with traditional forms. Imagism a u s ~ • E'lra Pound's theories and • French Symbolism as well as Oriental and ancient Greek poetry. Chief spokesman for the Imagist poets was Amy Lowell who was joined by John Gould Fletcher and Hilda Doolittle, among others. During the next two decades the group waged a successful battle against the dissidents; but they also re-worked traditional forms and cornered a new reading. market for poetrr.4-n America and England. e_!:.J:l tF tu • iee ,O"f~achael Lindsay, ~vocate of~th11 and the reading aloud of poetry,...- is credited with having 63 «i1 �, 7 ndiscovered 11 Langston Hughes. Blac~oets who participated• ~~141, .. , in this "revival tr of . American poetry r.,., ..,j_ ereA enton Johnson and~m,,uw!t-ct.iMJ William Stanley Braithwaite. The most significant development of the period, however, was the Black cultural flowering, principally in Harlem, which has become known as the Harlem Renaissance, the Negro Awakening and the Negro Renaissance. Central to the 7enaissance 11 (critics differ over whether it should be called such) was the migration of southern Blacks to nort ern ,.ban centers. With the working-class Blacks also ca~~~ack intelligentsia, artists and activists. Current Black creativity or scholarship cannot be understood unless the Harlem Renaissance is placed in proper perspective because the Harlem period is the most important bridge existing between slavery and the modern and/or contemporary eras. ( 4€,. .A., ; and second decades of this century, ~-~ ~ n 11 and prospects of the "Reconst /';,,' loose hold on Black Amerj.,eans just as the ~· American Dream s diminishing among t-l· declining influence , ny whites. The Dunbar (am~rlg poets), Booker T. Washington and submissive s~type of Black leadership, ., I' allowed room for experim~n'tatio -~and new voices. Most Black poets discarde.d 'plantation dia""hects and senti111ental themes. to America Marcus flarvey, in 1916 and '\.iho founded the Universal Negro ''Ii· ,, Assoc.j.a"tion, had reached the height of' ,,/ ~2. Considered the most influential 20th Century 64 by ack �I l "' . 1 ·f f'· ¥" ' A ..vvQ,~ ' / I r.., tfe l·l./('...Q- i )t .,W .,.,,,.,,iQ~1;,.~ ~ ~-~ wt,_ ••ice i,e sketch out tqe impRrtant ~litical and artistic (C"'l-fePJ;it,.JW .{l.u.,,~ developments whicn led'bp toAthe( enaissa::;. A partial listing of these developments ~PIM~include: I. Founding of tbe Boston Guardian by Monroe Trotter 2. Founding of the National Association f<;lr. ~ . , .,,,,./.. r,_, ... , Advancement of Colored People ( 1909) tJ-~4,fl~v,,,,ci:4, Founding of the Urban League (1911). Vo Founding of tbe Association for the Study of Negro Life and History by Carter G. Woodson 3. 4. _5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. (1901). (191.5). Establishment of Tbe Journal of Negro History _ 1 11 by Woodson (1916). - · . ., . · ·· ·" -..,,,,_!ln1t'!-W,,n,1i-,f, Black troops · in World War I.(sbadents&!a """--~,......, "'/ .QoU:gl!~ Et, m~tHf~!'l 1'!~!"]Sililti::¥eJ!, ~-~ &a•~~~l~~~ • , .. Great Migration of Blacks to northern urban A . centers (1916-1919; but,,~be )imq ~ntinued '!~f/t~<l"'-~ · w.t1 tu the ~4 ■ @ntJrj s ~ . t'J.'4 71.N t . . ~ . u The recording of Black achievements in a'k. areas; Black scholarship is brilliant and sustained throughout the entire period. The writings, especially, of W,iE.B. Dul;>o.i~;; Ch~rles . S. Johnson, 11111M.- Alain Locke~ J-A.t,~ W~~.w)UifV The high point in the influence of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (Garvey, who came to the U.S. from Jamaica in 1916, preached a back-to-Africa movement. He was imprisoned in 192.5 for mail fraud.) Founding of Opportunity, A Journal of Negro Life (1923; Opportunity-..t2,_ublished much of the new~ ,...,.~~,~"' work of the Renaissance -p~s-ana.- pros-e- wi~I'ters and offered annual prizes.). The flourishing of Black Music and musical dramas (Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake do Shuffle Along, 1921; Louis Armstrong , with bis own band, opens at the Sunset Club, Chicago, 1927; Duke Ellington opens at the Cotton Club, Harlem, the same year.). The post-war Pan-African Congresses (Paris, 1919; London, 1921, 1923; New York, 1927; DuBois was primary organizer.:)=oil? the Meet· ;gg ,) --- T h e s ~ some of the highlights of t h e ~ b . . . Q u t at least a passing kno I . "" ,. ..,_ -~ ' , the student will not _ ....,...,,,_... ---...-._, be able to,slfl~:~°-~•<11:t;h:e""'poets of the Awakening *~ ....'il~,,,.,.1t,'9 " . . ·""" 76 ~~-2.~_:_ �;/ on \_:ames,., V Weldon .Johnson edited the first/( anthology of • Black Poetry, The Book of American Negro Poetrri1.922I • .Johnson's work was followed in quick successioli~y five • other' poetry anthologie~ Negro Poets and Their Poems (Robert Thoms Kerlin, 1923) AnAnthologt of American Negro Verse (Ne an Ivey White and Wa ter Cl1nton .Jackson, 1924) Negro Sonfls: An Anthologi ( Clement Wood, 1924) Caroling usk (Countee Cu len, 1927) Four Negro Poets (Alain Locke, 1927) Of not~a so was F.F. Calverto n 1 s An Anthology of American egro Literature (1929) which contained 60 pages of poetry. Cullen and Locke were t:t/o of the major fi gures of the Harlem Renaissance . along with Claude HcKay, .Johnson, Hughes, and .Jean Toomer. Locke edited the anthology which heralded and chronicled the new Black mood and achievements: The New fogro: An Interpretation (1925), which remains a classic today. He also wrote the equally important A Decade of egro Self Expression (1928). ~bodes Scholar from Pennsylvania, Locke received a Ph.D. in 1918 fro m Harvard and is still considered as the foremost interpreter of Black creativity of the Renaissance. Cullen published Color, his first book of poetry, when he was 22 and was instantly recognized as one of the best young poets in America. 65 �I ; I .Cr,,.~.~.-~.· ~ . ·~ i!il ~ . . t i k r ..( , t ~-?tiSW<~O!WC ~ ~ Q - ~ ~ .~ ~ ··•~-~ •· !i 'l:\,,c.,. . . -~..i.',,t,o~'.Ch\ ~~t.<rt;.',:"'-"4•t,~"t<,.'.~,~~~;•,;,~(l ' f'_.!,t,••~~'.48, , ~ ~ · Cullen wrote in the more formal tradition of English poetry. meticulous and careful in his poetic workmanship • .fl,1W-ifilH""'-m~~-~w.~:-Mlt' l s a . D ~ ~-&C.Q~~Q~ . ~~ . ,.1< ~~~a,err7e~;$•,.ffi'f ~ 1:M' ~~6-t,· ~-.ail!~ ,, th · · · • l ~ I .. ri1~~~!J:ptm:e,.,,:r~ya1:.1J~'-r:rr·,A1ne·rfeli • · :,,,-.'l; Cu11 en, Al'ma. ,. ol!rt:--emp'S't,·r{"I'tlie-1'Mtt~t:t·on','•'" A.me'r.t'e~M'Y'ff~:@ ··,.~P..oeit'!""'}!i-.,(;\ha~ 1 ~as among those Black writers of the 20's who went ~b to Tower fl to brood over being called "Negro'' poets. . ,.,,ae,h~e?e~~;t,y• ~ft~ · ij~ . ·~ '-"'flot"'l'i"' rif"u "-t:'fie''"B'i:tt't'tk: •kpe-1r4-en~... <•ut·""s t'trt1fdw~t,l/;;!(tti•t "-•~1a~·,.~;;d•!l:;~~~;:r:~r"'~; ~¼it :t~')•it'.=Ch a~ acti·rt·~1 e,·<,' ~ ,,;t;:;.r ~= ,,. however., .,.o£ ,,l}3t,S;,€idNfntt1f ;B",,;·t,b~~r'"'a:tid '• 't'l.~t-t1'e'tHl ·\,~iif't',.,4e ''t;•b e,.,t·. ·• _} f amo.~.a,,. . •,Jiilllile!#'~- · " · /'.1 ... -~, - ,, ,.., .... 1 ~~._'11,':.~{~ -~·•···~-,: .. ~~'.\ What\ is Africa to me: Copp~ sun or scarlet sea, t' Jungle star or jungle track~ Strong onze men or regai black Women fro whose loins I ,, ·'sprang When the b ds of Eden .;sang? Long it;f"'use of poetic devices, Romantic homage to Africa and #' -~. pical imagery, the poem probes hidden fears and question~/ ~f think at all, Baldwin says, ar ~*'11 constan ly on the verge of insanity.fl Cullen, howev . ', is probably known for his sonnet, ,1' flYet Do I Critics -·~vel, o not 11 which has n both praised and castigated. seem to be able 66 agree as to whether Cullen �"""i-,,· .,... s saluting-; ptt ing or • ~i,·_kiu;,,t(l;)L •. he Black poet. at this curious thing: Black and bid him sing! .,......,,,,.,. . . .~ - , . , , . ...,___._,,......_...__ _ _ _~_:JO!l_!~,- ~ · ' ·- ,..,,,. . ~ Cullen, other key ~oets of the Harlem-Awalwning ~ ~'Y Crt. a+c.~~'l.J&wl important Voiumes~and ded to the~ritical flutter. The Book 11 Johnson said McKay belonged its most powerful voice. He to the post-war group and was was pre-eminently the poet of rebellion." sonnet, 11 poet If · native Jamaican of nature. dialect (he came to the earned him the title of Robert Burns of cloaked violence in many of his poems, as "The '\·Jhite House": Your door is ut against my tightened fa And Iams rp as steel with discontent; But I po ess the courage and the grace To bear. y anger proudly and unbent. ~1:cKay use to Russia in 1922 where an attempt as an anti-America propaganda in connection 67 to �~~ ~ f1'f'r"•r~, ~ ...~~~"N ~ f;._~~• J ~~~~ 1\'.:•1 _'i;,4li'1.~ , ots and America's racial problem. 30' s McKay hobnobt::~<k fjrt-:tt,{;;k:-~ 7, ff,, . as Geor ~,;,-'1fa:'x ~. . . . . . ~ ·. · · 1s ~:-...tp~~~ons:t t ~~,~~'i"1: es ' ~nard . · · ., --:z., Dune an, , f - w. , • • Isadora Eastman, who wrote a ' J ~ ·.;;,;;•·=~=-;...;......;..;.. ...,_--,Hughe~ and Cullen won nat onal recognition (and poetry awards) at about th.e s~me time. parison ends. ~ There, however, the com- Hughes was one of the widest traveled of all the~naissance writers. He was also the most prodigious and multi-talented, writing successfully in all genres. Hughes, who when he died in 1967 was the widest translated American author,J\:Js■*- <•••me known as the international poet laureate of Black people.J ·.W~~M'-i!~~~~~m•~,-.i~~-141Mal...~w~~ ~ Al'~~•~ ,-'lf,.f/(QX,·. Mli'S , s of Rivers," in which he the Black worl~ e was to becO):Jl,~~ d read Black poet--among ev · • ~....,.. , -...,,, Known for his mus . I d ~• his famous poem "The Negro Sp <, -i quality in the Whitman-Lindsay- ~ ~:.:,¢it e. ~ ~fBi::ks. # :: . I 1'1~'-" and ~j ..~finenta -ff;{e, Hughes · o 'J-ij-.,~nd was one o:r ~~;; a:r most promoters o~iJ Jay 1:fright (In#duction, Henry Dumas ~~~;, -.,1{·. l . fore- ·· ~ f Black poet" {itic { 1~i9r My Peopl · . t ,1 ~ .;,J:,.,~,.... ;,,,!., :, • 1970) noted1~hat not until the appearance of Duma~'frwa.~ Hughe ·~.,_~4 , "·?rti~ . know,\~,~ of Spirituals and Gospels was rivaled. Hugh~~.t,. ,~ike Du~•; was to do later, haunted Black religious and secular . ~ •sh;,i,l,"""-~: •- ·,. ~~1!!1,1 •(l!5 ',,t ~- s, th. er~~ere ".&~,R,,,9f!,.~-;.t: __.• ~r-<.~q"~,;lt:!";p:1;.'!; p,<· ~-. ( r ' ~~c•N. ~~~t:; ~lac~~J 1us1e, · ·~.. :i:r- wtb • 68 aJt~'i;my .,h ad · b'e"@, · ,· )l ~ -~ "-~"-,'Q/1('$1 '<,,' ,:,,,: �carried on the on the rich, spontaof the new urban Blacks, them with the natural as in ".Jazzonia 11 : sights and sounds Oh, silver tr Oh, shining r the soul! Six long-h A dancing Li.fts hi tree! rivers .f published volume, The Weary thes to t He was one of students and h ndlers o.f ibed realistical y, genuine 1 tradition--/ i legorically and /P ,,.ff! ,l'~'t';r:'J/; As a ,.11'' scholar, known for his anthologies and his seminal interpretations of Black culture--music and the Spirituals in par/'/,2. ticular. Of great importance~ his,e_ntholog:,.- lt'l•e ioi)e8'r •iw• ..., !iitn:..:~ Nee, : a 1m-;;;w.where in an illuminating Preface, be 69 �cited-the four major Black artistic contributions to America. 1. 2. 3. 4. The Uncle Remus stories, collected by Joel Chandler Harris The Spirituals ("to Which the Fisk Jubilee Singers made the public and the musicians of both the United States and Europe listen") The Ca~ewilk (~ich Paris called the "poetry , of motion ) .... , ~ ......_,_,...,....,.._ ... .,_.......-a. The Ragtime ("American music" for which the U.S. is known all over the world) Johnson is also noted for his work with the U.S. diplomatic corps, his pioneering work with the NAACP and his brilliant employment of Black idioms and psychology in his poetry and discussions. "Lift Every Voic Black national anthem, was wri~n in 1900. ,~er:;::;r: ~~ ;.C..~hneon"-e""~ B=~""1:1!1 &,--,~ 0 black and u nown bards of long ago, How came your !"ps to touch the sacred fire? How, in your da kness, did you come to know The power and t beauty of the minstrel's lyre? •••••••••••••••• •••• ••••••••••••••••• •••• ••••• Heart of whats ave poured out such melody As "Steal away · o Jesus"? On its strians His spirit mus have nightly floated free, Though still a out his hands he felt his chains. Who heard grea "Jordan Roll"? Whose starward eye Saw chariot II ing low"? And who was he That breathed that comforting, melodic sigh · , ,,_,.,..,,, "Nob ody knows de trouble I see"? ,.~~ ,_...- • ·' ~.,~ One of the most unique voices of the Harlem Renaissance, however, was Jean Toomer, who along with Hughes, Cullen and McKay make up Locke's Four Negro Poets. A complex of person- alities, talents and racial mixtures, Toomer was a constant 70 �enigma to critics and fellow writers. Although he admitted that he was of seven racial strands, he acknowledged that "my growing need for artistic expression has pulled me deeper In 1924, Toomer's Cane and deeper into the Negro group." Set primarily in the deep south--in Geor g ia--it also deals with the urban impact on migrating Blacks. Love, racial conflict,. sex, violence, religion, nature and agrarian themes are all ~ lored directly and allegorically, !. f(i(i'' ;.-. (s • .· ·~~~fi;~~¼~l.t..~M.;.,"{"'~a-.....-,.,,..t"'i'J.':;•,:-•r;. rt,-,,.1\!,,lf~l'~ a class ro-ALJ,n . "" ~~ -Today Cane is' rega ~ . . , V,,;.tti:~~. - is exto"'i ie~ b'y 'Black intellectua:J,Jit·, '"writers Bi i and teachers as single Robert Bone, in The Negro s~~i~ ~ · was the "onl:' ~ ; ~r -~~ J 9J;.-i.? P "-~ .,,,.,.... 1¥,'.t tPr~pated on qua-1: t~ffis '' in the creatio m." Bone was, of course, comparing ~o Pound and Eli'ot in anza prologue as i~~roduced by a 'li ,u_,,,, .,-t# , , ~f!IJ" Her skin is 0 can't you s Her s k in is . dusk on tb'Ef t''eastern horiz it, .p...,,e·ffn• t you see it, . ~~- dusk on the eastern horizon sun goes down. . , ,,,,;~ ~-➔ts•~ Obsessed,,, .,i:t •rff·s eem . ,, onate intel :'Ii:~•)'.,'\'.•"-'( 1-.;'i;i."" . gence and li_?J~a:tstic virtuosity --Toom __. just as com:dortab~ : ' .. cTtm'$""§'"'7.,,t a with beauty and natur~~~~t,1.';d wi 17 . ~It J'. l.;n ~:r.e~ 'f!'•""' 'fff th S<;,..Q.n.et.&:"''"''""'~"Ifo-;e mber Cotton ....,,.,.,,,.....,. the followin g couplet: 71 ...~w!'w,,, . . · �~!:-3-~~~rc:a-ret-:....rij~~-t:ee:a:a::1W:1il.1:E~~~~~~~~~:1·ii~~~;;; -~~l:§.!:,., Brown au or"t1'ffl~ 1.me _...la of year. .... ·· .,J<f'J,;'....,. ............. ~ ~ " " ' Rae pride, the lower side of g:tack l i f e / ~ n t i c ,;. .,.~~ were the m a i n ~ of engagement with Africa the enaissance literaturef painters, musicians, scholars and activists. Garvey had set up a regal court reminiscent of ancient African Kingdoms and had infused his followers with visions or returning to the "homeland \ His "court" was resplendent with hierarchical titles and lavish regalia for parades. his rleet of ships. Black Star Line was the name or The prevailing spirit or the day was one of Black indulgence and many whites sought for, and got their share or, it. Th~ Black Awakening was not the exclusive pro- perty or Harlem. For as Kerlin points out (Preface, Ne gro Poets and Their Poems), the mood or change spread to other sections of the country. Some of the regional or community anthologies published were: The Quill in Boston, Black Opals in Philadelphia and The Stylus in Washington, D.C. Important, too, were the collections and studies of folk songs. ~ 4.'.&Q 4St: 11 1/oteworthy" collections for the period included: Negro Folk Rhymes (Thomas W. Talley, 1922) The Negro and His Sonr (Howard W. Odum, 1925) Ne~ro Workaday Songs Howard W. Odum, 1926) Rainbow Round My Shoulder (Howard W. Odum, 1928) Wings on My Feet (Howard w. Odum, 1929) American Negro Folk Songs (Newman Ivey White, 1929) Other brilliant and exciting poets and writers shared the Renaissance scene--though they are normally over-shadowed by Hughes, Toomer, McKay, Johnson and Cullen. 72 Some of these �writers--most of whom did not publish volumes until the later G~ l' be--~ ~ ~ ,, G~ r ~ v:tt;' period--were: Arna Bontemps 'A Warfng Cuney, Robert Hayden, I 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, anthologist, critic, ~ ~/ poet and novelist, published in leading magazines of the period and won numerous awards for poetrY,. ~ J,,,· _,-.~ r.. ._.., ,.,,.~,.. -~~.... I ,.._~ ~ -- ' of poet:ch :2e~oal~. -wa ~, ,i.84; Cuney is ,Mmii•:'ffl'RJ!.'~~~ known for his brevity and preciseness,aNa-~i~~~l~1i~e~p~o~·ecmm~ll~M~e~~~Mii...._ past ha ..,.DJ}~ .~.•mJJ,&1tL~~ett~!"'~~-~1!~~-,tr.!'l~fT55!liffla:~~1'-~~.-eiG.a~~~~ ~ I , c ' 1 : t i ~ ~"'""""· ~~-. t h =: r~~ ~~-- p~l~ t; ~ ~~~-. On the street, . ' <-=-,..u:aakd4£ , ; ;-· '1\.bd ~i.ra}l.,f!}t.~.l~t*~ ~~ ...... , .,.. ., ,. ,:,_ ~ ~ Brown,~!!iTI.irii1iliias, pursued the folk tradition while cultivating 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 Big Boy, "Memphis Blues, 11 11 "Southern Road, 11 and "Long Goner'' ~1? ::e.~~tfe.T~-'%.:tB~;:J:l!Y·~~~~;,: ;"'=·' Brown.:,::rtR!: contributed to periodicals of th~..k . ~ perio141R\'P"Wrote a regular column for Opportunity, lished i mportant critical studies. la~ pub- Dodson wrote verse plays and collaborated with Cullen on at least one writing pro j ect. He too won numerous awards for his plays and poetry . Hayden and Tolson, both si gnificant modern poets, were to be beard from in succeeding decades as critics and outstanding 73 �)1 ~~~~~~~~~~rE~!m~ market crashed in 1929, white patronization of Black artists ended·. Black creativity and scholarship, however, bad grown up during the first three decades of tbe century, and important writing and musical development continued~ Migration of Blacks to northern urban centers was stepped up before and after World War II--with many Blacks being attracted by shipbuilding and other war manufacturing industries . Afro-Americans have participated in every U.S. military conflict since Colonial days. ) During World War II and Korea , however, they were used almost exclusively as fi ghting troops (between 1943-45 Jim Crow was abolished in the Armed Forces). Nevertheless , Black soldiers, returning home from European and Pacific war theaters, still faced unemployment and lynching; and in some southern cities were forbidden to appear on the streets in military uniforms. 74 Baldwin is one { �I of many perceptive American writers to note that Black men, seeking the fruits and the realization of the American Dream, tried throughout history to adjust and 11 fit 11 into American society. So, in face of official American contempt for his ~ humanity and his welfare, the Black soldier marchedl\.with an "equality" or death into the Korean War.:,. James Weldon Johnson had opened the dismal period of the Depression with Black Manhattan, a social history of Harlem. Black Manhattan was one of the dozens of studies on urban BlacK communities which had been begun by works such as DuBois' Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899). Like Johnson, many of the poets and artists turned their writing skills toward the recording of Black social problems and artistic achievements (e.g., Johnson's Black Americans, What Now? and Charles S. Johnson's The Shadow of the Plantation, both in 1934). Some of the writers were subsidized by WPA grants while others managed to obtain jobs as teachers and journalists. like the common folk, walked the soup lines. Others, It was during the period of 1930-{t, that white schools of higher learning 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 industry provided a new and exciting diversion • .:fop Arneri~ Baseball continued as the "national pasttime 11 (for Blacks, it was the era of Jackie Robinson). Jack Johnson had alre£";......: azzleJAmerica with his pugilistic skillsleft was the prize fighter Joe Louis �(the "Brown Bomber"), however, who captured sports-minded America with one of the greatest records in the boxing history. Louis's defeat of German Max,Schmeling (1938) came at a crucial time in U.S. history--when America's rising might among tbe world of nations was being challenged on the battlefield by Hitler. Two years earlier, a racist Hitler bad refused to acknowledge the feats o~~ star Jessee OWens. In prose and drama, white American writers continued to straddle a thematic path between realism and the American Dream. A distinctly "post-war" group of writers emerged. Dominating the period were Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis, Willa Cather, Thomas Wolfe, O'neill, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, John Dos Passos, Katherine Anne Porter, Erskine Caldwell and Carson Mccullers. Using symbolism and allegory to attack war, decadence and tbe atomic bomb, American writers often took as models such Russian writers as Chekov, Dostoevski and Tolstoi. Many employed the stream of consciousness technique--a style influenced by the "new psychology" and Irish writer James ce--which allowed for uninterrupted explorations *on~~-~-•io characters who "streamed" their references. A similar mood prevailed in the poetry--much of which dealt with social decadence, war and the mechanization of man. E.E. Cummings, known for his typographi- cal trickery and general linguistic and syntactical experiments, was one of the most relentless critics of bureaucracy and war. Such themes had also concerned T.S. Eliot, considered one of the greatest modern poets, in such poems as uThe Love Song �of J. Al~red }f~" and 'itphe Waste Le,QSl ... The Ima.gist poets -eie-•-~~heir development via such voices as "H.D.," Ezra Pound and Marianne Moore. Other modern poets were Conrad Aiken, W'illiam CArlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, Archibald McLeish, Hart Crane, John Crowe Ransom, Allan Tate, Riebe.rd Eberhart, Randall Jarrell, Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg. Crane, Eliot, Pound, W.H. Auden and Stevens have been called the major voices o.f 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 digested by Americans at large. From the minstrelsy of plantation days to the sophist· operettas and musicals of the '1,t'IN""Uf'.~i-1,,,rf- , this patter"r,e,e,,.,e,t11~.,..~~~ During the modern period, Be Bop became the musical heir to Ragtime, early Jazz and Tin Pan Alley. While the big band and Black composers--Basi~, Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, W.C. Handy, Eubie Blake, Noble Sisle, etc.--continued their important work, different kinds of experiments were going on among other musicians. From these new formations and probings came some of the giants of modern Black Music: Miles Davis, Charlie ''Yard Bird II Parker, Lester "Prez II Yo~nny ..;..R~llins, Gene Ammons, Art Blakey (who studied drums in Africa),~Ch~Pozo (A.fro-Cuban), Dizzy Gillespie and Babs Gonzales (Bop poet and singer: I Paid My Dues, 1967). From the musicians and their supporters emerged an underground "hip 11 languae;e. This tradition, of talking in metaphors and encoded cultural neologisms, had begun during the/enaissance. 77 Often, too, Black �vocalists were featured with the musicians. Some of these song stylists were Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holliday and Bessie Smith--who died in 1937. The mi gration to cities also saw the continued rise of urban or bi g city Blues. By 1900, however, the Blues had gone through several i mportant periods of development. Some names associated with tl:}e modern (31.J.l (J,:Ui1.~'.V">YIY? period were Louis Armstrong , Fats Waller, Cab Calloway,~Pop J Foster, Eddie "Son" House, Robert Johnson, Johnny~e.ple.-..,.L . Leo..dbeL.Ly, lit · · Roosevelt Sykes, Elmo JamesrB.B. King,~Jimmy Reed, I+ ., w Sonny Boy Williams,~ohn Le ~ J :ne,:~ : · ,-,~ lilll),{..(AiJ osh White, Hooker, ~g~tnin' Hopkins and Big bri!.t'~~f" / ~ · ;'e,u Several~ table Black literary explosions occured during the period between 1930-6f0, Important were: the publication of Native Son (Richard Wright, 1940); the publication of For My People (Margaret Walker, 1942); the appearance of Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison, 1952) an~nning of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry (Gwendolyn Brooks, 1950 for Annie Allen). Native Son, a novel, featured a Black protagonist named Bigger Thomas who symbolized( and in many ways contained) the anger, rage and pressures felt by urban Blacks. The book was the first by a Black author to make the best seller list and was also a book of the month club choice. During 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, his autobiography Wright is significant for many reasons, foremost among them being that be was the first Black writer to deal, �"2- t.. accurately and on par with the best rictio~he day, with tbe philosophical and psychological complexity of the Black ur':J..n~te . In doing this, he opened a new range of possibilities andf\_f ee• Black fiction in many ways. -Se~@l!.!!!!,. ~ ly -: ~ h : ~ ~ i o n writers during this period: Rudolph Fisher, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude :McKay, Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Ann Petry, DuBois, Frank Yerby, Eric Walrond, Chester Himes and Sterling Brown. Wright, however, was the first to forge and sustain a major Black art piece out of mythical ~ac~al mater·a1s1.Uin'IMaUll'\w~a had. win, that no er writer ~r, domi On the Mo~n, n~d ,,,. J;;Oq""' , . ;:;.. Miss Walker, teaches liter - ture at Jackson State Colle ge, was 22 years old when she wrote fl r•[f21_, II Jl,_ For My People --one of the most faiGo"trst--poems~~=Gi 11:. Her book by the same name won the Yale Series of Younger Poets award in 1942. Rich in cultural folk refere nces, Black phono- logy and social history, the slim book br li ntly traces the hope, humor, pathos, ra ge, stamina and iron di gnity of the _ _ _ __ . . - - - - " . " " " ' "~ -~ - · - · - race. ~ . .... • ti ,. -~ 'l' the daintiness, ba~~~~ t ~"'and-, .,l_.ifi._b;l-~Sjj,S~anc e . ,. . . ,.,[... "' "w,.::,*~•W,t 11;~,,!<,-"'!:1;</M:~1>\\,;-,~,: .~ ~~_""·~'H .· ;.1~ 1!1:il -~ ' are true-grit experience~J the religiosity ;.t_.. . :g~~ks. ,.,;' 1:........ : :1.'~ Yet, along with these The poe1s ~pd to~: -,v 6nations, Miss Walker presents excellent sonnets �~--::...E= llison, who bas not published a novel since Invisible Man(lfS2.) remains one of the most controversial figures 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 that it was a 11 dirt throwing" ritual for Ellison--who combines naturalism and complex symbolism in the book. Black novelist John Oliver Killens also gave it a negative 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 judged the most distinguished single work of fiction since World War II. The winning of the Pulitzer Prize by Gwendolyn 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 �(e.g., Harlem Renaissance)--to be tolerated at the whims of . white literary ba ( s. ·~ ~~4~~~~~rfllJl/a~~kM4~) The citation af M Experience, however--despite the fact that the prize was not a major announcement in the Black community. Blacks, caught up in the post-war mood, job-searching and a quest for social equality, were not reading much poetry. ·- ss B~o.oks- ~is_ univ-ersally ~.e cognized for her sparseness~ : .,,p· I and comple.:t.~. c~ntrol of poetic d?vices. I of her effectiveness within •spaiial limitations is the parents 1 said she loves tb; ·"1'nus,h ".• o:t' tt{e people . -· In one interview she language_.,~·A itne example "' / rom "Notes From the / ,._., ..;. Childhood and the Girlho f ~ ,:?' Clogged and so~~ and sl ppy eyes Have lost th,e, light tha bites or te~rifies. . . . . . . .. . But. one by one 'J,mey got things done: . ;.--'Watch for porches as y u pass And prim low fencing nching in the grass. r [ I l ' ' i t / Pleasant custards sit behind The white .1l~n ti: el II.ff ' :-i;... I' ~~lamed by the spirit and example of the Harlem Renaissance, Black poets of the pre- and post-war years continued exciting experiments. Miss Brooks recalls that a brief encouragement from the "great" James Weldon Johnson when she was a child spurred her own her way. Some of the poets of the /enaissance, ~>,Ji~ howeve~~ writ·n r ~ i g ii~n~r, genret ~Poet Bontemps also wrote novels--the most famous of 81 I O'-f' 0 �I , them being Black Thunder (1931, an adaptation of the 1831 I Nat Turner-led slave revolt. He edited and wrote, and some- times collaborated with others on anthologies and biographies for young readers. With Hughes, he edited The Poetry of The Negro: 1764-1949, considered a break_,..through in modern Black literary activity. One of the handful of Renaissance Black writers to survive into the Seventies, Bontemps died in 1973. Some have called the period between 1930-54 t~~the ~g~ ·~·f Langston Hughes in Black letters. Indeed, Hughes remained prominent and productive throughout the three periods-Renaissance, 1930-54, and the Contemporary era. During the pre- and post-war periods, Hughes continued to turn out everything from newspaper fiction columns (Jesse B. Simple) f~;;~: ~~:~-~d:ii~~~:::i::~ ' " (1932), New :--::::: Four Poems and a play (1938), Shakespeare,,.,ifn,, Black writers continued to Negro writers." Per~aps the pe~d currently amply capsuled in t~ese lines fro g I! i \ ciated iscussed ::th ( i\ is Hughes' fa .t / "Dream Def erred" .,;What h~ppens to a dream ". . . . . . . . J and esp·>+ in their works, ca ~...... a tradition, as Hayden n~;-es-,~ i;:t"a.d.~t~ionally as li \I \. (1932)~tsboro Limited: j f f I t~· I ,. �II zc- ) i l .' Hughes in poetry, like Wright, Ellison and Baldwin in prose, faithf'ully recorded the Black mood. Like the others, he also predicted the social violence of t h e · • Q+Jhez• :tt1tpo1 banit dfAk and ,Yolumes 1? i1,.0ets f- of the. period. inc'J,...ude \,J]terl}ng ,1;.;;own, ·,H 1 { M- Southern Road (l932);~To s -e~ ~ 1WP~ ~J,- D~,l'r "-'!) , Rendezvous with America jl944) ,,, ,I and Libretto for the Republic of Liberia (1953);ANaomi Long Madgett, Songs to a Phantom Nightingale (194l); ; Selected Poems of Claude McKay (posthumously, 1953); Hayden, Heart-Shape in tv~ h'tf!Uflt 0' Hi.¥i.~ the Dust (1940) and The Lion and the Archer ~94~); Cullen, \' , j ~ ->€r''.' ~ The Medea and Some Poems (1935) and On These I Stand (post,hu. C~fZ iit B ,,, Eg u~~lf(,O); a~ 'll;.z;;;,/a..J~t~1L~ ") mously, 1947); f\and D6tison, >owerf'ul. Long Ladder, (19q.6~ Also writing and/or translating during this period were D u ~ Randall, Samuel Allen (Paul Vesey), Margaret Danner, .....-a~Wrigbt (who also wrote poetry), ~.Sl,., lh i •-~'A4,ll!il 11 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, during the late 60•s and 70's, by some Black poets and critics 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 high praise for their technical virtuosity. • wrote the forward to Miss Walker's Stephen Vincent Benet For My People, Allen Tate to Tolson's Libretto For the Republic ., ~, # ~ f �, . . ,. , . ., v, srj , ~ / ,!J:w, /Jiau ¥ llfl/a (/_9_ 6 ~ .,....;:;---...~~a~ .7) • ,,-I ~~~~~ rJ 6 ~~~~~ /?-)f)~ 96i • ., "- - !Cl (a ~~~- Lq tao ) ) t (!. _..J �l i from Poetry: A Magazine of Verse--regarded as the white / American olympus of poetry. ~1-,r.b, · • C: A ~1>1i,. One of the most important anthologies of theAperiod was The Negro Caravan, (19~ited by Brown, Arthur P. Davis and Ulysses Lee. The ~•••- inclusive anthology of Black /Mterature, it remain~ of the outstanding textbooks~1"(;2t:l,• tiaek w,Ii,lfj,iR~v Brown also published two important works of the world, the Supreme Court decision of May 15 closed the book on one era of Black Americanfistory and opened up Pan- I Wright's Black Power (1954), a dora's box on another. commentary on bis experiences in Africa's Gold Coast, may ve been more than ·ust a hint at the what was to come. , corn's box, cs hir d "th 1,., +- lld FO -i ve "n, a ne re,-,~ of l ci r OCCl l q "t o I"' "' .,.....,, r 1- P. k wori ., · is 1a,... .., , , · . -inl ,"1,,., .Jr. , fo 1 f esr. -fl '11 "' "- - P o ·dA , " of oun < 1 of' h-ite , Ch c1 i vo-ic t0 !-: t' II r , . C " 11 n _, ,., "" . f' l, ri ,.. . on C"' C, oth .,,, .,, "' +,:,7 1 ' r n ('\ r 0 d +-o tr::p Q-,- Tn iVA , .... • f") r cl V b y "' ~, . I ~ K • re l T .,,, t 'Y ) �c;'ood mo r' n~, nJ bLveJ1hl11e,tz(lwJ~r~Je11 - - I.ea.ti beJr III cont; n<_;:u;..l,e;:..a.......,._ As the ?0th Srntury onena its be1-ild..erod(qome say eyes , 11 sort them !!!!!D~ of c nnri;e j ere " ~1s n Blac k noetryl- and the 11 Pho c ' 0d 11 ) - -not the lPA..""'t • a 1ong .._,_j_ncrease in the_ rt • \li th theN1 mber of f publicati.ons t--- ldnc t1' ir ,m rk(due to the n5 oneering 0 ~f Dunbar, Corrot'"l rs , Camyibel 1, Cotter, Sr., "nd ot 1"'rs), Bl . . cl,. oets could t 1eart •-lll!lh!!!k anticip te h ving their ,m rklt re d by ''.-ii te ed.i tors . "-41:11(,ljll.e 0 /t-m.y of the oets uriti n in the first "nd second decades of the cent~ J.".J wo ld never be he~rd -~ fron again,A_ a few of ~ , , - - . would become · minor·'l lio-.rits of the ~-~ harle ii.en~issance . he noets 1,rork!-}dj\Jilf.._~rnrisin div rr · t-,.r of styles , lin~uistic - bents , themes , te perrmentst end -=ind C""'le from nract;c lly f-e ti . 23 ,i;l' the •est I 0 verv corner of' the U'l1ited :State5JA.AM dies ...,nd 0 011th 1 eric"I . ~ Ies ie Pinclney n'lJ.(l e cate ories , Kel ft" _ ler(J 0 AJ - 1939) 11 )n 0-19{0), Charles Bertram Johnson(1P80 - ), Ben 'amin 13rr:1 1 rl.e7,r(lR'.)'2 - l 39), i\:1.YYrlond f}nrfiAlcl lJqndridn- (l't'~-F'J ,, Jrun.es Ed1 ,rard T cCG 1 ( 1880 ) ot o Le A -qoh "n n ( ) , m elina Ueld "'ri rn ( 0 -19,S P) , Jesdf°' &P,JJ_Se'ty~(l e~ - 19?1) , \falter ~vc,...ette r ; ,--- ,rrs . ::;areh Le01\..t?leninr;(' ffie Lne 1 e~some(1 8~ - ~va Alberta Jes~ye(l897 - w,dns(lf'i3- , Leon~. ~2rris(1e86 - ) , 1/al ter Adolnhe Roberts (l8R(-. - 19(-._s"), ), ~ eor~ia Douglas Johnson(l 0 86-l9h6), ,.,,Peodo.,,.,e Henry ShacveJ.-"o,'.'d(l88e - l923), Mrs 1911?) , .J! 5 BTRij. Oh!'lrles 1 lilson ( 1°85- oscoe C. J8mison(7°P? _ '"pe ~Mith Jo nson(J8ao), /\ ndrea Ha.zafk riofo ( 1895-Ddgar Baily( r ) , Ui 7 limn ), .ToseDh Sea·.,.on Co ter, ,Tr . (7 95 - 1910) ClaJl'i ssa Scott De_cney 1 ( 19 O1 - 19~7), ~nd ~ scores more )' �29 ..:.,.-~~.;-~~~.;;;;;~,. Jrunps were r1cde by ,.;- el don Johnson dev&aon his Cotte r , Jr . (cut dOi•m to e""rlv to a fe ~'ft others ~ ow · ., d is i~nort...,nt Pi.rt ne at le~."'t note I\ terling Bro m. g •a~b~ ofl this SaundP,rs F enton Johns n , <. gs iuc1t1 ff°' d J. of in Dorte.n c e, be.,rond eddinrr the Johnsons, o c c 1 red in the fi_rst t; o dec8des . ~ut , fo r nuroose s ~ and cont;inufu t;r , 1rp f\...no t e that this 1- as not:if a period ina c tivi t,r n!llone; noets . '~'e chnicall , t1-i0rc ~ ex -as ,.__.....,...,~...... Prit!lentation . ,:{ost ol the helned ph co out the dialec t vo ue or ,rrote noots ei th"'r :» hprmless -pieces ')"'.rd.ens , death and human sorro T• Others urote on natt re , love , h rshl.,r "nd bi tterJ., of the 'War • .6. .___ e - s ~ , wa-s a leadinr; ':l.J ack s n olrnsm n of the day occE>sional J. v :r,..,ote noetry . 1 i 0 nd only f' rose - noern nr See "'nd 4m Soti "'fi ed t1 ?5 "ten z as , it is reminiscPnt of ~ provided f eJ ~orr: ,,.,,, c ial isf'nc •• ConPir-tin17 of ( il.-,j .t<'enton Johnso' ~ reel II) "no ~ri 7_7 "'1rndt. ccd ~ 01,e-,~ne: "'r,.,.. ret la 1 crr .{ t11<'or ru1y r:ood st dents '11,-,"'jnin, Sc 001 fo,-, ~eaci-, I, 1 0ve rt , r·e - - A lJra__ma ti c is "' J.shii, oy L . 1 i 11, noet rind educ.,tor, rote e of the f' enior HD.Hf -l-ic, ,ijfa12!11 :ehi&Ls:mu feeJ s t:re Af,-,o - American 'cons tr j ned or,r:,,-, es· on to c-j ve r in ,rino·s . t1 fee~·nrrs abo 1 t 1 is noet,-,y hri s a ~ treng th r0~~ r~l...,tions . P ~ 7Js 9~/!"-fffM- ~1 1~ ~~ f -t.J>~<i • t,,.,f'va · 1 o·f · i~ ; :rnc· . ' f.!.1-": rJes .Johnson • b ishec'l ·na J 5c 1 1 isperinP- (a pa111nhlet , J. 900) , The _____ _ �30 Johnson tt ~,,.,d rd.s noetry and 1 re$ N(_he r"'fl<lnr ~ t s an e~uc to nath of oas mw:vb I anrye rs to be a i r onic II "life"f is ~ JI 1a 1 hen he .a•~ some tFj"' 'jill . 7%) i Qil621%11!1!1J!dM.l For hi T'lw, An oc~aion"'J po e~ttended n 1s d Clonr . "7'..--:i,ra·wley ,X bs forchourn , .t rva d nd the p-niversity of CriiCf'go , [Ind for YPf-lrs tau,,.ht at so thern Bl.., ck colleges n "--'n.'7 ] ish den rtrrient s . his nioneRri'1.P' work in ~ ~ e ir nriTTJ." · t"'r"'t1.1re nd for 1 •• • ne nubJir-hed ~h9_Ft T.risto ry of. the Ar1 0-rican Ne ro(lOlA) , A 0' ort Histor of .l..!Jni;'].ish Ur>0r1 (]921), A 1~eF urvey of BnC\li.sh Litr>rot1. re(JO:::>S'), T'rie_1 er:ro Genius(l937) and r0gro Builcers g.nd J.iero~s(19.37) . It i'"' to BrauJey ' '"' "'t cUes th...,t we '11.U'"'t r,o for vitRl infol"!11::it5.on on tho develonrie'1.t of ol,,cl• AmPrica.n noet r y . ~ rrote stor>j_er- and nooms thnt ,._.,, cl not been co lJ ected /~ no.Y1.rlri de;o s poetry . , ,.. rich I ~ '1 11 nd sometimes fncial 1 n ~ e r n . T·rme :.-o v·10 ., · ti .Jt ~ 1 a d vise "I l. J... for some thin • 11 .,econst.rJ.ctjon Or ccn j t Ap.,.,arently cribi tt1Brcd by ·che o >ortcd t- 'Dct . l_ l. f e Ve '~,.. c nte norary viGlencc , r_;8inst ·31...,cks , he asks: 10 .t!.no r.)1 to 7 i.ve ...,nd die a s12ve ? Zalka Pestruza 11 '"ecal J s re ay ' s n~ rJ.eri Vane r 11 in t} f"'t everv prirt A n...,tive of Ginemnatti, of tl c Hom a n is daneinr, 11 -- s2ve her f2ee . 1 ~ ·:mdridr;e suf ored a stroke 11 1 rh n he -ros 30 yecrs old "'hich left hi ·1e~s 'l.nd rig.ht arm n'"lr...,J.i~ed . 0 nhqreefter -riting ~o"'t of his nootry from hiR bod, hen bJi~hed \1 a.~ri ·n 0'ton , D.C., '"-<oh"n0n ~.liw•=-•••••not n blio:h a voJ me . Pei+her djd TeC:,,.Jl ,r•,o ~ ' b e e 111~*cHtor of the ndi=mt �31 A o:el j_ns ,xxx1~im].re nl1 blished a three - act poetry remains mcollected . lay( 1ric~:iel) in 19?1 but h"'r orn in Roston , he "res ed c'"'ted in ~~,._•...,•'"•" •1-,. ,. , vririous schools of sevPraJ states , a.na l...,ter t ... u ~ 1)10-4J..,; veprs at Di nb'lr '"ir-]:i Sch~ ¼ ~ ,C . ~ " " " - l . n~ ~ ~'fo r P than "'lir:;htly 1 61 {u~ rendo] ,m Broo l rs , 1••1ss ~~ . GrJ.l . - u< · f noe t r,r~ nt! A..3 0IDC O )ri 7 i "nt;, oir;n,...nt , she 1ritAs of love, reasons , darlmes"' and hie:h snirits~ " the 'e 1 1/er-r-ro . mat rinr; ·Jears -- t:rnified in the nhr:1se Alt"ourh she h"d been 1)ublis11.in'3 noetry jn 11 eriod5 cals her fi rPt b5.g breal, c,.,me 1-hen Bhe ~!!!!!!~~C~11~lJJ~elln~1~s~ an oJo~v f ""CaroJ~n:, Dusk(1027) , <hflinc th@ r ..'...hilJo of tlao until t oeo t, f th e di st; J Jed lanr,11aG"e in modern Americ rin Ji te-r>e tl re . ureciC!e and uenltt ~'ii e sixties "0 ld eov ch ines 1 as inc 1 uded in I!! ot I 'as ~he foll 0°i nrJ teke on their fulJ nnli+ical/c11Jt r2l 8if"'l'nif'ic8ncP : 1 Ana r , B t she i::i inrJ11dPrl in th0 br,,...t r,ntboloP'.ies of' -fro - .tl..·---u"l ..... i.can Doetry au::i et desn:::ii r~") . F'. [1 as ?n innt;c fo-r the t.,ir Du ois - irisnired 0 Pconrl .c'un - African C0 nvress in ..-•iiEf A n .,ti ve of Ne" J e-rsey, she ..,tter1 ded Cornel 1 ( :?hi Bet2 hnpa) and the u11ivP-r>C!ity of PennsvJvi:i:r,ja , an0 Dl.lbli ,...:bed fo 1r novels: Tl1 r i~_·' nf11!"j0n (1°2!:.), Plu,,, Sim( 029) , rn~e~1-dn~!Jnr_r7_Jr8e(1031 ana C0 medy , A ·ric"n :Sty1e(1°33). :rer noetrv s ~ ner5 odicaJ" durin('l' th0 t1 en ties nnd thirties., ~ h~-r> "l'Jo~t f "l.OUs 0"-rr;d i-n erotis 'di-w~t4 . ~I "erifl..,.,, noe!.ll . J5n s"lired by o en ot,.,t;i on frori ;::;o io11rn 1 e/ r :1ruth, �3? the noem vie1rs t,he Blacl- riother "seared with sl vory ' s ·,1ortal ~cqrs" M ~ ~ows that her sons qre ?.lack f oet btill visionin~ the "tars! aDriarently ~-~=~•~-~ snAnt tiMe re fle cting d1rjn~ the erlod between bee-inninr, o .. tr1; c nturv rind. the rlent1iss,,nce . ~ o 1"1.Ucb of the • t ares l • t O ,,- ~ us in ,..:::r1va t C ] lVC • ii 2& I) 11 1 ~ '.;1,6 - " oetry ,?:~, P,-- some t • • le,,, Fa set I s vers 7Ariir:ors rccial tones and sometimes not . So·1e of ~'II:~ her vn.oul.er1_re of French(she taugrit the nn u~P-e Dnd t·,.,anslated into bnrrlii:-h sevPral ~lest · the seen · n l\ra,;;,. t' it 1 es of s 0111e of ,rhe.,,,e she iriterDoJater the oets) . This is <'rench words into the ·exts . Generall her tone is mdet, neat and ell 1 -rritten . a native of Nor~ G,,rolinR ~~..:.._~~~~~n~r:;-;o~n:;:;-1-;'.",f1it-.;r~e~ltJ~C~o 1 J e r;e in 1 q OJ. ::md -ro r ke d for many yerrs in +;he rail',ray -rnPil service . In '' G redo 11 he nnounced that I ani ar1 IconocJ ast . 1 Jitli nbvious irony, S adC'H rus of "nn-1 f-' is "an .1-'-norchist, '' a/-ins c·oes on to clDi.:ri , "rid "i e eath of e and bold~ess of subject r1attc-r, To ~on . -·:is C'1ords nnd Discords ~T 1 ras nubJ idled · n 190G 'k1ll.XJ~l/l,V 11 r1,ii ch incJJ?~f"l critical notes . d(~P~'J• ~::1rris, Jamh·on, rs . F'leminc,, 0 . 11 In his n11dns "ntic~patcs merica(Adoff, 1°73) ~n y ti nd h:i -Or{: 1,..erJin ' s ,L .. j: ~--·--ok~nZo(l'I''-'~ f?Vll'-"'.,, t ~11 ._._.__,,,_. ) rr . j_'e1,-rsome, Itoberts,~hl=lc 1reJ.f Tilson , '. rs. ,Tohnso'n, .rtazafieriofo, Purr0ll 8nd B"iley poets contributinr- to var-i ous neriodi cpls of the day . rere R"lonrr lliB '11he Steel 1'•a:kers n.nd Ot:ber -~ar Poems in nc-rn hlet form in 1918 . t,e served as ecli tor of the t(ichrrond (Indiana) Sla~ ond bJi:ilhed short - stories in ~h" 0 entur_r. '1'fhe Steel l n.lrers" is P"T'OtionsJly '""nd tec1--iric~11y a'dn to sone of tho 1-orl: of J"hitm::in(~l=llt) e.nd Sf'n<"h ,,,.,i:r. It nrrci. Pefl thP 'fll6 steel ,o,....ker, --amonr; Ofl ~rris hifl~elf 1 �33 film numbered 2..t one t;_P'le . In 8...YJ.oth"r nl8ce , asks the •rh5 te ~"rY'iS r.in to e c ce-nt bim '"'in c e , desn:hte color " d fo::,t e differences , 'l1he .i..errro s the same as the rest . " 1 bli"'h(;d C..:Jo ds and c;U,"''7.ine ±R (J,. q?O):in RoPt n 2t ":;h8 inception o f ~wt.n~- . -. ~ ~' . p~ ...~ t ! J ~ IC/'-l~c,M-:4,~) ~ tb~ rtJ n2,is<1 ... ncc .A..a nonP- the " earli~st l'le<Troe art:i sti c eff'e u ti encsr contrib it · ere to er""lo-rr f-neP - vr-rse ,ith \azaf·r,,,ri fo "'nd :i 0 11 ;j oYton . Sexton ed to v::,r;o1's periodicnls ,.,s did .1.aze.fkeri efo 11ho<"P 1 ork t e anne'"' red in '.he Crusader rr a i:en fro 11 1.'he 1 e I e t'l'ro ai:rrd n in V" rio s nJ "Ce ".LJark SymY)hony . 11 11 1 Pl1tiiWii!ll!Mi!.lll!!P!l'll!!!!ll!'ll!•.._thi s rind ternneraP1onr,s incl Jn dj n.) in Tol. on 1 r omb T:b rover " S(')xton "America: nlr-iys line wi J 1 be s en C" evi 7 i:,-en-·, s 11 "nil ~ rnp "PS en a re . '. nay,ents , only , d an P}e e ta-ny ec1 ,, c ·- 5 on . e 111 ' 1. sks , in 1 ecry,o Ch 1y,c· , " "'!!!lliiliiiiiilllil;;llll•~l!!III!"!' for . 11 inanlv ~ ' Anrl not ""--ontin(T rnonev - ITJ."'lrprs , ll r;n the m nner of l'(tokelv CnrrnichP.el , - ,,. he 1,rarns , rho11J d For t"l-ii 1 world 8 '::i m rk to 11 re 1 7 f's h0 fi t the 1 e ro n "Ven . In addition to anr.er nna i·"""natience, thi r noet , 1 so e:;·presses r'"'ce ,,,,......., - "The ' ,,.ro 1.JoMo..n . " Tf it ,1ere 7 ride e ft np to h · m to 1.. l)ir-lr a t e0'-rO -,oni~n . 11 t;. · ;n -;io 11 11 P, T( ' ld se1ect the wonderful eon of the hall of fq1e", poet -rv 1r:re l 7 , -' O con ,l ed to fil'"' ryr zincs , E"'C 9e --{fizaf eriefo , ~ ·JO""llan for .. nry,o n 11 /J othP):i' . '1 1 ·1 fo1 r 05 f' t - J i ned <'ton "'a"' r~ [)ri.et r)~•=-,., • �3h Burrel] celebrates the 'prace snd forti t 11 ~e" r , ..,tn°sr of h.ti.p,cn] 7 i-r1. th!ltk~....,..., "Pl nclr . . . . hi . . torv ' K sk of the Blnck rnoth r. xl:re: e~rth mother to Create nor the c.,ntains of the st; · fro- tr'ericon 1-0I11'1n . is ' c f· lson : . . JJ asn . a ohm slit :1s0I11ebody 1 s Ci,iJ d" iP not rood uoetry but its s ibjAct . 1-ie and ser•rod tiine i-n the e t togeriter ,rorkcrl as 2 nrint•er "'nd th atrical uerf'ormer iss")uri qt..,to Penitentiary d rinr- which time sI11alJ boolr of his Prses . Shnckelford '·T s a n"tive st· dicd Bt an of t.lillia Csnada 1,-rhol\.•t J J 11, ;nnu'"'tri tr..,ining rcho---1 nd "'.Jhe "1. 1 J:ni ideJ phia Art 'useum. r · s ntry_:__a Other i'oems , wss n11bl i'"'hed in PhiJidel·-,hia in 191e . Jamison uublished l,earo .Soldiers n.1'1.d Oth~:' __Poerris ;"l South S~ . about ncnstles in tJ-,P, ldr, (Tl:b"' 7..,+-ter noe:r1 has and ,--.. rry 1 er.hin s" 7 "+;PS t e bt"'Ve --y r:rsndl.r r::i se . 1 11-i!"'.\SP, Jose,,h, love, .is'"'o ,r·, in J 9 lf' . Jamiron -.rr:ites Hope]i::>rsn"'Pf' nd coura"'e of J nc tr')0 s, J" T>'isonf uoint is~ouri, BniJey ' s 0,1 V'1.# vvi~•~ 1r s rcleas ':)d in 1 c 1L! . '' L1he ~l rrro 11 A nntive of l2.c 1 ririrl 11 l"lcwro Soldiers . 1'1~0 of the fle} r of D nb..,'1'> 1 f' "Colored i:::>oldiers" 0 troo s 1-ihose r 1 ,t, fonrrjit instePd oft! roe 1 ·inF 'venaenace for r.heir Fronrs. the hn,.-,dshiur of r f'o'I'> 11 s')uls A ,., ica 11 o~ noeMs( he ,. l llr.r,ame "TI ir t tlin~) 7 oc_;ous to lifr: ej.l , ue 1 r..., al 7 Rt the b"t -:=ind uarn. that the "bal 7 may bP. '\-t' 1 rl0d" as a plea . bot b t ( " r . Self .. is at the 11 �35 ' Jf5 ss Jes,..,ye •·rro te ovi n"' no tr~,r but i~ mu ch bette rork in devclonin · and e dinr ~ rofes:::ional choruses . 1orn in ?nsas, she received music 1 trainin• t •estern Uni re--sity in ovinf to new York hanf'2 s Eind Lan f"J"Ston Frij versi ty in n 1rih.ahoma . Cit~r in the t1-rentics , she contjnued -10-,.,ld.nci- Jorl I R c o .,nosi ti ons "nd thot of t e >nen to ( ilton ' s 7 ,:, c rdtlq oi 0211 i . . ted ribove . r:sap::;uur Her "'onas #., 19311 ) ' "'no. ri'hC' _u ronic l e ir ,J noted in o 1 r d;_ . . c ssion of' A1ex Ro ers , es ye s11ccessf lJ y c ombined tho -roeti_c ?nd the 1"1""ical lang u2g~ (t , "'il".lilrir to str:irt 1-ri th I). Her noem, "The 01 r-)1. t e;,r are so :::i-· naer " rec . . 17 s t 1-rork of Co,..,,..,ot' erf', Dunb,.., ", ,Toh..nson ( J"ries) , noetf' 'mo m for he,,, 0 e rour oth r n' rho 1,,.,vc brj 0 ·en thP g Ein bet rePn t-he t1 o art f'orms . 8.. 1"0 :J II nne i TI • j S"' J eosyP 1 ~ "ior8bucl 11 rlnd ,,,. . i l 8 "'t'n is riot ' • 1· f'e :rirl •-ro,..,·rn(a 7 onc:- vi+-n tl-1 "t of 1 pr r,on+-erin 3,,,,t1 n1 l 9 r7 r 0____ ~_:::J c of' l_:'£__.,...,, ri r,0ns . F1or P. i e::') sec c.'-~ ons , �Dl ring the ueriod of the Renaissanc e , ,,oet~ such as Georgia ( i£>c,c, Johnson f"r:iuset, Anne S enc er , J i c e Dunbs r - 1 el son , ,..,il 1 , §) ci ay , James ~1 e1 don Johnson , .Uandridge and Cott er }m.:bu h"d scriiew d recop;nition before 19?3)) ~ontin ed their o t ut 1 \) I either throur,h me,...,.,zinP- or book · • Hllch of this I! 1-1ork i :G. ~ he i::iook of _.,. '"':"'------""!".""~.it' r • r0corded in Johnson 1 "' _ can 1 1\.erl in ' s '~ . c;J_l ,o tee;ro Poets .-.nd The:i r°'!)oems nd C Poetry of the Negro( l q?l ) , and in other such comnilPtio ns and periodicals . horn in ·~8f't V· r inia ..,nd studiAd et the Virp-inia has Seminary in LyncQburg •r.h 0 r she ~ s ent nost of her life . he re Anne ~pencer F'.1S cent y relocr:i_te d in CaJ ifo rnia ; but .,J s for a 7 ono- time li br'<ria at Dpnb2 r Higr ;jchool in Lynchburg . 'i'his noet ' s 1ro r1.r r--.. h<1 rdl mrer reflPcts r2cj8l or noJitic 1 concerns but she is one of the most technic~11ysure of a 7 J Bl..,ck the oets . She Trites about ,;romcn , love , carnivals nd Jorkings of the •·- - mind . In · ts brevity 2nd conciseness, her noetry m1ticin t~s the work of G,rendoJ~m )rooks and is JooseJy' akin 1 to 'lngel ina Grimk ( trioue;h the latt<'r t s work is re ciaJ _ y - fl::ivorAd) • .-., Fer poetry also be<. rit~ r in the e"rlv yeors of the cen+- 1f! 1 r-ut, of _ _ ~fch 131001'1-i nn., Y'] :i C _ cind st~rle c'- n be seen i'l. Cnre1s," ..,ncj:.her-s) . SJ_ ements · ayden ( 'L A D-i nAt r1i_e Cny,nival. 11 1Te PY:1.el i ve r, 11 "Hi ghl!;;- qi:qsa0'e and -r. }in. t "Dd <J,y,9 told ( jn on echo of the ro wtics, th..,t Rl8ck poet i11. the same ""Oft •lma soI11e k:nshi.n to the 'l'l'J.OV:l 0' C]"Sf' noer1, it E"eer,:.:-, 1rit11 \J , tte-rto11., 0 jc, lln i:.>1--)n]JPv rid h.0"ts. "YJ.c,J<tion'j ·rJ:-,ey,e;n t 1-ro Jov rr nevPr �37 ~ advised, in 1 17 , t ~ be 1¢201{ II col A 197)1, no one STI!"l of ye pro ifi c . "sen"'jtjve,~nd lrnenly ~ t her wider oudience . o mf s,-ucm l x 11 observant" Put as of cvm Pr , e tion . Con::- j d ri n"' h0r 0 f' Y'S, 0r· od · c a ls Fork c·n be fo nd in sever•r:tJ ant11olo,.,.ies nnd Tp,.., of tbe t1-renties . Criticf'll ssse'"'Sm"nts ore,,...--:-,-. n-iven by KerJ·n , rmm ana ohnron • ..:rari.ns \Jelnon Tohnson , ~ , e noted e r j_,-,r , and Other Boe~ ir J917 . Tbe ~,,.,k inc~1ded din l ect •el AS standard .t!,nFJish cor, 8mor"'tive ni Pees . 'ot higbl..,r 0 1 1 f' conventional "ir:inal , the 'ork was one ri.ore ste..., in the lon3 r:tnd frui tf11l dPVPlopm,mt of nerh ::ps t e most i mnortant fi~ure in th hi"'tory of ~""'was involved in ar mriny thinrrs as c o Afte,,., his se e m s ~ d h 0 ve been h nnrnl:--r no "ible . 11 ork on Bro2 d-ray (with 1 ; p:ht operas), he 1-romked for the re -: e l Pction of p'- 1~ck poetry . - -~ t beodore rioosevelt, served as d for his nolit5c<>l 1-rork) in l 1 nit0d 0 t~tes Cons1 l(a re - i c qrarrua and Venezuel ., ub7i:::;hed of Anx ~~ - Colored L edi tori a s ( for r,o· e than 10 ye rs) for the years . A deeply P6'"YCholor;icn.l -Jo rk , l~pw Vorl{ in 1912, wrote ~ r:e and bec8.rie uto b,:ior:r~inhy de" 1 t 1 1i th r 1 1 ch an exDlo!"'ive contenpornry tonic- - tbe theme of ~sint -- thst Jo1nson 10' ld not sffi"" ri"' OTJTl nn:rne to it ti it ~ • "" reissued n i.ntrod ,c · a 'rinr OYl hy t'1e , rl Van Vec'"ten . e.:b th,.,t ,Tohnson I s II rotberr II np ,'h5tfield, Di.l~oi s, -ra,,1 ins flnd oth errs nas ri ;bly Draj sea by Jere just as stronrr rni th. T j 1 ,h.it an, nd if'o rC' ofl' • te ( 11 intel 7 ect ia:J_ sub0tancell . , s r ndnr Bt 0 s �38 ( should be ..,.rn ned -ri th the noblest AT>1ericc.n c,,-,nn1e:rnorati vo "Joems), and 1 1 other jnf1uential crit;ics . "his first book mows "'trenr,th, ,-.. fl 11 virilit 11 and rob F'tne!"s thrit wo11lcl marl{ Johnson 1 s futnre , ritings -- erpPf cially 11 God ' s _ro~12_ones(l 0 ?7) . jiH mhc noems 8re natriotic . . cornrneYrJ.orates the 50 Fi f't y Yorirs 11 wllich anniv1;rs ry of the J'.,,-n_cncine.tjon Procla!'18.tion), nost lr;ic( 11 0 S01 thJ.ana1 1 11 ,descriptivelv 0rr1orous( 11 'l he Glory or' the Day:f 1 ms · n Per Face 11 ) and didncti c ( " 0 rothPrs 11 ) and fundament'l l The J "st ~ i ...,portPnt for for wh t it rncorn.s oem, t;it?\lJ:.~r;t; is as,.,embled, is an ::irtirti c n. le ck 'nn Unkno,-m Bard 11 ) . of the rmkPrs of the inr; actual -rortl.s rivid names from SnjritunJs , ,Jori..nson st renrrt Lind h"'n ho -r :it ar,..is-sry chqr,,ctPri:=itic of the s e sonr-s nirituaJs . reaVPS i n t e hPj. loved !!' i :t?sls\sliWl-- I""""") and to 1 rhich he a"voted so rnu<"'h reseo.rt ch "na J istenin0· ti:r10 . I,.; roouced by he "ays, is ':':hose sirroJe chiJdren of the s n and soil . 1 ~th~ .Johnson 1·n ir,too , that ~ ~ ou1d Dot be • 1 O blcc 8Jnve sin~ rs , ~one, forgot , nf cd , if 1:.rork rl om he d t1--Je torch . AJ tho igh "'ift,~ Yen rs j s a "'tronP-, col 5.d lllW:l '!Ork, r.,ce-r,n,,cc-: nu~ lyrics, es.ten i Yl h · • ~ Ce ws end dll pj n I ti 2 t: Are tnnes that reD at ~hn cry of the hn, rt �39 Jith a woman 1,ho is t intAd bAC'lJ.sc fl C' is e the vj ct ; m 0f One dro p of Y!J.idn; r•ht in the de m of Ji fr, b1 ,rho finds hornitality i n the 11 11 "8tin "t,,,eam 11 s ~his n oem re c nl Js Cott e r ' " ",,he ,,1atto to His Gri ti c s 11 -rhich de icts the preclic8ment;=q:a;n5L( nrobably CottP r riim" J. f ) made up Uf Red 1-12n , but c, h rnh l e fold - - presumabl~r the "9la ck COY'l unitv . rn. 11ti - r ... c ial 1 ll <> cl.r Hr.ln , nri ton , Gel t , nd Scot , ho lo v es tr e dark - s dnned , cur y hai r ed " u ts SF8 t music :in 11 sj ,.,., i la r tension in Y"v :=:0 11, . 1 ti ·rs . JohD!'lOn To l y i::lon ." w. he to ses and turns betuecn n.dvi . . inp; er son th t tri0 "d, sk,_r Dal l o f sriedo s rcrAPn the hirrh,ray o-f Lour sky" :::ind enc o 1rsrrinr; hiin to 11 storrn the sull en fortr0ss :1 fo"Lmded on ra c ism . In additj on to -rritinP- ruch nowerf 7 ~n.d J.r.stin -..,ootr , r·s . Johnson rns of u.•illllll!il;;""1.- "'er'd ce to vou.nrr uri t rs for sev"'-naJ. dAc<>des . bosterl A 4"ernale co mt r - nnrt tn L'Uln-ston lar 1 ~ ~ nna spontan°0U ¾ Me t;nn-c, _ .; 0 Johnson , noetry of the T,. :..\inff'.1 D:i_srnond(]A91-1915r-) rDo did not ntil 19'i-3( 1 J~,,,.,_o__\n_1 l d DiP- ). DisT'"lond , Ji 1 nany -rriters of the p0r; od -1ro d 11 rinf the hen,..,is"'Pnce . Dj_sr1ond nf 1 -Jas not 0 ne of all .0nvis e h:,Tsi c 11y prPsent in nrJ eI11 born in V~rri;inia ::ind, a trock s t r / 'Y)hys;cal thPr>ap_ a f tPr 8tt ndin"" ton , he c1t R, "'h I ecical College 01r~rd lJ"liversity •~c:.demy "'Y).d t o lmivf' r sity of C icar- • �0 Dis ond , 1 ( crisp and noi. rina t poetr ftl o urote some protest , i_s ore im")ortant to us durinr,; 1b.hiirn rr ntcrt 1'h~ \for d I s onthl"" 11 of ove And eriod for his jo rna i"'ti c 101h) for several years . rhey also co-edite ( 11 r ____u orit~ gazi~ d ere they botl-i~ n,,bl isherl poems and ) articles . Tohnson ~ 11' d sPvoral of his nlays performed in C icP l""O ,h th Pekin ,..,he..,tre ~-•llll!tlD==:i111111111Wl!i--l9A.. ic 8nd the H[lr}em ink be+- eon t e noetr o ~ 1 :=, enn s nee . city ' s n Tiesake ni V"r::-i ty 3Dd t,, rr,ht sc:tiooJ for .., ye r in the Sou+-h . Y>7 V ri +-. "'T .,... , b 7 ; " ,.,d noet-r~, one( TittlP D-reaming, 1017) in C ica~o, no ~ y 1 07 ._; • ' ~nc onr'"' of .,_he Soi. l, ~r:inct1 0 - tiP1e . Tr"rr1.o., - J 911 e .. vork e+-;r: ,;p..}-' d hpr'l. 0 Pnetr: (19 ?) - ----r--- pi bl; "17"'0 ~_:- s of iJ,.,r,.ect ~:1e-r· ca, ::-hort ~torie" . A narticinant in t.11."' ''no ,tF-r re"Ti val II in "iiil!!!!!!!ll!~ r for P'"le!:0:Z., 0 nt.hoJ or•v of I and Tn sn ing that he 1.'78 A i lii<"' , orlr Bccented nt1'ol0rie 0 0 ~ ..:_h_e_I fprri foA-';7tr- CPn a c..,,i c<, J0' n~on h A t..-t .Toh son •JaS C Arn.,,,,; f:. Poet-r~ er J t.. '0 -] cna,:,: .. If 11 O"'t of dP-spair nd Jtirnately the S the only noct nriting :.in e: ch ve:.in(as Bro,m , Hedding, ,--- -T0hnson , h ~ ~)!.1'.~i..+-,ics T as+-;~ I-indSA"' 7 aclr Ttlf HOY' CS "'""he and s~ndburg, 7 -- 'A,T)rovi wU ' d~ a,J~ n av0.nue B t in nool'l.~ ~ such as . 11 'Tli red 11 , )7 ~ycr, n mo-re t "'n " dcsrmir .. 11 11 'Tlhc Scarlet omPn" "nd 11 n, lers" he d. s .deflecting, as 3ro m noted , the 1:ree-ro noctry after 19 L~ , 1 resent, 1U s PYnerir:ent,.,tion to Pn_t or into the of \"njo I'O""try only 1 11 II ro o:; n ch tre es of Johnson can de"l ,,ri th either the br Flin rb,,n blues or the do :n- ho-rrie , 111 e sl7all OV"'rcome 11, 111otifs . Ac,, 1ro his �1 ---~ wo T'k do es not contain a cons is tent sni ri t of hope , ,J"mPs ,Johnson 11 ~r~ is m0:::sar:e nirrored ide s 61 ' 11'11. .ll@lllliiijlo_.-s foT'ei.gn to any philosophy of life t 11e 111 e el d on ts no ·ro in Ayrierica h:::-d ever Johnson thou,ht this w s uresched or precticed." bout the s"mc time a R 1 l< enton r- OP7J -l958 G Johnson 1 s ,rork , of the bl es erq -- and ~-is ometiI"l.es f a. l led its "father . " iM!lM"!~me~mml!lliiiiiliw:m~ iR 11 11 riT'0d 11 of,., civilizati0n .Jhich h<>s riv n hir1 0 ~ _ · and find 0 1 1.t th t yo up ore co lorP.d. .. JT'i_ tes about roustabot ts, nror"ti tutes,. 1 laborere ~ 1e pro~oses crr • • • i t is b"tter to die thnn it is to grow Johnso too rnanyll children c'<inricc fn.,,, ther.i. to SJ'1".,,,,.,. in the Ar".ler · can drearJ. . and observes . hat st :vong ri.11 and is , as JFy ·' tli.e p oet of the d:i snossossed . and Fenton Johnson V'"' n-rFints , 311Dt ,--.; ht said of Henry D1 "-J;/:s el so r>J" .... , the noet of the bl 1 es ; San Greenless hris noted"- "the blues "re a freedom song . 11 In br0alrinc a my fro111 tr,.,di t-i onal Bl ac :e ------:-, noetic dic t ion and orm, Johnron not oPJy received influenc0 from the ,h5te exneT'imente r s ,-.... of free veT'~ 0 ; he horro.Jed heAv il v fro~ t~A bl 1 es and , at this level , nmr"t sh"re so~e of the acro l Ades usuall~ rc 5erv d a] sole l ~ for I,anr-·n ton It is no·w re si nn7 M .... 11 o~t '3h-es . idely "CCented tbat the b]ues do not pre8 ch v"A a tion . To t},e contrary, the b J es ) telII\Af:>o onal f~ilures ~ r r'ret 1'18 1 ,er ~ -' I~ ho~e i n the s-i_nD"i_nrr b only one of tbe man~r no et nd n.~ .:'h? .[ o-i11"" on'4- ~~ ~.A-O sA..t.'• •..-•...,.lllliillil••~ Do 1e r0slly beJicve thet Johnson meant for the c"h.il_dr""n to be thro m jn take the bl es dno- r 7 it r"' r ;r uhen h + e river? '1rom_· ses to n;y,no-r>e th n ,-re II y my heR.d ~ �do;;n on some r ilroad track " ? Tohnron ' "' "note of de:::T)air " 0 d·stillation of cyh:i.c1:1l 1..reb the djtties , ( 11 st. rhi_ch ".)l"Oc'li1ced the sorro soncr , the 8nirituals , jolrps, rl ymes ahd blues . At the time John on I,n 1 i s ..., l es, • 11 .,,he 1 II e1'1 his Qlue , " . 1'.)l_A,P.8 and arr8nrin-:: tradi ti onaJ b ~1es ~ --• l . l ].{0 lip 111 eJ 101, .,,..,, s ~aJ.£, -1 .ote JJocr 1luesf ") AC · - 0m~n, II 'It ' e Us Che9r tre tnis Jist " fl] ne is ct Pl> - i th rruj tars BJ ack '"' Pr 11 in reali tyJ nJa y0d "r" ITt,j me t nes of the day . 11 C1e 0 rly this if' ,_, ld be . Tfo n:rPsides 1-.rorl 8S a nrjnce of the bl es t;: • t • 6'7c-tjme")! Johnson '~ is in rrior t :=mtt,oJo "':i.es of Afro-A"leric< n no etry ana cri ti ca 7 ,,eose"'srients of l i" hRV,, ril e"dy been notAd . c sions of th ~or no· e thoro 'P-Jl dis 0 "Oetry - bl e"' c0ncent sAe S+;enhen nenrl rsnn 1 q Unc1erstandina; 1 the Ne -r 'RJ " Ck Poetr:r, At the of oetry b.., ¥ d- m bi b1io,.,.ranhy~ n , h";)+-,er VIT . of t:b0 Sea on Cotter, Jr . r1°a5_ 919) , t;he Drr.:>c-oc·ou::- son of the Cotter already disct ssed . vo1 ' ich ct t st.or i ne hnd to And hie, co le ~ Yi a-vt,.... ne: C/'"\tt9r died /\; the rnoc,t rl t, br->rc11Jic,. c,lim volume DrleT'l ••el"l&issance +- er c an eared e carnc in1ov,,to-r, r,n +- _ _ ~ denth nr0mi::'~t:t.~ o r - Ar1er•ic"n frril from chi dPood li:e. D,nbar , Cotter at Fic,lr Friive.reo. ty ·hen he d vc 0 U"S hj_c, fnthe , Cotter Sl'OF"' peel �- I , f a sh::1rp ...,.K_w=irenes"'- ( in rhe "3--nd of Gide~, 0 8nd an evAn s~..,~ er abi ity to exp~es sentiments Pnd fPelinrs . i~ J}id 1.'h t Shall .l J•nn • "ll in I' rni c" uah,:,s i s nio c os - -thin s i.., 'fhe re of +-11n t~~t nli ht a l onr e c '1.o e s mu ch of Bl" C c A Be"f 1P1'f ) of the pJirhttf1 of B [' Cks ith nther 1 oetry ' . . concerns anticin Iles ear.r 'Rlues , " Jaz z oni" , 1 'naisnl'1ncn , Cnttor ncv"'rt~el 11 ElSS ~ y M• o-nf-- "'nd eoo secs jn the be!'.'.1 t of tre 1 rl re i 1VAIJa t 0 0 1 of i fe an orde r ed by uod , Cotter bofsa.ri 1 -rit i ri~ 1v)AP1 "the Lr r n t M .lf' ic. "11.. 11 ±oeil pllljilllll...liliC'~ - • Hi.s toc},nique , ' s , combines t:b~ bA~t ...+¥"'!!1•~ raditional WentArn ne 1 oetry f r e c ve ~se . ~ · 1/M .r~is n en ~re" b o t m v e of ovc , l~J~• ·. n. , A."'l Becriuse I Am Pl a ck " se 1"1S 7 to h" re berm lookin Somnthinf" io boldir,/J' 11e forr-rard to a - hr'i I c, II '"' 11 7 ,I ,; nong ba ck ! T a ·d , f f' Ll;~ it DOePl o c use .... , 0 ~~t ~ ~~ 1 ;~! 1.rhy whites "re so amazed th t he c n 0 i n the ir i n0rt9nt f 0 ce, II tan d 11 oo k them stra i_ ;ht in tl1e ,..nd ''sn ak their ton~ue ?" Cotters 1,ror,. an e"ns in o.!:._Ar1e_:--'ic..,n JEwro Poetr-rr , ~ o Carav_12, crlin '~ st, d:r( " 'l'he st"MP 0f thr> f icnn riind j s u pon 11 Jott r) , na ,.,. . ""Ofl S ' r Fork nd 1p1-,, b] i '11 ed nor,l otr • ,. I, �" PRO -r.n--rrs: The H rler.i. Renaissance A- ~""" ... ~~~ - -fl.-......., n,,c K~ ': Rert2issan c e(see PActton I of thi::- ch"per) is norn,<>=1Jy recn ou'b-~0 1 rin,.... of cult r"'l ,..nd artiPt:;ic "2 s gl 4 i :ri Jhat Jmros 'C'l don Jorin on act;ivit7 C'"' '3 P :l; 'a" -a2rts 1 E'd the ,lnerrro / 1 tvra actl'aJ 1 y b o-an nnd hou 1onn- it 1 8 sted . Some s y it ti Y'le 19,.,,..., rind -ran un-'-i 7 F'J5. Ot'--,0-r <"'j, e the fi : r ~ ,,,.,mt· oned StiJl G p,,i+---a ;j+,.,+e ) ------------ -- - - 0 ~, fo,,... fm:trln 6if Jiil!lll!Jllt hnve . Ele si.,. nte v 1--,·"' theater, ~ ,,,A· ,, SAd in tho con::- e,,...va.ti ve the ~donted s0n of 2 triornh -rp of a • e-si,odi Pt parsongg , Lan,.,.rton (1on? - lCJ{--7y Ministe~ .~ ' n-hes Gnent 1uch o~ the orc~re ,-...... of thP- in·ent; es trove] jnn-; so did rand0 instances , and h 11 R ov,.,_-, 11 ~P ~o- 191, 8 Claude cn. ayfho orth Africa 11 -- in r1any f _c.u-r ne and lone 1.1rite 2 -rn-;, "teri.ous 2non7r"li +- ~ several ,:;, b ,f"re • Often neither "enaissanco, StArlin 1 11 -ras born in Hew Vo-r1• • ._. , le·thnr Jed C<:l 11 minor 1 i T" 1re uho died ot' a yaoc:s; 1-rit rs of t11e ) nor Arna Bontemns ( foi.,""'l"t!-. ...,._.,. " n 1b J..·,.. 2 l8Jfte 90? - 1973) 6 book'"' d r· C1' th t ,~ 1 J..ri " • e wen t·1 es NT �e Crisis lsbeled the renais of 1,;r_;~or an rebellion , i_s chiefl,r i ..,~1!1!¥11~""~!!11!1!!8!!11'1111'!1~,. for his df 1 Je st Dio 11 ) ~1 f a 'Yl"lo s sonnrt wr i ch windr do1m ( u f ) to the fdlfulo ·Jino- co nlet : 1 Fo,md "'CribblC'<'l on · l'e , ql ls after th 0 Attica l nrisi rr of 7 07'.;)·• r 2fter a s0ries of cs tre bef>in~jn~ of the· arlen 1'12de ,is entry into the 1rorld of 7 Pttors t 1 :o ve2 Y'S earl i.er (1 °17) oeris ( 11 '!C1rlcni Dene er" and of two i~e 11 ri th the publ ice ti nn Invocfltion 11 ' ~ to 1-~,.,,..erica in 191? frol11 arleri ) in Spven .ti..rts lfo.P-R.zine . is nati7e JaP'laica , h0-re h.e- ~ ~ 1 uronean li tor ture and ntd loso hy , State CoJlo e, he f"na7Jy, ent on to Harle~.~ ~ ~ - - - ~ ~ ~ - • ~ '= flnd ,1 , · ~ he worked as a r,oy,tey,, "ai t r Jtre c: t urant nrou · eto - .Tam8ica, oet of a_;a ect 0 cfay ha e"tnbJimod hi s reput tion as a 1 roflec+-i_Y",.,. r; s onP-ti CV~ Voy,k , ~~ ~ )rncvm i-,,. 7;tr:,-.- ~ry nr:id ~ , ro -e ,. 1', d:!:11"1t-4w b; or,-r 2 eavin e nl OY"J.ent ns a no 7 j ce an on the isl<> d . hPE0]-9ct J['ta1:>1;"'lino~ '18 Before :iife - lonrr fr "end~hip 'Tith oljtic 1 circlAS, 0 ax :Enc,t an( rho hi cal note for • c:c;:::::::1:±:a•1z·NN!• c ay counted nrionc: his friends some �to A Pric VO l 1 7 03 1• fn~o 1s critic ·arle!"' .::>c 0 r'liere ~~ •ITe 8 ( 7 ')?0 , I . A. Richards) · do·rn(lq-,?_ ~ nn __ Son,.,.s of-----,Jrunaic8 ""r 'Y'd ""'Ued in 19 1 9 __,;__.._ CookP , 0 pe0 # tro~edy , by th0 .,.''fl!lll•-.m:..llilli~ of' '1 7 ncl s . in his l i ·e • "11_.1 t it ,h re :-1. T~ neT,r vol 1me of' nrose 0 ind Le•non J" ef ferso,.1:, 1 '>,ou~ he l 00 hed o, t 0 nd Fn s t n~c 'Y'e ot er cont'Y'aditions nd -~ e,rs to rruch of rN' din .,. his a l to bi o f"t'" nhy ( nn I,eroy G..., rr , 1--ie denied th t tf'P ' in ho rev r , c·n b0 ~~ine1 b T,onL__ __ __ __9r,e, 1037 , J 70), his e a)"o 1 or o· C il"'" ..., C ,J I"\ l •. 1-ie best "o ·rco �; ronic that · c av'---- i tt: ritban C, c 17 ed tli.e "Y)n';t of ,,r- ·n"'( arr_om__He?ais""'~..:)c"]l9 hi...,, k hlricl, Prome si-ce nont of his noe~e clonl 1ith ~~~~~- ~liPt t uics c,uch eus," s (' '- 7 • 7 1· ~ " - J_(.,/{.~~4"'/7/ n1or.her, nature, rio"·,,n_ ,.,.io, _one incs", I\.:. ) C, "nd dAscrinti0nr 0r Of noe~s he nub]t"hPd onJy about 1 jternrly dozens of - can be c .11 Of co rse ~he-,.,e is*Pethin.,. 11 eel nngry!' ~ m w'- i, 0 And ,: ar.t ..,r8rp f'S steel with discontent, •• •, Auch in much of t:1e TJO violent. · • ~~t~ ...._An~ most Arnnrican lif8 4'.ClTPpnrloare,~ -~n th·s sen.e ~ locks tr,r '-:;:b nt is not overtl is tr e of'~pr,rclay In,-,c· co' ld be l..,_bP 10 c miiild:m 11 .,,i 1 :·tant 11 or ,.,n+i "'m"L, nolarizinc ten"'i oni37'iSh,..,t ,.,,a!re nno . ., , R" I •·i7 1 c0r1e b ck to 11 violr=mt" --h"rhori11 , "n r 1 ri thin 2 f in-er.xf rame • ~ s it~$, orld of tears, . h3st influ ncos on P .ack thou3ht and art of his d 0 T cKqy -n0rha1:s did nor, 1 no,r:I thflt hi , Fri tin'"';s insnired vo.rio~nokesme.n ror Africnn notinnalis~: Leo old ~ed r Senr,hor, J ~mane Soce~ Aime ir toda Ceso·re ~ial• ~~::::Wl.w;-,~~iiiiila betneon h0,\..,,,i~itnnt •1r,i+;nri-s of the t.d11 .,,ro - 'ln 1- ~j ~ seen , JO(Q ' c:i ,~'3 xH) 1;, d 1 rino- this n0.riod, · nter~"'ts in _. n some I he f'n l. ']--d"::-; Phit,e" 0r01 nd ·or lin $@Pf i BliPP/W. Jl st ated ond ~ rif'J'Jerns U')f.JU.L r c;;." c5 noted mi tos . I•'or ere indic +·,·nrr a ne r ....._ n--tj on lnclT"', inf' ired b: tho --·ro 1 -rn s 1 nnr ro..,ean co,,ntri 1 M[' d cha:rr1on n d Emt rtn ined sc·nlined anr:;er of his l2c 1rn , ~ iti the r- 0 , h ro nd rec worJd r~ f 101 "nd 11ronn anda in �, . 11 non'"Ct - t,.. .., rAc:'lies 11 and D""'M;on in ~ i-:'1.err::t . ove n.]7 n~ f is a noet of prission , tlfii"'-1-., di. efore in 11 , sa,rs exprn::::'"'ed 11 0 iord in jq n·r e"coJ n0W1'"' 7i 1 •p to 3ino-, T L0ve 7 II 11 1 .t'olnrit"'T~'. 11 in the h" rids of whites- -or as a prod , ct of ~ct:ence, 0 ther 11 ~~•----i- ite Cjty, ..,,~ger !lnd hatred . no0tF1J(D, ois, :inc' ence the ryoet of h8te . hr If nlled e]<'lnn ,Tot>n:--or1 J&iJ'lC<" 11 fee jn.-- is S,c L1l::1tto,' B t , es tern ri cl·nP.s" ~t:~ .~ ~ t h e ,,'J:/tJu.~£ • ~ ~-•-'!'lt t.,o,...1ec; iri the Hnrv of' c ;r "re t'h "" in ortrnce of tl--ie e"rth( nc1 ~· e c,-, intry'"'ide) , o.i."i 1 lf'iOrunP. t(_ lith 0./ Bl c 1 v5rtuos c i ~ l:la c e -r ri dA r c e 1 e b r 0 ti on"' ,_,.f~:;;J;.....o8-.-~~~~B•1·iiiir..12!2.ia.M""'' c • f . , "F < r l em Dancor 11 ) , a P fric"n cro'"'rroac, /\,:~~iPit ali::::~ 'nd re 1 i ("ion.:-1. - ri"'1ti id T'l "no ~ m n ~~--~ii.i.iii!i8"""'1'~~ Afri c..,, 1 Tarlcm as (; d J. _, P r,[ kP son ..... et f'orm.• vse of the . . ,.., , ct '"S .., "Jolitic...,]/P"ciaJ ,ro::iDon, he P'l'lrt be i en c redit l:),-,i_nr (jn"te 0 0 o:" t(1 :isp·1ra ed- -c.f ., form ; n+;o D T~,0' ins) for ~ v~hj c 7 e of protest, Jove :=ind re ce +, Dride . rnin •P tl•dr 11 hfute" b b"'P.rvcd th"t �11 ~atdns Ol')ened hi"' "'Onrrnt to Tbe l~ew er-ro " 1ith -ut in no othe:r' m1JtI1:tr:om nu"'rter, before or since cJ: y , does I cian Fe thinks ; n bJ c 1c. Bl..., c k R. C and trPp;~ ; rony --1-1i th the f:'o n net . G'wnndolyn 'Q '""' .ri 1 1 11 er me""lor'-- ble " so l!lter invent 7 And C • len I s 7 -:-!... ~n01 res -1i th 1 7LAP inconcl rivenPSS that vPr es on /\1 1._ ~ c ritics 'el'l into cco nt . cKa, ''b. , ,, 1 i 7 f u o ~ ~Tohnson . For - C ay he sonnet i"' r.ontrolJ od an,,.er . 'is i,.. in the "'trait - j c 1ret of -t-h0 ,j' ... 8 loose form of theropy -- Bc ~tir1/J'3 an,.,.er of n"ti ve f-1 ;te liternry J<:irrp:d C!l menitics . i.re c <:1 ,.,. t Ta nts to be freed . is open - endedness r-r:ro rn ,7,uc 1• n , J!f. ~ r centlh.ries 1-1'1en I-"'c ay Tr r,edy , u "The " As a c orrect and c aref 1 y II <"$ id §PtiP n1' iJtl're<i dP rJ inr of ~es t0rn l')O etr""r , the " 1 f' n.,..., t sed it . lv-- d beon in the ~~ /('."1;11,i,~,..."""IIP., J.ines(in varirn's stanzaic natternr) , it is de jr:rned to nose so irm in i for " ...,,. - h1le , an d close in a of • robl em neat ans' ~e' # .s nt-.,. e~ ' te t ine nine) or tl--ie se"'tet . Presto { ~ "'t 1 i in ''bo J vi ng •I I, ,.... " r1athernat:i_cs 0r c"'lc ,1 -µ • /\-'JaA I,]' 14 the 'race prob e l- o rover iq not c annot I (' ite so e[•s:r . oner .Crfl..Y fr· .,____t "solve 11 a lvnchinrr . ut r'e paces it lyncrinrsit1 the rnoRt nne,"'0r1e, ,..r 'esorrie context by er:_u 0 tinp- the A.: ..,- pj V; ~'t ~ to t e cr·,c5_ fiy-:0..,.., nf' ~ ,...i:--t(ro0 C1 ~'.~ p ~ f..., i in ,...esoJ ' +-1,-,, n.,.,8 7 And_ ·_t-;le t lad:::i, lvncl"'P,...s t -0t Dnncen r01.ino t ~ § . d f C PsrJ.~r -l- i_q is not !\r"l0 7,, or Sant- ll 7 lert 1 s he 1 ,-,a rcli; us p,.-,,.-, 1 1 cl~ Ghrist , :=c,...;Si'1 . lt 1•½ ~ to be , th.~nrr ;.,.., fi endi rh rrl "'0 . "' P.tr2rc0, Sl- f'Elesne ... ,...0, Snenf'r, 1 'nd .- Pverl _.;;> • J ton , ro1 Pn C()"TlG �50 ,c r.i v 1 "' PO being rk. 11 nr"'"'ti r:;e II ant:bolop;:i es ( orton, renresent0d even i w,; -e vlnrren , t, .... · es in Lit0rnture and others ). The mo"'t c""lb itious '"'tud 'he_ nnitcd JC an of Hclhy tn date is by ro S e s, >1 incJ aes 0')'1 P ,-, ( 1 T lroo rn-Le1.ri s - Pl .., C lr p O e t rr:.i. tin r• S 1 t ·qg,rl\ S ) • ) 2 1q~ i~ Arthur P. LJavis 1 s ~rom the -- ·- - - ' ::mnendixes to nost antholop-ies , 1 tbe biblior:-r:-,phy section of thjfl Fork , and e~ ec:iflJly the 1:i"tingc-; in Blnck fl re bl oodeo '')J oy, ceven rnciq] "trains "nd looked re· P,('. ten .uvidPDCC to r ' ,.,ort the fact tl1nt .oomerl\ · - blood and 11 n"'",...E'd 11 C'"'nnot be fond in his I'l"ior neith ' ' 0 NI'. 1 ' Tork --Cane(l0?3) . ,. ':f.lhe 71ue written jn J93A and fladly 11 rirlilln, b ' overlooked, i-r 1.·ric:1 he tries to unite ..-., the disparate eleY!l.,,nts "'OD les"l-ii 1 -ton, 'TlOt"l r " 0rtJy " ·tor l::i±R he 1ras born in hif' mot},,..-,, e co >1 n t 11,... ,_-: '-'f ter of p d_,, .s. ,,,ently -:ncrbac ' Pil c ' ' rea of iap 1.-i nn-ton . It ' rit "'1d robl'"'tness:"r,o,..-,e found sr:f) ore color , >no-r-e "'8iety. 11 Af~er ). c: OQl11°r ' r. T?")"t 11.t Io' i"iana "na re- 7 oc to ; n 7 mhri pv in rr, t .,oo'ller s her0 t 1 0"'1otion , more rh:rt11 , t t andin,.,. local lb}-ic ~chools "'1 'includinr- D111.b2r> i )') another , nPver becomin ~~!!lrU P!"lr0 1 1 o ~ c in on0 colle e v <"'Prio"s dor'rPe ,., nclid....,te . l'rol"'! ~ rent t' r0 fin. 11, ft8r ~ 11 ~·li_ ., ::'Pries of jobs , d ·nuttin J.E'1f' in "'"VP,....a] "vqrt- a,....de J.ittlr-> T'1."rra7in0s . l'oomer J-, J J 11 • stories JS gj b? �l'nf'on, A}f'red Stie"·litz, P Gorh"Y"l P . ~o"enfeld , I{enneth Burke 1 0 T L ter , ana other" . fn lr months) of a sm"l 'i'oomn-r 1 ~ j fe -ret, y,rierl. to " nsvc,...,olor;ic"J disarray" r-el f - ·n· fyin 1 ...., a 0 nd he turned to mcthodolo,.,....J • . USSlf1n, ,. r1ile :be also J-:vcd A.,,,. 'l'o mer 11 I dn "'1'1 'Y>Y'-i ,~,,j osflxuo1l e:·o,,r-iP" rt:=iJ co "lune . :.rn ou · cir p11~ces ion ,in ' ; l; ~ fter r.b S8C"'Ylr1 pned: ed -1-,iro l,Th; ~" l 0"'1en . not Jrnn•r ! '1 VP • r • 1 7 i •re O 8 r ' ns. II 7 l f lf'iO c1"'nyi n er othPr, J }"l'"'VP- '"')UP-ht to let th,"1 Ji1( i, h -rr."'10ny . ••·t ·n t;he Arirl ~ S ,, y,onPr" of' Y'l"'Centi vi t:r i nc-rPc f' 0( , I lfi'o nd riy~ elf 7 ovi n it. iv " +- J co,,lc nev r love th0. oth r . �Al thourr)l .Tr.iTrJez •eldon .Tohnson comT) eined tb"t i'oonier r~f sect.( 1 le edly o t of conte~pt for reciaJ ca+-erorizinr) to be incl ( c0nv r,uti.on b0tire n 0t r iri ..,..~!!!!"'!"--"!~<~:~r~~➔l'.""'""'":"!'~C~'~' .._.. . . . ded 5n the c:oecond h ,r,n '3ro·m EJnd ,Te n ·11-feeJin s ~ the t o rPnaiss"nce f5,.,.·lre on +-he ,..., !'.'.1Ck intelle ct als of the otrrr , rj t r ouite the r l' 1 rim E'""'1 t 0 d 1 ri tb lit rat"re y he cli_d . "l"!cmviniw:rimrfl:':m?!Pl ~ er8. o denicted Sl<1cks_.,...,~,.,,'°-"- Ol!l'lit - ut al · 11fluence t eer11s to ~ ve ~:-,-x occured between hi.'111 and .1",,...t ::;r8ne . And Roh0rt. Bone( ec,,...o ovel in .Americe 6 "ne on iir7 e~e 7 T~ir is all P-Ur --,ri sinp; si "1.Ce :iall C"ne so J d l As a -rorlr of art , unit, 01 'D J ou1i. with ~ s t ~ s than ever, it ,,...0f'Jncts room r 1 iot. 51n coufues . s ef+>ort" to acriA of both c:oeJf "Dd m1.rnos~ . ~ C"lled V",,,iousJ ' a novel, a coJlecti n of def' er rnJ:.e S0nr o-P {o:,"ri_i, Craka, and tbe rhvt 11JC' of' ..,d ot,hmr, onl · ld d by l"cl ""1iritu'litv fro - ,,1Pri b 8 11 ritual . C8ll!le h8s three b"sic movP ents -- ---- oomer 1ad be An int ,,...e,,.ted ·in )OtJ:. musi c cmn os5. ti on Pnd nai nti n .,--wriich i D.VO l ve ( 1) llAor i a and +-he 0ovt"h , ( '"J) C ic r;o , lPslingt-o~, D•• and the .,,..-iYJ. whPre Too'11.E"'r ·mxe" In thP first prirt of C:-;:;-fl many 0f C\ectinn, ~ . · +-h0re "re Ul'YrI"'r0l'S nj ctl1 res of vonien, ,, 1 ~ , thc>vriA. Jike 8rin+-b<1 , poned to0 f''Jon . 11 In t 18 sec 011.d vie1P rban ~oome,,... r ?i0QC~ 'orthern ec~dence t·•~~~ "nd c0rr•rytion ano no,,...thern I\ ~ , �53 ~ ed,· c tor o 8 ot,th(Georgi a ) to find h; s f' frj c an roQts . lie rather ~~ ~ cl 'rls iJ.y /\t-,,,ro11f!}J. a Peries of :rite s dur · ne: uhi cr ; sm to Toomer uses rw-~--~. reirrhten the ~an ' s fer and co~n l ex s " f:'bnis ", is airii 0 r to n l ay . 8 -r>intha 1 s "''dn " is l ilrn d sk on thP. Crstern 11 horizon nnd i I d.1 ,, ·,. 11 o rdP in t h e •1. es ays the nlirr,ht rnc 11 east0rn . ·oys of 11 ro gh out tr _ b oo:V , 'toomer r e s thy,ouph ti ~ t nd "'ometjmGs eni C"'J']."ti c DOPtr'r • e ven P1ore J e" XlR , 8S 0 f aIT1 crorPs b t 11 i n t,.__ IL"'auer II sh" r ryenj no- their f' cy t ~es for Jso ,~Qoi•_.~, fbr a P1"'S'""qcre . P,l~ck beauty is onetime"' su~,r:5 sin° in -!-;he con text of 1,rhi te be r rennesf' Pnd b1· t 11 1 ovembAr C('\ it ton ~,t_ ov ,,,., ri '"''1cd . .... ri.,.,,P f'::i 41 fJowr: r ~ ' ""' nrr~< t;o,,.. and nine ne d 0 • T")J"""TI I ... n ()O>TlflT' ns 1,e co1 J.c~ ,,..e"'t i t.. ,,,J, - , , -11ri - -of the :::PVP-r>e l both1~1· , p _ ,..., ck roman in f',,-r> 0 ·e -r>' 1 .;n a S0n , II of PY>':::lc:<,ns 11 7a -f' o•J l if'e) . In the ~netr;r .::'nom r ·rrites l ;n' p. . -rnenoed, rome 11ev r b 11 Fact! " is nn old , tired p · c-' r"'l(r:i,....,i11. r11ral vs -y s n, 11 i t:r : 11 "'nd t e cane scrmts ·,o p0Pt c-pi l the li ves -- bro rnn, dama 4ed . t:,ncl1,., .;.• PrJ.or m aues rion . ., d · r0PJ.en 1,rho , nd +:1- r-. con cent for C -2.1~• �'1'he "'OD "inrs : Po r O po1 r t1i. t ,,qrtine; '"0ll l in "0n , the trRdi t i on is j n tact .!Xn xm x ,T st 11 -oou r" the ~on I nd let ~11. vrlJe CBl"'ry it a1ona . And l et the •r~lley c rry it ::- J onr . The "'onr-s of' · n the , e ,...8 11 "' v0rr 11 ,Jill be tranrforrri.ed into bril] i ant dirr·es , n""'ecr-rij 11 a the birth of bi r- R 7 ck ,i2 sz b"nd ( 2nd fol 7 o,Jiri('1' +J,e b 7 1 Pr( i?;J. a ndy and oth r T ). h0 oni c co,.,,no,..; tion , "'ti_ 1 •Jl J · np;ton ) plaintive "'OllX ,-ri l by ,,., o t J s ~ I." l{rmnd 1,y "OTie to a C"eries of "'tri"tj . s 1rntc11.e:::: , S"VTI'p' sie , b - otrc>t"J to nbe "'"'TD CO "t ttaf 3-t_blendin s of Af'a,0 - Arpri.c":1 foll,. rm si c , Cane -- "cco,...d"nr: to one critic - -" " at 1e"st t ro rlr>c"rle"' ahP:,d of the era in nhich i_n rork of "rt, is :omm.mifrm ' . e "RJ ue eri rl. i. an . r s rr · tten . ea.· i 1-y i 11 ri f'1 ,,, c cd by F.ane , overlnolu,r f'or v0·1 sand XN: i.-. fina11, "S X C SC f PGPlS nd to be 100'111''r 1 e "' q lot to 'i:.:iJt -· tm~n ; its s· ·eep ..i.tiW -=::::a...- ~~ e " ' of Sand urf" . nur"l a de n°.,,...-fj rial 0:Pfort to ~Htti:Jfrrd?J:m .... ,,, t ' , pJrmt: t" of rill1S"'J f P dli ff0rent 11 lj ve jn h rljlOilY 11 . ot h"d )-neJ led tlie do0m p"' -l- 0 rri ci vi 7 izati rm in J 9 ??. ( n11_e • aste_l · nd) :1nd 0 f.1\1;:, -l-' ,,_ . s. otJ:, -ritPrs er,,r-3 , •·0.s intent . nt olo iz, d in Back -- y c ourc: P, ½_rd h d PrococlPd '""l i ot . ·it]:, t1i.i.s , 0€\d h j "11 • .c~nnton rocl,, 'J.<>tion . ohn!:'on, of Toorie,... h d �55 :Sut it i"" in 11 1.e.,,,i<'li qn 11 th t h t r1Jch fatP ~rrl~~~~;~~irht not be u1de erved . "c rving ~en end h·rrl 1 - 1 t1 -- et me? ite n; "'f""Prs ,--trike -,rour choice. ir e r'"'ft, ese orif'n'"' nf dooI'l come in the first "ecti.on "'3 t the fecono rec'~i Prh.,n"' , ,n lvral<i::,, +-11e co-rn-inrr of C ire lrno -r a] d 8 1 t 1ese 1,T tr>o bled 1 r,hi'Y]_r·~ 11 • 0-_rl.~JJ~~'G ~ -N . ~'i\thefvno!'e l Pttf'rs . rp-ec,ted . For S omer . red thf!;!-A~ ..........,~ 1' 7 re l C ., "t I ..t.. curio 1 s student, 0f 0ne of' t1--io m0st cornp7c x •or'{ nd cross between 8 nn;-cent sex., it s ., bo-•P 1-iotr. s"'X nnd rr cc if 7 i fe -i b l ,i te P1"n, ~ven sex 8.l cro"' ses ., r e s ., te"'nri-et• .,bo 1 '°'; hiR JC' orimer , ' OS " e uoem . ne r n:n(for thP 1~ plp vqted abo•e race and other pro bl em.::-- . Bl f t nd,,,,-ixt,t e 0f r"ces .,nd co1ors) 1-iho i"' spirjt qJlxy l'.l Rnd nsychir he orJ. d or1J.en 11 and We tre eJ7 nigae s no 1 r-tl8clr ni ·rrers, 1.e 1 ,en-i_ures in A'Yt e1 i cf-ln 'r0omP.r '"' is an a ch iPver,ent to be •"l"' tever t:b e ov.tcome , recboned ni th . A f'ro--"- re a 7 so r 'Jr or · "'ms " - - i. n 19 3 l • obio ranhy, Drir~h ,·n,p of l oc1r ~C o'd:,.n -/1:1 ·< ner t P oo'l"l0 no,=,tc of' t 0';1,-,ey, , ,. it;C,.. l1 l"'PY)" i « "'"T'Cf) ~ i t if' C"l")Od . 11rn 1 rn , rte de in , c1in Ur'"' 1 0 rr,r-r l n roy,lr ill V"rir:,•"' 9 i. 7 7 I c 11 ,T .... n r00r1er: An An otqtE'd ChAclr7 i. t ~-• •=~~::::ip- qnrl h 11 1n ..... () 1 n ()f 1 -]ri t; ci , ,t "'CT nf' r h;h1·,.., r nrv. ��S7 ~~~ , r 18 • ,.,_ r C, 7 7 en r "' ,.::.•._ · i th : o < ,re , - p f" ■ ~ ,.rh hi r re ,co~ a; ub j_"'hec ~ t a r o _ f'Dd ~ ..._•~-,c,i~•----- ,, ~ Sil a s 2 laiilr? a , ~ ,, st,,<'lent ~ 1 4 n,oetr his f " rst hnok(6olor, 7~?5 J. of n1i,-; s "'1" fj rst ti"llc, ::in e t·mc in ~ nJ.,,-,o t r·· rst "'.'lnet . It nl sn rr.flrked t e Pl "Ck rlrod the ~ p'.Pn P'Y'::l,] 1 • r \T Y f: trrrdit-;orf'o r ~nry75ctJ ,J ats :-,n(l Shel~ y. rrri. P-bt h r b,-,0 ch "r of 1 00I'lflY' 1 To} ou. "!"'1'1n; " live Black noet • c oetry. 4','1 . ~ e e~nP1c i ally ~ 1 · "ck' " • - t t ,,., () t i r i t ..,, , ()11 ' t hr rhl or f. hJ q ~ ,-, n n6~ .-0~~ oet"'. n1 • l\.."ri n +- !Cl "IT n~on, -rwt re• ~ riJ--~ • 'v,'\ not , ~ th "lr'l"'i ti 011, for " 0r'"' 7 e i ?n Y)C, 'hlp • ll • +-0 ~ "' rin occnsion h r, 'ch,.. t- 11 ~~ 1, l l .i,.., o,__ l P fot""'l of " ' f'o ·r"rd +-0 C'Ol"'l nrn +,i 0 i r tl P )""'O bP bi 7 it t1~ t Cp olinn' �, I ; "vn 1 .,sA by r ;rs r 1 bscribe to tt,j o "'l"rti c ,1~ As the tic t 11 ~ ~ for T>111ch ~ ri+-nvi.stic ye,..rninr:s t01 8.re'S ~~r i r verre ." Tee;ro tJoets ratl:ienffl tllan an antri'"' ogy of found in ear },i_!=l S0me Poe~s(J 0 3~)Pn~ his ~ley--=--!3-:°ve s r of h1. s ~ f'2 0Ptry can b e <1U vol r nr f-r>ic a n i 0(Co or) as r ems , On ,e I g+ .... nd'l047 ) . C len ' ---::::::::::::::::=-;::;:;tj,,·1~~~~.,.,~;;.:_:=-r.~ , transl8ted n_d_ 0 el in his l a t ____ 1 rr to m.l.I'19rou and s 'IFt o r l~.,,...ics for nusic "O-r>rnd on ,.. d.r"TI"'tic 80" ( "Saint I,., is ,Jo'11"n" n0 _ o~ ,.. = ___,__ __ ~0 eFvan. -· --· .,. i·ith trP Inrd nr to t 0 '}nd , t½.at: r:.odlc Yet do - 0f Jo11.te 01'")r novel: l.:rod 8 0 0 ('n'"' In ) s1':s God tbr .Afro - "'1.P:rican poet , occurs . c0nc~ 1 oinp , after hif:.h Y)rai se of ~nrrrl "'t this curious thing-- ~o m~ 1 ea nnet bl'ck nd eu "nd Unusu,..l r Pre erroes . And '[\ s ~ oet J"'VOS \ If soi n h P r:·o. e ·-1-v,m ' freor beauty . is true but C,, 7 1 en 1 " Fh it o ,. . r 01 1 t of his obili+-;""r to ,..,ndle �a 11,.... ven ,i. o.,. o trjr 1-s 11 b 7 n_c·- ('. C!erv2n+-:3 Prl, ~ ' "- ~11 o ~onl• 11 P1· c"1i d Cf n E'"'ti"l ~1-0,.0° . ' e of Sac~0 "nd "Arterican no~t,fjb 'nnzetti , eo~ f!,; ,, Q," ot 'defen<'lj,,,r "Rlnc'~ boys l{an •nron 1 d A.~ Pil A]ab:?!'1.P Co,·rt . Colord" tre hanced The ~ 11 reir cP.·1se, _; il:len says , is '"'lf'o 1 ~ 11 sL(.)rt 11 ( _ devi""lely i .e., (J I ,. on ::. "ne"er Cal vary . 11 "'n1p . ' 1 Tn lac') i~•-rr umd C , J~n I s Jon,,."' s t -0~f ~+-~~ ,___,--:-,_e_ _t,_'-,_-e_w t~nt~~~P,~Il~ _ · '-' nck Cririst ( I' bJ.; she· in France) . 0l"'"n . Tj "Pl • to the s 7 ynchAd, ~ ar south"r'f'l ~ T O "". ~ ;i- lynch-~ng, nn thP rt0ddinr c"lled trE> ~oem • c,ildic;h J.1'--"·"'t · is>"'l. of or, dll m~-rc< ~:i ci n-rn ,, . E' b8d dream . " ~ndeed., des-rite f~ -}_-I(' /\f •T'"' f'; "~e VE''1.f' S"' n ccn ,,,~J 0s"' 0 ·~h r ,,oerr's)., Do 1 t'VPl . ll �, f9 . 1 I ~ ~lec1-:: pnrrer) ~ i_n ")l' ck grief ntinu"ted noet;c clothjn~ . -,i.11.-,.., noetr:) 8re r'"'ce nride , encl r"ric,.,,, ~ PrevaJent thel'l.es in Cullen 1 P be no r 9e? 11 cynicism , rnd t v~ I Afr;ca( t o 1111 ) , ~ er5.tarre 11 8.nd m ny o+-hers), reli"'.ious and 9,nd psvcroln •ic8l conflj ct, love rnd death , sniri t :t.12 " Ql ' A " ti '8.] freedo , feri ori ty , or !J-f ue -,,,conri 1 or r cial i 0 thP tensions craat ed h;:r bein roma tic ;1n:\-tive ~ 1- ite"' ,A,C l--iric,t "S a fl,mbol the n 11. ,,.l-1 t o f of c0nfl.; ct 2nd c0nt:y,ndj cti on . Cullen c,aw A_re faJo-Arrieric ns as J n a Ch-r>5 pt-j w 1 ~ as t ruP t r rrpav( • ,h · s l'l"'S thr01 ,.,.h in "Tlany of his -noer1p , but roi"Tiantly in ~ .. 1 Sot R r-ck 81on,.,. I "Bc.yrit...,Cl'e": e rn i~Je boaet ; d es , s o f th e tm c e - t,, -r.n 0 d ch e e r , /it 1. mouth thus, in my beart -rr Do I .,, ";/ do1JbJ e '1 ,...,ck A'11ericrin, traprn')d iri Christian attirej b -r:ior t::be .Z:ac1r o:r. d 1 C'"'t;on r~.:1--~ 'l"\T ' rit,., a finrl _.,, 7 J .:l rr"O...,<"'c'1 ..., rr,.,,,1'18 ,,,... nnr 8 8 J.-7 f1Cl i"' Jj •e,,.. :d 11 ied to C +-1--,nt C 11en ~ ,7 i i r.}i tuous 11 5lbe.,,,t cel]s it i"' in<" Br' d" tr~ co11.t0 ~ ...,rt. ur::::P. 11 1 1 ,'1t'...!r(iAY 2_ ,.il~~ .T.'oOI''lE""" t/(~ r~c- 0 nirrht ," ci e T"'n~ed to II,, in the- de"'ol "tP nc' inrido '"'0)11 ci i ~- :• L4av ,.(.j} timAs d "'0ftsczm:xr'1ig: ''"'· 7JJJ1t10. ,Jild•l'."noss of J f'Il "hook . , ,.,cks 11 �i"' nnblP. to l e •tl 1,.. . 1 r>ey "nd I d.e:::n · t '"' 'h A" rt nd hP,"d" lrno -~ ,_ t,..._ .l-' t arc cjv "lized the :runremitt1nt beat" of hi"' 5nnres<1ive i".l ~·-de "1......-rivi 0 r .=__..., tetr metc1r A-c las.,.;c '"'t~tem0nt _, on t h e ~ i n r s of' a"' the mind nd of' a a]ien -ror1d, 11 te-,,jt...,,..,.e• 1 h C1 i "' v0t to be s,.,en ~ t11.e ·"1.anv ," f,._ ;n an svcholo icul ~~ . dir10ns i ons +-1-,,.. t rPJ ated 7 1 en . his a:ncl t,.j 43rr themes nlso ~ervade ot. r ioems by \2._~ C i mi l"' r rvv,~-~i " ired b bis _ Or-Dortl · t"lr • C' ...---,_ Al tl-io11p•h ~l"C { a-y>t; csts •1nd thi to ree , 11 t y 1{ rs 11 ,rprc not 'mt 0.i !-;h0r f, ce destr ction 1"1"00 cte!' r:illy their ~otentj al 01' -Jenr or ~ m" S 1?" r'Ild "tenc O r "nd n. t""9 e) ~'"'Olli zinrr needs• ,t C 1.l en "7 'Pd. the ecl:rn of th hu.'TIB.r1 pnrt . - o Cechnfoue c t=nr ift'"' 1 ; J 7 n-T H s . ., J 7 P-r> ,.., 11 1ritos 8S 11 J-i 0 ml ~eel!n " • :nc1 : t: ----- . i or-ntif · es f'J' ed r.d n. 7-'"' to nsn-P irls s . h-':; tie co0s 0 c 1 r 1 i 11 • 11 St r 7 • n ...,. ...., ro nn II bolt ,lock force ·nd i~tel!ectuol verac;ty ':,c~jc•s ond d -'-'dn::, ::;~ . V; ..,cent his 1 'Sc½ -·.,,"",,.,, , ' , , d ~ ed n,,bStc" !ones 0 f-1 ens e-'.)j-+-.anris to them , nrrJif'h verre :f'OY'l"1S is 11at as ·',,,ta.rtl;ngn as brin~ a 11ri -res k -riro t titutes , abo t =any :m ny 11 bro,:rn 11 d ~ 80 do , the rorrif1ntics out . , l h s (~e_ �ed F0nton Johnson , ~nd others h d co~e to kno r neddinS th A Ayes of a .. into ,1- b 2.• t t er . ·'1 l n C, 7. 7_ en 1 s 11 t i Yl e --~ ..,, ·or:ir-in ..,., -ri f 8 e. o ' C 1 0 .... t 11 OD I S critics aJlude O rlr • o is ct once shrinlki ng Pnd bold, s1rnct at . t ic . 11 or vis c not re :i 7 7,r th r-ort ,,,G 11 nd . 7 pr1m1 t i. ve ' DlPCe s ol"le f ee_.s • • 1--i_jrn'"'e] f - - r.mch lilfe 0 11.e feeJ s in r0. 0 ing i +,p C·ll Jon .,,.,oYYJ.ain"' one of ho br5.J Jent Metea,,ri tes of ~le. cl- noetr"T . c-- even - is ~ -pa"<""lon h s Y""t to ½e su:r·--2.sSP() • 0 1 mon("J' illlllllr c0ntcnnoY>[1-ry A-rro - .B:r>i. ricfln no tr . ~ ~ our:71 he does not convi n e e the r"' der -r,hat he ,.o, lcl "'ctu 17 ,r "Z,... 1 doec (ijc:<-:;n J ({) . d11r1n/J'-J T l aclc i f r, '7n "strip! ;.,.,-+-9Jl0ctu'<] . ,, 11 2nd do tho "I ovrr 1 .... d2ncP ! J:.-, Afy,icens j 11. A . ' . ca C"t 'u"dns ( ...:"E' em he'lo.iz oncc J, 0 · l~er1s I\ J d"tc ~nd incicive as"98flT'1Allt* of Cu:iJen . Soc , cJ.so, critj isrn b-,r Rcri.enib red,, the o f1r-r Fhicb dh roni W Ps the ne..., th - . -OM9-~'') vn-rteJ< I:.,,_, t PO . '1q_n7,r oetf crin+;"inr the "TlO,t un to~ ,Tnhn°on, 1 efrlinro , - _._en_ onte•,"" ~ i"'t5.n""s in the Ch llen sectjnn of 1 1-,,01m, J.?cl •rit rs of A 1p.-rj c -.- to0j oi:rr• nh"'r - -------11 , "S --·o - i"' 11 • ed i_p 1927, the e"rJier nse 11 do ym ..... ,---, n: 1ne . Pp~j Il"" ',t78 ,wentie ~ tion" of H"cl ,To:bn.-.on A r.-ric �I.? ; ,;_ d0velonment ahp. O'ltnut . wi tJ:i his r'O etj c "\It err r o Poetr:rr( l. q?? , 1931) ·ms nne of the hirr)l point s ~ the J no:"t"'nt f'o r r1ore th8n the ~ntrolo,~ of a ul c1 111 Jo(Tro II olern.en ts in "'ince Dunbcr . Tt W9S ~lso the ~ir3t ~ntho l o of Blac 1,.. cri-i--,j_cif'TI h"'s to bqrin •-rjt :ht t ,reen rlif"'"'rAnt the DO' -1--~ j n c uc1ed, r of oetry , r i t~on fro-A eri c an Ja1'l.es :1 ldon Tohnson . · ris5.ons of Jn"'lnson 1 s concern i,., the 2'7thol Ou • ri 0us in ot e d dj tinctions bA - di ~ E' id~1tifird e o t::, r 0 nr0rr.nt, U . the f'irst rust 0 ined effort on the n~rt cri J~j c to i d 0 nti-f::r the · "t the inds of di lectq ) nr! rrave 0 the .Ji '"'C - ,., ' s es s en ts of .,oble1 of dialect Jo~nron de cl~rer th t it -r,ossocs ed only t,v> e 1otfuo:rm--humor a nd pa t h os,_,'3tc 1"1 5 nn- rlro·:n , ch a :::tcte-rnrmt .,e..,ctjn- 15 ;TC"rs 7 ..,t0r , ~ alno nri" is<"u ed +,he fnllo"·n,,. cri"llpn ·e to ·~f't c f')1"'1'1 h 1 l,~~ '"' P"' t1~ 'oJs fro!'l 1-dt1"~ 0 10 ..•o sti 77 'old t'l.e r:,_ an b,r ;;;1nb0Jr f'ro.,,.., ··itho "util..,tion of +- 1~~, 1-I-; , nrl n · on1 nc i ati.on . 0 of voic:inc tli.e r!.eenes t rrd aJ J ow th0 'J::i do Pt nrrlj_sh snel· i.nf 1 f'si J f "vo·" ; o. form exnressinc· -she iriar-ery , rri.or ar.d n'"'thos , too , of tre c 1;C'ble J..,c': poC't3 : +hrt vrill e·;:press t1.e ., . . . cial "nirit ~ ·ril l out . ) J orin~ nn coJ~red noet ir, tho Lir,ited St . . . tes n ed s to do js +-'l.P i3 n0 ru ch s co rrinn-0 of oP-ro , but ~,ich wiJ <> l "o be "nd hi ;h"st Am0t:Lons '"'Pd 2s-,,i rations , Sl'D .i c c ts and -1--1-10 , idAst 0 c ope o t' tr<:'at ent. �It •ms a ,.,.i 7 9:nt:.:..c brothe:, J. 3 0 sa~ond, Tohrison also 79"7 , C,i:it tre, , rs rublirhPd jn A I ·= ---=: eJoct0d noerrs(:,t. P te-r , l"'lt f'0,,..T'"-i ;n -·_p O ; C"' ,c- ·, ...,_.,.1;,;, el"t~s ___an Ircic1"'rt ' ' -· y~ . Tntn·oT J.']0. riebl ,.,. " t- q.) \.- 1-01 ~ -•r n Al f' :::'r'Ol;f~c ,..~, by t-h0 time he as 'dJ hes 'l""'ection DP,.,. o.r, -1-1-c >'l" !1,..., "J. <'~ -~ 7 "r'l".,.'Y, P~'"' "'cl 5n ccn'lbine:tliona n ""to""lob-il ".Yl P "'C"irl nt 1938. T') r lr s f'o .,., ,., 1 q r ,. r c hop I"'lllch of h-" s o m c' ,,, lP-P""O ( 8(' , I .-, Ph0ve ~ or C1'1'.l. 1 'Il~ •r"s ~ , i~d~cnt0d by Jn~11.so:r1 ' s ovm 1?,efPce n "F e ( the r-ne8cr-erJ strodn the pi•ln5+; 11n " 'i ni< n th P:amut of hi~ •onc'e-r'rl vnjcp," a0 OTIC0 • m in rl-ij T lft ones r'n0 _ in rict,,Pl y fitl 'I") t ch~ 1iJ.1.,t j c:; r~ A · ves "PS •rery .,..hythr:d.c nance, ~ncl he bro1 (l'hti11.to rylay 01.c" - - hat "'ri Jl J sa_r?-- �o,...r~I'\ '1.0t of' on or a tru'Tlnet, b, t 1'.'nther of a tron1bone., the the -ricle "Yld v"-riod r"nrre 0f 0motions encornn"Rsed by the huni. n oi ce--nncl .ri t1' ...,.,,.eatr>r n1e"ded--he bl pred, hP crashed., hP tr,,,ndered. T sat f"scincted; eP1ntjonal effect - Thi,, scene C:ity. rile II th.nt he +-bEl p'Y' occurred "Cher t cl- urch U: ½nsnn ... t+-e"lded in r,..nsas p ae 7 iverinr:, Jnhn"'on recalled Tes str ttiY1[1' And ,.,..-- jott-ed II v.dn m note"' ~or "-1he 'Jre 0 ti on 11 • God ' s _:i,,,0P1bon0s co11.ta:Ps fron a te .xt i tre Rib ±noluc"e x 0, j, "Go Do m :>ea t:b - -A Fun ral Ser d1d 0 011, 11 IheCre--tion, 11 11 tr 11 + 11 ld 7 t fl~ 'l'he Proc'li 11'ql So-r , t thri r if"'l-t '"l0int 0:' t!" r"thnr ~ar n -er~f,.. trPn o ts. t} e:rr P r., '"' _. 'Y' 1l # Ch O f <.:.,.., the ~ 'rnson . to . . . . ,~J Y,(<'CrT1~• · <"'£'l"J.e was, ho• 00try--b,,t r0nE' 0f . P 1 021 J_ ,_, 'ii r To' "'1< o:r rp· noe-t 1""1."'t tY>"'nrcrnd th[lt f0rn. f,C'IlPr[>l 1y r,J--pt of' ~ jSe 1--np;u"n-e @P'1 • s ;;..- whitA AP1°"iCfln or Ln,-.J.isr:rnnn. Jb,t "'Oll doe c"r--!l']"t,c(ot "'.'lie is in"'"ji:J rrrcial f0eli"l'"':~'.,0ur.".'1PS oy P1:o· jnr· f'o-r' r 0ntnneit7,"', Buil<1ir. "li,_,r ,n re otiti')n, ancl or,,nloJT:icnr- free J npctCl t-nn T l{"l"l-inc<u ',p_llrpr\,rrnct Ster I 'r I r:a,:rn ~""c,•Jp r tente·~t--aJ tbo' ·'b 101 1a n1r>ced fl] 1 ro,:n "'; 1 J int r ol~tc bl "t['nt .;; rel i...,.io s 1 c· II �65 , ~ r(. '"'Yj n J_ v s, use ("es ~ into the tfx-1:; of the serons. It a B]ack r nd o the· r~s the fir"'t time ~ tic rl i om tr . . t 0-c h . . c T' n0t to !'le11ti0n fl r,):-,nj r inforentiaJ. Kn.Aeled d0 ill ~ I I DJ_r c' enin in trn durt It se TIS 0nl; n ,, -l:;,·r l thr1t ?nhn"'o11. J, ck 0 0 l +-1-)_ ,..Il t i S• II 0• .... .,- t 8 A"Tl ~ E'S 11 p "() l .... /'"" 11 ' ck 'he iP ris r- f, ce 11 ":1he · e r-ro tor r1 y i C1 , �'re old til'lle nre"r"ler 'rne nore thn 11 T 11 secrets ' tl:'9 i j - i'l1nato ,.,.,,..".lncti ln0110nco of tl-iei r oJ.d Afri c'"'n tonrue<=1I . 11 ...J2ecp~ ,li.e'""e 11 -1~0:ri,...11es ,, nd Bibl j cnl ] nntTU V,P~ - - "1 ''rntificd a :birrl-ily rlevo]oned "'rmce of s01na anci rl-iythrn i'l1. hi_-rn,.,eJ:!: '"nd hir ~Anr"'r>R. 11 r 1 hA~e tr •er0 the I ~and 41~.;;":~ rod ' s ---, ., ' :'rornbono s. D0 btl0ssly, t"l--ie voJ. •mc 1 iC" one of tl-i0 !"'0~t preci011s iri tl'R ro.,..i,-11s of' Afro-A'1Arjc--iD ff 1 "'e.rrions- -and yet thei_r of nl-if'tf'Vl.,., j""~ 1")0 anfin"t.;on PAt r ,1er nnd thPi r intuitive eT'lbr ci 0 nd fo71o·r" Q''J' 'lf'. ,..., e a t"'Pd.: ti. '1n of T,y-"\C1' in C, ISIAililiiJi!I~ D· •nb" o -r a 11 anrl : 11 r r r- ·o "'l ~ Ju, 1 n ' ,.. n, ;,... ( .., :irie ' ,-...,. _ c0 +re dPsec.,...,, :;-·')n of '::hri TJ.l"I' 'omrn:m:kmro"J.R Y\l:,W..•~- ICT'-""U\Y~•ff ·T":.iti11.r.' II ~~~~ to tl:iese nerson FPO can 'l b0r>e is h' rdlv a ~ undAr whicl-i Johnson J 2bored u ~ 'he 1] ac r c 1r "''l "11.ity Fit'1i-r f th -· r r ncl ,,.. -; te nT'cl r-- '1tl-iP.rs vW ~,... i"'"V s, to,vrAirA frn J, crn •ded hoat ( r(',riini cent of a "'J nve .,.. ; T>) ~nd or ~11cJ udj no- 0r 0 cri. ti ci 0 1"" o ,, i te 'l'lo~vi rs on . ., modern J iner . onte '"lS �1rhen hn wrot e iri 1 el 1, son +-el ~ 1 11 y:o : Iife f0r MA Rin 1t b~Pn no crystal stair. reco - For uri J e hotb r1en folk t:r•nuh:: do r "i th h i s uc;!.1.es fin,.,.er on tr, 11 pl·lse of th8 pPopJe . 11 - th \ vPrse ~0rn 5 n .Jo""J in, r isrouri , tn_an a rlozen bo')k~ 0 noet:ry, sevAr~.J vo1u.rnes of nrose and pla:rs , "nd s,...e:ri his 01.-m draT'lPS of hi,., rPr>1 ~ i_ n h cl b i i l."t r,~• cJ~rr, ~oAt . l ive •,r:it' "C 1 to 0nA o f t e fi7r:: [1,'l~ ..... ;,:, ,., ..., ro nn t r'Drl, n 0 !l rrH·, y, 1 0-n C 1' 0 C, i-> .,..,:,~ , "V lnno •rl-t "'8 (;'-t')n c0 nl1ti0~ ,., i p 1-;f' •iiilil~:L'-..,r,~---~~le 0f' hi f'Xi CO, l '\at._ "i:n.-i,'~P!l. rj,}1 r,-l- r • .,., P...., c e , "C' 007 a N,_ ) Y"'Oll.tl'S , e ..., 11 c- "' , "'fl( "cl- ') re+-l1-rp~ 1r• Tnhn -"p J... T ' ; 7 a ·'-Ja A to T j i e11 ' \ St t E'llt",X J. ~ jY1 )r-l•1nh-l..-, ~/,Jst O'lt i.n <1re0n11i c. tb Ganery Vi lJ !l ..,.e, :9lqnrs, i.:z:0 Qn • 0 1 -r Vor'•, 7v, 7_ef't ...,r , nrJ-r-in ..,TQ~j,-i'Yl 1"e9 -r.r tr.e ~•Ast Cc:1rt o:' co"ntry ~ :;:..;lill!"I 0n on iob<', 0n to l-ti i fy,ica . {(eturninP.ft s ?~nd bi rt1,fqy ncl TAnt to �. nuri.b "'r of va-riPd ox,,,...r; ,-.nce" (see l'he ~::i r- See j rntu-rned to tli.e ''"'hinp-tor, 1).C., ·r'l-i0,ro 11:ils '11otl1 r ir ·he J ournRl of tr e office of V "'• Carter fl,i. J i "tnrv• r-ir J/{ JJ., l\J P. 1t3rnss SY)ittoons") - . at the \J'rdrinn P,, r k a busbo_r('see ~ TT, ro'7d "r as__I "a11.ne.E_), ~~ l.'11."r;cn. filf!!lllllllll:' of and I chance to ., ,, eone of hiP noe~R to •nchel Lindsny--~hus o 8 o t e l J:(dril!!!!!IK~3f ·hes c::>reer tl,-r>o fh t'1e 11.eT,rspnpArs. H .,£-..!, of -noetry incl de ,.lie 'Jcar"IT <Jnes(l<)BA), F'ine ,,,, 7 othe~ 1 Jrprnat::i~-~cJ..t..at.ions(F'JJ , B.c.o±tshn-r>o ,-;,,,,;+-en.(Jo 2), .,'.be 1/resm Keen r :5.,,,, 0 -e_. QDd"'-r>( J. 0 l1-7,, Sol,--.cteo 1nemsi 70 59,, ont,..,re ... of a DreP"U ) fe1_>:>AC141°~1), As 1r r,..)UT' l'omf': o en, 1°' .3) , (a Jone Qro11 Is Lf' 9+; Sten,d.[ 7 oJ,.J)' .l:''iAld..5 0 ]? ooa« !:or Jpzz...(_Of-J_) rmd ~10(7 col];ect~( • ,,7 "'0 I }ilj()~ l .e__:,•~7rf i'Pv::✓ ~ ~ ~~<lqri) ! . ~ ;" - nn<l t1rn J;,..,a.rb· £Q""" of sort rtor;e~ ?n~ nov~la "",y:0.t.P~ (inc l ~:krie; c-·'-;o ie" f'-ro-n tl e .Tes-:o ~. s 1 1ple :110ri8s TT1_5ch ~~~;::;;;',f;::;;~f.:;~:=t} .. 8 1 er l :.,1P . . rin[·} ".:_ f Q l _, ( 1 , _i r n.: .::r,,tec'). -'·,r, . c'.:; 3 ) , . : :_""J.,,...._::-ri.o..n~J=e....::S~+.;:,.;,· i ':....rl:=e 8 cJso for yolm,.,. rearl :::>s ,.. s , e 1 J A,,,,,,y To 1·rn!Ll, I,;"lfi"'OY, I', - Snnclburn-, of suer T1.ho1n Tn8t 1--.e Y'" t'()l ld nrid s)<"Y)d 1,,1r0". spP'.'l.. 1<'.:,~l... Tl-to T{c l'RC, ,.. ... "Qj,,.,. :::i0~, "'Ci"J]y •. "f' l if' u,,.uidinv u ·res �(-.9 1T.; th c. . . , rlie l i.r. l'!C\, ~ credit ~or or.; .,..ritererti'?'1,...l • in chr-i-r..,tPr :"'( ..,,....,] d•Tin , f' i;hi '1 ff1'10Ur'l'h, ~ ~he r,...nctice ji' o-r r adina poetry to i.-.zz • ti.-r !'."i""l e 1 r n i:1 >"ivPn ~ arnonP' 0tl'ler jflzz rreats . And in~er-urcvinP" of Yf1l1 S1.C .--no ""'oetr 7'\ <"i~c• ssed 1 b13coP1.es a vertt1 "l back1 one of '17 ,,c'{ ar :1.itec~ol:"ics • or ('",<t=l"llnJ 0 , ,... o-f' ( rene,,tPdJ,r~.; "tf'Y).i_n>"j to +he r corr.f' 0fllr in 1 i 11 p"Y>n~e. of 9essie S..,,,ith to raf in rh:,·tl--.Yfl .., _ (..!., GArt·;,,...7"'T tre P -rrJ.8 -f\•s.;on o"' rt:rle 8.llr Or)irit C 0 , . , 0 r , • C he Po,. d ·n :l ,7 1 .;son , 7 •ndC\r"'t,..11.d tri s pail :: j Fo 11 C, lontp no E' t ;:;;-r t0,,,,p0_r"rv :.::._..-.;"O.:::._l ·r_•i G' tr...,ee st"ITli tic ear.n b]UPS 0 "'1 1-'o_ct,,.,y • .,.,,,..,icrJ y QY>-"rs : • u •'..,0s "' A di le~t(ry.,,,i""lc'l.Pi]-.r O' f J l '1. 1 "')1':l.Ct·lc,,~J:· o r;· book 1-iP ntiblir_P-d. ~uc• ~0rr e-rf" 0 t·ve n Redrii -r.r f'0cJ f', fri_c.,_r : •is 111u0s < Con - intn T'b n "'0r ), n0 tr ai~i.o~al - .,,.,.,,,en ve~re. ~ · ~~J.ACt,~·-•i!iii;!n is ~~·t or c- 0°n in nc'l f.,,,ee - vpr '1 �I I ve kno m ,,..; vers: of 'l.l1r-nn hJ ood iri h y srrJ h· ,....rmm flee C, veins . 11"1.?ri Jilre the rivers . . . . . . . . . . . .. I"'\ Y"I '1. • • r•· n 1'.;tr. Pl nc 1c ...o ::i 1;.lry e 110 1 t r t t· , K R f'nrj tun 1 ~ --;f,·e 7 J - " f D:iri....,,.,.s o.., 11_; c COT'I}"' . -n "v~i~r, c-tp.,r. on,...r-v • t-r : 8 t,,_,r0 J!:e l h t 'lf-lE)DG "nncj nt II 1 ;Y\("I" yr' 7 7 • pu into 11 'Poer,'' i'i-, f' i pot>t Pt to e"'ro , II to E>hout 7 c ritr -'-he/,~ 0 11 Jorer rt,,..nte 11 ":{, hlve::- f'orrr- by '<ro1:'"'l., or 1'.I)i'n-~r:.00 of l'"'c'~ life anc "l"'')bu.lt "~·--rc-!;r n D"'<lc'ly , 11 11 rnre be i a,.,il more s 1•c h ('VT'P-ri"'11ccs c? 7 J s +>or tr 0..e-.,.;_nE'!d c,tanz..,::: ; 4- i rc'I 1inrr to co e to +;' ~-h0 o rl\ '--, e i ne 'he Jine ren "tfl.eo. rA00n~ 0no- 1 ·i no m· ones. ,,r- '"'S "Or'"e • t-ri.« J"'Pd.;, :n fo-rA,_ ; .i.. • rq"' lV) -rl:Ih ictic �71 m. t-.v-, t.,,., ·ody, 1ri_07Pnce f'll.T'10r, Ot' Ir> coT'rppsr;on . y I'lc 0" u '1es i"' able nr,,..rs, "l"ck n'"',:>ty P.llC Pi('l'•t 7_-ife p½_-ite "'1.9n 1 r rn(l n·t l•enp u6 1i >9d . 'e roe i ~ si,ittoonr , - ~ ~ 0 -1-hA ,,..,_~l:J.Y ....:.,_ · O, "ilver tr r-! .., ..; ri ,.._, ' rj l , ; ~ Cl')Y'lt -' ri .,... r- t.,... " .l "·-f ,"' rmr::- i..,_ 11 h P 11 0 t l')f' 11. t n .., , 7 ! 0 .(' •1 7 ,,+t0. •1 'Tif-• s th fr, n.r : r"cia""', t..,, H' T)"r. l ,., /1,< 7 -: 8 .''rte "B' '"'tnrd h--Y 11 ·i., r"' i ct 0. ql:iich rE>.,,,.,'5r-or· ,ritri hir tl,-rnu I '1 c_.al ,,,,.,;ty, r~ce n-r>i(0(tl0 ,....,.1i. ti, <i -ifrir"''Yl ~· ntqq ~ 1 'Ch 8 C ,7 ~ All ().,.., c ffn7,r) , 0 t 0" '-tis �,,.f or Fork . oft Tn nt 8";"'0 _t<'..;c1dlell 18 f'Yld lJ,:,nc,Y :;,., tr Jn"IJ.9S hef. e c " l"' s ,T. "o r d A 7 l e n' s trffhe S0 C0 ..,;,(1n1n_ 1s Y"'DhE'l l 11 ~1ob il e dnnce . And C0 nb91:i 1 -17 p rhv+;hr1s Of ..., c r>"lC P. ,,,,,0 "9 7 8ck i 1Y')..,..,OVi88..tion, JI1 '1S c l ajr>'r; ~1-t t 'e~ waht r •10 ,..; ,.. . excit5 1" f-"l l 0d ... • ._, ~ s 8"''1 lifE' , c . . r tri c 'o de·· 1· • · •pr . .; t· p~ _I _ •nc1 r ~ - ~0 1 , 1 r '-vhi to ,,.., r - • "'! cl-iurn' rr '"U'c0 in ~ .--yd c0 7 J Zr tr" Y ;htfi '"'1d l a""raid ." C ,., ,...,h :ues · · c: PJ'.1d tr V led t'hro·· 'h"' 1 t n-.,- ~ · :icl-;: c c>n ')rl d . ct 11 n·i - i·~,"!'·,:;c-,:1~;""'.""1""."""-:',:":~~.,....."""='~---;;..L ~ .•~•--r.L!l::f-1-..; rp +- 1 1e,r CV>Cfltlvi ty rrhe':1. 1::>lcn~" • '1 11 A Jen ~ ~Vo f1'1'ld /.,b:•-.•~~~"'"""" n,t ·ru hnP .--1co T..J.,.,otn Y')Oetr;r "bon+- h e i11r (_ 11 t lP k n o 1 -rJ r-0re +-hnt :;hf'ir own Y'8"Prvoir of ::'1")ontrne~ to "'ice-"'ton or- rmnoy the • ck . r e nroduce::- . ; n Poetry -:,., n'h "s tr • '.) 3"' 0' d Ylf Off hr. 8nd hj 8 b"h ltpra"''" I Bl_"CYf" C"Yl talrp. rnti c,fncti on jn ,...z,c:t trbuc 1 the...:. p lei? ' { fJ. r 0' r 0011-l-;h e rv 1-, ,_ r pnclin~ "''oulclers �73 Jn an Prticlc jn ':'h~ latjnn ~ F' f' - ~ cloclnt'ed t 1--i" t t',9 11 voun1?:o r II dar'• .,.. sl{in11.t=>d r nl 'llf' s . "i ri cii v-i_ rcua 1 n_q ror,ncon I S c'1 n l } ro "rti, ts ... 0 11 f'11. .; r - ror ... , ant IJ/ll!J. P, . ' 1·0,,Jd e.xnrc8s T,'' If t=>.; t·wr ,....± Jnckr OY' Phi_ tes true t· ·t l1 ,.., ~,.., ,., ·h,,. c-n11rce or hj s na!Lvete. i.c: t ' i r 11 .........::.2_ t0y,i,yn-r _-, tn;neo a ~ . n.; ,,t he fee78 nr tr·" r q ln~ ,¥" Cl --R-,-,1;f-ilB 9- A •rid II rl 0 E'.,. '"1 C "d riot "" ·r 1.; n · 0... 11 ; c, .... 0 ll" +, r11 e. ,.., =n s~·c in E'l.,. ·9nr,", f ri,., " T() "Y'! ~1..,-e., • • nt; '17 0 c, • r 'r e -,.....xu.~ J clr l() n n ,..., •p t"'i '1 81"1 "I")() r' F t rC ,,.,e r "<T "' C"' (> ' -" ,...,.l -nP.d • c, rn )Pnf' rj '-1 [)11 '; to C, +-' 0 7Q C, cX 70 l:b.i c-o : <:'I on in A f' t l ] .c ,.. , II ni:-vA.,., ) hrtt r 1 . I �7' T ~r0 Jr', 1 nr]~n, Hrc di>1"", ,Tohr'"'n'"' bj o g,-,ah:y �.,. e , A' -r>o • Ana .i , f't ,.. r . .,...oA'-,-.y "'ceno is c nnot bo "n0.erstoorl. 'm1ess r:1_0 I""if'::'8llCP. r,q_rl ~~ .,1.,,..~!'l(""'T ec,tob j :r' 0 ( "'lt;"tfuon~ hefp'l"; ., 0 ~ lh,1,Th~11'14(/90J.-lr?J), ~ r-' ~ r ~ ~; 1.i. n~l ~;tt:;;) .- rae _.' ,:;_ 0Y1cp,, I\ C, t ,,.. nl 0'/0 7.. ~;;;-~J;)do7vp e,c mined. T)l-;"11~ of' tre Rs - , .,~. G9 ()l:- ) nm~, Gr,o ~011 ,1 '"" T ri~ on, ::) 0!1"1d Jeff'rA;r .-."tt'ef'f9oc.t) (17 { \U~ . y (!_'1 0 .s- ), eJene ,Johnc,onl\) cr,iy,~ lcl.Pe~, ,e"'i::. 17 -,-andnr( ono -1n1:.,Pi · • Otl'wr C"n bfl <'!i f'Y'\ 0 ~L 00tf' be ""Onti oned cit t:ho 0nd of t r"'ed -~~.,., wiriely alonr: a spec tr I'o n;r o E <, '1 e,n ,.~n 1 • o ~:i;it:::' r r-nc, 6pDortuni t7r _......__.!!l@i...fiiiilll~~ ; no 0"1S a "lr>U 0 -'-l- ri" ,..,_j t , r e '"'0ene 1 '"'. f 1 tl- 0 / rE:'erlor>1 fir .......... ,..,j ficrnce. ~c s of "'he C ri s ·· s cont::ai-ri"' ~} e bee-it; ron,..,e"ert i:;ion 0f ajor ~i,_.; of r~l..,t:: ve, d 'he i:1rrie'"'r"d froYll "' o"'e di.ff'e,,..ent cn.r>00rs o .... #1.:. C.-r0 7 inr Dusk(J'"'?7 ~ r" 'I\ 'er~Pt;:,.~t:r~o~-IYt# or_ • rt. f"Pn-" r ,-j l}pn ' "' cqn �ln O et r-,r O f ~'b f' e +- of ~he l~sscr ~novm n eteo Pre in00ts, 7 g71 in RaY\dall , s transit~ o o et,...y( 1969). lack ,._·"i , nc:IP.rson do es not 7 ist one of t e" e And 0nly res t ar- .,.., "ck A ,.,,he roetry • nnPC! tr0 FJ.r0rf\: a]l T"" of the I O poets ,8Y' d ryrac t; • cally :t1P. i rn a nf17 J ov0r T-rn book. i: of' e lorton series d I . ~ l'J.lll0 r '\_ • c:r P 7 on ri nc rlerJ. In "Frnnk ,I'' (~e fon,... d ,_, P.M S n S i Cl C, • oh .,,,... "C n+-0 r 7) ,., Y) ., en:.=iissanco 7 A"1 8Il ; and the TOI'l"le ,, rn ,,,; eo ,., T'Y ro c- cri +,j "':5neo the O"-'--r,-,.,./ ., C' 7 0 r r7 r,ri oets. ,,,. , .. ----- --:-- · ·h s .- a n r f'na 1 C! sance 11 cal 7 s A.TI<l. wn fll so secs cnnti.nuin qy, 11 r1 ien-nnd-exiJ II t:b11r1e fro1'Yl nnte"l'l s. the 1 ° 1 O I C". �3 <)3 t,., and D'h.P. s,, 1 a&o. ~ --.:aWI::nili t rio-r•e j 1:i:;1wo incl, .d0s ..., iE1t :::rw lfi -u,xn~~ Lo1Mmnvm~ n1.U""e...,ous 1,0 1ks , pa'l.T"rlets 8lld "'rticlcs.~·ii.__!i_.M.....,.!!IIJll!!ll!!lllll!!~:f"!:~•~ ~ . Yi s novAlS iYJ. ~ ( 7 S 31 ; ,. . . _f¼od -SPnds - - - -Su"'c'lRy -- - dra:rnriti zed 1 ' A 1ericP11. An_ ~n-~~ ~-"l"~<:_e t_~ o( - - Tl'ore tl qn 'JQ C0l ,ritJ:, ...,.l rios) , dA_n_~J}pn r"': Tl-ie _~ool- of Pr>rrtivrr.fll9 E-.9) , G-r,e,.,+- fi]nve ond_j, wor'rn iPveniJia, c ltu,., ef Tis rre 07')<""..; ..-.3 1 ~ Fi." 1 r 0t or nnt' o~2!"~r .,2~_ro Po0tEY__!o,,, '51 .1n0' Rnf'rerq(J 01 ,l ), · errro FolkJo-r,0(1()_5C f., et ~J. ur1r f' t n 2v - -------- ·r.,.,0 r - lea r0v0J f'or rr0y,e I YJ.r th.~ ?O 1-iistor y,-,, • e rorved "s tl ivereo·it i "Y"S~ ~ Dw ~ t-1- P f'nc1. Jib r rian 1ti"'r of ,r PArrona ~ s r'"' e..r ti-..ror~rovt ~~ c j i:~~~=:t; de0 - r 12 trir> -, ur::0 11 I 11 or 11 .e 11 o.c"en ' s ) ft111i1 Con,iteo Cu 1 "Us . " TTi'"' 0r en I s r.l p0,=,+-,rv ; 9 W,.~ . ;_,Ju..- �• ~ A co c~,,,. cnMf'nrt ar r,p al'l'lr)'•')_,,. '1"80° t1--c ~e~:r i of' f"MC 'l'00!'1f"r 10 -oe-1-s (> C' "C f'n 1 -1-() C, ~ont '"'"rf)r~, 11.o nl; 1 e n, 00ks U ,1' ; r "r ')rP.1"8 r c' , b a! -1- T)S •rri tfl r 1 ') -f' i lrl,..en II 1 f'eed on tJ-, .,,, . .;... C'/"'C C-n.,o l lP-11.t y +) .,. ,.,0 7 le 0 n C, "qllrc, of p. e 0f f' e11_7y that n J.-,ck ~ "a C R tj '1f.! l ,:,vf' ( 17nvf>'"' b .,,..o • m t o e ~ , de enonbJE' tr ( ition of' ~1 t ~ ·,t reco:;ri t.; nn or ; :r."' ,....cr--t ,,... 11 end~ co fo~t of' "'t"bi]i b t 1-1 0 S "nd 0r~·b•Ar, s t t'ft'Y) 0 n 11 "' i f'-y,..; cnn rveY-~ Jnl)nr "'Ld C0'1.Cl1•d,:-,.-. t at i t+er f'rui t. 11 i l 7 i"' 0 ia• V WO ld ri..stinn'ty nno tli.e . . ont€'\"'1'1""'"' 8 Y)O n7 so ~ an"4.f it the tas+e of sl v.,,, t' c d"'n.l"ct t:r~ct;t;on "'tjll bi+te,,.. on the-ir ton["le O'r'te'l1"' s does j u t thi.-. is 11 i.:rie lip.tnrn" 11hi.c C}')"'ely r 0 A:"l'l°bles Ct len'"' "!Ierit,, e 11 "' d ~ one1"'ln 11 "Pfl"V"' 11 0f' d8nce of ri:iin, ~ et u 11 reme 11 b-r>ed r"in, jun,,.7 e c-lryi, 11 11 11 M go b,., ck into t:hf'! d·• sk . po0 +-,s. T'k l .. e-•n,., / •dne"'"' are 1 Sf) re 11 the friendly p-l-,_ost," f.flE'!d dr,ms, ri f':"'i "', 11 11 10 ... nd then "'' t .;rr.t'"", .:r e,.,t 11 : ••• 'mbol s or .; "n.a,,.A 7 ent in . ., nc 1 •rri t' ..... C"". vi .; bi l . t �s a , • · rou-l:i the con~tri"1.t n-r•0ssure ( c. f ., C,.11 e11) to "'UCc0ed -!_:;he r..,ce, ontE:'mp'"' d conrentional ed ,- stro11, Vf•]o - ., 'f\.p,..,i-tn~ s 1.-:ith occPsirmal free - verc,e eY erj Proo :"lal l'lnd -,,o, erful, n sta ina(t is oetr . t l 00ks ahnrid to ontemns I T r o te:rre he ec12 ted) lC ( • icl - n.\,~l,,(l,,t~'-'f.1- , : P-j s r:,f' ~ Sterlin()' B,..,0, onte en1-;y,n7 +- ~"~A unt...,in 11 , st ,ry, o11r•J••-••rlil'r~tl. 1 "' -,ef"Y'O CarP M2_. Fo"t' "'' ½li~ 1 )~ 1 "or1rn Pee "11..c'{ ,lorld, XX(Sente!'.rber d 8r Lb 0 l n 7• 7.,... ., ,...__ "',..,ks- Robert • erlin' s cri tj cn.7 -~ntho 7 ory, A on"' ·tl+-h An()'e1_:.n2 Gri"rlke, Le·Jis _ " ....l·orr t ,_r·e A Tork car be Art' ur F. Da is I s Flro"'IJ. t:he lJP.rk To er, and rrhe_ 1·stinr lar h0 GoJ rrotha . b,..,ief reactions ~ i I ui.77 Crt.:"11.bJe T th irk it ·ri (ll? i f' f'-i .,.,oim in r rialect) exclai~ed by Sterlin~ ,:;, o~r~~~~;~n~t::e~M:'.:r-~p~, t; e 11 s us in "Go 7 ,,.o i":b. a One d.., a en+-..,t-ton/.. " ~on~ ·· 1 ,· ~ 0 ~ 7 ,, 7°' - 79. lexrlnd9r, Anne Spencer, Arna -•·•• ..... n_ .,....0.,_1., •. ·· "' rt t-:· e of' etA _- Sc, onterrps, �... Vecr Vor1, , ma "'l:11=1 i:tt•nded 2f8Cl-iers 'Jn1 erre, Col 11 mbin r....,iVfrf..;ty, +'or tro yeflrs ...... "'"t:?bl i::-h-; st11died in t,...e Fine Arts :!Jenr.,,.,t"'lAnt--tre oafte.,, A ' nc_:.. L a dual career as "l'")OE'}t ,.. r'l ortist . Sre lri~rr attrmded Pratt ;_ ~+-· tl te, t.auC",ht ~-'-[l ff' of Onn')rtun~_:trmxDU[:mq1111ll!.21l!m!m ,r11_ey,e SAvnrel of 11'"'.., n08Y'1S ri:>n ; er h9rfi11est ems ne rAcn l s depth of "'">.lack rori..,11. ood reven.led · n t;l-i.e no etry of Frances crp0r, r.-30,,-.n"-ia .Joh"lson !'.lnd An('"cJina "!rimlrf . 0 To A Dnrl! Girl" o eens." l-le r 0 cf11J the 1 ord nforn-ottAn 11 fro!I' "Sonp; 11 ; but it abounds i"l the sor,,,ow 1 s rnate 11 but if she foy,r•"'ts r er slaYe bec 1 r,....,-,0,,nd she tir.1.e and another ...,J ce -- f0r n~tural Afr·ica -- Y'PC' ,,,:K: Cfln stiJJ th rot r-;r-rn.t the"e 1"')0'11s �7 nootr reeE 11 y, 'J'i ~a. ti,,-, 2arn.e duality in her "sad l")eo....,1 t .so, l" nn.tred 11 is ohar:r nnrl_ st"inr;ine ri~o a d~rt of "inr;in~ s t~il are reminded of Ri dd1 E" of t1-ie Sn}:,-l .i; nx . n 'JI .•or C "r,sr ,. r.i 0 II • , r oeris on ~ c "To the Du ,._; P ' th~Me; i tr..e Fi "Y' dr. II cott D"'l ~ ne""s .,_ "n,..,y <, , lt L-o:r _ 11 -'-· ,., +-vo tirnrie t t ,T. Seo t t, tho V01TS to 11 f'bandon 11 -1,.,t>self to i11 "n e f'.Po rt to th t of Arna and endurnnce . AcadeY11y -1 n l' v0 id theA 1 onto~~s fince it is deep 'nd f ows from tr?ilition, stslllin om in n-..;.skcP-ee Instit'l.te, Alnbarna , , ru .t!;nr.-J and 'nd t' en t:3ur·ht three yen re, the fanio s at / D ~ber ~ she ell ef'ley C0 ll e,,.e , • fter i('"h ::i cho0l ir 0 ttBndcn nr".ldford Ph ich sh.0 Ji:, "Dinr--r,')n , D . C. Accor~ .; n~ 0rco-rti ve and �l ~ r o not 1'"'c'- 1',. · '- o ,:--f\disnJay ..r, 1 • 7 -~ .P-+-" Or R ~1~~ 1T'O.,,.., • , 7 7. ,_ '"'On, •+v ieo A fl] . O"t n. 7· a,~~ pro"erit i"l +heir S• to h;m. rJlris 11rrtic1,1ar asnect of' ~~1 0 try r-iv~c ri"'0 tor- ch "nAcu atinn cl,. p<'] "ince noer.,s devoid of r..,ciaJ or nti..r.; c flavo,.., t"'ko on s· ·nj f'ica:rice nren :O. rwa " 1, o 1 on ~.s. Du'1ois , ur i te 0 ). 11 ·L':r,o irank 'orne, t did not r uhl is:b a bool~ ) Colle e of the City of 0octo,.., of Optome bry. ~orne Trornc, 11 -roes ,sse"' Jnrleed ~rorne is 1 i ne s "nd ~ 0 c"'r-rj t}v=• ~ orked ir Chjc8ryo ,thPntic rj +>t of ontry," Pccorcli:Dr- ~o Tarnes cf"'l, c'rnT'tic..,l, rr" e-.,, eii "Drl .-.7,,,.,o""t b"re i , his ~hot>t conori c 1" n ;ue. ~c. "Joe co r">ue of hi i;!i!a Y•y rnv"' 7 ve s ~ot rd ost o+' CPll vie ti..., l'!" s it , nciortj fi c inr,uiry adanted to tho n0t' s r,"e,,ti'1Y'line:, r . . cial iri 1 ,c,tico, �9. ~nd v-;ctnry as fact or idea. - --- · ----- 1 ";1Diba1, OtreJJ.o, Cri"'r. s Attucrs, ' and ~dcs 4 fo"', s ~ 11.erir· rte end. 11 - t~rlinf r- ·tE'r t;or, .-,n-1-icipatin: 0 " 11 TQ -f-h,.._ OAtn ' ,,,_,,,,,.,,,,,,,.,,. 111..-'I, "Scotts' oro, .,..,8Cfl 71 S fl I1 t II, e led 1~o"'t:1n'1.ri s" i11.to the e ' e; ·vi ""r dj d ye 7 acber, rr ·c,,.l,r ,,.,... ; tre ,,n e nl di"' POY'l d but ,.,.; ve Jesl" • !'1.8 o VA 1 ; ri,..,. tinn .J d 1 ri n fl c,-•n inr- j.,... O' II nrn0. 1 r ~'10.c",..,.e of sc·iE'nce 'A \J!,,r.-S:J:J:;;.f s a !Cl ~ csODC"S o trt ta i_.,... R for C!"'IYJTrf'rl. r-1-s ort I"' l'-c~ide or.hPr r.oetR for "'ir~inr, rne C9..D. ' Overt re, r-., ~~ or.l ; Sonl'l''r. ii ) 0U"'"aint I 11 'Tlo II V.:W.n . " ·vo, tt~i.,e P.X e -t- ;PE'"' t l 1 Q t e r ti e ; ,. . -· n VO 1 E' d i n ''nriJ,r of ber. T T() ,,. <'l 1 ~r E' - 11 A ,..rr ; '-, Ce 0.,... • A to tl o al tr:P" -1-ri'l'l' a nd 1:1-len ,, d.ri . . . i , 0-f' " 0 II 0 -.,,. .... c nn.c1 ""o l" 7 a TT-• r) i (' t 1 ,.; t 'Y"r\. 1t G,. • r 0 nc b• lo~y nd 0 ite _..,.,u ...,::.c/ .,...7 ~ . . , , "'· 11 ;..,_ •• 11 o <..: -rolin"' (;,.,•,.,7• s 1-iis 1 A ,rrs ·f' )"' "C' t") ; ~ ..., ,., II C'lY) cl h1 ,')8 -fir, T * ,,.. • 7 i f'e .. II () II 0. ~r,letl in .,,.. .., ..., "' re 7 -1- p r., .: ~ 1~ II -r>ec It ; .., 7 .n .1- f' i 1n tl 4 c +i "I' Tr,..,, ~ r....,, n-P -1- ..., l..'), t":'\ "'0 r.t- -1-1- 0 ", e -r tb,..J 7 in ,,.,ao '1 1 ~ ()l .,,; Y1() n. '() J II i n.,,t...,,.,ce"' t.re ne-'· CY')<"' ' i ('T' "Ad -1-:· "Y' ' " V ; C, tn1tfi{\ · .<''(V'lj' 1.;n0, r, " n ,-.-'- 11,:,-jr,nn rr -1-'~e n ; tn r:,..,n-1-·i.,., jr-rr ' . n/:1 II !'.'l co r 1--'- on 1 �JO 1 AQ].. i"' t q'10 "body, oAt-r>"<T AVE''YJ. t 0 1 ,h i::: solely i.n ~ 1 • • bl Y one,..,"ces 1-nvpr~n rJ..7 t - 7· ')l" ! f Gh8 ppnc,0n °ddre"' ed hR."' 11 i::irid, 11 p J (? 7 ve 1 s. ti~c"l"l'l n 4;r 'Pho-nn" "'O"l. "T)"r"e, hie J.--,-i 1::i.n-e ".'o '"' .l:'ers1· _ n. . f'te....,t . < rords th;_~ovrh 8tic c0"'lr,etitdi.on; 1rJu,ncr>d nt,,-npd rn,..,r..,.e Le0.-irrd ni II c'1nplicntinn- 11 th"' riem15nn- of ..-rguPge '"ld flctinn of' 'Y"lel0d7,-r :;hr:it c Rll 0 f,-,Ae-v('rse ~ orne it w"s tl18 1 o·..,.,e, le:r .~ oct 1.·ho lived or.Jy J0 a.e re co rrni ti 01'1 b8fo re hi ~ QA"t'i' ),,') rever, for 11..: s ~~ e octy" 1·on f; rst pr; ze ir is oeY!ls " a ~A"red in ""'O r ti rnA, a trodi :;; on!CI 7 theme ~ ------ r · :be I.yr· c West. 'l 11 rn ; "' "'tq+-e - iri<1e uoetry n J-: ] ' t , lo j od rn A 10r:i.c" . ~ enu,, "-~n('l" Blq c 1{ s1lf"f8r nr n'ietry'p 8 . 0 0 r' 1 "' ::cj_i-w1('p) r t e c -r>0 10 ' s. ,-7 j onl-:,r remote 7 "<T ',i . . n.,,,iv tP "'l P,(i 11cn:;ion, 0 C ' ;Tl1ich "?f' 0uit.e eytPn"ive, F s +- c'l ~~~~~~~ , r"' 1 Pd ts..: tarPft~ j-n r,on - �] l • r in ent · es 'nd th.; r'-j "'S. ,...i......-.-~~ ·w's n1blirhed Y"lt"'i.c; ard nhi~_0ek . 11 e 11om...,-i5 10 ~ ~t:::::::;=;:;:::::=~'-" S0p - 1 b0dier 'nc Pnrl ·r.,...eaJ im"c-ec, "ncl C" ol'l"nn -- s l i'l"l- fi th PI'10 "".,,..ii,1-,e-t.... '!!I!_, £ ~ - of [" vi_r,rr lo"'t I ' Trr'")"'r ' s Prznrr Gnod AripoP-~iat,.ra 11 - - e ··1iu'"ical teT""l'l -- rl tovorinP- roe:rn f\ 11 of' 11 in Y1 : C, · sons bet·peerm ro· inds of ,; c fnllsE''~1:2_!1-P- 1•p Ji- i +:E>..,., . ..r,r'~ IJ.~ ,.__r 1 o·r . a C, ti natc v ·ercd- P~te-•• - tr .:nr1: • • • II or 9()TI8'.:;hinP' "''i"t'.1€'~Il0 ,, ..... ,,.,,~,.c'lf'"' .• 7 h ~- 'l"\f"Ptry . _q~rpc, I A 1" ck C"' nP r..,., •,y,t..:,.,1.f' A.fr:ic2 ,.,.,,.. ~-""P 7 0" / -- 1 rit-:,r lqY"IPYJ.t-"'a. bY ot1~.,.., rnnn;rsf!nce T)0ntr, 11 ·~e...-edi<'4:i5on e u 1 () ny, tr p not,-.,« -+;y,~d nr tl1.rt t0 tr0 ,,•-1; '"'lnPt 1 :- ft <ie" 11 1•icsf Rj,~ i cs ~ U8S f' T t. 11 • <t:..:i ot bear/t; 7 <1 "l"f'"'sed t-· " nn"'.,.,• i1 ,.,,,,,~Fr forI'" • tle Y')()(}~ ';ho c:npp 1•0r fw-1 c;_U-U . "lnrio i:iftnr \Jia •- 0,r0d wr1M.l i:;J nef.,,...._- . ,-70c- 1 If 8nd <;OllVf'.,._t..:,-,n,:il r.-ictq E'"'l ; ) ('. 0 0t-i onpJ P0~ J - h"'in ·, bPt i'or the t'"n"~•1t of 1 is ca 'E.'f'mience" r :t ~, 11 ''Poet 11 Rri<l 11 Pr,.,.sci0--ct'" 'l"'J. l e r' jpsl., s: e tnA 1· i te" 11. mot of'" f',.,p.e - vrr~e ,..,Af' 1 ~i,11~11: rr1Q 'cc ·":a;ts • l(Jott'tro:i -Tenr-cr::v:)n "'roo '{) p,-.i tes rJi th a:i le<""o.,,,i cpJ e l ert "'nee . us ,·ork is deenly ..,.,e 7 ip-ious; 1',,·-; j_t .;s rot """'-~r-1:>olJ.srn .-nd 4:;:-J es C11.r-i ti:_m ,..,,r C' jt i,D ,,.1,r Q Cfl'1.Ylf'd r,.... j lio-~ 0 snr-ss . for "She n 7 nc.1~ C 1ure . e ~ Til•e A.,_H cYr1y, T'P l ; ,... ' n" C di[' Jo c"o'lbt as to i t 0 ' n.:;P1t . I',,.0i .....'11+8i' uith l:>oth ho e 8nd r'h11bt, 1,-i·'.:;h "my enre l 11 1 11 le,.,.f1ir �from the s~ ouJ, ers of Blr c1~ A eri c"ns. But the an e1, 11 1 All ni h+;, j t s ".nabl e to 1 i ond "'5Dce ho str>1, rr led 1 T c"fer. • • • Careful y l'nd stnr~l:in,,.ly, '<-roolrs ves in th reJati~rely ne'\· BJ.ace toqords poetic t!'.le,.,,_e of inaif ere c (ana 'tiistrl'f't of) Christ:.i" i ty . 11 ln ck necAssi ty" j s 11r2t trie an ere interv nes on behalf of ; but r.d'ter the all ni ht C"true;,....le, he ne"rilv fl-lee off the nArr tor T hs leavin "th 0 S 2 · i' no et'l, one Fh i ch b "tP t other ~roo~s niec s . bi c tri etnr, "nd 1 sin,.,. fix-1 ·ned rt 0 "lzas , tetrnTieter "nd i 1 a:1 excitin ical tee roo·cs ent v 8Cl:d rith an 8 b c b rn.s born i 11 a b rhyme sel er:ie , "tAve n·d 7.e s 0 e was 1 1 uhen oney 0 •rent ~n T"'clm.on Jnl 7 e e for fo1 1 r on hs h"1.s ntio11.r1 11cnn hP- tny d in hir "'"' of' it nd '-.if' 0 +;y, is lni.ys ·rel - rnfted. c rr 0n "'t-,., to be.,. l • 7 eel in ct:i Oll • t ·· v tion of 0 i, an rf'n. e 'Bo cl. t "" 1-i_e J...'1"' i (if\"' P, f' 0 vl• r TIO d , r,,.,~1'··'1""l o ,_,,_er .p. al J t ·o ~Tn:r,en Y'( .,.I, p. "'T ""\A"' hereoe U"'t: e ir 7,...C,.. 0 -i-r:r • .I, f; 1 en 1t e 1 I' C' s nt , j f n �J co""lte nr)r' r-:,r noot, rd s eJer•:rr on Jc'b 11.d P"t~P,rso'lli:, prAsP.n-i:f( P ri'Y11i]R"" "'i-1- 1,-t-;-ion ;n 'l"yr aeqt· of'· r2. ~ <>rt·n Tuthet' 1 in,,. Sr. ( ~71 nhinr-s bid , 11 Se terrb8r, --Jess, c uci~ied? '-fricA.n · sl"ls and thP A-rreric:"n Chr" s ti anit , £"X">")ff"'"; S1{epti.ci2'Y"l "-rc'l c-rn·~ are rP .re r>f i1'1. -- 2c'I- ieves ti ninr: the S'1ldj ""r 1 "" d .,,., th to t'-.e C')f>'Y'O rR. 0 s- -:c-nti 011.ce of ,.. 7 very, r,~f,i/,...-.ii,••~i4-f•. fP.sus r "7 0 7 "1T Cl"ic.:.ficcl? ; n<:1 tj "" 0 mn Dorlsrm ' s 1 11 l'lrl.0Dt 11 --"nd re at inf p acP - Il"'l11P.S of · nort nce . 0 Te a:1!!!!!l"'!'t--- er;tab1 ·""-.es .,_ r·nd ni"'rt -r>"'7_;):/'na n0 t 11e "Gprden" bRttl rrou-11.d ,..,1...,. ertj 81'.lc --"l on of e ri.sinr,. 2et the stc cr0 -Por ,,.,,..tly +;re n"r,,a+-ion I f-,,ee-VAl"ne ~ i s ciet 0ff~t"l · cs -f'or t. ose "'ectione ~-;. occt1r in e thP t, , Hi:'.1. u'bich ~~nd. :=:.roo{s is C'"'.,,tf'inly 17ortl-i "'11-1c'I-\ 0rP st-;ud • J n ene T0hso'1 .J..., .L. (°'"'\ bP co :l:ecten. PO t. 0rr, Q-r in d "'°'7; 'r'or J-;on, "'1- nd i'l'l n'1P'Y>e r>, 'ho0 1 {~ fo rr'1 ·b (!Yid ~o~~~+___...._1...._~~......-oi.: "'be a+-tp,n(Pd locnl r- ·'hlic !!"!:±1 1 Bivir;on o~ C07u•b5.a Tn;vP.rrity "nd~ cl"\me nne of tl-i fir 1ref' of the l:'rJcr'l Ro 1 P5f'r"nco. ; ortant e 7 Pne .rohn son nort,11.t "your 0r 11 Ter noeT11S ·-J0...,e m l>Jif"l ed in terr"', e"nr-1.,.,,tic "nd dive.r"'e il'l f'or. .... , st-.:Tle And 7 "11.,.u1:1.,.,. • ~r0 i"' at rorie p; th'1Non.,,@t, free-~re. rs e, c ..nv"n t · on:=, J ,..,: "'T'1J.e ,..,i ec "'e, or 1ri. th TT, "t n.mf'l c:i • le 7 d'">n �14 roi--ns 0 n cf'l 7 s 11 cnl loo i.al styJ e--o st,r e ''hich r.u.,,.,b:er e'"'s noets this ne" a,·A[ 197~9;,9] have as~uJ11ed to be e::i...,~r. n ( he tril''inr, t ~ e t s of the current nn e:rn 11 ne": nC1'e 11 Tol-rnson sounds ::-s if (J nt;0-J97i.;. t}.) And ,Tohnson rri t ten i,... tho 1 h0 r:i nt ]110:i t +1- crow::' nmetir•1e!" neacocl ish) dre<'S ~ · 1 r1 i +-,,.. s " ro c ,....., r s , i ~ .,,o 1 i 1 o "r [> r:u, ,, " tenc1 in~ nf' l.tl(' "'l."11 ir, !i I rbi-1-;f> c0 77 "Y) d .; n''YJC)'J'."f' t0J d to I\ i,.. ' ::.:'' . carries H!"O Bi A l_e. I ') ("\ nn n1 r to t:he rirlcll +;n 11 d '1.ce ·' h" c011l A ·')f' c:'}"'1"-;'")(> ,l'J 7 nn, ... 0 n ne 1' -- s,'t0 ·1~ Te 'an+;ecl d no~ +;hrop off +;' P cJ oaR ni' \ A" t rn Prl"r." ~ i ,,u, aral11: ~,'1ey1e :ir 'Sonnr-t to A MJ@ l'-"1 :JrnC"J" 11 0 ('1'.,0 :i_r- "E-r10r1 11 ~ ~<1.0.ocns of T'l00I'1S i-r. T.ri O (8rr1 reca•l:in ,.,,.."-;c,r-ory), 0 h8 �nn-""o ,J dP-"'iiCt"' -\:;hP ~!!1!'11!!!1!'!"' ,_ o thP. · s no t e.,..,nj,...on:'P,,,t ; ..... b(dnr· l)fl"'ITCr olo; or ""he •rich PP ] T --nd rP ~[';i')1 1 s So'TT'e~1ou, -!-;he ~~ ~ ~lfJ . T <> TI'"'-r>t l<>c'r '"'nd inf exibJe t~ou ht . A, p [' C { • tr f") C, / i,,, '1 i s ~ t=i r b n ri " / e o1_ft--o>n y') , de..,'!")i efe; ;s o½..:..,::-1n:r sePrr"' to is the an"' f0r e,.._sy one ~. "P. <'1'"'i r i """' r; . . 'Y' ,-.._-r>o B:lti C - ''tfot - ed, • r tf~P. l"') nl • nd c"h y,i c .• ~1 ll er <lrpn Pd fit to f'V T r-1 C iJ1 11 .,.., nri ~rd n - . . rn] terp h"'d~ f-.1· n"',, . 'I t'ri "llr' tho/ li."T'"', e"tion ; T' ,r ,..,od ic, f'V~d nt al so 'hj S bC'cories ; rfJ_-- - c· [) >'l CJ.. er o ,:, 01- f\•::Nl r'"' r,r , rorrRr · 1 C0"1.CrAte I\. ad and n ther s . A "r0-·n rr con · c r t: o Pt;, 0 r 1 t P 7 ()')() t ,.. • "lento't"1 Q"Y> ~ 1-l,c, �brick. ti.rrss TI ,,,----...._ ..,..•o iiilt r-ind -· :i3lack lyini t hRt ;"'l ,.,..., C' cu 7 tv °1:l-i he~ 1-ig i f "nd"'rrri neo, ~lrn: ·e1 r.,ne ,Tohnron scer1s to m~'ke Road" 0 811 u'1P,..,e ...,..,. phe linlrs in rind Sinr 11 Sun, 1t -rndo er ·-,,..,; 11 L1rod1en beauty, n is P ti 7 J their fi -~t. C f'Ild ., 'Pntrm ,Tnhnson I II fl 11 ri E'. ' 1 Reri 4 ni scent C1'i -· JdrBn o+' +- P, sj~A cclvises lier ne0nle to Rise to ~w ~, OilP ')ri . in,.,. '"oloen, f'ni l J ·.nrr crv ! P,]1-ieoJ ' . to the noA b ry of n y,-i Il'l' -rn},Yl CU)"!') Is r 1 : i_ <::! -TO (\,11.e: t' - , r,({_!"J onr f' i i •i. th 1 8 r, ~-n 7 an l' p T ,, hes "''1(1 .C.c •p E''td +-J--. "-1"'1'3, u0rd $i l.vn... 0 l_ on, :'.). C. 1s1c 1 •11E=>re 0 Bonton Co~Pe -vnto,..,y of f' ~ ~,,sic rmo. in 'lol'i'J.e ~ T½P tFins h"d si"ili.J.2r ;.,,_+,er "'ts::Glll!!!!K J ,,... hAJ d Sec "'o :--- 11 o"'{C8~ t::i.onal urorniso . T"··c0lri ts ~ ( "ey, c.Cf~ .! ver"J f P,'"'"TI.S +-~ TTn~v-rf'·H:;-.•11 1--tes, farin0 1s beinr 1r, p:ns 11 uon en =" :Jame 9 Ueldon Jo1'n~on s+,"ted th t Onnortvnity vork re rtt ended 11 ~ ·:o, ever Curey nAve,.., bPcn-1T.e a prol.; fie ~ n0.ts .. ,.-'1.Ps, J'J~l ) .,nr' .,.inc ln -c-d~versi-1.;,r cH. rrJ ...,rl'CP, Jy, 4 r·,,..+;, 10,.,, ) . 'ur es C"l;ed ~"r.co n . 7, CC' of bec:q1ty 8l'in the to "l-ia re bPer cnr.,,.,ect. A..I,,,,..r:r -roA";j c idPnl (-4,.rr >-c p,re . ~ · · ·.~-t.; -r r-t,·rocl epl cnl_J e-o .pol. . ,.. TIOC't. II anc'l G-i 1f a1( ~ T.5.nc,,ln. Sco~;t- eron r re "s ,..,-r1J~r Pilt of �7 6TJJ a foll'sy note. 'l'1 1P,,,C is a.lso cynici'"'M ;,, F ~t0"l Jn·,.., ofte11 u 0 e8 and 0 Ic 8.Y, S'"\n 'r\l~in, .1-r"'P B ria ffi['>"P7,i:re 0 '1Tl.c' c-"A' civ.:: liz,.tior1. -ir. r,,..,() e~'"' 1 rd ove. -1-· ,.,::h '2 ·"" r0od to .,..., 0 J,,. clr 'Phni8' 1 orne. ,...--..,. ♦ C11ne"'r. ' r.: ,,,.,; s} nnPm (C,-,po): th9y rJl see 1;;: to be nies ru1d coricat1 res tl-ieir li 11 rn'"'ni ty. C1·ne:-_r.~-·1oman Has no r.:;1 a rk'\jor ve· ic1E'. hieo ., o Tn·p:H··os 11 --n'-,-':c ••(")'1'1 e noet:.c trel"'Je of :-~e ncnf'ieo~ance: ~•1,.t 'Plack - v:._ ty , 1~ " qrtho:J0 ;~" ')-" th.0 ti.PS. bP~uty Jen cli rr-ct follr "T)Gech "'S Ol r - 'IlQ c,, ~'•eptici 0 m of,__ "11d 0 t;hp TT,, mchle in/? "Orld th!"1t def'-: :gur 0I"\J. 1-iou be~ut·r ~ e is. - rt civ; 7 5zRt.::0n corrodes the idAn of trees Pnd natura]ness !IC "1c,• f'" ·1 X:J• nn , 'I 1 ~, .. funJ 0 nd, nd "D,,stx") �n,,"1.1,F-,, ~ "'rr! ~cl'."J.r:ii-ns"' c'10rnin""7t th "1'1.C ..:.,.,_ c1q,r l I'Y" 11 .1.'1 o D !"It'-. P€>df -rontr7r ]"cl 11 "n+-jl trjf VArJ l tJj. ~ ~-o;.,.-:nrs; T'l"n "'t=mcl"' '; tin f-'.,...o,.., his b,...d . '1'1' ' " prn:r:.r("' r,n"f' ~ ninnt h-i"' n; 1 1 • c0nt--:PUA ~r :tine,(fri a ""'00 !C!CC",-.S"' <:lP~V o r c , ~ f' tr . : nl , de 0 th 5s iriinE'nt , ,r,,nr'rps I OS t pl J thAy "fJV r hn d. A s;mil~ii" p rado;r ""ln jr0n~ ,.;- is contninAd in 11 -y Torc1, hat,, ",-..,.-,ninl"" 11 "'B lr-i ck 11 '1he..,,o t;",10 r.,.,ea 1·0.,.. is ncetr:itj_ c ~ Tohn"'on I s J f :rri e s. Adrd ttj 11"' ~ to the '' C1rie7,r [l_ Of T)nEPl --: :: f 0 ,-.a_ a thnt 11 Pj P-htinr, j s Fron,.,., 11 the S"'e '·er 0 -recall s John"'0-r 1 s fent iP lrod 1 f' r-iror,l'ones Prpy,e 'rod ir 1·1ron0d to "riamrriy . " flh8 defe"t of "'rhi tf' 11 Jiri :-"0TQQi'0 .. ] ,, t, 01::---Anoi-hf'r il"lro ~tc•1tRCr;r-VA'lJOl1G ,-,,, de un Ao fb linP'"' or 0n"' - t11.,,,oe f')""lf1C! ~ Y>OU'"'~ t}:,e 1J'Ce _,_, Qf' c,,n,,,..,rfc ir ~ 11 C11.8r 'cif"l iP ,.,.ivPn CY'edit ~o ,,, ,rj tA ~ •ro.,..,ls "ilc' ~ T'8~'1 .; " f'f' ,,,e- zin IT Y)'·10n" i c rende .; n s �19 ~ •1::-o Lwri.s A.7exe.ndPr "-h0hant""rnt 11 1.rhic1 P. "Y)" entJy~ wants ,,,--.._ to "S 0P1hodie", ,..,,.~in, tre 'lir+.en" +-l,r>"l"IP. of' cW)- m:• +-.o his he eYn~.; c nnd bPeutif11 r-" ri n,.,. "A f'rican Tn £-art II t o ,,,.atlic-ine 0".Y'cer ~s nJccP.d in reliP:' "C"'ajnf't "S 1--ie ",,.otf'3"'tque Pye:ria-f~ced onstn!' 11 who(seeninn; to ~ ep,..,oi:,en.t 1hit0 . . ) is dri en brcl,. il"lto h·is oV/rl f'e"r ard t1.e +,pe "ilderne::s" by ~ E' e 71 cac,t 011. r~rn by tl~e J""edicine nd fN t 1r-C> s rosolnti on orid t11.,,, b:lack bodv rtou d::mcPs ,.ri -sh"deJ j r,htn as celebr1ct~d D mb...,.,,. i n-r, "nd Ptt8nded .A E) d 7 Ji in+-e,,.A"'t::-¥ nflr" E'll\.tl'ose of Cu...11.e-;,r ci -i.dirin- t1-1 ~()P]'} xu f'YlA'1']_1''8 , nil c-xner~.,.,,,..nV:.il A 1 exr> Pd A-Y, ' s o,,rird ,,.vii ri: ..,l:'it,~... ,. fus Tl... ..., t tPC'1'1'l7 C'll11"::' .!.X'"t"") no~- . on Of ,_ of -r,1 P d Jef..,r(-1-.r rf'r>Pi ss 0 nce C""1 1),; frwnd in MAP.~!'P Bl .-c1- ~Y).[>to.,.,,.,r fn11nd in II l, 0 0'1 "r·, r cl CU 11d r D~rer 11 'Y'< fl'Y>() t.'be oriJler r-.re-lir'a yiverinr- or �'-; ni r.i J 1 en..., II •SC~ l "nd nve rl ay 1 f 0 1 .~ <)C"Ur ird2.r,,. . 1 •' . Y\0tA , " C 61"'1, C'. 11 "'r,l'"' bl ·m: •1--it,.,.,, . a l"" +;1-ie ; "tar'' b•t ti e n t· ..: s f'+ .,..,c· '"' .... +.., nnj ntf\rf' cal .+ J ; n .,_ ae DA "'i; ;tt d fr''"'>'Pl cont,_,..,,.,t cl-i.j a ro sc11Y>(), re "T'C coJd that : ' ,,.r ~ ,, . ('188 Vnri n 1 11 ~ T ; ch ,. h'"''"' b O l '1'10 n f t.,r 'r'""nfl fOl"''Y>'J." +;on . 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'7 r~ 7 !IJS ( 7 7 7 1 • • C, 7 --------- ' ' 7 7 of' h." + ---- ------ ., 1· A T r s: ·------ 0 sd)": 01 T • I n r T 7 ,, {r r ""~ 7 7 • , r • I . f"' . 7 7 I r> ... <" -~ Bro r""' ....) 1 I ' ·--------· .,, ' l-• p,. '"' . l . ' .. � 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_31 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter V. A Long Ways from Home 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 Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter V. A Long Ways from Home with an overview and several inserts. Pages numbers begin to repeat after p. 74. https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/76aae805eac8a7ad9e939902b2ec1b3e.pdf b5a47891b89423e6a2ffd984dcc1ce86 PDF Text Text ~ J CHAPTER ih: ~ FESTIVALS & FUNERALS: BlACK POETRY OF THE 1960s JIIII 1970s They winged his spirit & wou.t;1.ded his tongue but death was slow corning~ • • • • • • • • • • • • • 'Who killed Lurnurnba What killed Malcolm • • • • • • • • • • • festivals & funerals festivals/Z&: funerals festivals/Z&: funerals & festivals &IX funeralsx •••• -----Jayne Cortez I Overview: The space between festivals and funerals can be infinite or says throue?ti the twistings and it can be deathly short. So Jayne Cortez But s.in h er poem. f!'hatever the space, or the pace, we all slip, slide, soar, and between the polarities{assigned each rip as we make our way at birth) Mt:U88R :ene lEina of life we live and the kind of death we die. Black poetry of the 1960s have and 1970s often faces life and death "straight upf":a'hough, as we from seen, Black poet in other times not....__.. cring the breaches of racial nightmares, violence, sexuality, unbeautiful language, wicked or r eligious of them see each To attempt others' folkisms, and the demands of music which to hear--albeit 11 dift:tterent drummer-. 11 Black a discussion of contemporaryfi'oetry is to· tum tongues into flames: "Blasphemy!," "I was the first r," "We Started it!," "That anthology was incomplete since it didn't include me!," "It all started in this place or that place!," "His/her poetry is not Black enough!," and so on. JW..,.111a111:::.:1ua,1~_..,....,...., the "smoke 11 !6rom the sixties is beginning to clear �2 ~ - 1 1 \ , 1 '-" u•h mo r e and, whlhl :..Ji. .io!!!dtTJ=-:a-.1Nie'll!IMt9it:► is needed, there are '1 observations be made Hence in this chapter, the format receding · th a noticeabl~ de-emphasis that biographical-critical on individual poets. Most serious poets who began writing in the l a te tiIM!:iHJm fifties, sixties and muc seventies, still hav rowing and threshing to do. recent volumes to evaluate Black poetry produced over I ·able rends have occurred, and they look roughly like this: ~ ~ck poetry since the Harlem Henaissance(see Brown, Hedding, Henderson, Jackson) has had cyc}.$ng currents of "rage" and "fire " though not the sustained gush witnessed in the mid and late sixties; ~Black poetry after 1945 expressed a belief(see Ray Durem) th a t white liberals were not real ly interested , in mounting t h e chariots on behalf of Blacks(despite Communist-Socialist pronouncements); /Black poetry of the 1950s and early 1960s provided a Ci vi 1 Rights '-groundswell for the volcani Ju~st poetry of early sixties ttylistic, attitudinal and ~ Poetry; linguistic character ent B Black y, despite "evolutions" and "changes," has nota.1!1:~e-.-~m--ei11ta~iiiii.ii,,,a1-iWN~~ ii.1,,.-the bevt work of Hughes, Johnson (both), Davis, Toomer, Walker, Hayden, Brooks, Tolson a nd Dodson-~> i xcept for what ,,.--... ~ - illlR .::>tephen Hena erson calls "tentative II answer#s, Blaoc poetry defies all definit i ons (li k e Mari .l!ivans~ "Black Woman")--splintering off into ennumerable directions, st y les,~ ~es, considerati ons and ideas. his chapter, all above considered(!), ~M~~~1¢%2W o i F ties.~Thef sketch wi • • •'.....J -sS~ will <lli~~brief ~/ t ~ fropi t 1?-e .fi t; s i ,,...::::::c;r;:.iiii!- wt,# a~look at transitional poets(older and younger) as their work appears primarily in about �3 a half dozen anthologies(from I ~aw How Black I Was, 1958, to Kaleidoscope, Locke's and Bontemps 1 s divisions of the Henaissance) who came to recognition under the banner of the Black Arts Movement and who loosl~y fall into the c a tegory of New Black Poetry. Older Walke poets--Hayden, and others--will be briefly re-visited to see if••=- the ...... significant changes "new" mood wrought in their views an~eir poetry.• ThoufY:l.J-a critical history, this book is primarily a historical guide--designed to aid students, teachers,and , lay readersJ ?ll ■,in their explor'la-tion of Black p oetry. Only a naive person would attempt, at this stage, a full c¾itique of the poetry & J . r.f,e.. ~ . of the 196Os and 197Os. Howiver, th e re are ~ , similarities, a ~ \.thematl,9 clusters- wh i ch will be pinpointed and assessed from time to time. 1 the most provocative of recent studies of contemporary Bla ck poetry are Henderson's !iii "11he ill:Militant Black Writer in Alflrica and the united li11asch I s Helvin Tolson(l972); Dtates(l969, with Mercer Co~~~~ Un erstan ew ac'If ~e 4lb5 gn•s Modern Black Poets(l973)~ Shirley Williams ~ Give Birth to rightness ( 1972) ;I\ jg 71.i!J)] 11 Jackson I s and Rubin's Black Poetry in Arnerica(l974), lf1itdJ£11{ !'lnii;lalso s e e ~ bliography). d ·o �II Literary and ~ocial Landscape: ideolo~ porary period. world. ~ c • • • are - -· e contem- Revolutions ( of a.11 kinds) m'e>c:t-.,.(Vllaffli,ld the From Cuba to Vietnam, Harlem to Chile, Pakistan to Watts, Nigeria to Indonesia, Kenya to Berkeley, Jackson State to Kent State--t~e fac_..,U'P'l- """'-..t.' }:n~ kt. 1 d~ma~ic .~'). i...olent.i7V~ -;tJ, p,))i...,~ .~4'J ..,, ~e , was decli- ni gt-..and Jazl•s greatest living interpreter, Charlie Parker, was dead. Musicians and vocalists began probing new forms under the leadership of Coltrane, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Wes Montgomery, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Count Basie, Ornette Coleman, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughn, Ella. Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, who died in 1959. Miss Holiday's name and fame again reached a worldwide audience when, in 1972, Diana Ross, formerly of the Supremes, starred in the controversial movie, Lady Sings the Blues. Saxophonist Coltrane, a major influence on the current generation of musicians a.nd poets, died in 1967. An innovator, he sparked new interest in music with his "sheets of sound" approach to playing/ ~ :,µ,"fl f)~l'-4 IJ The Fifties also witnessed the matlration of Rhythm \"0-010 and Blues, popularized primarily by BlackAdisc jockeys who developed large followings. :tJhe-iJ2 iii&Bl!6~~ 'n".tc DJ' a emµ'!.ej@'n! e,n!'l! MJ effl', 1 'e!ffl l!!PW~!. Interweavi lively Black social news and comme 85 li&44MM ', p• ,Ji,''- �theySii!m anticipated the ~'.Ear lbj poetry of the :Sixties. 61P the oral new Spin-offs from these MSSISi.ff..l,-lt)t., . . . . . broadcasting styles were programs like Bandstand (started in the late atched Blacks dance, listened to Little Richard and Chubby Checker, and tried to imitate it all on ~V and in their homes. This period gave birth to the first white superstar Soul artist--Elvis ~ de»~ Black critics and social historians note that the ne~cial music, and the dances accompanying it, freed white American youngsters from the prudish and self-righteous inhibitions of their foreparent~ • . ··~ ' ~" ~- Generally, American science and industry developed more rapidly than in previous periods. Russia launched Sputnick, ""h r'c-h a feat~was followed by an American-Russian science and space~/ exploration race whic,i/fontinues,clC!~!:r · Telestar paved the way for televised coverage of global activities while biochemical warfare and atomic research became the nightme.res people lived daily. The American literary scene was swamped with political novels, satire, writings on the war and experimen listic prose. The "underground II a major vehicle for-..illl•~ this new writing. 86 journa- .... newspaper -•••=::~lallle"-:£,(1-;'2'.:' ~....,,,... ...,_. �,e(.l..._L1e"' employed in~writine; is still present. of the writer However, the influ- .f %'~.~n na...n. .d. . .....w.,.,a r years ~i ~1) ~ w • i • .. the /J /B~rard , I Y ' [~C-ni. Malam l .._.....,....... ohn Hersey, ~ ; llow, Norman ~ a , -~ er,A4½fest Gaines, James Baldwin,111anner~•Conq9r, Albert Murray,~~n1A t~'¥1J.A i'2 . .i - ~~) Willia~yro, i liam Demby, ohn Barth, Wi~Liam Melvin Kelley, and Irvin Wallace. :J Black writers are included in the general listing because during the contemporary period mani of them achieved recognition on par with the best (~eed j 60...- e't.o.mph21WG\.S n,c,,-,ui,c.i'ted (n ~ o c4ie e s ~ oV""'\1-\ ~ N<M°t 10.(.. llo/\&c writers everywhere.AMiliiiilliiM.~~ ~ome important contemporary~ 01 ~~,.~L.-' are: Stanley ~ e r t 71{ ~ Hayden,~Eberhart, Robert ~tJ.n Warren, ,..._Gw ndolyn Brooks,~' ,.:f. 14{ (A..........,..,,..J ; Theodor~~~oethke, Karl Shapiro e . vin Tolson, John Berryman, I 1.'.fok~ ~~ , ~ , T,1'1'~:v,-) H e ~ : P t Lowell,ARichard Wilbur, Paul Vesey, James } Dickey, Imamu Baraka, Sylvia Plath, William Bell and James Ho.yd r\ "e' \ved. CL rn~T,bnat. 8 00 Aw ... ~ n On'\t ~ii> • 'l 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, D u;) Rivers, Toomer, Malcolm X, etc.). Indeed death, in one way or another, not only preoccupied writers {White and Black), 87 . ~J f-\o"'ne> �1 ~ ?v 'rs. ued • but waskomantically nB!l!S!i&at~.•~·1~1~1~:-~3-••s~i•aa• Beat poet Kenneth Rexroth ~ - -,.1111•1111 • "Why have 30 American poets committed suicide since 1900?" Those poets not concerned with death were investigating decadence or the deathness 1 (U c 1• The development of contemporary poetry cannot be ;;JI:Jd properly without understanding the "Beat" period. As y- product of the Be Bop era in Black music, Beat poets emulated the hip mannerisms and aped the "man alone 11 1liJlf' @:_rop-out imag~ tMIIII•.-~ associated with ·;t¥ musicians. 2'iiiii' ~·:::ec::::c::.::i::po;a~ ~a::rkma~ot·;~ playing "Something," in the words of Thelonious Monk, "they can't play. 11 (They, meaning whites). Important~ poets ~~ Lawrence Ferhlinghetti, Re:xroth, Allan Ginsberg,~nd Gregory Corso, among the whites! and Bob Kaufman, LeRoi Jones and Ted a Jo/l1fs among the Blacks. Another Black poet writing at the time and loosely aligned with the Beat i ma ge was Russell Atkins who founded Freelance in 1950. The Beat Movement, which nurtured occultism, rejection of the 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 unsung patriarch of the Beat era. Black critics say major white poets of the movement enthusiastically took their ~ues from Kaufman's ~ innovation_s : bl::3 ~ ~ ~o .ri JI!~ ::,;ai- , c in tf!G.h reco~ his a.,.~ ~~a:Pde ,teP.ln- Kaufman's poetry is 88 J ·• �in anthologies and in his two volumes: Solitudes Crowded with Loneliness (1965) and Golden Sardine (1967). As a kind of spiritual heir to Toomer, Kaufman is a complex, sometimes fragmented, but brilliantly original poet. , His work, like that of many of his contemporaries, 'i"nr1uenced by Eastern religious thought and the occult. Stylistically, Kaufman has the nsweep II of 'ci'iii) Whitman 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 Civil Rights struggle which was intensified I Luther King,f.Jil!ll!Jrlr,Montgomery bus boycott in 1955-56; sit-ins and other dramatizations of segregation and discrimination; the challenges of Jim Crow in travel in 1961 (CORE); the widening activities of SNCC (1961-64) and the March on Washington (1963). Other significant activities J 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 Bv-M sincere in its pledges to implemen~m•fl!MIP'li!m':\:• law. became Abetting their distrust were the continued killings, night-ridings in the south and harrassment of Blacks in public places and their homes. 89 With the bitter taste of , �Emmitt Till 1 s murder still on their tongues, Blacks reeled under the killings of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, King, the Kennedy brothers;and the three ,.._....,,.,..:r""."" ' / Black Panthers ••&ltli po By 1966, however, Black apartment) Power signs and slogans overcome- ~ in their sleep in a Chicago be gd.n to replace the ''We shall lack and White Together" exclamations. Young Black America) adorniht Afro hairdos a.no. African jewelry, attended cultural festivals, back-to-Africa rallies)Jllllfi poetry readings/and began reading community 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 against inciting to riot and the transportation of weapons across state boundaries. Large and small cities i gnited in flames that set the stage for gun battles between police and the often "imagined II snipers. These conft:~9t}~t'l.~ns were repeated~· n ~ so.s:.i'n«.Te.J scores of cities after Dr. King was iiiliiiiiiB• in 1968. W oet Quincy Troupe captured the shock and horror)and chronicled t. ' the official reaction in his poem ttWhite Weekend u: 1 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 rlames on the landscape and the bearer of peace still lying in Atlanta ••• ln the last stanza, Troupe 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 sing t'We Shall Overcome." Posters and emblems commercialize everything from African hairstyles to the raised clenched fist--tbe initial ~- symbol of Black unity and defiance. A wave of Black 'WttJ' movies--called Blaxploitation--beginning withAexperimental ' flicks like Putney Swope (1969) 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 symbolized the torment and what some Black journalists called the "genocidal schemes" of Americal..ae.e..-.a.""'4<"</. ~ J:ht {_). Criss-crossed by paradoxes, political contradictions, social revolts and reli gious ambivalences, the Black community%evertheless ~p;t.iicocEB~cr regenerated by its singers and performers. ~tt:12ai_:s;r..:Piiii=:r not ~~ only reached unprecedented~mo capabilities. Rhythm Blues, said to have died about 196.5, gave way to nsoul"-- nr ' m a Soul Man, n ixties. Sam and Dave announced in the late The Impressions told lovers that you "gotta have soul" and Bobby Womack reminded listeners that the "Woman's Gotta Have it 11 --pre~umably ''Soul. 91 11 Black recording companies �are in a boon, the two largest ones being Mo Town (Detroit) and Watte,8tax (Memphis). The current period has £&the . Black superstar--a ~" called "super Nigger"--in everything from sports to movies. Curtis Mayfield's soundtract alb m Superfly (1972) sold more than 22,000,000 copies and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1971) Rec.eml'lJ h6we~e., ~~v,·etik,;;d vi~ svl-"p&. d ~ a.LL ' set records for album sales.A Literally dozens of singing groups--modeled on the quartets and ensembles of the fifties-are releasing albums regularly. These folk or "soul" poets "conscious" in recent years and have b .,. and exaltations of Blackness~ many Much of this new wave came on the heels of severe criticism by Baraka who admonished singers for doting on unrequited love. are preoccupied with 11 ~ many my baby's gone, gone" Black consciousness activity--and creativity in g neral-- howflourishia_•fllla•:t. Related involvement - includeS: J'evelopment of Black acting ensembles; opening of free scho and Black universities; establishment of Black Nationalist/JJ . . t he number of Back l a.riJAf rican . communes; increase in bookstores~ 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 W announcing and1'he hosting of'• variety shows; expansion and creation of new roles for Black newspapers, magazines and radio stations; 92 �formation of national and state Black Congressional /aucuses and similar units in most professional associations and, finally and importantly, new engagement with Africa and her problems and possibilities. to the 11 Mother country" or age and social levels. Indeed, future trips to Africa-11 Homeland 11 .:-are discussed at all Much of this renewed interest is understandable in light of the emergence during the contemporary period of several African nation states and the 0-mohq increased fraternization t!lfA~fricans and Afro-Americ ns. Malcolm X, cannonized today by great numbers of young Blacks . t and Black i nte much to f os t er11iiscurrent interes a rally in Harlem in 1965, Malcolm in Africa. (El Hajj Malik El S~z~~ad already been expelled from the Nation of Islam/ f'ormed~plinter group . . , known as the Organization of Afro-American Unity. His Auto- biography of Malcolm X {with Alex Haley, 1965~whicb (as he predicted) he did not get to see in print, chronicles as Malcolm Little, hustler bis "Detroit Red", Malcolm x and El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz. 1 Malcolm was lionized by Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Ossie Davis, Baraka and various other scholars, activists and (o.nd, C.oL T?lo,l'\e) Black poets, especially, have found MalcolmAa source of inspiration. A partial indication of impact on poets can be seen in For Malcolm: Poems on the Life and Death of Malcolm X {1967), edited by Dudley Randall and Margaret G. Burroughs. Shabazz 11 Robert Hayden noted that: 93 In 11 El-Hajj Malik El �~ He X'd his name, became his people's anger, exhorted them to vengence for their past; rebuked, admonished them, Their scourger who woµld shame them, drive them from the lush ice gardens of their servitude. At the First World Festival of Negro Arts, held in Dakar, Senegal, in 1966, Hayden was awarded the Grand Prize for Poetry. A major event, the festival was attended by experts, scholars, artists and enthusiasts of the Black Arts who gathered for 24 days to hear papers and discussions, view art exhibits and cultural performances, and give preliminary direction to the Black Arts Movement. Presiding over the ' ' ' festival was Leopold Sedar Senghor, Senegalese President, and one of the architects (with Aim~ Cesair~ and L~on Damas) of Negritude. Negritude is a philosophy of Black humanism~,(' ensc.on e.s , according to its originators, the Black mystique or religiosity. The term grew out of the associations of Black African intellectuals, French writers and artists, and Black Ame_rican~xpatriates. ,.,. v) African-oriented publications such as Presence Africaine and Black Orpheus have renewed their interests in Black American writers. Likewise, Black American journals and popular magazines (Black World, Journal of Black Poetry, The Black h(l.ve Scholar, Essence, Encore, Ebony, Jet, etc.)Abegun to publish more materials by and about Africans. The revolution in the Bl ck Arts was signaled by many events including the First Conference of Negro Writers in March of 1959. Langston Hughes was an important figure at 94 �-MiaSR:ie!'e'!',e,e--as he was at the Dakar gathering seven years later. The First American Festival of Negro Art was held in 1965 and the Second AFNA took place in November of 1969 in Buffalo, N.Y. Interlacing these and other con- ferences, symposia and conventions were exciting developments 1 and experiments in New York, Chicago, 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 aligned themselves with ideological positions and regional movements. Consequently, Black Arts communes and regional brands of Black /onsciousness grew concurrently. Splits between older Civil Rights workers and Black Nationalists were paralleled by splits between older writers and younger practioners of "Black Arts. 11 The splits were not always clear-cut, however, for many older activists and poets joined the new mood in spirit, thematic concern and personal life style, 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, Margaret Walker and .John Oliver Killens are among the older group of writers who vigorously took up the banner of the new mood. works imbibe ~~ /2./.Av.£.b ti mG Younger writers whose "tradition" include Henry Dumas (Poetry fLo..yl')&:~\iiC,7'/- For My People, 1970K, Conrad Kent Rivers (The Still Voice of Harlem, 1968, etc.), Julia Fields (Poems, 1968) Al Young 95 �(Dancing, 1969, etc.) and Jay Wri ght (The Homecoming Singer , 1972) to name just a few . period was dealt a severe blow Dumas and Rivers in 1968 . promise of this The the untimely deat hs of These poets are deeply influenced by the moods and preoccupations of the period @elf- love , racial injustice, violence , war, Black Consciousness and History) but they work along tested lines and experiment within careful and thought - out frames of references . Most of the writers of the period (their styles and ide olo gies notwithstanding ) have found t hemselves engulfed at one time or another in heated debate s over questions related to the "Black Aesthetic", the relationship of writer to reader , Vi Black 8lllli and the part At this writing, these discussions continue in mos t s e ctions of the Black Worl d . 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. Some of t he indi- viduals associated with initiating the pleth ora of rhetoric on the question of a 11 Black 11 aesthetic (and related issues) are Ro n Karenga, Gwendolyn Brooks, Baraka, Addison Gayle, Jr. , 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 N,~:~tlr\ ~u,1 �Ed Bullins, and Stanley Crouch. A number of important studies, literary and cultural, by Black and white writers, aided in whetting or prolonging the critical thirsts. Some of the important and/or controversial writings er' tne;/4t1@ ~ tea,.Pl!P.~=;,3=~t:l=im~: The Militant Black Writer: in Africa and the United States (1969), Cook and Henderson; Black Expression (1969) and The Black Aesthetic (197i} Gayle Jr., ed.; Muntu: The New African Culture (1961) and Neo-African Literature: A History of Black Writing (1968), Jahn; Langston Hughes: Black Genius (1971), O•Daniel, ed.; Black Poets of the United States: Paul Lawrence Dunbar to Langston Hughes (1963, French edition; !ins., Douglas), Wagner; Before the Mayflower and ~ (1966), ~ E l l i s o n ; Understanding the New Black Poetry (1973), Henderson; Colloquium on Negro Art: First World Festival of Negro Arts, 1966 {1968), Editions t Presence Africaine; The Negro Novel in America (1965), Bone; Mother is Gold: A Study in West African Literature {1971), Roscoe; The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (1967), Cruse; Native Song: A Critical Study of Twentieth-Century Negro American Authors (1968), Margolies; Dynamite Voices: Black Poets of the 1960's, vol. I (1971), Lee; Blues People (1963), Black Music (1967), Home: Social Essays (1966), and Raise Race flays :R,aze {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 those who have lived the 97 �Black Experience can write about it. Another group holds that whites can report on Black writing if they are sincere and sympathetic. The Black Arts Movement, as the contemporary period J.!i ome..17me.s • • called, took place in the shadows of what many Black social critics have called the "second Reconstruction." Hence, much of the writing is a revolt against , political hypocrisy and social alienat·on. In the . ·"4 I?.& :poetry >tib:... pawa ca,. 11'1'1!n, w1 l"+Je~ shower* disdain and 1 1 obscenities on the "system" and whites in general. ~ "integration ",(if 1:l;llliD..e offered, younger poets derided American values and attitudes. "Unlike the Harlem group," Hayden noted, "they rejected entry into the mainstream of American literature as a desirable goal." 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 youni readers who were unable to separate 0 poetry" from the fiery declamations of Carmichael, Brown and ennumerable local spokesmen and versifiers. Often the poets exchanged superficial indictments, indulged in name-calling and, as groups or individuals, began rating eacb other on their 11 levels of Blackness" even though 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 Confrontation: E~-tr'le llcdmo d. Third World Literature, A stated: 98 In an article A Journal of �l \ While it is true that there are leading li ghts of the Black Arts Movement, it is an emphatic lie to say one geographical region of the country is solely responsible for either the main (and Major) writing output or kicking off any tradition of Blacks writing about themselves . To take such a contemptuously arrogant 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 because of its deceptive simplicity and briefness. ~ Many of the ;tpoets II obviously have no genuine interest in --'--,,,..; craftsml_nam-,. ~ i , m..$1.,~ / ,. ~ On the other hand, the current period con- tinues to witness a growing and wide-ranging concern for - poetic craft and knowled ge . During t he $ixties and into the ¢eventies, literally hundreds of Black poets started writing and publishing--in J tabloids, magazines, broadsides, anthologies and individual · A.Lso ~ /u,wrosin..9tl.t. /l\.t.w'fva;:.),.~~11\.14-V'~>'l,(I: ~;l?LCA£.k Pi'a.~vt1 ~wl.ho11~ 4..v1J fu collections • I\ S ignificant r, clusters of poets aevelop€.d in hv1-11\1~~~ ~. ?o:ey-~y. geographical regions . l('[lhe atmosphere was enhanced by a number of African thinkers, artist s, poets and novelists who arrived to America to teach, lecture, perform and travel. The importance of this interaction among Blac ks from various parts of the globe cannot be overemphasized. ~ Black writers and students h'e:l=:a'l~read l African, 101 ( �West Indian and Afro-Latin writers. Langston Hughes acquainted American audiences with African literature in his anthologies: An African Treasury: Essnys, Stories, Poems By Black Africans (1960) and Poems from Bl ck Africa (1963). In 1969, Trinidadian Wilfred Cartey edited Whispers the Literature of ' ) ~~iw- I ~~~o~a~r=s~a~n~d~w -~riters also wrote critical studies or edited anthologies of Afric~~it:r~ture. Black writing received a significant boost when in 1971 Senghor o.nd A{:'t"o-Cvb~V\ Po t N,chclas 0viUen we"e --~nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature--thus fulfilling James Weldon Johnsonts 1922 prophecy that the ' fi f . r to B~ck u' d i! , · · · · e fr writers now publishing or living in novelist-poet Nigerian eiilei Oi!II•• Achebe,h3outh African poet Kgositsile, Nigerian poet-playwright Wole Soyinka, Ghanaian poet Kwesi Brew, South African critic Ezekiel Mphahlele, Nigerian poet-playwright Ifeanyi Menkiti, Martinique poett playwright Aime Cesaire and Guianese poet-scholar L~on D ms. The writers fraternize, exchange ideas and compare styles. Mphahlele, for example, has written critical studies of Black American writing (Voices in the Whirlwind, 1972) while Miss Brooks has praised African writing (•Introduction•, Kgositsile's My Name is Afrika, 1971). Mazisi South African poe~ f Kunene,t wrote the J:ntroduction for Cesaire's Return to My · ~merican expatriate artists and writers returned to America during the current period for either 102 �temporary or permanent residency. Added to this flurry of activities and changes were the establishment of :;i ; publishing houses (Broadside Press, Third World Press,~tc.) and hundreds of and literary journals. During the contemporary period a number of important <1Lso anthologies haveAbeen published. Some of the more notable ones include Beyond Tbe 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 tz B~P.,. J L(.1 \<17 ~ and Lomax, 1970; _New Blas,k Vo;i.cee, Abrahams, 1972;.l\~,~,,.;'fl) Kii-i~JIOlj Black America, Adoff, 1973. In addition to these and other nationally distributed anthologies, collections of Black Literature were compiled and published ~ vario s r gions: 19 ~ Watts, Watts Poets and Writers (Troupe, chulberg, 1969); South, Fress Southern Theater by the Free Southern Theater (Dent, et al, 1969); Chicago, Jump Bad: A New Chicago Anthology (Brooks, 1971); East St. Louis- St. Louis, Sides of the River (Redmond, 1970); New York, Three Hundred and Sixty Degrees of Blackness Coming 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}. Anthology of Detroit Poets (South and West, In many regions several components have merged to form cultural and performing arts conglomerates. It is often at these centers that white movie and theater moguls cv_,. ~-et1i find new talent for the wave of Black movies. At this writing, the s(ontemporary poetry scene i embroiled in vigorous debates and conferences dealing 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, have been quite vocal as in the case~of Gwendolyn Brooks and Dudley Randall. active'U Miss Brooks 1 supporf the younger writers by 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 affiliation with Harper and Row and began publishing through Broadside Press. Randall established Broadside Press in Detroit in 1966 and also bas set up poetry awards with his own funds. Hayden, who often shuns public displays dards .. # • 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 gaining recognition for Lucille Clifton (Good Times jl969; _. Good News About 104 �&, Ond1n4t~~ Wt1w1<1 n.; \q 1'1-)1 the Earth/ 1972) A one of the most splendid of the new poets ~ Some new and old'(names closely linked to the current period are Pinkie Gordon Lane (Wind Thoughts), Michael Harp:{ (Dear John, Dear Coltrane, History is Your OWn Heartbta., Waring Cuney {Puzzles), . Troupe (Embryo), Sterling Plump (Half Black Half Blacker), Jayne Cortez (Pisstained Stairs and the Monkey Man's Wares,..._ Festivals I~ and Funeral-;>, • WA~~,;2~~ J• Dumas ( Poetry For My Peopl~), .,. - ~· Rivers (The Still Voice of Harlem, etc), Nikki Giovanni (Black Judgement, Black Feeling, Black Thought, Re:Creation), Reed (~atechism of A neoamerican ~ .,er, odoo ~hurc1tt), David Henderson (De Mayor of Harlem, etc.), Arthur Pfister (Bullets, Beer Cans & Things), Baraka (Black Magic, etc), John Echols (Home is Where the Soul Is), Arna Bontemps (Personals), Hayden (Selected Poems, Words in the Mourning Time)~ '/ Lee (Think Black, Black Pride, etc.), Sonia Sanchez (Homecoming, e t c . ) , ~ Randall (Cities Burning and More t,o Rememb~), Stanley Crouch {Ain•t No Ambulances for No Niggahs Tonight), Hughes (The Panther and the Lash,etc.), Atkins (Heretofore), May Miller (Into the Clearing), Austin Black (The Tornado in My Mouth), ~11$n Tolson (Harlem Gallery), Young (The Song Turning Back Unto Itself), James Vesey (~yory tu§~~), Mari Evans A,.; Emanuel (Panther Man), (I Am A Black Woman), Julia Fields (Poems), Stephany (Moving Deep), Etheridge Knight (Poems from Prison), Gwe~n Brooks +nffi2Mecc4 , ~Riot) Family Pictures, etc.), Roy Hill (49 Poems, etc.}, Ray Durem (Take No Prisoners). ~~~QiiliiiDi--far from being 105 �~M ~ exhaustiv'l",s:ii;=::•a~ is ~epresentative of the great poetic output during th~,=~~---- period. Many of these poets--Reed, Troupe, Young, Crouch, P\lt.l}~~~J ~ ~ EJl'i)--are also · .affl anthologists. Certainly the ~....-JU# list grows and changes constantly, especially in view of the continual unfoldinFZ..-u•••~' urpri es, e:t; i,i,e pieaenb • Suffice it to say that the contemporary mood of ./, Ct~- # Black roetry is multi-leveled and ~e~, ctfti'.ft:rl:ieated. are •••a generalities; There ,_ t,f• one is that -WAOf the poets w..-WJ~IAM~~ saturate their work with obvious Black references and cultural motifs. There is~nti-intellectual rlavor.lm •une u:P• as ~ o1ts turn their backs on ac demic or ~ PJ~b, Western forms. 'n · ,e general disregard for the esoteric, literary and sometimes secret allusions, employed in much of the current There are exceptions, or course--notably - - ts (Marvin X, Askia ' Toure, Baraka, Sonia SanchezJand others). These exceptions can also be seen in works or poets who explore African Ancestor Cults, Voodoo, mysticism and African languages. Evidence of this can be seen in the poetry of Ishmael Reed, ' Askia Toure, Henry Dumas, Norman Jordan, Sun R, K. Curtis Lyle, Bob Kaufman and others. Generally, though, Black poets are framing their allusions, images and symbols in the more concrete cultural motifs, as indicated in a line from &9et1e f!eci111n J •-'11 i:m "Tune for e. Teenage Neice II where being "spiced as pot-liquor." 106 hE.. ~.o A views• neice as �J.II ·11HE PO~TS AND THEIR TOTEMS: ,,,t A. tSoon, One Morning~: Threshhold of the fi&: New Black Poetry (My Blackn - ess is the beauty of this land. '------ Lance Jeffers ____...,/ ~chard Wright.-mlll called the Blacks and "ta ~t: fer e tb&m- · America 1 s metaphor" ~-'~ sixties and seventies. andiiii~iil;ii~ 11 "the beauty of this lana.. "~t1 taken-it; well in advance of~ her playmates in the Alabama iiill!!III- s 1,ancel:j ".black Pride" poetry of the l'1argaret Walker• s discussion of 1 11 1 ~If}*aa:••-•• dust or self-deprecating; ~ortrait_ Uwendolyn rlrooks•s j.\Satin Legs ~mith\1945) is far from geing unhappy. These are only four of Blacks viewing themselves ••me•·•••· randomly 11 selected poetic affidavits poa tively 11 before the advent of the New Black Poetry. We could, of course, bring up hundreds of examples from Phyllis Wheatley the poeury of~••.-s.through t~at of Langston Hughes. But the point, already -.......!'.ecent,. made, is simply that one is seriously remiss in looking a1,fBlack ~oetry without The poets who wrote and published between 1945 and 1965, for example, did not work in sealed chambers of -...-v tunneled vision. ~ach group/ <J concern, ev~lved from what had been written or said before. teachers, a ,d and tools were oft hese poets were heavily influenced by white writers, How€ver e best of themftallillB••~ applied their knowledge the service of a the Black literary tradition. Others under the direct tutelage of Blacks(Paul Vesey studted with J.W. Johnson, Joyce Yeldell with Hayden) and beclme part of a continuing l-ine of Black-developed thought and writing(~esey in turn taught Arthur JPfister). Whatever their make-up, or their mission, the poets as a group show great facility with language, depth of insight and passionate concerns for their collective and individual hurts:as Blacks and as humans. ,and that of their older pen-fello~ 'l 'he work of these poets can be found in several anthologies: �Poetr of the ~e ro 1949,1970); J. ingua Zwart Ik Was(I ~aw How Black I Was, 1958); urning S¥ear\~ Beyond the Blues{l962); American Negrn ~Y( 96) ~sand ~evensll963); r Negro Versetl964); New Negro Poets: USA(l964,1966); Poets of Today(l964); the bilingual Ik Ben De Nieuwe Neger(I Am the New ~egro, 1965); and Kaleidoscope edi tad Poetry of the 1~egro in (1967). Bontemps and 1949 ,"the first major collection smnce Cullen's Caroling Vusk, it was revised by Bontemps in 1970 Hughes's death. Interestinglf' I oft he 1949 en tries are has been doctored some table of teontents tom!~is,,iih&(tfi~sDudley Randall,..t Mari Evans and Ray Durem) coincide with their age-line. Bontemps, a Renaissace poet who did not publish a volume until 1963(Personals), also edited American Negro Poetry, a task which.J'l,J~•• him the opportunity to pick the best from the past as well as the present. The two bi-lingua published in Holland and England and edited by Rosey Pooi, with the assistance 1905-1973) of Paul Bremen. Dr. Poo a Ro ande~, came across Cullen when she was preparing a paper on American poetry in 1925. This disvovery a life-long UIIIIIM!lt!imBlimlMf interest in Black culture and poetry. During 1959160 she toured the United ::;tates on a Fulbright t r a u a n t , spending several months visiting and lecturing at 27 ~colleges and uni- versities. Dr. Pool 1 s work in Black 1oetry has drawn mixed reactions from cautious Black writers and critics. But her importance~ in helping to bring attention to Black poets, despite cries of "exploitation," is undeniable. ~ven more controversial is Bremen, 'Wilo appears to fancy himself as an English Jean-Paul ::;arte; he originated the Heritage ::;er~m:ldmxix "devoted entirely to the works of Afro-American authors"--with Haydend:s ~ Ballad of Remembrance ~~~Dbital"3Iltlll5I'IJIUllll1tl:nDll in 1963. Since that time Bremen, who edited 1\lnl~ Sixes and Sevens and You Better believe It: Black Verse in poetry. has released more than 20 volumes of Afro-Ameirican roadside Press services as the American distributor or the �slim booksx which have invluded the aesthetical and historical range of Black poetry: 1''rank Horne(HaverstraJ, 1963~abim':Dl311!1f:-._ ff:ffl Bontemps, Rivers(The Still Voice of Harlem, 1968; The Wright Poems,1972), Mari Evans("Where is all the Music?, 1968 but withdrawn "at the author's request".), Russell Atkins(Heretofore, 1968), Lloyd Addison(The Aura the Umbra, 1970), Audre L .... lipve You, 1970), Ishmae w. whom Bremen calls "the best Black (Catechism of d neoamerican hoodoo church, 1970), poet writing today" James 1970), Dudley Randall, rdet,:-bles to Rage, Thompson(First Fire: Poems 1957-1960#,,~.;{~), - Dodson, Harold liarrington(Drive ~uite, 1972), Clarence Major(Private Line, 1971), the "first non-American contributor" ~ ukh arr us ap a1Thorns and Thistles, 1971), Durem(Take Mo Prisoners, 1971), and Hayden(The NightwBlooming Cereus, 1972). Bremen notes that r-- aymond Patterson d both l"lari ordered their books withdrawn because ..__... 11 wer_:;. suspicious of the contract terms. 11 In addition to ~ "suR'icion i',. ~other Black poets, there is - - . resentment of Bremenis fritical evaluations of the poetry--which · caustic, ridiculou~~~ow, and reflect; a lack o~ general knowledge of Black poetry. lie calls Durem, for example, one of the first "Black" poets. His statement about Heed, coming as it did in 1970, does violence to both tp.e author J::..d evecy ay.r,Nevertheless(alas!), one u sh~ · wh~ch Black P.oets grapple ders where these Black poets may have gotten published if such ~ "healthy diseases'' as Bremen did not exist. - Negro Verse,~ edited by Anselm Hollo, has no introduction or forward, but does 1-=-.-~a eozen blues and Gospel song-poems. Poets was edited by Hughes with a ~rward by Gwendolyn. word "new" &:::iau:u :1 tan ti' _31) Pp 1 11 s-- exemplifies the kind of spirit that was in ascension at the time·. Miss Brooks, terse as always, is also her uaual definitive self: �At the present time , poets who happen~also to be ~egroes are twice-tried. They have to write poetry,and they have to remember that they are Negroes. Often they wish that they could solve the Negro question once and for all, and go on from such success to the composition -of textured sonnets or buyant villanelles about the transcience of a raindrop, or the gold-stuff of the sun. They are likely to find significances in those subjects not instantly obvious to the r r fairer fellows . fhe raindrop may seem to them to represent racial tea rs--and those might seem, indeed, other than transient . The golden sun might remind th em that they are b%urning. There is an attitude in this statement that~ the Gwendolyn ~rooks of 1968 will reject : 11,y:t M' ''poets who falsolh_ajbpen to be Negroes . 11 But she reflects Cullen in the "dark tower" and his ruminating on the "curious thing 11 of the ·Black poet . She also presages the twistings and turnings in Jayne introducing the 11 'ortes ' s 11 :B'es ti vals & Funerals . " , in Hew J.~egro Poets," she informs the reader that "here stars of an early tomorrow . are some of the prevailing 11 Walter Lowenfels 1 s decision to include 11 20 Negroes" in Poets of Today was spurred in part by his recognition(along with Shapiro) that .Negroes . 11 11 most general anthologies of American poetry elltclude An authority on Whitman Lowenfels shared an award with S.E . Cumrnings in the thirties, and has he numer of Blackx poets m:=ikEiiiiliiiiiiiilila-into print: Dumas, Troupe , Patterson, Redmond, Carrington, Major, Reed, E~rper, Hayden, and many others . Lowenfels 1 was the first new anthology stantial number of Blacks. Jilhere were 85 poets in all . One of the most im ortant of these anthologies is Burning Spear,- which : Walter DeLegall(l936-), J e f f e r s ~ , Al Fraser , Oswald Go ~an( ) , Percy Johnston(l930-) �Nathan Richards ( ), LeRoy Stone tl936- ) a nd Joseph White. Bui.j{n ~ Spear, subtitle An Anthology of Afro-~axon Poetry, was a ef lso Dasein Literary Society, loc a ted at Howard University, which rn blish~d Dasein: A Quarterly Journal of the Arts(l961- 1969 ). Johnsto publisher ~ . while Delagall ~was. editor. *ronnection with the olde r £ii¥ • group of and sch olars ~ . · Arthur p. Davis, Uwen Dodson Govan, Je:C..fers, ~tone and White served as --- l''raser, • oets in the ,, ue of the advisory board list: as a memorial to i.Wll Richard wright, ~te:li~~ Delores Kendrick, Clyde R. Taylor, Jeffers, Wi lliam Jack son, Vernon A. Butler, Robert Salughter, Laura~. Watkins, Govan, Fraser, Delores F. tlenry, R. Orlando Jackson, DeLegall, Johnston~§tone• l Th':;'e is no~ing thre_a d running either Dasein or Burning Spear but ~ Black influences andAQ~~,;;i:!'rn are clearly imbeded. Burning Spear, for examnle, is published by Jupiter Hammon Press, another connection--in name--to the tra~tion of Black poetry. In a the ei.~...-back-cover note, contributors are called "a new breed of young poets who are to American poetry what Charlie Parker, Dizzy uillespie, Thelonious Monk and Miles !Javis are to American jazz." After this important analogy, the statement continues: These eight Afro~-Saxon poets are not members of a literary movement j f in the tradition sense of the word, because they do not have in common anj monist view about crea tivity or aesthetics. Collectively, however, they are indifferent to most critics and reviewers--since criticism in America is controlled and written in the main by Euro-Americans. There is no pre face or introduction or st atement about poetics; these poems themselve~ fill the pages. Poems by Delegall, Jeffers, Johnsl nn and ~tone the Blues and a in numerous "little" magazines. �programs participated in leading up th ~;:,:;:~~~~wider interests iq poetry in the later sixties and seventies. hematician and electronic data processing specialist, published in many anthologies and quart erlies, and had re~d his) and lectured at various eastern and southern colleges. FrasQr~is a political scientist with a , specialization in African Affairs. Along with LJelegall, ..--.. h~ ~tone,Bllll Govan, Johnston and Richards, he,{recorded r e ading his poetry at the Library of vongress. Fraser cultnvated a coffee-shop audience for his readings and appeared before college groups • ..._. He is a phimosopher-mathematician. One of the older members of the group, with have credited 11 influence" on the Howard Poets. ~~ and rU"it· has taugn? "half a do•en American colleges and universitfiesf. ~ Blackness is the beauty of This Land(l970)_,...._.,, His first volume of poevr-~A~Y secon~iiai~!;!!!5!SDDtamil:Qmua•••mn, When I Know the Power of My Black Hand, will be out in 1975. Bot~ are published by Broad- side Press. Jeffers llllt has also written novels, short stories and criticism. Jo11~6lfl'¢urrently teaches at a college in ,New Jersey and with Stone ~ "co-authored the revolutionary verse pamphlet Continental,. Streamlets\ ,. ~lso a playwright, Johnston published a pamphlet of his poetry, Concerto for a uirl and ~onvertible1960 Wert ~ w , and was con- sidered the leader of the lhite is a native Philadelphian whose work appeared in Liberator, Poets of T0 day, and other places • .tie is a technician for FAAx and has written short sotries as well as successful proee-poems. As a group, the Howard Poets represent one of the strains i n * contempoPary Black poetry. Maybe the fact of their having such \.~-~~ divseree ~esvrr1u vraning aided in their vitality, virtuosity and power. �hero-worship--they present precise analyses and interpretationSof their world. Most of them grew up .ik in the bejBop era and so ttheir subjects quite naturally include Miles Davis, Lester Young, Charles 1 P·ardbird" Parker, Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, •rhelonious Monk, and other makers and contributors to that period. preoccupation with Civil Rights and the their of the 0 11 1ack struggle is merged with bomb," iHlli middle class pre- tensions, history, mythology, religion, and the various trends in poetry:modernity, Seat poetry, jazzJ poetry and folk lyrics. DeLegall celebrates the Black presence( 11 My Brownskin Business 11 ) and satirizes a prenti tious lWilllllllliBNlll!li!~ Howard coed( "Requiem for A perfo~ tloward Lady 11 ) who is "cultured' an mBl8. every social amenity perfectly. She wears 11 High-heeled tennis shoes 11j he hopes, near the poem's end, that the preisident of the universal Institute of ~ugenics will i ~ d a &BJ x New species of female who will be robed in clothes nA Wa>man." In 11 of "sincerity" and who can be called Psalm for Sonny Rollins" he announces. that he is Absorbed intct> the womb of the sound. I am in the sound The sound is in me. I am the sound. Rollins, the Harlem pied piper, will lead his listeners to "Foet~, 11 and 11 God." Aftej; 11 11 truth," "Zen, 11 1:'he Blast" (nuclear bombing) there will be •• no I, no world, no you. MAJ 11 Govan writes convincingly The Lynching": He was soaked in oil and the match thrown. ne screamed, he cried) he moaned, he crackled ~his fiery inhuman dance. I Gova.n.A-~~aim~---~ turbulence in 11 Hungary, II space explorationr 11 The Angry Skies �~ Are Calling"), 11 and "Prayer" wherein he asks Christ II for a new dawnis light! Jeffers is is a living example of AAa~sa;&w£ij.i.1 ilintz been writing of plight o~black writer. Rlthoµgh he has for several decades, his work was white-listed by antholgiess . book form until the seventies. and .his poetry did not appear in Blackness is the 0 eauty of this Lan~" stanQ.s as a rebuff to those who say "black" poetry was "inventedn $tt~nin ~ ''My Jeffers' s poem, the fifties, is at once definat and proud: My ~lackness is the beauty of this land, my blackness, tender and strong, wounded and wise, ••• Walker, chronicles the hurts, the happinnesses, and the hungers of Blacks. 'l'he se he stands against his of larger America. 11 11 whi teness II and the perversiibns Black i::>oul of the Landf 11 rA:IR~•e.s the same vein: rich reliance on the well-deep strength of the Black man"in Lreorgia is "leathered, lean, and strong~~, And ~ - • The "old black secrets that "crackers could not kill,: a secret spine unbent within a spine, a secret source of steel, a secret sturdy rugged love, . a secret crouching hate, a secret knife within his hand, a secret bullet in his eye. The poe asks the old man to pasa on his source of strength so that he, and his fellows, will be able to "turn black" the soul of the nation and American shall abase to be its name. Jeffers gathers up a fury of love, anguish and co:mmi t:ilent in other of his poems: "Her Black and African Face I Love, 11 "The Man with A Furnance in His �Hand, 11 111 iegro Freedom Rider, A New Day, '1 and 11 11 11 Her 1Jark Body I Cluster, 11 11 black Man in Prophecy. 11 Johnston echoes Jeffers, though in a different voice and style, in many of his poems. But Johnston's concern is with Black music and musicians. "To Paul Robeson, Opus No. 3" celebrates the muliti-faceted talents of ~,gam&ls(Pdlmna the man whose song "stood Brooklyn on its feet." 11 Im l'lemoriam: Prezn is a magnificent tribute to the President of jazz: Lester lfoungx whose music continues to 11 igni te the heart. 11 In 11 Fi tchett' s Basement Blues, Opus B11 Johnson wanders why wverytime I want Coltrane or ~onny all I get is Brubeck, ••• history contemporary everyman, is R~~ary of the of Johnston• s generation. Words for 11 unkinkill8 hair, n recollections of Johnston with the knowledge that nothing Has changed but my postal zone. • In other peices he surveys the current and past Black musical seene: "Variation on a 'l'he by Hohnston" 1 Round Bout 11idnight, Opus 17, o Bobby Timmons," ~ is My Reward" R~ards says, noting that Sorrow came, and I left the world •••• An experimentalist, his 11 .Uo Not 1''orget to rtemember" includes a "prelude." and an "interlude." Like the other poets, he writes plrimarily in free ~ verse(almGst ••~rhyme) and in the forego}ng grief and anguish, as does Richards in "God Bless This Child and Other. ,. ildren... Hequiem. 11 In syntax and vocabulary, it bears resemblence;}o thk beats and to Boa Kaufman and Russell Atkins. ia,rds and phrases like "matronymic diva, "sepiacenic martyr," 11 11 albumenic hawk," "womb-prize," and "black aegis" convey the mystical,i and eerie sense implied in the repetition ot 11 sleep 11 � 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_33 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter VI. Festivals & Funerals, p. 1-30 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/138c12b531802838f0b59976c0f21bf9.pdf 6fc5e8b9666401595695b0833cad65a3 PDF Text Text CHAPTER • CONCLUSION: I VII AFTERTHOUGHTS As - - promised in our Preface we haved ; J i tried to avoid f" I • fore • ;t\ · ,- \ ·d I I'\(,/ -:.tb..fil~tt111_;-tn,l!!tllfllll!NJilill11Jlllif,:!Ur research andA.1'i8i~ e@:ttAJ u ei o:r.e into However, manicured paradigms and neat frames. #0 Dru~~oices does:-. advance theories and theses-we LL t< o 14111 /J.-~ many @4l•i!M.....liril-i-aU•lli-.Jl--•..-••A...and a) .flow • • - - • 0nti ~e/ ~ ~J. (JYI.J.~ ~ origina3A--for w~termed4_1J1 a critical nis GOrj" Indeed, tneir own have taken;tstands, a as individuals ••rthe poets . . . . . ,Wii(liilila;ia. . i~c:3tu91 and ga,oups, since to, •1 is to assume a stance: to PNJ:S-ec-t. {)., \ti~,~~ t.:e t ~ ta~ u ~Li c I!!!'!'.!' of pocbtj ±,!&}£111~ I 11• ➔ lim i-o kk out one I s systerrf of beliefs, per- en1geg; .1 ceptions, relationships and values within the poetry and poetics. Such stands JI · di poets I• alwa ::, /fri icalNor , tor Afro-Ameri~al} poets they have represented -.iil:Jll1ut, ;{I.. · · · ~ factors ~ attend ·_y-1 · ~ ¢ ~ •~he ap p arent there was simple--bu~ave 11 "proving ~ s y ~ was conducted ~~..Qi#~alas, · in 3 PX'.c.:WFGI llllllliC --task of employ literacy skills; by 11 li berk.1 11 slave masters states mad~teracy while many a crime punishible by imprisonment, beating, and,in some case~1~ath. ~ere w~onfusion and . energies in the e a rlier misdire ction · ~f ~lues an d . were ~ " Al_\ 1 poetft~ ,mir ~f\.encoura ged/YW? ~ (; - �2 conc l usion 1L I • to retain I g C 2 11§ · I I lt:ass)..- orA-the he _..• Christianization of slaves 11 African flavor(let alone ...,.,..Mi@~~'l!Jf a gh:atly duality"--or wall between the African and himself--which cluttered indeed sending most ca.lled Black intellectuals into psychic chaos. This tendency,A !:,V held 1 -111 lid& w. E.B.;?-i;:J 11inn al Afro-American the~ poets' self- and world-views, a M=6 -::ft• poetry inA, a "veil 1 A of~ limbo al -~'-J'he beginning of the twentieth Horton, ough there were exceptions(~hitfield, Whitman, century. a .,;.,;1.._pt-opt-t- ~(k.(>,rOQnd~'( --~ Frances Harper), ~tne fan understand the isolatio~sm and alienation of a Phillis Wheatley or a Jupiter Hammon who refused freedom for himself }tt.ta!!,1:1 he advocated it for young B}3. c k s. One need only read David Walker to discover the Negro"free dom" in 77u, ~&vndoJ,/e1. of among escaped slaves, out ing, • of uho llf111 11 steteli.a This folk strain in the poetry(separated by Wagner from the "spirithas ualist" vein) xsmr1thn•••• survived as a conscience, more or less, of Afro-American letters, philosophy and art. And even though critics like Wagner, ~ f a l s e distinctions l::etween / all but a -n'.CA--u and the literary(or spiritualist) realmJ, of the roots and origins ..._/\"intellec~oets delved into the folk, ~·•d·•=•~=-•• '"l!l!I-• !"l ,a · · PR ~ J· @Pw • Th.is ~ t h J ~ UR .-,il&i@?!-O&Qf f ac t 1.S · no tas 1 ' :&!,-,J1A'{lt,d 3U~ ·, lillTSiisaP 1-., ct 'i • in poe t S like Countee Cullen, Claude McKay or Jean Toomer, as it iB in,say, Baul Laurence Dunbar, James ~ildo W' Johnson,,#,-~rling Brown and Langston .c'.11"!,,...... ~ l ,,,r~~J Hughes--but it is there. ai~!tllljjjp:iliPlll.•M•~~ however, the ambivalent J~~~~~lli!! ~;Ml} Christian <!foe' ,!1"£,..,_wnit, .P I people is as evident in the exclusively folk poets as in th~se stseped in book theology. - �3 conclusion Examination of ,J.p .t,J 0/lartificial boundaries ..._ f'}?-~~oral, gestural) poetry and literary(intellectual,book)poetry ~ n o t been irrff~iis with enoughjllD intensity by critics and writers. Just because Europe or larger Americ~ have evelved beyond connnunal art forms does not mean that Afro-America has to Or does it? f:ll~w suit!A : ~~• as we staJe in th~~nning ofChapter VI, $- I e:it -~cial-communal • I l has yet to be Jiewed l b ~. . . \lo-4- fca,~. nr) Black 8l"l lii&SSO. -➔:sr¼n£~ieti&i~ei}_,i,.~. r \Ai) Lt.~ Blacks place fJ,,\1,/,X j Rllf\ empt-~~is reading trends and habits. iarlft:f!\Nz1k8F1iliJU.I h I on the dramatic presentation of a poem. /J,~i}nesB,_jpr Mdtane1!$m a/ltd tha.1,t'.sM1d-iP~ XMI" · -~the i 4 eta: l!iltFlpi'elilibJ\.l"~ngs and the sb!l!@u development of a national~au ience for poetry via s u c h # ~ tv "$-h-0 fJ{; ~ '\ as Ellis Haialip' s~ Soul,.te •;(Hit g Ill All of the foregoing statements tie in•••lq!ili) with ~ opening ~ ' 5 : g H I1h6 about stands and positions taken by poets. For, if •;J..&± SI a s:baror t·s;t Ji&l?:iiua o f ~ poe · the silent r e ~ o,.,f,.,~t_,"h e~~•1 111 ■' lb °"the ft trans- e to the page ~ ~ l i t ~ f you will, of the thought or im ; a :mr:ib f I ~:IM!I~ then oep~ainly ► I~~ ma aiR even f:lt:tybhc;- 1 ,'k,:z..:.;_ r,f I ab:::.e..t · ~riginating idea~ instincts. -...S One has only to hear an "intellectual" poet like Robert Hayden read his own works to understand thisj'principle . Our point,then, is that much of the apparent straight-laced :::::::&:; :e~;;.:;;;~~~ ~ 1' • /4 not delivered ~ ~~~ ii.1 a ; t l e~A of church =@II' survices, abolitionist rallies c · -singing, danceS or~cial ~ , One shoul~-w...!1111.1 liste{? tbr example, to a poor reader presentwzt dialedt poems of Dunbar, Davis or Corruthers. A �4 conclusions instances(Wheatley, Hammon , Ann Plato, the Creole Poets) k~ett, · to the social whirlwind, poets seem to /\be "-immune "cur~z most Afro-American poets have beenJ..u that whirlwind. Hence, patterns okJA::JJr;J;tion in = ~ d a a blessing (to parape;;;-i•••J and,rsrtriiwJt,.._"Mffl Black poets •;r-anguage,,,_~ fo~ styles and tonJ. From the ditties)t;.e bhe blues,"bv the~iritua).s ~ ~~ ~ ~ ...a ~ --.tQ tba dozens ,ee :eifts serm.9~ .. t Me jo_k~s, the . . poets "':7fan end~ / poelll eJ(){.SOI? dWJ €d P1nda1,l txJe ina. (le! Fo).NI ). -tt\'() less stre~ of /(orms and fusion~ segregated pattern ~ • that same gave these poets their ominous theme~~ their grave tones and temperaments which, coupled with their crisp insight into America's c ~ a d i ~ s and paradoxes, allowed them to project, prophesy ';9lrefine'\.'ff!la 11 duality' 1 into one of the most powerful . J 1 : : ~ o o l s available to any group of writers. Hence th;'~Apo:trlha_s_~is and themes as weihl ►&I I l a <:. (111!& I ; =j;=-, wn private(cultural) sob ef symbols ~~mad~==:c:tcm!llttlmlll=..t the larger ~ j~""a' world-• Most Black poets have written poems about lynching, for example,~ most.- ~uro-American poets have not. T h e m e s ~ "1ri the Christian e•teJ•Rh job dilscrimina tion, i;he twe-fac_pness of m J 1 I a God, psychic ~ l e n c e in a white worl~ r -R .cas;:i;,:lion, ~<-4 the ....:t_~siii... ~ ' . ¼ •~ Landscape of G,rror and f e a r ~ - social inequities, A:::J sa I OiibC 1:9 I.MJ)ln one way or another) work themselves into ~ i c a n poetry. Certainly there are hundre ds of others, easily~• asrl. - - I l l ~ ~ ,pe rus.,.., I any anthologyl;;:;::r.;m:;;aa=;;;;••iiil=:Efiible of contents. ) �5 conclusion ~u9h .~ r-~ , '1To eray i:hnt c.ertain forms and 1lllll9t theme~,~~ ~rica~~-v;,. . ,. dominaf-- Afro -American poetnr Ii z ~ o n s I •and divergent approaches characte-rizJ- th&.Se po ·t-s 1· ~ ' : O f : suoh 1 -::r-or1bH.and them • of prime importanc to note, also, t' · tside T,of .. domina~~ng cluster~., th~~ ha!gun~.(~ss othe~ interests REarcupations • .fd~a0K family · ForAJJ:511!1il~ unite ha~e been in tact for hundreds of years-- ,\ • a. ....,..,,""" __ ' even if such ~ •·-8'i..ii.a.ii.aiiiiei►lld:Sl•aeR obscured b':,r a socio-media. oe•••--••i~lir..1 with al;:L~ accompanJing p a t h o l o g i c a l ~ , I. •"~ ~ " (:,, I Usten~to z51syoung Blackf(I analylt A,..,C4, ~ ~ sis of wh ·· ,grasp ~ u n s t a t e d or implied cultural .\ trithe new land --. preferences;.,TruJAfrioan?JiP OmiPie~have live~e :.lllfterieMl H ~ t - er•• : ' mare amidst ~alk of an American Dream; and, ~(,k- · ,v..,he d a r k ~ poets 1 songs are full of unpleasantries and recollections o f t ~ ,-;-.. • nightmarel• • ,.. • I •• ' .,. .... :_.)t"~ • ·t• - -~· .... . " . ' has never been ltODa But the en~ioBlack p o e t ~ • • • be.self-pity, chauvinism., @~ '1,tn_ -ci,{-M . ,,; . • mrr· . ideologµe~etoric or complain~• Thus Margaret Walker, ,a 4 c..-- '%~ amids:!:~0. :r,~~~e" and mt (ii,. fe~~e .subjects ~~~•-ti f SW»-• • • • white literati, is able to celebrate . Black lifeil' Fam My People). f19 Robert Hayden i,■ ••is,•• transcend.S-wie a rtificial barriers between himself and nature and enter;the flower~ (Night-Blooming Cereus )~ ~~~anry Dumas Ebony Play Ivory G:=, S'5 ab;;~ in Play and Pinkie Gordon La ne in Wind Thoughts. Other examples of such diversity and sensitivity abound: Owen Doason (Powerful Long Ladder), Langston Hu ghes (The Dream Keeper), Alice Walker(Once), Raymond Patterson(26 •ays of Looking at A Black~ ) , Joyc e Carol Thomas(Blessing):., and'~ the c r oss-spread of a l most any anthology. o£ 41'.:g AH10Mia: 111 w=~-·-- �. i conclusion w.e kA-vt ~he 1; poet~ takes a stand not inherent in),,_ ~ )-;t::J:;::Q 1!/,~:::. musicianxrs -tio,w when he commits his thoughts to paper. And 1 I ~ J,(1¥ft,,.r in times of r ap<.d. socia~chan,ge,or u ~ @»~ ~ - ~ e s up e110 efk...,.~~ 2iil11.~rilMip~_--.. ef~~:;/i. court, at '""1ich times his o-..n feelings -and sensibilitie:-::::tl!!'uetralized in:.,:;vor of 'ii! 7 a the 11 popul ar latex brand." JJe jerious critic,5~1cultural stabilizeJ; need; to exam.in~- 11 o n e - ~ 11 approac~lMA ro· 1n■ 1 ~;t'o~~irjl;S•iiii.W=iJli!!Jtf>O etry/ c ri ti ci sm, especi al-f:#~er the last 10 years. eS: 1ilu We mention this 1l!ll!i!l1 of the 11 11 important s i d ~ t h h ~ ; , , . , , ~ d ' J ~ ~ r y o ~ scene because its presence hasAeither crippled o~ destroye ma a budd. ~y -t"' ~ -·' ~ -rt. ~-1..n · - -,_case~, it_ ha~'1: talent. ' a rich n_.. 4iiiil'significant voice. Howeve r, ~ ~ • • • • • " " " critical ~~wru :c111s 11 ./!uJ)yJJ14 opened" ,a, 11;3:ilJ ,1qmpletely and honestly. PIT? \PM ' -~~.J.,~ ~ & - ... ___ ,, 4.f!!!iiiOva,YJitlilSmSilt&n It.id e --=:. @nly ~ougbr 1:&li\~ft-~1111~~.t'" 11 ,. ,.--.;. e Afro-American poetry~- continue t o b reatn~the breath of the ancestors. 1 ~ ( l'inally, as. winds of change shi ft.1,AMl-qbi speed up or slow down,~t:i,p designs Areader~ and poets must -as k about ultimate~•• •io•u and inherent I' ~ t r a d i t i onal missions. As tre drum stand s a:,t_~;{A~~uJ.~=frican a nd Afro~ ,, C(r,t,/di.~/ American culture, so the poet ~ t a n d at the center of ,t,fe drum.J.,~ , ~ p o e t i c principle':Jand the language associ ated w i t h ~ } c:fsound and music. Music is the most shared expe rience--the most I\.. music~s 1 £ t a l commoGity--among Afro-Americans. 'And poetry is~win•lli ~ Khe metaphysical and t he metaphorical s tem f ro m an d r~turn to the drum: life, love, birth and death labo r e d ou t i n m as ured rumble ~) 1 A 1/.o ~ an22-ous cacophony. Between t h e l i ne s a r e t he rattle of ch orus e s QtA.lU,14 / t h c:1 e sfiriek of trunbourine ~ f r ame d. by rivers that 1.nb ll no~ .i..·un away • And the drumvoices urgi ng us to cross them, cross them. � 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_34 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter VII. Conclusion: Afterthoughts 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/f86a2e0ff0f4102f28a765df2590c479.pdf fbcbd748f02eee580ba25faa70947afa PDF Text Text rl p .... ; 7 C rJ. ':; lettres n_y,•- · , ~~ ~ 0 .f .,p. "T' S. ~ ~"llalii....... o-t: ""', r f a; T r- 0 -f' .... .,...7 7; i ., l 7 r:, o-f' "< l" e +- +-' r 7 I"\ .!.- "Y> (' l i A . 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(' - ' H e f" H ---r ;n ' u'- -1- cl r ' ,_, !--- ' -,7 ; • C 7 _e , • Although, as a poet, Hayden bas maintained a steady balance betwe en racial 88iS8EBiz and the modern poetic tradition, he is ,Ji.at Sterling Brown would call a library poet. Classical allusions, obscurJ!.tism, surrealism, and complicated syntax go with experimental blues poetry and " the term "Kegro poet" muted agner. Arna Botemps (fl "displeasing"i,to Countee Cullen; and Hayden particularly ) in Kaleidoscope, rejected being judged "by standards different from those a pplied to the work of other poets." The Black. pet should not be limited to racial utterance, ,t- Ha)den believes • ..- a po] > of Black poets a great many of them feel the same way--even thou ~ img of the contemprary Black poet1 Speaking of his influences in Interviews ti.th Black Writers, Hayden :".f,4 i'.11 to& that: When I was in college I loved Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Elinor Wylie, Edna ~t. Vincent Millay, Sara Teasdale, Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Hart Crane. I read all the poetry I could get a hold of, and I read without discrimination. Cullen became a favorite. I felt �18 an affinity and wanted to write in his style. I remember that I wrote ) a longf:ish poem about Africa, imitating his 11 ,_, ritage." All through ~ my l[Ildergraduate years I was pretty imitative. As I discovered poets new to me, I studied their work and tried to write as they did. I suppose all yoiing poets do this.It's certainly one method of learn• ing somethiag about poetry. the point, inevitably, where I didn't want to be influeneed by anyone else. I tried to find rrry own voice, my own way of seeing. I studied with W.H. Auden in graduate school, a strategic experience in my life. I think he showea me my strengths and weaknesses as a poet in ways no oae else before had done. Hayden thus establishes himself as a poet of the book as apposed to the raw experience--vis a vis Sterling Brown, Langston Hughesjzouc, Frank Marshall Margaret Walker, and numerous others, although. divisi~ early poetry-- Most of the early poetiry shows rtayden as imitator of the older Harlem tienaissance poets and under the influence of the ~mmunist-socialist .... I --- af 0¥or,2:tea1iiam of the :ibNill1 1930s and 1940s. In",rophecy" he depicts destruction and the - people returning to the "ruined city" to rebuild a new society. "liabriel" is a about the famous Gabriel Prosserled slave revolt. "Black Gabriel" was · hanged for leading slaves From forgotten graves, •••• Interpolating italicized words and stanzas with colloqu~isms(likp recreates · )!.Ii ~ Sterling Bro'Wll}, Haydenrf ail • s: s the terror and drama of#\.tLs lm 1g· s Black and golden in the air, Gabriel dangles from a noose abo men who lever, never rest•••• Black �19 Black and white "Speech" is just ilhat--an harangue..._ calling "brothers" to fight the common opporessor, presumably totalitarianism, 1EFtf'.'.· 5 . . r+ism and greedy over-seers. J "~bit'Jil.ary" is a sensitive ~ and pained reflection of Ii J Jmis 1 father 'Who lived es tbeu@1:1 lie HOii epared for wings._. especially Among these early pieces(found interesting--for it ollects the new di~lect kind of social statement ~terling Brown perfected. 11 factory worker~ bacchanal 1 iiiiiiiMlllll into the ony ----·~ to desclr.i.be a Black getting High's a Georgia% pine to forget ~a.-=="""'"' that the factory closed "this mawnin1 1 i:e :ee!lling en • The Black man who, in "Lrabriel" aan never resia, is seeking Jlllllllil' real II joy" on earth. But, minus money and woman, ~s "bacchanal II becomes ' a weighty blues statement--not the revelry of ancient ,..@mi" Greek or Roman party life. One f.,inds none of these poems in Selected Poems. Instead the r e is the polished Hayden of "The Diver," and "Runaga te Run~ a e. 11 fl '51liH.1... WJAID.A. th e Mourn1ng . I ' 1me. . y et religion, nature and love. To be sure, Hayden does make his social comment, (Mourning) as does Cullen. But his "Zeus Over Redeye",.._is a far cry from Hughes "Dream Deferred" or "Ask Your Momma." "Runagate" and "Middle ~i ~ d allusigp Passage" a¥ess with I J ,_siirr~lle converns of Owen Dodsen("Lament"), Margaret Walker(' ince 1619 11 ) , and Frank Marshall .Uavis("Snapshots of the Cotton South"}. Hayden brings a fine and intense intellect to his poetry-regardless of subject matter. His oatput has been relatively small, considering his long career, but :t:allr::x .. ilh@ Words 1·n the Mourning Time proves �20 that his intensity for sticking to his aesthetic convictions and his unswerving devotion to concerns has been poetic craftsmanship. Hand in hand wit his interest in history, racial and general. His manuscript~ of poems dealing with slavery and the Civil War, ~ e Black ~pearl, won him the second Hopwood award. The idea for a book-length series of narrative poems on• Black hDlstory--:falal "from the lilack man•s point of view"--came to Hayden after he read Stephen Vincent Ben6t I s long ilarrative poem, John Brown's Body(l927). The Black ~pear never ,,,.... as a book, but remnants of it can be found in section five of I- Selected Poems. In working w.i.th Black history, Hayden champions such persons as Nat ~urner, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Cinquez, Martin Luther King and Malcolm x. He also inc l udes whites who have shared the burde11. of the Black struggle: William Lloyd uarrison, ¾llph \aldo .t.!.merson, Henry LJavid Thoreau, John Browa, John and .Hobert Kennedy and others. Hayden ' s history poems, however, reflect inherent· disturbance man•s 9m 1cii contuning struggle. poem like the "The Diver 11 the r e can be floating, plunging, piercing, blu, isillusionm.ent, wreckage, drunken tilting, "numbing/kisses," assumed, b e tween the shadow and the substance. comes through in poems of racial flavor. the same 11 feeling 11 1 :M.iddle Passage" certainly bears this out, as Blyden Jackson notes in ltiJl "From One 1 Naw Negro' to Anod:lher"(Black Poetry in Americ~., Jackson and Rubi~, 1974) ,._"in ~tf»("fL the rocking loom of history/ 11 "Middle Passage" isNfayden•s and Black America's achievement•• •ha so~~ time, Calculate~L;ar· "opening with the names of slave ships--Jes~s, Estrella, ~speranza, Mercy-the poem criss---accrosses the vast geographical., chron&logical and spritual web of racial horror since slavery. The names of at least two of the ships--Jes~s and Mercy--beia,r immediate �21 contradictions and are simultaneously reminiscent of the expletive "Jesus, 1 have mercy, ' and the attendant variations heard daily ••--in Black communities. But this Jesus will have no Mercy--and in fact will stand f Christianity as the albatross throughout the remainder around the neck of Christian slavers. >I J 1 g is exciting as well as dange rous-- finished quest. Hence the middle passage suggests since it both the horrible and brutalizing~ e crossing ~ •A.the Atlantic 6caan and th~ unalinfsl erience of slaves aboard ships "adventure" of Blacks• in America. tradition established by T.S. Eliot, Esra ~ound, Wallace Stevens, Hart Crane and others. "Middle Passage," in fact follows stylistically as Eliot's 1,The Wasteland, Pound's Aantos, Crane 1 s The Bridge and William Corlos Williams' Patterson. Espcially is it akin to The Wasteland in its use of allusio~, fragments of obscure information(old documents, letters, conversation, etc.), typographical variation, and the urgency and importance of its "statements." .... after its sharp and arresting opening, "Middle Pas sage" weaves together objective narration, potes from sections from a ship a slave ship is log, offiver 1 s diary, testimony at a court of inquiry , Cuban slaver a (into a slave revolt aboarn , th~stad in , the tale of an old ~ sailer who his bones, ~(i l ~ on slaveships because "fever meltedn paraphrasings of a Shakespearean ·textl and familiar expressions ,...--::-... from the Chrisitan Bible and live religious servic~s. The every imiginable__ disaster and conflictf: - ~ 1 , ,,\ ,~ storms, rebellions, suicides, a plague t h at causes blindBe ~~,, wz.u,, UJ""" the lusty crew members sexual exploitation of female slaves, the "nigger kings 11 who sold the Africans into slavery, descriptions of the smell and sounds of dying, ia,;~&l ■ •i•~ of ■rtr ■ i•~~i1y •and the hatred/respect i? s~ slave ship 1 ~ • rebellion-leader "tI1eAsiirv1 ving spokesmannas fo7XCinquez. Almost 100 years before "1"1iddle �22 Passage", James M. Whitfi eld had honored this same revolutionary in "To Cinque." The idea of the remade man, a - "voyage" which take Ii one "through death" ~ i n t o "life, 11 recurrs in Hayden's poem: here, again/ the sense of one meandering through a "wast~land" ~ sane environment. F ~ ight society, the ■ J Jil pdeed in much Black American writing, ~:g mirroring sometimes the literature of larger Am1_r ica, there is the assertion that the new man arrives only after and oppressed. Even i n ~ everyday)\ the dues of bein~ brutalized , Bllacks are o f t e n ~ h e r s who have not "gone through" the fire and brimstone of depravity and alienation. Thust, for Hayden, the "middle passage" is both spiritually and physically a"voyage" through death in order to achie,e life. In the tJmiddle passage# the slaves are half way 9etween their African homeland and America. They will not be returning to Afri~~-- ► and yet they kno w nothing of the life "upon these shores. 11 Too, the middle z::u sage symbolizes the~itiation of everyman into the a w e s o m e ~ t y of adultho od-and~~tality. The middle passage is where we all triumph or £ m perish, just as in the wasteland one must create a new world or drift with the caretakers~f debris. However, 'furejfslaveships crossing the middle passage are as acutely aware of their mission as are the reflective slaves(and poets). They are 1 go bringing life through death. They bear black gold, black ivory, black seed. A 1 i " t ~ n s t the pervasive irony of the ship names Jesus and Mere¥• -31 -~he double irony of ~ --- 2 ••• true Christians all, •••• ll 1 2 Wfff!e the "Middle Passage" places%B~somewhe r e in the middle of things, "Runagate Runagate" continues the irony of moving through death to life. There is little to be envied in the "life" of the runawJY r-.. slave depi~ted in this poem. The hound dogs, the slave-trackers, the aucti~n �23 block~, the "iianted" signs,the braadings on the cheeks, the drive r's lash--all re-live the terror, ~ nightmarish nature , ~f B ack 1ife after 1 ,....--.., ~he . enslavement .The a ~ is••· c:bt~A- · ety and - . "never, never rest" life of the slave e..,a:M.4,;- y1nea · by Hayden w;-j8mploys a rich tapest;Y.J: lan- guage, syntax, color, i":"f!rt, :~a¥tion,f\:eligiob., and "sweeF~ 11 atioJvi p Jb continues ~ t h e first deathf the middle passage. ~ e~ . 11 ~ ~olism :.w~- ~ i n to mo e m ~ -,.the dramatic use or italicis. The poem celebrates tfM. the ~ - slaved and honors Black and white abolition- ist leade rs. Ha7den al lows. the reader to re-live the experience of the ~ accompanying runaway slave an<}\ lllllll tension-filled b-k:rn::r,im hide-and-seek - • drama .. rv-pze:rt By avo:hding of language vary ■71 n We hear and see the runaway in the opening line. punctuational breaks, Hayden achieves a "rush" ~~ to the relentless 11 dri ve II of]oral exp ression and to the "never, nev er rest" feeling he established in "Gabrie"J/.." The runaway Runs falls rises stumbles on from darkness into darkness and th e hunt "many thousands" and hear the mixed jubilance and fear of the••• r•• sla ve who ':::l never otHm ~ts>,,~~e auction block a nd th.a driver 1 s lash • he • 'r : l l g ~ o . ~ Keeping with the trend of--;;fdern poetry, Hayden introduc/ea incidental notices and aata: an a nnot1;a~ement describing~ runaway~(including ~4 ~ agJe, dress, brandings, &ito,,%. -~ WR gj qj sr s 1 I9 11f ~ -IL,~Avr04 J] g that.A~ JiHHrnOUU I l I ~ r n t~selves into quicksan d , whirlpools or scoppions), wanted posters,K1ames of p rominant abolotionists o f the day~• Typographically and syntactically, the p o ~ g n e d to be reaa., without 1 significant pauses, so tha t the n o n - s t o p ~ 118 of t h e • slave, toward freedom ..Q actually occurs in the text; it is, Blyd n ~ uggests"-·l it repeaxts ◄ L,.,.,,., of "Middle Passage'~ "as~h1story• if .b:specially notable is Hayden's treat- �24 ment of Harriet Tubman, the greatest of underground railroad leaders, who was wm ted "Dead or Alive" and who wa s known to level a pistol at a doubting runaway,.. : D~ · Wt · ' ~~; (N\.e&,,e1,""'4.~~G,A.H. ~ • .. "Middle Passage" and "Runagate unagate 11 are-. only two of Hayden's magnificent poems. Othe r poems in the ~histor~cal vein are"Frederick Douglass" (an experimental sonnet without rhyme ) , 11'.1,_1he Ballad of Nat Turne1"" l "The fearful splendor of that warringt. "), 0 Daedalus, Fly Away Home" ( "Night is juba, night is conjo. ' ~ ~, (prior to Words) Ballad of Remembrance"(alfomplex and erudite poem). ay en poem -;;;,~ (i h ~ x m k ~ "T .. -J Z@ 4 ZIC J supernaturalismt"Witch Doctor"), folk life("Homage 11 to the l!._mpress of the Blues," "The Burly Fading one, 11 "Incens;:J_ the Lucky Virgin, 11 and "Mourning Poem for the Queen of Sundayx"),Afolk reminiscences("Surmnertime and the Living ••• ", "The Whipping," "Those Winter Days"). Words in the Mourning Time, which we w i l ~ a~.......119-.i~ in Ohapter VI, reflects Hayden's general and specific~ conerns as a poet. Again, he judiciously handles the spectrum& of themes, subjects and st¥les that assures him a place in the world of Western as well as Afro-American poetry. Poems like "' Mystery Boy 1 Looks for Kin in Nashville," "Soledad," "Aunt Jemima of the Ocian Waves," and "El-Hajj Malik El-i::>habazz, 11 mark Hayden in touch with the times and willing to share his poetic vision with revolutionaries, pacifists#, cultural nationalists and Black pride advocates. On the other hand he is at home with poems such as "Locus," "Zeus Over 11 and "J.Jear is Gay"--which m11Jfltmm mirror his reading, travels, still broad concerns and personal friendships. Hayden can/sensitively and delicately great art and discuss/flowers, as in Words and Night-Blooming control of Red~ye, 4 metaphorical accuracy and poetic poignanc is also clearly there. Hayden admits that the battle over aesthetics in the 1960s �25 jolted him. ~ c l e a r that the fight took place more outside of poetry than in(see Chapter VI), Hayden has not recanted in his Position that the Black po et -not be limited to racial utterance. Hayden, of ~ urse, has 'i his "-Robert Lowell, not been right to his own opinion. But, like John Ciardi, ~•.Lil- NJ~ and other poets of the academy, his trek has tksy1'. ~ Ant ~despit: statements Hayden makes outside of his poetry, poems like "Middle Passage" and "tlunagate Runagate" stamp him as a gifted handler of Black themes and materials • .fWt is not likely that he will be known, as a poet, for w rk that lie ~ ~ the as J t 111 JP L tt2 the passage, pace or plight of Black Americans. Much-needed critical attention is just beginning to come to Hayden. He is treated in Davis 1 s From the Dark Tower, Donald Gibson's Modern Black Poets{ "tlobeet Hayden's Use of History," Charles T. Davis), Jacksolllt and Rubin 1 s Black Poetry in America, 0 1 Brien•s Interview with Black and Writers, Barksdale and Kinnamon•s Black Writers of America,/How i Write/I (featuring Hayden, Judson Phillips and Lawson varter: New York, 1972)~ See also Rosey Pool's "Ro beet Hayden, Poet Laureate, 11 Negro Digest (Black World), XV(June, 1966), 39-43 1 ai!(IIIQ D. Galler•s 11 Three Recent Volumes," Poetry, r' CX(l967), 268,i■ ,,_. "' ;t . and Julius Lester's review of Words in the Mourning Time ftin ~e New York Times Book Review, January 24, 1971, p.4. Dudley RandelI•••t-displays good insights into Hayden in "The Black Aesthetic in the Thirties, Forties, and lii,fties" (Modern Black Poets). And there is a sensitive treatment of the poet in James the Thirties. o. Young's Black ~~ri ters of �- 26 - •sFijaving a~ ef the Harlem rtenaiss~nce, Langston Hughes continued his vast an thirties, forties ~ i ve poetic output fifti 1930s, three in the 1940s, P i mt the e published fo~ boo~s of poetry in the Qilill6. two in the 1 9 ~ n t o ~ a)lltobiographical and hi~ r dedicated work on 1ll:la. behalf of Blackt,eci'9B~EAS?Ci psaples sf ~. ~ "° uld ~it nj; • be "much too casual, "A.Hughes' s friend Arna Bontemp~ po distnis.ScAhim as "prolific. "fl?~) For Hughes ~~,D~ r. · 11 simpl · and a troubado111 int h e ~ s i c se~se.A,Hughes worked ra~idly') & E ~ ... turrf,ut · '')f~•!'l:Yrs i\ A.M ,t prodigious amo1m.tJ of wri tins.-) Blyden J a c k s o ~ us,'(feaused some Q.Rtioo hi'?l~ngside "serious was a "minstrel &R& u1!i.'8e!'a to~a 1'l111j12@1 like E1lison, Wright and Baldwin. Hughes always invol"le d himself in "contemporary affairs "--even lllt , during the Renaissance when Cullen, McKay and others ro fields of Africa or pined away/ in the -(io 11 ~d the Elysian dark 11 tower. But Sa~fers Redding Make A Poet Black) had complained that Hu~s .-.ae-:~ ythms in his ~ poetry but srZ 92d little intellect. Consequent-ly, the thirties and forties--with their step up in lef '1)st and radical activities--placed new protest weapons from Hughes in the position of having his "weary blues." About Hughes•s poetry was popular beeause it could be and back grounds. "II._ s i m ~Jimment O. Young noted: "His ~ad easily b~e?ple of all ages /{TlB,de of tbe pOC'I! J t- a I I II )lljl Black poetstllNlf Haki R. Madhub•tl(Don L. Lee), Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, David Nelson, Arthur Pfister) and others. In the early thirties, however, Hughes's poetry was considered "decadent' and "unacceptable" to 6ormnunist critics who wanted him to move from strictly racial t ~ to champion the fights of proletarians ~a aassoa everywhere. Hughes the switch-over and Scottsboro Limited(l932) shows the iapact of Communist thought ends t· ibirr on him. The pamphlet was dedicated �27 It trial for allegedly raping two white to JSlack youths such prostitates in Scottsboro, Alabama. ·~ John Brown, Lenin and Nat 'l'urner. The effect-- revolutionar,: .?'111 I efforts of ~tyr-making poets of ~ t h e 1960s--was to make the boys, "ignorant pawns " though they were, "militant proletarian heroes." The poem-play "Scottsboro Limited 11 shows 'Red Voicesl"' convincing .Black youths that the C0 mmunists are on the side of Not just ........... lack--but black and 'White • Hughes ---~published widely during the thrties in Party presses. In Good Morning ~tion(l973, forward by Saunders Redding), Faith Berry has compiled;,i,...,.. . . .li. 11 uncollected writings of social protest"•-' They give many clues to Hughes social concerf:.~s during the three decades fol- lowing the Harlem Renaissance. - /l. ~ ' "workers" • 1fi c ~ iitl i ,. 1~ermanl,r, China, Africa, Poland, Italy)and Amer~hrough the pages of New Masses, The Negro Worker, The Crisis, Opportunity, International Literature, C0 ntempo, Africa S 0 uth, The Workers Monthly, New Theatre:i,and American Spectator. In "Good Morning, Revolution," that I e gonna pal around together fro m now on. A • ect~on titles of.._ Good Morning Revolution'!ow 1IB=llllt Hughes ; t k WMt acutely attuned to the problems and needs of oppressed peoples-- long before Franz Fanon, Stokely Carmichael and Eldridge Cleaver--and in sympathy with Third World Section I, .H.evolutj o:r;;i.; Secti on 2, r; Section 4, ~ ar and Feace,. Section 5, G e Christ; ~ection 6, ~eweP4; Section 7, The Meaning of Scottsha®; Section 8, Cowards trom tha C.2.,l J eag.nes; Section 9, Portrait Aga;in1;1t BackgvoJJDA; Section 10, Darkness ln Spaj_n; Section 11, China~ Section 12, The American Writ e rs Congress, and Section 13, Hetrospective(including "My Adventu r es as a Social .l:'oet8"). �28 e Iconoclastic and sacriligous, Hughes incurred the wrath of many Black leaders with his poem "Good-bye Christ" published in the Baltimoee I Afro-American in 1932. Addres~t~hrist, Hughes noted that You did alright in your day, I reckon-But tha) day's gone now. And "Christ Jesus Lord God Jehovah" is told to "make way" for a new deity, who has not religion, and whose name is Marx Communist Lenin Peasant Stalin, Worker, ME-heligious leaders especially condefIDe:d Hughes'A"blatant atheism. 11 But Melvin Tol8:f/j coming to Hughes 1 s aid, said that the youn~ t s simply showing thatf\.Christian~ offering of a better M':19' worlci.N1ad little meaning for the world I s suffering millions. Hughes was never a member of the Communist Party, but he was sympathetic to it as were m manv. --■ other Black writers: Tolson, Wright,Hayderf, Frank Marshall Davis, Margaret Walker, Ellison, and dozens of others. While communist-orient his poetry and other writings o ocial protest._ were ap p earing in radical ( iU t h Sterling Brown publications, Hmghes con inue eve oping and experimenting with ~lack folk materials. He painstakingly pointed up the contradicti ons in the promises and realities of American ~emocracy, assailed social inequality, lamented Black and white poverty, railed against double standards, attuked , racia1,. pegregation, satirized the Black bourgeosie, and immortalized the beauty of ev eryday Blacks. So, much of Hughes•s fight is caught up in "Let America ~e America Again," first published in 1936 in Esquire, and included in A New Song\1938). It is immediately reminiscent of Walt Whitman-- in its sweep--and recites, in the manner of Hayden's "Speech" and Tolson•s "Rendezvous with America," the multiple ills and ingredients of America. Throughout the poe tributions, lie ~ , as he catelogs the various ethnic stocks and con- intertoplates tha:I haunt~~ ( "America never was America to me."). By now Hughes•s interest in Black music and folk materials was �29 1I £iiiitiFMH • ¥ ueZb § 7 being worked more into his work. He carried his interest in Blues to his work in jazz(recording his poetry with Charliel Mingus and others) and the Be-Bop era is strongly reflec t ed in his poetry and his writings(see the music evident g in Mont a ge of Simple stories). Especially h . Jmrr :\a Q? & fi a Dream Deferred(l951) where, according to Jean Wagner, 11 jazz has strongly influenced the tone and structure of these poems. 11 It was from this volume, too, tha t Lorraine Hansberry would get the title for her prize-winning flay: Raisin in the Sun. The¢us poem in the volume is "Harlem," is likened to a "dream dleferred." A in which the ,... between :,. I 11 and the h1 ., explode•• ,, - Fl raisins, sores, rotten meat, syrupy sweet~~ heavy loads, ur e sent "dream. 11 Perhaps, Hughes notes at the end, the dream ~ Hugh.es was not\"perfect, 11 constantly on top of • gif -11!1!-. draw- ...,. a,...- .- .- .- ■ re explicit comparisons Hughes E.ve pre cise similes llilK iii'i:ii • Blyden Jackson points out, but he wa s , ,. . ~ A,,... ••111•••••111 contemp<irary 11 issues 11 . . , . : and ~ experiment~ throughout his writing ca reer. Ask Your Mama--Twelve Moods for Jazz(l9 61) was published after 46 years of experimentation in verse forms. It is indeed the attempt at the synthesld.s we weferred to earlier: that of jazz, blues and rela'!red folk idioms and themes. Con- temporary white poets, E.E. Curmnings and ~enneth Rexroth, had chosen to place all letters in lower case and Hughes did just the opposite, capitalizin& eve rything. Dedicated to Louis Arrnstrong--"the greatest horn blower of them allx"--the volume is an extension of ,.:;-•.deas attempted in The Weary- Blues, Shakespeare in Harlem and Montage of a Dream LJegerred. The 1 driving social protest is there, but the indig~ation is mutedf as in his earlier workl• A recession in larger America f'IIJI IS is COLO RED FD LKS I DEPRESSION• The work ia punctuated by the lin~ IN THE QUARTER OF THE NEG ROES and Hughes continues the Black poet's concern with history: h onoring Black . . ~ f heroes and race leaders, displaying the beauty of Blackness anu reca l lin~ �I/ 30 organizer of sharecroppers, Jftamatist,,.. ,,,--Politician,t( J gr,· 0 11 II El, poel,jl"tei:l.clie11 and 1 raaonteur Melvin Beaunorus Tolson was born in Moberly, Missouri,to the Reverend ~ . Mr.~aionzo Tolson. . . . Tolson lived his young life in various Missouri towns, publishing his first poem at the age of 1a in the "Poet I s Corner" Kansas City!.§. ,\ of the Oskaloosa newspaner • .tie gradualed rro~Iilcoln High jjchool~~f/J ranw fiij It; where h}.iJ_~ass poet, di rector and actor in Li-reek Cil.ub I I Little Theater am.d captain of the football team. Throughout his adult J\ life, Tolson maintained an active interest in sports, dramatics and ~ debate clubs. He attended Fisk and Lincoln Universities--graduating from Lincoln ~ ~---h-e~ll.111-M•·with ho~ors and winning awards in speech, debate, dramatics _,,,,,, and Ulassical literatures. He also captained the football team.a~ Linoolna In 1924 ~olson, continuing a rich and varied career, :auz:mp:eqmh•m began t~aching ~nglish and speech at Wiley Colleg~rshall, Texas. There he .and ,,,,,... 7 wrote PK pros: and poetry, . . . Airected d r and debate group4 · which established~O-year winning steeak. Tolson interrupted his work at wiley to pursue -work on a master's degree in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University J Na ~v I h where he met V.F. Calverton, editor of Modern ~uarterly. :rarter;~t Wiley, Tolson•s career as a debate I !ti 12 9 coached peaked when his team defeated nat~ozw-~champions, University of Southem California, before 1100 people. q947, the same year Tolson was appointed poet laureate of Liberia by Prisident V.S. Tubman, he • Riiime i :b:nglish and drama professor ~Lan~tp!), Q:qiyersi ty, ~~ton, O lahomat_~A I.., served a •.N ~ # J 1=> IJtl'IN{ i ~ ' where he ~ al•~ 7 GCe:r"'..iayor f r our terms./\A revered an feared te cher M :-:~iii and organizer, Tolson became a legend in his own time. Hardly a student at a dee -south a I a Black college hap n<?~Aheard~~on' s WOfkJ:~-1-..., ~~ , ' ~ .--.-....- · (°IWAh!..'MJ4,,~ , T £itl\ ,fH 'f.l~ ~ ~~U,~ .. poet, drama~ d -~ , ; h an~ducator."'-U · f NJ ---_.,,. · ~f : O{Actn.published wo•!lrn ±110 &d:'1\ ndezvous with America(l944), Libretta ":-n E:' f t, ,, for~he ile~ubliaria\1953), and Harlem Gallery, Book I: The 8urator(l965~ :;;Jsei:!:5:1- •h!!' in The Modern Quarterlz,11,?ommon Ground, Poetry and other periodicals. He won numerous awards and citations, among them • �31 &~ /"' firat p l a ~ National Poetry Uontest sponsored.JIIII by the American Negro .t!ixposition in Uhicago(for "~rk -=>ymphony"); the Omega Psi Phi Award for Greative Literature(l945); Poetry magazine's Bess Hokim Award for long psychological poem, "E. & O.E. "(1947); honorary Doctor of Letters, Lincoln University, and made permanent ..,,,,rqzc# Bread Loaf Eellow in poetry and drama(l954); District of Columbia Citation and Award for Cultural Achi•vement in li'ine Arts an~inteA to the Avalon Chair in Humanities at 'f uskegee Institute(l965); and annual poetry award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters eluding a grant of sitfig in- ~2 • .5OO(1966),the same year he died following three operations for abdominal cancer. and intellec As a Black poe in the mid-twentieth century, Tolson wore the manypronged mantel of his eiah,teenth and nineteenth century predecessors• (Prince Hall, Benjamin Banneker, James Wb.itfi ~ Frances E.W. Harper and others) who ~ n.. u·......,. /td ander Crummell~ · abolitionists, revolutionists, defende rs of what they believed to be ,,,..--..... decent in the promise of America,and character models f o r ~ Black communities. Tolson•s predecessor#$ fought for the right to bef called humans; ii; he fought the battle of integration. As Tolson lay dying, other,younger poets ~ were fi. ghting the battle of self-determination-- albeit using the same tools employed by poets and intellectuals of the past two centuries. So, it is indeed ironi~~en Ji -- young writer like Haki R. MadhubutitDon L. Lee) complains that Tolson is not acces s ible to . . the everyday readerAsee review of Kaleidoscope : ~egro Digest, XVII, 3 BJ1ua"J; 1968);-51-52, 90-94J• ~Joy Flasch points out in Melvin B. Tolson (1972}{Tl 1son was aware that he was not writing for the "average 11 reader but for the "vertical" audience. In "omega" of Harlem L:i-allery, Tolson asks if a serious writer should "skim the millt of culture" and give th~se demanding immediacy and relevancy a popular latex brand? �3 =tij; J ?* ~ gU::c Tolson did not live, as did Hayqen, ::>terling Brown, Saunders rtedding, and others, to make contact withp ayo•eoJJ ta@¥@ bell oponents o~~,._ the "Black Aesthetic'• of the 1960s. But~ have continued to rake him over the coals of responsibility. oet Sarah Webster ~•abio(~egro Digest, XVI, 2--December, 1966--54-58), challenged Karl Shapiro's statement (Introduction to Harlem Gallery) that '±' olson "writes in .Negro." His poetic language is "most certainly not she averf 1 _, NegroJ, .,.., 1" noting that it is "a bizarre, pseudo-literary diction" taken from stilted h aditllBB!lt "American mainstream" poetry "where it rightf)lllllf and wrongmindedly belonged." ,el!5i> ite critics and writers joi ning --..!nglis~ in the MIIA assault• on Tolson included Laurence Lieberman anaifl'""aii Bremen( of the .l:ieritage ;:)eriesriab I l ll9'iAS "' ] I asti~J Lieberman takes e&ception to Shapiro's statement, saying that he teachesJ Black students from all over the world--) who are steeped in Black languag~ who do not understand Tolson J review of Harlem Gallery in 1965,,~, ~ ~~ p ~ of decades, Tolson became ntore difficult as he made adjustments i ~ • to fit h)U1~~'a tiMi::d::::wii. .c ~ c:z:c::•llte:~ oetry. The Pmmd, Yeats, Crane, ~ tevens,~ stara of ~glish poetry;l - e J ~liot, Tolson admired and patterned Y~ough.o~t his poetic life, he maintained an.fl "enormous love for people" -wh i ch was reflected in his everyday work as well as in his poetry. Jlt Rendezvous with America as a title indicates ~olsori.Acommit•emt to love and do battle with America. America has cancer ' and promise and Tolson performed operations while he feasted refle 'jj;;' His title poem, "Rendezvous with America," the Whitman influence and Tolson's awesome worK skills, technical virtuosity and musical ear • .l:ie enumerates ~ the races and types of people He sees how Time unhinged the gates to allow the beginning of Amejica, noting such landmarks as Plymouth .rtocj, �1J Jamestown, ~llis Island, which he juxtaposes with ancient si~es like Sodom, <iomorrah, 0athay, Cipango and .l!,l• Dorado. The "searchers" came to America which ••• the Black Man's country, The rled Man•s, the Yellow Man's, The Brown Man 1 s, the White Man 1 s. America flows, Tolsontbelieves as An international river with a legion of tributaries! A magnificent cosmorama with myriad patters of colors! A giant forest with loin-roots in a hundred lands I A cosmopolitan orchestra with a thousand instruments playing America I three 3 1s--"biology, psychology ••• sociology," or the sycmronizing of sight • His major themes Qiistory, Black presence in the world, re- ligion, hatred for class structures, and the plight of the underdo~ are handled in av riety of forms: sonnets, rhymed quatrains, ballads, free verse forms, Npecial two-syllable lines. Kno'Wil as the iconoc a lst, Tolson .lirlia••■•fitfitilinm.1 used h is poetry to de-stool pomposity and fiP!. J rnffiiiirt-.-, who J IM @:j q7 everyman's su~terings from behind a cloak of high office. Music and art inform much of"- poetry--anobher reason why his allusory writing has been criticized--as in "¼lendezvous" and 11 .lJark Symphony", the most popular poem in his first book. In "Rendezvous," in addition to his musical structures, he lists America's melodies' by associating factor ·s, express trains, power dams, river boats, coal mines,and lumber camps with musical terminology: "allegro, 11 "blues rhapsody," "bass crescendo," �3i}, ndiatonic picks," and "belting harmonics." "lJark Symphony", imrnidiately musical and racial in its title, is separated into parts along musical lines and terminology: Part I: Allegro Moderato; Par II, Lento Grave; Part III, Andante Sostenuto-fr7a~t IV, Tempe Primo; "-Part V, Larghetto~ patterned after the -•-r• "~ndezvous" and ":Dark Symphony" are Tolson would expand on re 01gru1ize'"' Ml!& in 1lilll Libretto and Harlem Gallery). "Dark Symphony" carries the same theme as "Rendezvous"--people pitted against their injustices--but the latter poem is more racial in flavor and subject matter. ' Located, temporally and spritually, betweem the concerns of Whitman(the "sweep") and John Steinbeck(arpPes of Wrath), 11 JJark Symphony" ppens by reminding Americ~that "Black Crispus Attucks 11 died for them(Boston Uommons) Patrick Henry's bugge breath asked for liberty over death. A strongly masculine poem(as is so much of Tolson~s work), .._ it movesr".,: "robustly to recite the deeds of "Men black and strong." Part II tells of the ••-m "slaves singing" in the "to»ture tombs" of ships in the middle passage,•lillllliil. the swamps, the ttcabins of death," and "canebrakes. 11 In the remaining ~ parts, the Black Amercian, speaking through the collective "we," vows not to II forget" lilllii~ "Golgothax" has been tread or that "The Bill of Bights is burned. 11 The New .Negro wears "seven-league" boots and springs from a tradition that produced Nat Turner, Joseph Cinquez, "Black Moses of the Amistad Mutiny"), Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman( "Saint Bernard of the Underground Railroad.i:"). Grapes of Wrath and Native ~on are invoked as indices to the suffering and the breding of slums. And, finallY#,, the historical concerns ofthe Black poet: .,>Out of ab¥sses of Illiteracy, Through labyrinths of ~ies, Across waste lands of Disease ••• We advance! �35 Brilliant, esoteric, complex, innovative, and able to span the world of Black 0 diom and academic intellectualism, Tolson always punctuates his undaunted lyric ·sm with ribald humor and thigh-alapping:a uproa ousnessx. 'J ?olson 11 reman desparagingly referre~sturing forawhi te audience ••• with an iml-conceived grin and a wicked sense of humar ••• an entertaining ~ darky using almost con4i:cally bmg v0rds as the best wasp,tradtion demands \,,;...,I of its educated house-niggers. 11 (Maybe, one might ask, Tolson W8/l!I too ~ " for the Bnglis( breme Nevertheless, the poets of the ~ academy apparently loved Tolson and more than one of them tried to get J:ltiiili; deserved recognition before Carlos saluted Tolson in his fourth book of Patterson; A1len he died. Willi Tate wrote a now famous int~duction to Libretto; Shapiro introduced Harlem brought Gallery, launching Tolson into the same curious fame that Howells rrt 1 3 81d J ~tanJe:J 8a to Dunbar lillllii8ili 70 years before; Robert Frest,~dgar Hyman, ~elden Rodman, John Ciardi, and Theodore Roethke, all tried to "bring Tolson to the general literary consciousness, but with little success"(Shapiro}. Libretto or ~ fl ta· z P .Tolson 1 s severest critics usually jhave Rendezxvous has been out of print for several years and many of the younger Black poets and scholars have not read i t--as is the case with Sterling Brown's Southern Road(l932} which has just been reprinted. anj casual look a But, coking a olson 1 s work · will confirm reports that he is not digestible in a single reading. ~en before the erudition of Libretto and Harlem Gallery, Tolaon accustomed himself to the allusion. weapon is the literary Indeed, his strongeet or historical reference - -the mark of the library poet, the learned person. In "An Ex-Judge at the Bar" Tolson is at his finest~,"f,? phil<is6p~, :;(,1o Po!!••oi. 1;e hwnor, allusion, ~ twabise and social commentary. • i.. ,_!;he juxtaposi._... ex-judge is at a "drink- �L,Q 36 ing" bar.';jic in oral powers, like most of Tolson's poetry, surveys the history of a . returning home to ~ 1111t ~ who, after q JI tS@Rl serving in the war and ,,-:-.,. become a judge, i s • guilt-ridden in a tavern where r-.. he discusses his life with the bartend:f_r• The opening couplet: Bartender, make it straight and make it two-p One for the you in me and ~ the me in you. • •• reflects the Black Arnerican•s dexterousness with oral language and Tolson 1 s rich background a s ' storyteller and debat e coach. The couplet contains the kind of musical, seemingly non-sensical statement that Black men love to exehange during fierce ver~;rr.ang rnatches--even though the judge is prej· ably white. ~,e-1-liiiitlee-~udge re-lives his war experiences and, in a vision, sees the "Goddess Justice" whom someone "blindfolds II as the lawyers lie and railroad defendants before Hu 'ti • jl!l!&f!o• ,-....._ But Justice "unbandaged 11 her,_ eyes and a Black man judge's seat," in the last war to "make the world safe for Democracy." seeking consolation and implying that no...,..one is perfect~ inally moved•--• self-evaluation, orders/'anoilher round of drinks: repents and Bartender, make it straight and make it three-One for the ~egro ••• one for yol.1% and me. "An Ex-Judge at the Bar--•--with its ironies and double entendres in the vary title--is a poem that slips away from the reader. One ~hinks, ne is never sure, that one has the meaning under control. refers to Ceasa•, Pontius Pilate, the Koran, the Sahara, 11 September Morn"(a painting by Paul m ~ e Flanders field and · ~renc or a ideai Macduff in ~hakeaspeare's play Macbeth. Certainly these are not t!ie,tt~ediants for a poem dir~cted to Chabos) ~11!11111:.,- �37 the 11 people." On the other hand, for the :ireader ready .._ do battle with history and world knowledge, Tolson proves quite rewarding. Dudley Randall( "The Black Aesthetic in Thirties, li'orties,and Fitties"--Modern Black Poets)states, with a strained air of s eriousnes / that: "If the reader has a well-stored mind, or is willing to use dictiona ries, encylopedias, atlases, and other ~ referencex books, 11 llll Tolson' s work "should present no great dif f iculty. 11 Randall had in mind, specifically, Libretto, a ppeared in Poetry along with the book's pre face. In this long poem-const1meted loosely around the ode form--Tolson celebrates Liberia's centennialtaillll2Jli~~.;...~~119'1!!1!'!1!~~t,tr~~~~ . t, . :,.~~~~,:;:m:cm=:;;a..~~~...,.~Dli:.,c~n Accordin5 to Randall, "Tolson used all the devices dear to the New Criticism: recondite allusions, scraps of foreign languages, african proverbs, symbo}.ism, objective correlatives. Many parts of the poem are through some private symbolism of the author, buy obscure, not because of the unusual words, foreign phrases, and learned allusions." Randall goes on to point out that Heading Libretto is like reading other 11 learned poets, such as Milton and T.S. Cit& Eliot." g However, rea Tolson is not exactly like reading other ....,.{:J:;tf.,:'e poets, for hi places Black infor11&tion in fron~: the reader. \d nethe ode into a musical struc t ure and celebrate~ack past. 0 0 btinuing a patter set in poems like "rtendezvous w.. th America" and ".JJark Symphony~ Tolson separates Libretto along lines oft he Western musical scale: Do , Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La,~i, Do. ~pecifically, Libretto acknowledges the 160th birthday of Liberia, founded in ~1847 by the American ~olonization Society 1ia for free men of color. "tlooted in the Liberian mentality as fact and symbol, 11 Libretto travec:t'es the kaleidoscopic range of African • history: the magnificent anc~t and _Medieval t· li(R &K kingdoms, European exploitation, ea.son for v a rious theories as tote question-mark-shape of Africa, the origins of Black stereopypes, Africa's contributions to the world, the impact of Christia.nit �38 , Islam and other religions. All this Tolson does with what Allen Tate calls •~eat gift of language, a profound~torical sense, a •first~ u e l and Gross(Uark rate intelligence." Tate also pondered, as Symphonyj, 1968), "what influence this work will have upon Negro poetry More than slightly reca in the United ..,tates . " o e in his 8Riiii¥ar tr of end Dunbar'9, ·J."ate ....-. says 11 For t.t,?:e first time, itf. seems to me, a .Negro poet has ass5.uilated comp letely the full poetic language of his time and,by implication, the language of the Anglo-Ami e rican tradition.rr M& t g Relentless~posing the one-word question "Liberia? 11 and re- existence in"fact and inforcing the ..-._ erudition an Libretto with The fifth stanza of Do, after rl J a ;r opens az•r•·•••• the recitation of what the nation is initial "Lib eria?" and accompanying w, addresses its citizens thusly: You are Black Lazarus risen from the White Man's grave, Without a road to Downing Street, Without a hemidemisemiquaver in an Oxford ~tave I Later in the S$.In.e section, Tolson excerpts a chant from "'l 'he U-ood Gray Bard of Timbuktu" : "Wanl;awake wanazaa ovyol .lia.zi Yenu Wanzun&!,I" 7 Ro be~ Hayden ha• been f.J.hJ ♦ (P\J (j .Q'iiAililiittiin e,,Eil\ the a. most skilled Bl::ae}E poebi&. crafts~n since Countee Gullen; but Tolson without a doubt has, f •■• sustained the most powerful poetry which adheras rigorously to the teneils of - moder~ .. His Libretto is the drama of "The Desert Fox" and the U-erman "goosestep 11 across Africa{xm£ Mi); of the snake, "eyeless, yet with eyes"(Fa); of "White Pilgrims" and "Black Pilgrims 11 who sing "o Christ" that the worse will "passt"(Sol); of "Leopard, elephant, ape 11 and 11 A white man spined with dreams"(La):t}. of a "Calendar of the Country" to "i'ed-letter the Rep ublic 1 s birth!" (Ti); and of "a professor of metaphysico- �39 theologicocosmonigology" who is also a tooth puller a pataphysicist in a cloaca of error a belly's wolf a skull 1 s tabernacle a ffl3 with stars a muses 1 darling a busie bee de sac et de corde a neighbor's bed-shaker a walking hospital on the walk) The symbols, the syntax, the grammar and the language tumble on placing Quai d 1 0rsay, White House, Kremlin, 1Jowning .:it re et• ••• in the catalogue while Again black Aethiop reaches at the sun, O &ree~.(Ti) The history of world wars, the gossip in high circles("Il Duce 1 s Whore"), the concontion of enumerable languages and book-buried erudition reveal Tolson 1 as a complex and difficult modern poet. The tragedy, rlandall and others have pointed out, is that as Tolson wrote Libretto and Harlem Galler:y:, white scions of the modern verse were turning their backs on erudition a more common, everyday language in poetry. Trapned in the middl~(he ~ Harlem Gallery for ~ Tolson continued to labor in the best tradition of the modern poetry to the disbelief of ~ ~ ZIIG) like Cunnnings,.-.. Hexroth, and Hughes,~nfluenced by Be-Bop and a free I l a n ~ s o n s sustained scholarship and complex allusions are by the addition of scores of footnotes which cite 81111[ the works of such as Br~den, ~ha.jlespeare, .c.merson, Tennyson, Lorenzo Dow Turner(Africanisms in the Gullah Dialects), J. A. RogerstSex and Bace), V. ~'irdousi, Gunnar Myrdal, Aeschylus, Boccacio, Baudelaire, and ~rs ~ Tolson I s care . r~"-"l.l;:.:'"fr"L~~ ..~ ' " 'tMl~~tLt"' • ~::~:r., AI/C;.;,t,11~'.,..., .... hundreds ~ltYm.-a.. ying example of the confusion that -sG·me ~im:dl! tA..-t occurs in the Black literary artist. When he first sent the manuscript �40 of Libretto to Tatetwho whiae 'l'olson was J1~11111111111J--,1sir ;:;;;;,;:;.1, he was note interested in S;a!Qier~~f!wn~th the 11 Fugitive 11 poets at Fisll) Et 11 g J:. ·r ate rejected it saying pro:saganda from a Negro Joet."(Flasch and Randall) Tolson then diligently re-wrote the manuscript to subscribe to the high , technical,_, intellectualF scholarly demands of the modern poets{Tate, John Urowe ~~~ ~ ound, Rober,.t Pe~ren, J\.in 1920, _n a~avidso Z'c and other~;• stumbled upolj. a cop}t of Sandbur 's 11 0hi<l3. go 11 but wa s Tolson h . warned by a professor to "leave that stuff alone" ( lt'lasch). ~ ~s" (Jaturathon : , ; poet, then, was stUJlted--causing him t o , . . . 30 years ~ Jt f i ~ h i s own voice. • .le r~- ~-~·"!..~"~ Harlem Gallery(the first of a p1anned~~••M") provides another In 1932,..._ he compl~ucript in Tolson 1 s ra1 by publishers. \"Jh had puWi13hed two ~ of Harlem \111\f'l..,_ s II ~ ~1lery was Iii · L • finall~~aa;.;66 as turned down 1966, Tolson, r manuscripts: Rendezvous and Libretto. Harlem Gallery 4 aced in Tolson's"tr tt during which he switched from the Romantics and VictQrians{and ~asters after whose Spoon River Anthology "Portatts" JX!CscL mod.~:-:-:~....;..;,.--.-~ the 20 year; period Tolson s~d he "read and absorbed the techniques of ..t:!.liot, Pound, Yeats, Baudelaire, Pasterna~ and, I beli.-.e, all the greail moderns. God only knows how many "little maga') zines" I studied, and how much textual analysi~f the 1iJew Uri tics." ,. A staggering poem, Harlem Gallery "is a work of art, a sociological commentary, an; intellectual triple intellectual, scholarly, and ~er~a~lasch) !~meets dai:i _ ,~ of il)I modern poetry, but at the same time is "impossible to describe." Yet it is Tolson's crowning �41 achivement in more ways than one. First it continues his fascination ,,-........ with Black and general history. Second, it t 1 pursues Tolson I s intense (\ i n t e r e s t ~ psycho-dynamics of the Afrot-American character and a.a:i►-,r:; he is particularly concerned with the pligb.t of the twentieth century Third • , provides one of Black artist,hencex Book I, The Cu.rat~r). the most powerful and authentic links between the Harlem ~enaiasance and the Black Arts Movement of the 19~0s and ~70s. The Very : ,. t i t ~ r l e m Gallery gives it a Bla~k ~ i n~ and the f a c t ~ 1 J . . ~,ij,ceived and initially drafted ~filOPiLsi launm ea mzif:u;i:;1111 Renaissance indicates that Tolson Wllr labored over the years-~rom the stand point of memoq, technique and subject matter) in the after-glow of the literary flowering watered by McKay, Cullen, Toomer, Hughes, Fisher, Johnson,.;and Locke. Fin~lly? \ the characters in Harlem Gallery are Black: the r, Doctor N Guy Delaporte:t{president of Bola Bola ~nterprises), Black Orchid(bluee-singer and mistress to Delaporte), the half-blind Harlem artist John Laugart, ' Black Biamontf(ghetto-promoter of the Lenox policy racket), and Hideho Heights (the light-skinne~ poet of Lenox Avenues). The Curator of the Harlem Gallery is an admixture(continuing ft ~olson concern beg~ in Rendezvous) of races ( 11 Afroirishjewishl"), m octo roon who passes for Black in ~ew York and white in Mississippi. He ms a digestion of the humor a n d • pathos Blacks see in those of their race who attempt to "pass." Tolson noted~ that since thousands of lightskinned Blacks passed over, there is a standing joke a mong Blacks whi/Ah asks "What white man is whiJe? 11 Harlem Gallery, then, is designed to parade the Black " l ~es 11 (ultimately . . eve ryman types) through the gallery of life as it is..-~...- - ~ t h e ~ of the literary geni.us: Tolson. ::,pecifically, the book is a huge answer to Gertrude Steinf's charge that t h e suffers from nothingness. 11 All of his poetic life, Tolson ht pbsli to reconstruct Black history; t2 sh1u ~• 1 peep) e tbet :liiiAo 1'5186k f'.U:!fi1 tag• ,Kare • Now, in Harlem Gall e ry, he was coming with �42 speed and poetic precision from his corner of the syntactical and sem{)itical - ~~~·ing to do battle with Steinis charge. In the lntroduction to Harlem Gallery, Shapiro explains in part the reason Stein would herself be so ignorant. Whites do not get a chance to read about Black achievement since"Poetry as we know it remains the most lily-white oft he arts. 11 Libretto may have pulled lthe rug out from unde r the poetry of the Academy -los:ztme ., , but "Harlem Gallery pillls the house down around their ears. 11 ssaif~~ iot t fl ra.c1d others for "purifying the language, 11 f7) Shapiro peised Tolson forfJ. "complicating it, giving it the iift of tongues." Tolson certainly gave Harlem Gallery the "gift of tongues. from the range world He usesf languages; but· sustained.._ and coherent than in Librettot• and 11 4o\4'll:r-:~ story-line t • language are more accessible in Gallery--with its interpolat~ of rich Black speech and musical terminology into stilted langua e aa UC• academic , and...,_ form. Set up musically, with each section bearing the name of a Greek Alphabet, Gallery shows Tolson again displaying his amazing technical virtuosity related Black merger of the ode form with ~-=••~ orally-derived.• ~ blues, jazz, Spirituals, folk eJdcs and~ oral narratives ( see "~atchmo II in Lambda) or " The Birth of John Henry 11 in XI). The verse pattern in Gallery owns some debt to Do in Libretto with its tapered typography and irregular line organization which either._ forces the reader to speed up or slow down to catch the rhyme. Alpha opens describing ~C(...O.., the spice of Harlem~ · "an Afric pepper bird" before the Curator tells us that I bravel,from ••x•••••• i asis to easis, mants Saharic up-and-down. ~ 1 h e grand sweep and.- intellectual storage of Tolson~thered from line to line, between lines, i the margins, around and throuQ:hout the poem. ~'-'Curator Recallingch the verbal jousting in "An Ex-Judge at the Bar, ..,18-ss sses his �43 "I-nes s, " his "humanness" and his "1/, grone as" a n d ~..- ililllllli-111o mixes with the pepper bird's reveille in my brain, where the plain is twilled and twilled in plain. The academic stilts or the ~ f ~ understanding{Beta): are short:aded one needs the clarity the comma gives the eye, not the head of the hawk .wollen with rye. Like Hayden' s"Middle Passage, 11 &allfery views the FF-■rilt·-••n· physical and spiritual predicament of the Black man: what has he gone through, I ,,t..O how much more can/will he take, how long? how long? The answer~~e::a::ml!fild~ .f that man m~y have to endure suffering forever--b~ to survive. The Curator is ___ §' 11 Ii@► others ..,,.... have suffered and survived. The Afm,o-Ame rican a· Ox and their suffering#. So the "Afroirishjewish Grandpa" of the 8urator tells him that: •Between the dead sea hitherto and the promised land Hence looms the wilderness Now: although ld.B confidence is often a boar bailed up on a ridge, somehow, the Attic salt in man survives the blow of Attila, Croesus, Iscariot, mid the witches Sabbath in the ~atacombs of Bosio. Certiinly this survival theme is close to the heart o f the Afro-American and the artist. Artists are often among the first to plea for c&emency, for ,,,.,,--. free expression, for ae-vtruth. The ~pirituals and the vast body of Black folk expression reaffirm the Afro-American ' s f aith in man an ~ uest for survival. �44 Acknowledgii:ng this aspect of Black expression and strength, Tolson(and Hayden••• ••:;:Jli•••"---•••••~•-1!'.•"Mean mean mean to be free. 11 )in• corporates the rich blast of Black folk materials. In heaven(Lambda), Gabriel announces that 'I'd be the greatest trumpeter in the Universe, if old Satchmo had never been bornl' And the birth of John Henry is an .epic birth--akin to that of Jesus, Buddah, Mohammed, and others. t John ilenr and a hammer of thunder the ea les and ~ ,titReciting a soul-food menu at birth, a John Henry ™: want . j~.QIUe::rfM¥2 hocks, 1_I ,.a a . }}o..t...Qf fiJ?Sac:ffi:§} jolts, > cabbage and green; latter of and beansJ 1 -'atTolso~$ in synchronizing the Afro-"'merican and Westem heritages."J/li.(,, ort is still the literary all,.,ilion juxtaposed with history or religion(as in Libretto); but he loves to a s c e n ~ u n t ~ n of academia and then suddenly drop into the midst of ghetto-~ as going(~ from t thoughts that tilt like "long Napalese .Jeyes" to a "catacomb Harlem flat" grotesquely vivisect::.~\~~j•j·m~croscoped maggots) •••• 61':;t;tie r-:- "Elite Chitterling Shop 11 ~ h e "variegated dinoceras of a jukebox" (singing the "ambivalence of classical blues"). Mean- while, Doctor Obi lftmmo, "the alter ego" of the gallery, speaks '6!> Across an alp of chitterlings, pungent as epigrams, •••• ~~. ~octor @n I ill, sun, the theme of survival and fr ee expl'ession: �45 'The lie of the artist is the only lie for which a mortal or a god shou dBi □ Tolson•s ever-present biology ingredients of mm<•••bioloy, sociology and psychology--extending into the artis s the three S's--sight, sound and sense) recur in the poem(Eta)-.as the seven panels of man's tridemenAiona~ity in variforrns and varicolors-since virtue has no Kelvin scale ... since "mother breeds no twins alike, ••• and since no man who is judged by his biosocial identi~y in toto cab be a Kiefekil or a ta~tufe, an Iscariot or an Iago." I ' Hence Tolson extends, sometimesftamouflou/1,,., his ideas about man's similarities 1111 -. differences. To be sure, he is saying that black men abd white men~ different: but that the ~ifferences are not significant enough to keep them from working togethe r for the mutual good. This particulr stand, which laces the work of Hayden, Tolson, Hughes and early l.l"VBndolyn Brooks, to the i f is not one that ~~ remain popular among poets who subscribe~ Black Aesthetic of the 1960s. Nevertheless Tolson dug underneath the hysteria and the ideological neatness to probe the time-honored questions about man. Psi(a much-anthologized section of Gallery) finds Tolson doing battle with anthropologists, the D.A.R., the F.F.V(First Familes of Vi~ginia), Uncle Tom, 'fhe Jim Crow Sign, the Great White World,and Kant, in an1i.'attempt to answer the question "Whef is a . .? " and "Who is a White?" Tols~w~ains great satire; and great wisdom in satire. To be misled by his incredible and dazzling word play is to miss the essential ~olson who warned the coming �46 }] ~ - · n tha t , although UncqJ~s genera t io ~ 11 dead 11 , they should beware Suspicious o~ fame and wealth and desiring to of his see no man placed over.(in ~~•••••,••s~pril"dge), Tolson remarked after JI.John Laugart 1 s murder, tha t among those things remaining was , ••• infamy, the siamese twin ~~ ~ ~k, 0 fJ::;£L-~ (3o-'(.t.M~4 ) ~'3 /..::::._do not b6w whaf would have been Tolson t s fate as a poet had he come to his o ~ was comfortable style as a young man in the Ha~em Renaissance. ~ I ie fift7• when he sent !a: T a ~ ; n u s ~ o r Libretto, .tt'ifty, of course, is q u i t ~ r a poet to be/('b • ; his craft-- I MHtt or to have his work over-seen by a critic. Nevertheless Tolson, not admitted.f (as Shapiro noted of Black poets),to ~ i t e company of had to get f his voice 11 together 11 a:Mt · J 2 I II available to ci wale• &f "Fugitives 11 attempting Tolson 1 s feat-- centers for modern poetry. Few poetry among Blacks had, in fact, declined in 4lerest during the forties and fifites--and there is much evidence that Tolson generally intimidated other Black scholars and intellectuals with his vast knowledge and great talents. QS] part-time 94 ' Lik~'Y'Poets of other generations, he was ~spendin ap.poe-r: o---1. -lCIDi~students and eohool-relatred workm. Randall has pointed out that unless > influence OJl Afro-American poetry. , ~ ~, (.k,.·g,,-.~ IP' Criticism of Tolson is sparse. Joy Flasch 1 s Melvin B. Tolson,i~ the d interesti g--he will not exert am ·o I )l,. w~ ~e.t.pot. fl": Twayne United States Authros Series, offers good insights into Tolson 1 s techniqu~ l • Barksdale brief criticism in Black Writers of America. article on Black poets of th•e• Randall decades following the Renaissance ttPortrait of the Poet as Rancont eur, 11 is -c Negro Digest, X!l, 3.{janua ry,1966\f54-57). '.J, C Se also "A Poet's Od:is§.e-Y n an interview with Tolson(conducted by M. W. King) . Anger, ano. Beyond'-\l';lbb~. �47 poetry and life provide# a rich and rewarding jolt in the wr~ctivity of this perioctf: was the first ■111•.. ,. For My People(1942) of poetry by a Black woman since Georgia Douglass Johnson's ,_...'jj,.-cili...... twenties,,1-:1fp~d in theme and technique from the prevailing mood of poetry by Black women; and she had the rare opportunity to hobnob, during her most furtile years, with such )i,hicago-ba sed . ~ riters as Richard Wright, Frank Marshall Davis, Fenton Johnson,ALangston Hughes.rn? J! J 1 I l •• Like other writers of the era, her ex- periences included the Depression, World War II and McCarthyism--along with various racial and politically radical perspectives on contemporary life. Margaret Walke r was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of a 1•1ethodist minister father and a school teache r mother, both university graduates. She attended church schools in Mississippi, Alabama)and Louisiana ~ before-tliiplll!!l!IJlilmma•-=•~ receiving her B.A. • from Northwestern University in 1935--and then going on to work the next four years as i"typist, . ,-::,, newspaper reporter, editor of a short-lived magazire,and with the Fedelral Writers' If Project(like Hayden) in Chicago. In 19JA she entered the University of Iowa(after short stints as a social work e r in Chicago and ~ew Orleans) whe re she received an M.A. in 1940, her thesis being a colle••tion of poems. She finally obtained the Ph.D. in creative wr·iting from Iowa in 1965 after submitting Jub i lee, a novel, in lieu of the dissertattmn. Jubilee received the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award in 1966 . • ,h_p~ and ha• been transla t ed into several languages. During the :im&i:i2i4%o L:: k in her work at Iowa Marga r et Walker(Mrs. Firaish James Alexander and the mother of four children) was ,.professor of English at Livingston College in North Caroling, recei-wd the Yale Younger ~oets awa r d in 1942 (For My People), was awarded a Rosenwald Fellowship f9r Cr~ative Writing served as visiting professor a"t' Northwestern University, (1944),~and became a member of the English faculty at lackson State College where she is currently director of the Institute for the Study of History, Life, �(since 1969). Arthur P. Davis says and Culture of Black People that "Miss Walker is a better poet than she a novelist, " and one can hardly quarrel w i t h ~ him. ~ddition to For My People, she has sustained a good quality of poetry in Prophets for a ~ew Day(l970) and October Journay(l973)--both published by Dudley Randall's new Broadside Press in Detroit. Although some of the poems in Prophets for a New Day were begun in the thirties and forties, "most of them, 11 according to the poet, were written during tre sixties. So brief comment will be ~ t h e m in Chapter VI, "For My People," the ~ boo~_p:rr1zzbl5 poem of •l t~:::.,~J !coked a•9 was f i r s t ~ -- in Poetry in 1937 while the poet was living and working in Chiby Owen Do in 1942) that she was winning the Yale Younger Poets Award, Miss Walker recalls that she "had not even sumbitted my manuscript and I just thought he was crazy. 11 Of course, she had won and the dressing included a sensitive· & i('._ Forward by Stephen Vincent .l:3en,t who . . . pr\')sed her ":::itraight- forwardness, directness, reality," and noted that such qualities are "good thing':! to find in a young poet. n Ben~t also observed that: It is rarer to find them combined with a controlled intensity of emotion and a language that, at times, even when it is most modern, has something of the Slrge of biblical poetry. And it is obvious that Miss Walker uses that language because it comes naturally to her and is a part of her interitance. Indeed "inheritance" is the key word orns?atr 1 9 1 I and juices of Margaret ~•alker a I unlo~J~\he fruits p o e t i a ~ H e r own vxperiences, as the daughter of a religious parents, of growing up in the South, of being nurt•red on the oral tradition, of fiaveloping a ca reful and sympathetic ear for the foihk expressions,~ served up a.gai~ through the poet's �49 "honesty, 11 "sincerity," "cando~• and !tremendous technical abilities. Margaret ~ ~ f;.lllPl~ ~ Q,, Walker•s verseA» notAthe oblique, obtruse,~learnedAEgV·:~ sometimes ~ 4 A • / ),. - - i n Hayden and Tolson. And she is quite at the opposite end of the ~ spectrum from the lady-like lyrics of her predefcessors: Anni Spencer, '.::J Gwendolyn ~ennett, Alice Dunbar Nelso, {ii. and others. Indeed her work is startling, as a womans poetry, when measured against the tradition established by Black female poets. She certainly bears some kinship to her furerunne~-sisters--especially ~Frances Harpe'l in t.llllillll!!!!ll~theme and usage--but her langtiago/-"' luz:. line7and narration ~ore .,.J,k'. ...,. to the work of Masters, Lindsay and Sandburg(on the white side) ,,-..... and Fenton Johnson, James Weldon Johnsonl,,..._ 'Cb-lifgJUe Hughes, and Frank Narshall Davis ( on the Black) • ._ Nikki.; During an exchange p with~iovanni (f. Poetic Equation: Conversations Setween Nikki Giovarmi and ~rgaaat Walker•, 1974) Miss Walker AQ&i 11; But to get back to this business of language. In the twenties and thirties, for the first time we had the use of black speech from ,,...., the streets. We were responsibl-e for that particular urban idiom going into the American language. Nikki Giavanni answered with thi ~ e arcement: It was the first time because we were becoming urban. l think one o~e of the things we forget when we start out critiques is that we could not have had a street language earlier. Speech had been plan,- tation and southern and rural • • And as we moved to the cities during the migration period, we developed a fstreet language. "I think that• s an important point, 1' Miss Walker noted, moving on to indebt her~elf and the whole modern Black poe~ folk tradition to Langston tiughes. So~1 ~ at Margaret Walker, the southefrner, gleaned from Blacks C, South(North) the kinds of rich linguistic complements neaded to draw magnifice t port»aits in For My People. 11 sets the tone of the book and establishes the poet i s �50 ,.--.. intellectual, aesthetical, philosophical and historical considerations: and em loyment the acuis ion owledge of her past; the exhortation of her people "'l' ~tru 1 ers Us" ·( out of th.Jr.is blackness we must struggle fortbf, 11 ) ; tl::e celebration, specifically, of the Black folk heritage and language; este:am for her ancestors("Lineage":"Why am I not as they?"); and the embodiment of religious ( especially supernatural )c tr in both its style and its content, 7[ '1ii:ii7' 11 e and spiritual needs. Revealing For My Peoplett is a majestic poem cont.aining the now-famous Whitman sweep of words and ideas • ~~ orderin~he disord~r: For my people everywhere singing their slave songs repeated; their dirges and their ditties and their blues and jubilees, praying therr prayers ~nightly to an unknown god, bending their knees humbly to an unseen power; ••• I Continuiing from this first stanza(note the similarity to Fenton Johnso~As) the poem §p&W views "my people" adding their "strength" to the" years" and the ,now years. 11 It sees them, as it a ~ a the and spiritual history of Blacks, as "plamates" in Alabama "clay and dust~"; as "bl.a. ck and poor and small and different 11 ; as youths who "grew" to "marry their playmates n and "die of consumption.j"; as 11 thronging 47th Street in Chicago and Lenox Avenue in New York and Rampart Street in New Orleans"; as "walking blindly spreading joy"; as "blundering and groping and floundering"; f as II preyed on by facile fo r ce of state and fad and/ novelty, by fal s e prophet and holy believe rni and ttas all the ads.ms and evea." ~ l l y , in the last stanza, she give a «_ringing cry~ ~ m,,f'll ~~ Let a new earth ri s e. Let another world be born• Let a blood~/ peace be written in the sky. Let a second generation/ full of courage issue forth; let a people Ia~ing freo/dom come to growth. Let a beauty full of healing/and a stre~gth of final clenching be the pulsing in(our spirites and our plood. Let the martial s~gs �be/ written, let the dirges disappear. Let a race of men now rise and take control. For My People is a small book{Only 26 poems) but it is one of the most ~ influential by a Black poet. 11 Dark Blood" follows the opening poem, "- reafffirming Margaret Walker's belief in the "forms of things unknown"-- as Wright might put it. "Bizarre beginnings# in old lands II constituted the "making of me. 11 ~ sands, trast 11 " ;-i"' to suns": 3 --••• bscious, succulent imagery unfolds: "sugar fern and pearl," 11 palm jungles, 11 "wooing nights, 11 in con- the "one-room shacks of my ola poverty". But the "blazing I::,r of the poet I s conjured up birthplace will help reconcile the pride and pain in me. Strongly reminiscent of the Renaissance poets• infatuation with Africa, but ending on the realistic note of the poet's localized "poverty 11 , ~ Blood 11 certainly meets with Benet I ~ 1 s ~"reality. "Dark 11 T h e ~ the doubt, the scent of sacrilmge--,dtl found~ from Dunbar forward--~IJl't'1.4-'tV"f''' ~ iF Have f3een Believers": JliMJtils&1~ ••. believing in our burdens and our demigods too long. 1 And now(recalling Dunbar s "Sympathy"), the "fists" of the believers 11 bleed 11 against the bars with a strange insistency. The strength, ,li L begun in the first poem, is carried through "So,uthern Song" and Sorrow Home." With incantation and incremental refrain "Delta" tells of the colledtive "struggle. 11 Strains of ".tielievers " course through "~ince 1619 11 where the poet again re-traces the Black odyssey: f. How long have I been hated and hating? The speake) illon~o see the rich "color" of racism, poverty, ignorance, violence and - 1 "- "brother#• s face," assails laments spiritual deselation. War, poverty, disease and other iei;iii.heirs of ~he Depression are the themes of "Today" which speaks of "ch ildren sc a rred by bombs," "lynching, 11 and "pellagra am silicosis." A di fferimt "stride II of this poet is seen in the second section of �52 11 For My People. 81 Kissie Lee," • "Rall uh Ha.rnrnf "Teacher," 11 f"Molly Means," "Bad-Man Stagolee," "Poppa Chicken," ," "Two-Gun Buster and Trigger Slim," Gu:a,the Lineman," "Long John Nelson and Sweetie Pie," and "John lienry" are fresh treatments of authentic stories Black communities in America. "A hag and a witch," Molly Neans had •n-•••11110••& ~even hw bands and Some say she was born with a veil on her face •••• The incremental refrain,#( 11 0ld Molly, Molly, Molly,"etc) gives dramatic and psychologycal power to the poem as Molly's -work with the "black-hand arts and her evil powers 11 are catalogued. Stagolee, ap uarently "an all-right Till he killed that cop and turned out bad, ¢ssibl had killed 11 mor 1 n one" white man. The "bad nigger" Wid date blade he wore unnerneaf his shirt. ••• isappe . . Stagolee, s ysteriously ) though his "ghost · still 11 stalks the shore of the Mississippi River. . ~Poppa Chicken was a pimp who, in the~radition of Black tr··j#-Black ~ , "got off light" for killing a mal)fJ Bought his pardon in a yearj; ••• ~7-•M~~Black prototype, he had plenty women( "gals for miles around"), .expensive rings and watches, fancy clothes, displayed a coolness l "Treat 1 am rough"} and when he walked the streets I 'l'he Gals cried Lawdy ! Lawd ! Kissie Lee i s ~ a throw back to Hard Hearted li,mn~ld water on a drowning man.I •.:)z "pour trim~ • She could shoot glass doors offa the hinges, ••• Rallph Hammuh recalls ~ Dolemi te, Shine and others. He was so "bad" that ffe killed his Maw The cul~ural folk types ol f~ight •••• ~;:,:.;.,.·~•.--...,.1 much after the fashion of "'Slim" and other characters in Sterling Brown 1 s Southern Road. Margaret Walkeris contribution, �53 community. Margaret Walker places her in Mississipp i wher~ h~/,A~ 1 As a Big Boy type(Vlright/~ . . feasted on "buttermilk and sorghum. 11 ,... ~ others), he assaults the wor1d through pr:j!sical ...,_ proweas.ilt ! e i . . , . ~ vz t I ; s the best cotton picker, stronger than a "team of oxen, • ~~ champion boxer) anchor down a steam bo8ftt }'li th by the~ ' . II II one 11 the A)O • and, A,_taught ,,,r (/N-iJ_ A,,::J ~itches II how to 11 cunij.e r, 11 "-.until a 11 ten-poun 1 hammer" split , appropriately, open. 11 T h e ~ · e p rf.m.ary form of the poems in this section. The third sect!bon of the book contains six sonnetsl, ~, stanzaic pattern and line-stress ~ ~ ons to these pieces. 11 Childhooil 11 recalls that of all t ~n~stilences that invaded the lives of the poor, ~ including the "hatred" that "still held sway" • 11 '>~ • • only bitter land was washed away • Hhdr~s II are to ld that their labors are indi@ified { ~ h· of deep-woman concern ••• feminism?) they grow old~ they will find that their bodies, in this world of turbulence, will give 11 peaee II t ~ "leave them satisfied. 11 re, Ending, rightly it seems, with .'-, "Struggle Staggers Us," For My People reminds Blackf that there is room to "stagger" but none to halt: Struggle between the morning and the night. This . . . marks our years; this settles, too, our plight. There a~e few volumes of poetry published since For be considered as Black--mn My Poeple that can sense of the word. From the red clay of the children•s playgrounds to the teeming treachery of urban fusilages; from the quiet fear to the piercing cry of the hungry; from th to the iconoclastic and the heretic; from the , healthy racial ohauvblb.sm to the good dose of modesty and naivete--it is all here. A wonderful sensitivit and a rich bank of poetry fo~ all times. �the Renaissanet:1/ P A,,1ink to Walke contact witb_»••-•~•-...WiilliN'8P )• Mt Margaret li k e Hughes, Bontemps, Fenton Johnson and Gwendolyn Bennet~, as well as with later ~•:11 Dodson, Hayden, Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret M Burroughs and ,.,z Danner, Margaret €""2 ·~ Tolson • .-. For My People . , i n the end, the rich digestion ~(synthesis) of the main currents of the Renaissance and the aesthetic considerations being debated by Locke, Cullen, Johnson) Brown and Redding. . . Margaret may have .-1:ttu. A'.Jl"W~~,.J the volume ol poetry ~ - many of the olde r writers want#ed to write. Without "unrealistic" about her plight as an Afro-American, being st b lance~ pictures of the she ul rown, avoided even a,. in • Southern Road, Africa-- Hayden> ~ both -<>rilliarif p poised in the wings ~~~ the eagle I _..,."' uired fortunate a. signal from the sj claw. " More critical assessment of Margaret Walker's work is needed. Barksdale and Kinnamon make important comments in their anthology. A Poetic ~quation tGiovaimi and Walker, 1974) is extremely helpful in getting to the grit ot the poet•s ideas. Ther e are seminal comments in Paula Giddings 111fA Shoulder Hunched Against a Sharp Concern••: Some Themes in the Poetry of Margaret Walker," Black World, X.X:.I{December, 1971), 20-25. See also Roger Whitlow• s Black American Literatu r e, James o. Young•s Black ~riters of the Thirties, Blyden Jackson's essay in Black Poetry in America, Donald Gibson's Modern Black Poets, Emmanuel's and Sross•s Dark Symphony, Negro Caravan, Arthur P. Davis's From the Dark Tower, eg. ~ugene Redrnond 1 s "The Black American Epic: Its Roots and Its Writers," Contemporary Black Thought{Chrisman and ,,-- Hare), a.rSte}Dh.en Henderson•s Understanding the ~ew Black Poetry, and Addison Gayle's Black ~xpression and The Black Aesthetic. �Friend of Margaret Walker 1 s,anli the most celebrated Black poet of all times, Gwendolyn Brooks rontinues to make her home in Chicago where presides as she t h e ~ - - - - matriafJ:'ch of the New Black ¥oetry. She joins Tolson, Hayden, ,..--...... ~ ~ Randall, Margaret Walker and others as poets of "transition "--those who helped continue tp.e li terat,,p: light of the Renaissance into and through the Depression, World War II,alli Civil Rights and Black Powerism. Bom the daughter of labofiaass parents in Topeka, Kansas, Gwendolyn Brooks was reared in Chicago where she attended public schools, graduating from hnglewood High.I School in 1934 and Wilson Junior College in 1936. Wilson represented the final step in her formal education and in 1939 she married nry Blakely for whom she had a son and Brooks early(l3) and by the time she w~s in her late teens she had published two mimeographed community Since the early 1940s her poetry has appeared i publications: Poetry, Black World, Common Ground, Saturday heview of Literature, Negro Story, Atlantic flilonthly, and countless others. Miss Brooks jolted the literary and academic circuits when she made several significant shifts in the 1960s--one primary one being a move from tlarper and How to Blac~ Broadside Press--but m about these matters in Chapter Vl. Her fi17st book of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville(l945), won the Nerit Award of Madamoiselle magazine and her second volume, Annie Allen(l949) as well as Po~ir&'s ~unice Tietjens Me~o~ia Wad garnered ror her< oveted Pulitzer ~rize~l~~o ecipient of \19 6) $1000 award from the Academy of Arts and Letters and two fellowships for study(l946 and 1947), Gwendolyn Brooks : s eae, M men,- 'eba--. is so long it would take a special pamphlet to rndt over a dosen honorary doctorate degrees, and ai.. tations She has received r..•••--i,..;ili,Q_ special arts and culturtro uncil.$ been named the best this or the best that(and ilila among the JW:k 100 influential this and the 75 most important that) in �.56 compilations, :art regional) and national acknowledge:gients. ,-:;lllfif She has won the i'Lt +J-exiiliCJiUUTZIDPN• .JI A at Poetry Workshop Award, given by the Midwestern Writers' Conference(three times: 1943-4.5#), the Friends ~ t r .......-Litera ture Award for Poetry(l964), the Thormond Monsen Award for Literature(l964), and in 1969 she announced that she would award two prizes of ~250 each to the best poem and best short story published each •year by a Black writer in Negro Digest(now Black World). Institutions where she hast aught ~ C 0 lwnbia,v-•au 11:lmhurst, and Northeastern, isconsin, and many other public and private schools. For some, in 196e however, her crowning achievement was her selection s Poet Laureate of the state of L11inois(suceeding Carl Sandgurg). ~electe.rl foeJU[J(l963), Other volumes of poetry are The Bean .t!iaters ( 1960), -!hthe J.'J.ec ca( 1968), Riot(l969), Family Pictures(l970), Aloneness{l971) and The World of Gwendolyn Brooks \1971, · 7 LL poetry and prose). Special publicati ons include A Portion of the Field: the ~entennial of the Burial of Lincoln(l9b7) and For Illinois, 1968(1968). The poet has alse written some and much-p · Maud Martha .-C.ove1(1953)J Bronzeville lx>ys and &irls(l956). JWli,,.~r work as an editor has been equally impressive: Broadside Treasury(l971) and Jump Bad: A New Chicago Anthology(l971). re-Black ijpyeroent: He~ oetry is most readily accessible in ~elected Poems which contaias her A three earlier books and a Nvw Poems section. Selected~ Poems shows Gwendolyn Brooks• brooking the stream between the integrationist-plea-bound writers and firm, acrid and adamant voices of the 1960s. 1 Sometimes called the "most careful craftsman since Countee Cullen," she was(and to some extent remains) indebted to the modernist school of Amer ican poetry: Eliot, Pound, Crane, " oyc,(influenced, as she says, by The Dubliners), Stevens, Frost, and Auden. Reading these poets and the Black ones (Dunbar, "a family favorite, 11 oJt ' .......,-z,i, Hughes., ~Johnson, an • / U4 provided her with significant development and significant choices. The results were a bewildering �57 ~---' ~~lML array of technical proficiencies,Ailllt thematic and psychological overlays Usually f 'in her poetry. M::im:Jta~orking with lilhat George Kent calls ip p ropriate "distance," this poet carefully sculpt4.,i ll91l poetic gems from the granite and the cheap rock of urban Black ¾merica ' s experience: tenement housing, .returning unsung war heroes, joblessness, consumption, murder, end poverty, love, man-woman relationships, womanhood and motherhood (especially), nobility of the economically-pressed and deep religious devetion. C0 mmenting on the effect of the distance and what Miss Brooks (Blackness and the Adventure of Western Culture) 1 was able to lUinx perceive and JUI.% achieve with it, KentA3ay~t a she ~ ••• such modernist techniques as irony; unusual conjunctions of words to evoke a complex sense of reality( atin Legs ~rnith rising ~ "in a clear delirium"); SEtUeezing the utmost from an image ••• ; agility with mind-bending figurative language, sensitivity to the music of the phrase, inst4ad of imprisonment in traditional line beats and meter; e&perimentation with the possibilities of free verse and various devices for sudden emphasis and verbal surprise; and authoritative management of tone and wide-ranging lyricism. ~one is struck, in reading, watching, or talking with the poet, dlS by intense, yet relaxed love-afftrr with words. Mer prose is poetic; her manner is poetic. In Report from Part One, her autopiography, she discueeas her life as poet, mother, wife and traveler. There a r e valuable insights into the woman who shifted from "Negro" to "Black'' in 1967. • Report also provides her own explication of at least a dozen poems. About poetry writing she says: is involved in whe writing of poetry--and sometimes, although ®iW¥ing 1.·t 1.·s a magic · process, 1.·t ---~~ f seems go into a bit of a trance, self-caist trance, because you really have to 11 brainwork" seems unable to do it all, t o £ do the whole job. The self-cast trance is possible when you are importantly excited about an idea, or surmise, or emotion. �58 Certainly the ''trance" Jlllali ty is found •-~~wendolyn Brooks_ One has only to compare ~ a poem like "the preacher: ruminates behind the sermon"~ Street in Bronzeville) to "Malcolm X"(In the 1v1ecca) to see the staying power of the q mystic, the seer and yet ~ ...-pj fluence of the poetls ~■ a the entrancer. Bronzeville r ez /~pture. It came in rxtf+s• reading a ~f}:,aant 1945 under the in- and experiment~----~ James Weldon John on had helpfully critiqued her w:>rk and the results, she that she became a precise and critic. The acknowleges, A.1TTO r~urer, more couple in the 11 ki tchnette building 11 are products of involuntary planf:" who smeil I- 11 dry hours and the "yesterday's garbage" in the hall. fifth child has finally emerged from the bathroom We think of lukewarm water, hope to get it. The memorable poems in Bronzeville are "the mother," "the preacher," "of De Witt Williams on his way to 1'incoln Cemetery, 11 BJEiJcil "T~ StJNDAYS -.!,!the baJJao ~chocalate Mab~e OF S.A.T-IN-LEG£ SMITH;A~'mooe,BJ HEHB, It elections from a series of sonnets called GAY CHAPS A'1· THE BAR. The mother recalls abortions: you got that you did not get,..- and pledges her love to th •e is a.l. .!:!:ven though she knew them "faintly" she "loved" them "all. 11 Taken from their ''unfihished reach, the aborted lives "never giggled or planned or cried. 11 Rw.minating "behind the sermon" the preacher--revealing deep')tJ ning levels of concern and psychic distress--wonders how it feels "to be 9od. 11 The 't god of fflo.e world the preacher discusses from the pulpit is perhaps not the god of the "real II world. Consequently "ruminates" on whether anyone will Buy Him a Coca-Cola or a beer, Pooh-pooh His politics, call Him a fool? Being god has to b:. 1.~1rY., ~ i , J a hand to hold." De Witt Williams i~eJ?iPctefi. ,the refrain: the preacher 11 �59 sw_eet "11 Swing low swing low sweetg •• t chariot. f Nothing but a plaing black boy • ..-.- we knowf he may have been anything other than 'e)p1amn. But if he were just "a plain black boy" we will celebrate the places ~ he ,rte f I 1 71 ( r hung out(pool hall, show, dance halls, whiskey s t ores) and was 4zr:iriat knownl47th street, under the ( . "L",)v'M t fo~ De Witt's journey is the Black Americanl\odaessey depicted by MJ B Wright, Baldwin, Claude Brown, and company: Born in Alabama. Bred in Illinois. tie was nothing but a Plain black boy. Satin Legs Smith is another cut off the block of the Black ~xperience. him, Miss Brooks Ill joins a host of Black bards, known and "unknown", who uilili•ilB!i...acknowlecfged the importance and ..l✓.J ~obably like_ inflV~e of folk £ulture.,c 11 i De Witt Williams, ~th comes from~ "heritage of cabbage and pigtails." He is reminiscent of Poppa c.;hicken of whom Margaeet Walker sings. The anal~gy, in the opening lines, is to fa cat wh o is "'I••"- . "!awney, reluctant, royal." Rising in the .moi;:ning Sa tir:1114& S:::Z *•• i 1Ji Legs relives himself of '',shabby days 11 " ~ when he : "sheds" his pajamas.Jdt tie bat~, puts on the best body scents,and goes to a wardrobe that, when listed, sounds like a replay of the whole era of • the ijoot-suiter and the Be-boppefAdiamondJ, pearls, suias of yellow, win' "Sarcastic green," and 11 sebra-striped cobalt,"; wide shoul-der padding, ballooning trousers that taper, hats t h a t ~ umbrellas; and "hysterical tiesffl He is enmeshed in his image and blots out the reminders o f ~ poverty and ugliness. He "hears and does not hear"; "sees and does not see." Loving his music and his lady, he takes his date tc ; tw:m k "Joe#,1 s .ri;ats II affter which he retii.res ( at home) to her body•--i"new brown bread ••• so ft, and absolute. 11 It is a moaai~-=-study complete with the down-hown versus Promised Land theme. �60 ~ The ~egro Hero ( 11 to suggest Do:trie Miller": a WWII Navy c. white meni 8--' cook turned hero) 11had to kick"4'ilfw law into their teeth" before he ~ "save them." Being Black, it was not safe, even in the I"'. think and t~n of battle.when t~e ship was going down, tog come up from the galley and save the white sailors. Instead of jumping overboard and leaving them to their fate, like Shine, this hero invoked their "white-gowned llemocracy" Jd11111:prldrax~ and ~ a t their side despite the statement by a southern whiteman that: Indeed, I•d rather be dead; Indeed, Iid rather be shot in the head Or ridden to waste on the back of a nood Than saved by the drop of a black man•s blood. 11 ~ 1'gro Hero '·f\reflects the Black American doing his duty, believing in Christianity and LJemocracy, to the best of his American self. As a theme, it the idea was loosing ground ai among Black writers; b u t ~ would be some years before resentment of such ''heroics" would be blatantly. a I!! ~ <;Ctsa11i1?: I itJ ; t &rti c 09h4. Experimental " sonnets' ec ~ ,e 1 ai:I; in the final section of Bronzeville In "gay chaps at the bar" -Wili-.;f;i;;m;i=ti=.a-.-m,~!ff!Pe-~ the soldiers• traini~~ref)them-~ ~ ~; To holler do-wn the lions in the air. In "the pro gress" the pltrase is questionable when the soldiers hear the march Of iron feet again. C, The Pulitzer Prize-winning Annie Allen shows Gwendolyn Brooks rustain~ laising her balance between the modernist influences and her own intuitional 9 pJtrasings and interets. Mldlll•llli Some might call it the least Black especia of her volumes since it contains the enigmatic and diffusive "mie Anniad. 11 And while her "children of the poor 11 series re-states the plight of the • �61 "unheroic, 11 she is nev e r t ~ withdrawn than in Bronzeville. continuin Yet the titles of both volumes signal her in erest in, and empathy with, llDl 11 every day people. 11 In ft about women( "the mother, 11 : her fi. rst volume, she had written extensively 11 chocalate mabbie, 11 "the hunchback") and she opens Annie a11en with NOTES FROM THE G:IILDHOOD AND THE GIRLHOOD. Her neat llOrds and stanzas deal with a neat life in "the parenta: people like our marriage. custards. 11 11 Behind a "white Venetian blmnd" sits "Jneas ant -rm••""' M•tliir"Sunday Chicken" is a humorous D¥Q2 comparison 17 isr carni11:or~s who eat human flesh and those who eat _ excavati.ng. chicken. Her fin." 1- o f poetic jewels from.,ai.•n•rwAW between the death of an "old relative, 11 and " the ballad of late Annie", too "proud" to find a maif' good enough to marry. The reader is encouraged _..._, to avoid easy solutions in •tdo not be afraid iai of n ,,.. It is brave to be involved, "' To be not fearful im be unresolved. ondesc An p eople in high stationsiJae bro gh~ lo~Jn "pygmies are pygmies still, v~ /t. S -Hitef\. sometime though percht on Alps. 11 l\ r others JI nthrtsHzjJ,p 11 feel they are better than g and Pity the giants wallowing on the plain. But unbeknowimg to the "THE ANN IAD 11 contains 11 per: cht II indi vi.duals they have 43 11 no alps to reach. 11 seve.n -line stanzas, adapted, so Miss .!:)rooks says, from the Chauc~rian Rhyme Royal. As a mode rn poem, it places the author in the middle oft he mode rnist tradition with other black poets: Hayden,EII& Dodson and Tolson. Any claim that Uwendolyn is totally accessible will have to reconsider wo~ lass, 11 11 11 faradisaical," "thaumat,~gic theopathy," "Peophesying hecatombs, !9lato," "Aeschylus, 11 "Seneca, 11 11 "Hyacinthine devils sing, ' 1 ''Mimnermus," "Pliny" and Dionysus. By the poet I s own admission, 11 THE ANN IAD' ' is 11 11 labored,f a poem thatls very interested in the mysteries and ma gic of technique." ,,..-.._ With Hayden•s lil1lm 11 . The Diver," the poem carries you deeper and deeper �62 into the underbrushes of self and psyche. Annie becomes Anniad, the poet•s way of giving another unheroic character in her work the stature of the heroic--this time the Iliad. When you think of Annie\Anniad) you W ,(,"xa7' .mi•~- Think of sweet and chocalate, ••• . • Gia ,.........__ Hay d en I s ...---d.i ver ._ t"""'I . • and percep t.ions 0111. is again Th e b lurre d imagery ••••g!l&:rJ.:1!!11111•.~1 anticipated in the line What is ever and is not. (Remember ~atin Legs hearing and not hearing, seeing and not seeing~) ~ Full of magic, history, lore, mythology, ~ supernaturalism, "THE ANNIAD" plunges through the II mental and spiritual spheres/~ "cres<lndo- comes," Surrealist and cynical • ..---.., Anniad is Reeded, hungry,Jllllli courted, and won, as she descends and 11 ascends the demi-gloom" of life, of now and then. Just as you were to Think of sweet and chocalate at the beginning oft he poem, you are to Think of almost thoroughly Derelict and dim and done. ~ as the poem closes. And, r;.;;.. l1t:it~all--after ~ all--a dream as Anniad stands Kissing in her kitchenette The minuets of memory. APPENDIX TO THE ANNIAD includes the now-famous invention, "the sonnetballad," in title and in type. The traditionfsonnet is enlivened--given a ballad stance and temperament; the young woman whose soldier-boyfriend is dead wonders what she can use "an empty heart-cup for." The achievement of Annie Allen, however, is THE WOMANHOOD and especially the five sonnets on "the children of the poor. 11 Childless people "can be hard" since they will not, like those with children, Hesitate in the hurricane to guard. I In-~- I ~ .,,, a mother asks what she can give to poor children. The fourth �63 sonnet, seeking perhaps to resolve the surreal dream, advises the poor to 'First fight. Then fiddle. 11 There is nothing wrong with rising "blood'Yj" For having first to civilize a space Wherein to play your violin with grace. It is the same• unmuted~ caii(I'enaered by Margaret .lker in the fi}lnal I"""") .... stanza of 11 -- ·or My People. 11 Beverly Hills, Chicagof" takes an interesting 1 .1. look, through Black and poor eyes, at the pe ople who "live till they have white hair." To 8ay Bev erly Hil ~ anywhere is to evolte images of splendor and richness, of glitter and high life. The denizens of Chicago's Beverly Hills "walk their golden gardens" as the poor sight-seers drive through the neighborhood. Here the "ripeness rote II though "not . raggedly. 11 Decadence is neat, says the poet: ••• fNot that anybody is saying thav these people have no trouble. Mvrely that it is trouble with a gold-flecked beautiful banner. The poem's theme is one that is dear to Blacks in their daily comrersations: that whites, especially rich whites, do not really live; that they are mannikins, freaks for the well-landsc aped~; that they are inhibited and not free in their expressions. These people, the poet reminds us, also "cease to be"~m~ ) Thei» passings are even more painful than ours. ~ y often live corpses, 11 ~ as it wer "till 1 11 their hair is white." The1J.also make "exccellent among the expensive flo wers. 11 Nevertheless the poor sight-seers have been changed, noticeably, b~ what they have seen, and the C change is noted in "little gruff" tone of their voices as they "drive on." The Bean ~aters finds the poet leaping back into the transitional breach where she does battle She gathers of II with probelms and enemies of the unheroic. ui the pride, passion, despair, disillusionment, joy and anguish ,, bean eaters and related gourmets. The book opens with an elegy to her �to her f a ther l "Ill HONOR OF DAVID ANDERSON BROOKS, MY FATHEfl 11 ) and, - . ~. ~ 1 reflecting debts to Margaret, Hugh.es,& J lb~l.e:ck musi~the Beat tumultuous spectrum of Movement,moves through ~vignettes and perceptions!8111E1i. "MY LLrTLE COOL, 11 BOUT*TOWN GAL," 11 i MEN, RIDING HORSES," "WE REAL S'.UB6 "A BIDNZEVILLE MOTHER LOITERS IN MISSISSIPPI. MEANWH ILE, A MISSISSIPPI MOTtlERN BURNS BACON., OF EMMETT TILL, 11 11 "THE LAST QUATRAIN OF THE BALLAD "THE CHICAGO DEFENDER SENDS A MAN TO LITTLE ROClt, saga "THE CRAZY WOMAN," and the powerful < 11 11 Tlfis BALLAD OF ) RUDOLPH RESD. 11 The death of David Henderson Brooks has left • A dryness ,'-;P.on the house •••• 'JJ11t,A.beence o f ~ man, who ''loved and tended, 11 gives the poet pause, makes her recall h ~ r i v a t e charity" of the old time religion into "public love. 11 The narrator• s 111 bout-to-wn gal II gallavants with "powder and blue dye" while he waits with the moon. Watching the western movies, the speaker in 11 RIDITNG" (not reminiscent of Brown I s poem) ~TRONG MEN, realizes that the westerns are products of hollywooa, that the strong men are 11 saddlep.~" Meanwhile the sp e a er s to deal · th real life-~~ .)Mfr It ~ 4 - l , v-,J ~ -r. ~ .. the fears, the dark, and s 'not brave at al 1. "k_ating beansf "mostly,f' 1'00 ~ the "old yellow pair" in 11 "TH£ BE1\N E~ putter around their apartment~ recalling their lives "with twinkling s and twinges." D e s ~ t h e r kind COOL" in which the poet comes to the dramatis persona of "WE REAL i.l.!Pf g ,a employs a Hughesian jazz pattern -----:') jagge d rhythms reminiscent of Beat poetry,.-.it Babs Gonzales and King Pleasure ~ ecit ~f the "live fast,Jdie youngn pattern of many uban Black youths: We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straigp.t. We ~ �Sing sin. we We Thin gin. Jazz June. We Die s:> on. The longest poem i n , The ~ean ~aters( 1'9RONZEVILLE MOTHER LOIT~~~ I N MISSISSI PPI• MEANWHILE, A MISSISSIPPI MOTHERN BURNS BACON. ~ 11 ) .. is a ') ,I\. of jounalism, day-drearniW, farry-tale history,and racial horror. lynched 1 The mother of slain 14-ye a r old ~ e t t 'l ill( n 1955 in Mississippi after allegedly making "passes" at a i..ihite housewife) toys over the rethe same time white mains of her son and her D111144~ dalpflge fai t , "mother" ( victim) . , ~ recollect!~ childhood a-.-a.t~ "Dark Villain 11 by the "Fine Prine __, pa.rauing the "milk-white maid" 1'dC- e,j. The white €escued 8P dares to doubt the need to l y n c ~ t t as she c.a:';i;;i,-~~~i...a.l..OiilciiJl!lil:r.i: sexually assaulted by ".!;ark Villiam. 11 The poems includes news reports of the crim S1IJd- the lynching ) as well as accounts of the trail and the "acquittal. mm I 11 In "THE LAST QU ATRAIN OF THE BALLAD OF EMMETT TI, LL!f .l.!Jrnmett Is mother "kisses her killed boy" while sitting in 11 a red room '' and "drinking ~ black coffee. n Unable to describe :aim the lynched boy 1 s mother• s grief, the poet gathers up e;, iii I Hp'Pli' -es e ~ I the blurring pain Chaos in windy grays through a red prairie. ,.-.... Again combing journalism, history and mythology with the ii: "contemporary fact, 11 Gwendo lyn Brooks portrays one of the high points of the Ci vi 1 Rights era in "THE CHICAGO DEFENDER SENDS A MAN TO LI'l'TLE RO CK." (rf ,1) People in Little Rock, the poet tells us in the opening lines, have babies, othe .,...--..._ etches comb their hair, and read the p apers l i ~ e r i c a n s . ~ She thenAkl!l"n!I~~ ~ontradiettbons and ironies in the "Soft women softlyrt who "are hurling spittle,rock." These "bright madonnas, 11 like those with "eyes of steely blue" �66 in McKay•s 11 The Lynching," become "a coiling ......--..... storm a-writhe. 11 The last line of the poem, The loveliest lynchess was our Lord. ✓ . has since been repudiated by Miss Brooks who feels that the great traged$ 1iJ" slavery a nd continuing dehumanizing of Blacks/ makes for more important • and urge t "news II than the J/r. tp;.__)IW\ ~ a•lffln...!lllfl cruci fi.xion of a white cJ esus. A~, A woman who refuses to sing in May because she feels A May song should be gay. is admonished., after she choses to si. ng a '' gray" song in November• 11 call her in ThAJffilll bi% u1:,tot11022 F 'fhe Crazy Woman.~' One o f the more well known poems Bean Eaters is "THE BALLAD OF RUDOLPH REED" who, along with his w ~ "two good girls 11 ,was 'f~DiJ.l:,t 1baken." Reed,, se eking the ~4 Rudolph Promised Land in the north and riding on the crest of the new push for integration, buys a h ome in a ~ i t e neighborhoqd because he wants to avoid falling plaster a nd the p-oaches · Fa lling like fat rain. inter not quite right for >tffi ~ housing ~ when thex moved in: a rocks and the Reed family experi 1:. nC6'j\ Jt vlholence)tAi firob ni~1' fit +lbc ft&t:1!8i But the times Jig riX?ilWlu are thrown through their windows the first two nights. The repetition and incrementation are almost ironic in the ballad as Reed, filled with grief ~nd anger when one o f his daughters iB finally hit with a rock, goes ••• to the door with a thirty-four and a beastly butcher knife. m#e attacks four white men before he is finallyLI: slain and kicked by neighbora who callf mim "Nigger. 11 ~ an unpleas~t story; but as a chronicle of the themes and consciousness of a poet, it places Uwmidolyn Brooks on t h e t h reshhold of the new militancy, some of which is unveiled in the New Poems section of Selected Poems. Poems like "RIDERS TO THE BLOOD-RED WaitATH" and "LANGSTON HUGHES" show her concerned with struggle and the �spiralling fury of social unrest. At the same time, she salutes a white poet, as in "OF ROBERT FROST",and conttinues her practic e of mining the unheroic for poetry in a section of variegated stylistic efforts like A CATCH OF SHY FISH• The 11 ftider" (perhaps a parS.dy, of the purple sage riders) lurch into the breach of human struggle and social chaos. They are t he freedom riders--seeking what is "reliably right"-conducting sit-ins, wade-ins, lie-ins, sing~ns, pray-ins and voter registration drives. Stokely Carmichael has called them "shock troops 11 of the current "revolution." One states: My scree.ml unedi t ed, unfrivolous. My laboring unlatched braid of heat and fro • I hurt. I keep that scream at what pain: At what repeal of salvage and eclipse. Army unhonored, meriting the gold, I Have sewn my guns inside my burning lips. And* he goes on to ••• remember kings. A blossoming palace. ~ilver. Ivory. The conventional wealth of stalking Africa. This rider recalls his p a st, projects his f'unure, and surveys the state of the world, from China to Israel. He is going to make the KX asked by Margaret: Democracy and Christianity Recommence. with me. And I ride ride I ride on to the end-Where glowers my continuing Calvary. With his "fellows, 11 he intends to see the battle through, To fail, to flourish, to wither or to win. We lurch, distribute, we extend, begin. u 11 bloody peace" �68 Yet, "TO BE IN LOVE" is also to extend and " fall 11 along a golden column Into the commonest ash. Diverse, explicit and splendid, the poems in thi s section achieve balance as Miss Brooks salutes two senior bards--Frost and Hughes. l<'rost has Iron at the mouth. And 1.n lm1 : llilut With a place to stand. ~)AJ r110w, much more than 'W' immediiate physical space, but ~ ~ a permanent position on the world• s poetry totem. As "merry glory," Hughes Yet grips his ri ght of twisting free. His "long reach" encompa~s ,,-... II peach, 11 11 fears, 11 "tears" and"sudden death." Hughes 1 s job is not :t done, A..a s a "headlight" he must press on, Till the air is cured of its fever. AtlliG=:G~poet returns to her garden~ on-heroes in poems about garbage men, the sick, ojld people, st e ra women, and 11 Big .bessi!" who 11 throWB heEr son into the street." Sculpture, precision, explicitness and terseness are key words too reQ t,_he poetry of member when approaching~ wendolyn brooks. Not primarily of the academy, but often sharing some of its virtues and f aults, she has been free to deal primairly with pictures swirling a~ound her during bhildhood and adulthood in Chicago. Sometimes her po e try about night life and the Bouth carries a forced feeling,pince these are not things she is in intimate contact with, but she is alway:s skillful and economic. Her world has not been "wide" in the way that Tolson and Hayden h ave been "wide." But it has been deep and multi-laye red, complex and womanly, tra gic and profound. ,,,...... Her poetry has not, at this writing,• inspired a book-lengbh study but she - has been the subject of much critical mtm~xrri treatment. Selected studies . will be l isted here since bibliographies are widely available. For example, CLA Journal, XVII(Septl!IITlba:' 19~3),{~~SSi\ltiesHn Brooks, Hayden and Baraka), lists a 12-page bibliography. She is represented in �every anthology of Afro-American poetry, beginning with IGlll!illllll,llll"Poetry of the Negro{l949 ed.) and in many general American anthologies of poetry and literature. Helpful are George ~ent's "The Poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks 11 (Black and the Adventure of Western Cultu r e, 1972); the critical entries in Black Writers of America(Barksdale and Kinnamon); Arthur P. Davis 1 s From the Dark Tower; Blyden Jackson 1 s essay in B~aak Poetry ,.._____ in America(l974); essays in Donald Gibson's Modern Black Poets; Report from Part One, Gwendolyn Brooks 1 aut~biographyll972); and numerous other sources to which the r eader will be referred by checking any of the above items. �70 Owen Dodson's first volume of poetry, 8owerful Long Ladder(1946), fl. j I was one of the casualties of the dis-interest in Black poetry during~f~ta-~~~ --~war ye a rs. The Goo k did not go enti r ely unnoticed, however, for Time magazine described it .B. ot :ib I .km as standing "peer to Frost and Sandburg and other white American poets who are constantly recited in our schools. 11 Powerful Long Ladder O the midst of Dodson's suceessful} career as dramatist and te a cher. ½ His interest in writing if« youth in ~.brooklyn, .New York, whe re he and drama began in his was born and attended public schools. He went to .bates College, obt aining a B.A., and Yale ,..zhere he was awarded the M.A in drama. While a student at Yale two of his plays--Divine Comedy and Garden of Time--were produced. ~ince those years Dodson's work~ drama and writing has been prodigous. He ,-.. taught A drama at ~pelman College in Atlantaf; was I' tJt commissioned to write a play on.-the Amistad mutiny for Talladega vollege,~..-e. directed summer theatre at Hamp¥ton Institute, the Theatre Lobby Washington, and at Lincollj. UniversitYf• Dodson finally settled at Howard University as drama instructor, later becomi~g head of the department and remaining there until ~;u1 retiri'mi'N:~ in>1969. In 1949, he took the rtoward University E1ayers on a successful ~tate ~epartment-sponsored tour of Scandanavia and uerrnany. His novel, Boy at the Window, was publi shed in 19.50, and his short story, "The Summer lt'ire, 11 won a Paris Review p ~ appeared in the Best ~hort ~tories from that publication. He receiV:ed many other awards and forms of recoga General nition; ~·-•a111F111ii~rlosenwald fellowship Education Board fellowship ~ I a uuggenheim grant # travel in Italy(l9.53)•~ Maxwell Anderson Prize for • ,u I ~- to study and verse play. He alro wrote the libretto for Mark(f Fax 1 s opera, A ChristmaJI Miracle, and collaborated with Fax on the Howard Centenary op e ra. He has completed a numbar of manuscripts in poetry and prose which have never been published. One of his most re~ ~ ~tl::llllll!li9'1S 1~was The Dream Awake\1969), a cultural history of Black Americans, �71 released by ~poken Arts, and consisting of color films, records, textbooks, illustrations, and other mat e rials and interest. In 1970, his second which show the range of Dodson's talents VO 11:J verse~, f The Confession Stone: Song Cycles, ~as published ~a;:t"•••~the poems were written before 1960. About his work as a poet, Dd.dson reports with some dispirit in Interview with Black Writers(OtBrien): I have written three books of poetry. The first was-nt gg JI vPuld say--somewhat propaganda, but the third was filled with •••·-•stories, diaries, and remembrances of Jesue. They are really framed st · ■ in diaries by Mary, Martha, Joseph, Judas, Jesus, even God. This, I believe, is my most dedicated work•••• I have written and fought somehow in my writing, but I know now that the courage and forthrightness of writers anioets will change something a little in our di~apidation. That 11 first 11 wolume is obv:i,ously Powerful Long Ladder; Dodson does not have to depreciatea "rose?& for urjtii::a@ i:t;~ since it will hold him in r-. good stead as a poet. There is not one poe_fm in the book which cannot not be aesthetically or stylistically called• "poetry." And this is not a claim that many poets can make. Dodson 1 s influences can certainly bet traced to the American modernists. ¾d there is no doubt that, in his recurring despair, he shares sentiments with ~liot, Pound, Auden and Yeats. Yet, in his lilt and his language, he also pays his debts to Hughes, Dunbar, Cullen(whom he eulogizes), James eldon Johnson and the whole web of Black folk and spiritual life. Dodson•s note of despair, which pervades the book, is sounded in the opening poem\ "Lament 11 ) where the lynched boy is addressed: Wake up, boy, and tell me how you died: .,.--. What sense watJ alert last, ••• �(2 Belying heavily on his experiences and interests in drama, Dodson section he gives detai~ that recall other • In an poems on the theme: drank itself. one night, the Mississi the bridge from which xou hung th~ arms 1!.P, folded into mud like an old obscene accordion, the crowd_ dispersed one by_ ..on.e •••• The invisible Black viewer of the ~ynching , going beyond the actual act to the nature of death itself, gets curious about the last moments, and questions · the dead boy: ~ell me what r o you took, What hour in the day is luckiest? The narrator wants a sign( "the acrostic, the croms, the crown or the fire"), something to make his own way easier, bearable: • O, wake up, wake! ~everal strains of Black and modern poetry ID can be seen in Dodaen 1 s idiom. In "Lrui tar II he · rk, not the least among them reminds us of ~terling Brownf. has a "lonesome" wail and cannot "hold its own" against the Georgia hound. And the guitarist-singe:tr Ain 1 t had nobody :di\ To call me home From the electric cities Where I roam. An adapatatmon of the blues motif ...--..... in style and theme, it employs incremental �73 and the ambivalent drive-sulk of the blues troubador. somber tone of Dodson• s persists in poems like "i::>orrow is the only ..1;1'aithful One"("I am less, unmagic, black"), 11 "Black Mother Praying" {"black and burnin in these burnin times"}, "The i::>ignifyimg lJarkness," and there are tinges of it even in celebratory poems such as "?earl Primus" and "Poem for Pearl 1 s Dancers." But the grand statement of poetry is always lurking or leadingt 11 .1:'ea:l~ Primus " ): shawl on their backs," and 11 11 the sun is like pistoning her feet in the air." In "~ome- day We 1 re Gonna Tear ifhem Pillars LJown" a woman They ttook ma strong-muscle John and cut hi manhood off •••• The Blacks in "Rag Doll and Summer Birds" sit in their cabin(like "The ,--. Bean ..,;,aters") "waiting for God." The,. fire in the stove gofes out, the 4se,,,,,,. newspapered walls, "telling of crimes 11 curl I up and In the Blackness stars are not enough! Included in Powerful Long Ladder.,...are three verse choruses from Divine C0medy. D0 dson was the first Black dramatist to exploit the meanin~ of the 1''ather Uevine movement in verse drama. When a cult leader is gone, the drama contends, Wh~ people are forced inward to find a re a~cement. Divine Comedy is bizarre, with shifting uncertainties, horror, violence, religious extremism and racial intensity. The 9irst chorus asks ( ,c.,., ·.,....__.,. ,.. .H Cancel us. Let Doomsday come down ~ike the foot of Go A character called 11 on us. 6ne" notes that ~e are clear and confused on many issues: ••• A 11 Girl" I dance without legs. �74- "One II reminds us that War, war will bomb your eyes.- open. In the Star Chorus, .ta "Blind Man" others ~ Don.j,t leave the blind to wander Where the wind is a wall! Uullen, one of Dodson•s heroes, had suggested that Blacks were not made "eternally to weep"("From the Dark ~owera 11 ) and LJodson has a a-c "Young Man 11 say This shall not be forever. .., delicately_., for My Brother Kenneth, DodsonArecalls In the section rother. 'fiie somber tone and weightiness returnt as the poet) address',? his brother, a s ~ for some answer to the 11 11 11 ,, long tanks" that creep" and the "dark body of the ruined dark boy. • There was no repl¥: You gave me a smile and returned to · the grave. ~ In Interviews with Black Writers Dodson/'8fAa!!!!• that Culle did not die from disease but "was pushed into death 11 by "us because we did not recognize the universal (il& ~his Review ~erila) quality of what he wanted to say." ln his eulogy, "Coli::~~~lJ~-:,' Dodson bids farewell toll< his friend who died in 1946, ~ CO'!Kiff-r/ tn/-- • We h ea r all mankind yearning For a new year without hemlock in our glasses. Later in "Drunken Lover" we find that this is "the stagnant hour.'' And • Dodson's interest is seen in 11 Jonathan's Song": Jew is not a race Any longer--but a condition. Finally, Dodson closes the volume appropriately with "Open Letter" wherein he asks~ for tolerance and understanding in a time of war, hatred, domestic violence and racism. In "Jonatha:b. 1 s Song 11 he aligned himself with the ijews �75 being massacred in Germany: I am part of this: ••• "Open Letter II c a lls on the universal brotherhood: Brothers, let us discover our heabss again, ~errnitting the regular strong beat of humanity there To propel the likelihood of other terror to an exit. The war is almost over, he says, :t:u: a -as "planes stab over us." -- The word "hallelujah" can be understood in the langaage of All the mourning children and The torn soul& and broken bodies will be restored when war has ce a sed forever. -J! #Jc. Signaling~6".'brothers, 11 a tone and posture quickly fading from Black , poetry, Dodson challenges them: Brothers, let us ente r tha t portal for good V~hen peace surrounds us like a credible uni vers•. Bury t nat agony, bury this hate, take our black hands in yours. It was the "We Shall Overcome" call that would die in the mid-sixtiesm., though a few(Hayden, Hughes and others) would continu e to walk the r-.. difficult tight-Dope of liJ universal brotherhood. There are fine rhythms and keen perceptions in Dodson's poetry. His technical skill surpasses many Black and white poets who continue to backseat him. H onfession ~tone: ~ongs Cycles, though published in contains work done in the forties and fifties. Dodson has described it as being of Jesus. 11 11 f i lled with stories, diaries, and remembrances It is a strange "cycle,~ which moves among 11 ·r he land of the many written to be sung) are "The Confession ltone, 11 "Mary Passed this Morning,'' "Journals �76 of the Magdelene, 11 "Your -=>ervant: Judas," 1t1''ather, I Know Yoll%•re recast Lonely," "Dear, My Son," f and , 11 C,h My Boy, Jesus." The cyclesi\::... .111ta;=_ ~ , Biblical stories r~osastt v: { ~sus Christ and the crucifixion, updating them by adding contemporary langaage(Black idiom at times) ,,-- technology. In and 311K poem I of "donfession ..>tone, 11 Jesus is quieted with the words shushhh, you need the rest • .ln III Jesus is asked if he knows "Lazarus is back?n In V Jesus•s mother vows to save him from the cold and icy J-erusalem ground: ~et me rock him again in my trembling arms. "Bary Passed this Morni:gg" contains "letters from Joseph to ~rtha." Nl:IDber I is a411U1a poetic tele gram: Martha Mary passed this morning funeral this evening stop Near six oiclock tell the others stop Raising bus fare for you stop signed Joseph It is clear after a while ~n Dodson is reliving the life /'(! f Jesus through Black character'l ~•~the old search ~ for the II Promised Land motif(c.f. Wright, ~llison, Baldwin, Brown). In number2 I of "Journals of the 1"1 agdelenef" Magdelene vows even to "crucify myself" in order to be with him. Amen. Writing a letter to Jesus in number I of "Your .::>ervant: Judas," Judas Bays Dear Jesus ,I killed myself last night. The "cycle" is complet e d opening poem: of the 11 as Dodson ends the small volume with the 0h My Boy: Jesus" and the mother saying, in the manner preacher in Johnson's "l.,;reation 11 : I• 11 rest on my breast~ J �77 Of Dodson's freqently anthfologized peems, "Yardbird 1 s ~kull"(a tribute to saxophone player, ~harles "Yardbird" Park er) is one of the most enduring and poetically powerful. Parker(l920-19S5) ~ isAsaiuted by other poets and writers; Cuney and John A. Williams• ) ~ --... igur in to name just two,. is z 1 wa, a major,i;iiiliiil•IEl!s.illilL the developjazz ment of · , American musicf and rontempor a ry jazz *1 literauu~. In statement and style, "Yardbird 1 ~ r e s the pllychic and :rhythmic layerings and •anderings of 11 Bird 1 s" horn. When "'Che bird" died, Dodson thinks, so did "all the music/" and "whole sunsets" were deprived of this @neat musician·s voice. A skull become11 ~s~~ the metaphor for t~Forridors of .Kliil s fingering retra •e Bird* • s journey to greatness: to air, to a birds soaring~ to Atlantis, even, and Pl aces of dreaming, swimming lemmings. which sired the music, �78 Gwendolyn Brooksis winning of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1950 ~ momentarily brought new attention to the peetic activities of over Afro-Americans. But, though her name hung like the deacde of the fifties, the period in fact was dominat~d by fiction writers: "specially the articulate expatriate Richard Wri ght, halph Ellison, and James Baldwin. Wright had established a tradition, and many were attempting to follow in his footstepKs--including John Oliver Killens, William Attaway, and Cester Himes."(i@:ftfjjaleand Kinnamon)~ yfffxaof 'l1he the fiction writers, and their accompanying dialogue with Black and white critics and each othe«>, helped #develop,••• 11 8111i national, almost global concern for the identit:y problems of American Blacks. 11 were writing and publishing, in various places, during the •• fifties,..,..!11'9!!:l!!:!i, the sixties and ground swe],l seventies. found in such antholo gies as ~ Negro Caravan{l941), _T_h_e-,-...,.....~----..---,~~- 949), American Literature Authorsll Blues{l962j., -.))~~ AF-~-----=;___ ~ ~ /!:!),.~~ ~ul:H~IC..J~~~(fl' ,w _..;;;..rn_1__....:,~-_;_:_~:;:_;;_;='---"-=.::..::....:::..:...::.::;:;;._--=~.:...::..=...L-_.:z:..!:.=..:_--=l~9-=-6=-2 l 19 6 3 ) • As individuals and groups, the poets continued to make r}{, av a ilable either to each other or to the Hughes, ~ poetry reading audiences of the perio J Hayden, their W> Cr.~ )'"' small Black wendolyn Brooks and others, who had established reput a tions in the forties, continued writing: Hughes published his highly exper~mental Ask Your Mama--12 tr'- r.esser.. , -lm. this Moods for Jazz in 1961). etyounger of ransi tional stage(Wright, Vannell', 0 1 Higgin~, Allen--Vesey~~ Randall, Durem, Holman, Jeff ers, Patterson, Atkins,Evans and others) either published through 1 little ma gazines or won various regional and national writing contests-C) primafrily through schools and colleges. L:,.; �79 Opportunity, The Crisis, The Negro ~tory, Negro History Bulletin,e~~~➔ ~ume:irous college periodicals, continued to provide forums-f·2'!,~g~ who appeared in The Crisis during the Some thirties and forties, for example, would include: Grace E. Barr, ~dna Barrett, Milton Brighte, Sophy Mae Bryson, Clarrssa Bucklin, Lillian Byrnes, Polly Mae Hall, Alice Ward Smith, Paul A. Wren, Walter Adams, Ethel Collins, Edith M. Durham~ tieynelds.mSJIS:: Other/\.4!J l :;::a II who published in regional magazines or brought out collections of their own works were: Noy Jeseph Dick e rson (A ~erap Boo~, 1931), Thomas Atkins\The ~agle, 1936J, Leslie M. Collins\~xile, A Book of Verse, 1938), \'Jilliam \ alker (who published 11 volumes between 1936 and 1943), Olive tewis Handy,, Claude T. Ea s tman, Nick Aaron Ford(Song s from the Vark, 1940), Maurice Fields(The vollegted poems of Maurice Fields, 1940), R.F. Boyd( Holiday Stanzas, 1940), folklorist J. Mason Brewer(four books of poems), William Holmes Borders('fllunde rbolts,1942), Anita Turpeau Anderson(Pinpoints:Group of Poems and Prose Writings, 1943), Aloise Barbe•r Epperson(The Hills of Yesterday a nd Ot her Pdams, 1944), Mary Albert Bacon(Poems of Color, 1948), Harrison Edward Lee(Poems for the Day, 1954), Willie .cnnis(Joetically Speaking, 1957), Paul Vese~(Ivory Tusks, 1956), and Arthur Wesley Reason(Poems of Inspiration for Better Living, 1959). Among white poets, the fifites were aglow with the fel!'Vor o: ,at movement: Kenneth Rexroth, E.E. Cummings, Lawrence Fehrlinghett i,,t A1an Ginzberg 1 "PlRd obhe1 ,,._ Hughes, and Bob Kaufman especially, played a great part in introducing the beats to ~ i c s of jazz and the jagged-lined interpretat ion of post-war blues of the "lost genera tion". Another influence on the beats was Russell Atkins• who, with n elen Johnson Collins;, �... Go founded Free Lance in Cleveland, 6h!ho, in 1950. An avant-garde little" in the development of ideas and magazine, it played techniques of the New l'L.itt,31 11 W Americ~~~;;o~e.da":;:,,of the sistties, r=the "style" life of Blacksff~erta-E.s,t' I i]Dw) as it always had, in the pacing of the literary and cultural concerns. The Be Bop poet Babs Gonzales,;;;ii'along with jazz-poetry narrators like . Pl ea sure, ,t::@'§eltae ;-~ 1_~ proroa . : P en-y 4-, • 4th e s t ance o f poe t s wh o rea d King i:ilhe their work aloud as well as sifgnaled a call for re-examination of the "ear" tradi tiona:t-~sed in the silent writing of a poem. As the fifties closed, the predise passion of Gwendolyn Brooks and the troubador's gait of Hughes hurled a dual,iet to be wiifie':Jchallenge at Black po ets, --- ,---- � 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_32 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, D. The Extended Renaissance: 30s, 40s, 50s, p. 1-80 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/2c10cb80f982bd8cecdc13e9698d0417.pdf b152d5e2d632be3ca4a24011f22a6846 PDF Text Text .,. seculars . 7 It is next to imppossible t o ~ l i s t all(or each type) of the SecuJa rs. \ve have mentioned Profe s r or Talleyc!:s pioneering efforts at C1assifying them. But many obst a cles lay in the way of , of secular folk life. One problem was that Such e. all types of Black creativity, from the slave narratives to religious songs. Hence the more "urotesting" aspects of the xm: works were deleted as were "offensive words." Ar,yone who h'1s heard "authentic" Black folk songs knows that they ~a;;& roflectU(, of the converg;:nce :p 1 madness, absurdity and hope in the Black body. Subsequently what are known as "curse" or 11 obscene 11 words are sprinkled throughout Brown discusses the 11 realism 11 in the folk rhymes along with an attempt to classify at least some of the~( "fiddle -sings, 11 "c~songs, 11 crow/): Ballads , Ballads : Ne 0 ro Heroes , 1 • jig-tunes," "ups tart John Henry(folkified in song), ork S 0 ngs, The Blue s, Irony and ,Protest • . Irony andr ~ protest~ of Course, run through Black folk and literary poetry from the earliest days ( ~~hi tfield, Harper , anti-slavery songs) to the most recent times(Josh Vhite , Leon Thomas, D0 n L. Lee, John ~ chols, Johnny Scott). Some observers have pointed to the silliness of taiili€(!\dlli•~ resetw:-che rs who, white as ever, appeared endorsed 11 askl\i'Olk song writers and singers if they;\; ■ z 11 prote s~ away ,hature and history ~ satisfied with a "no" answer~,. Given th ..-of ..i!!!i11,tm::mllliiei1a re- __.El.~_cy lations o-nP c....-. - ~ - , M . , O ~ . C - ~ .l.:ii11¥i1.-IMIIIJlll!!l-±E~~~ reluctance on the parts of Blacks to tell whites ,--. the truth about 11 anything" let alone ro out sucJ'sensti ti ve.-:.- areaf as "protest." Yet in the dog-eat-dog world of survival, the folk person knows that "If he dies, I'll eat his co 1 n; AnJ if he lives, I'll ride 1 im on. --30-- 11 �C?.!Vsecul rs 8 In suimnaryp)11n we can say t hs t unlike other ethnic immigrant groups(the Afro- erican was not a willing immigrant!), the Black American did not simply transplant his stories--keeping them in thetr exact same form. lie found American or ~uropean languag e ,> count e rparts for his themes and vocab~lari. But his phonology, style and spirit were informed by the African tradition. The student of Black folk poetry will wand to comare and contrast the Secula rs to othe r ethn ic stories and songs. Boasting or 11 lying, 1 for examp le, is one ing redient of the "tall" tale. How does the Bl a ck song or story(i.e., "Sh ine," mite, II " Frankie and Johnrwe, II 11 :::>ign"fying Honey,n etc.) fit this PJ.Otif? How do es it conceal deeper meanings on the issues of slavery, inhuman work conditions, or contradictions in Christianity? What are the ~ similarities between the Se culars a nd the ~pirituals? Between the Beculars and the lit erary poetry? Th~d other qu e stions(on Black heroes, cultural motifs, blues themes, langua g e and endurance) will le a d oneWilf through exciting corridors of Black ~ativtty and t ho ught. � 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_25 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, p. 19 and 20, Seculars 7 and 8 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/6d2870f99578e24cdd7ec92987e876c1.pdf e0f0bf5e4f52a7cda7742fc5b227f530 PDF Text Text P:ffil!l'A6E :e.. ·1 \DU .H.t this ~uncture in the ~ro-American cistory, on , wave o.£..., Bi-Centennial and in the midsh a jhird orld ve of HUI'lanism, Drumvoices comes as a partial answer to to trose who say poetry•s inpact on mankind 1 s cons ciousness has been insignificant . ih . . ~ ~ -.~~Blac!Trombones have historically blared through or soothed tqe •harsh end s • ~~ ((11.u I e 001 d.sA of realities of the Afro-AMerican Lxperience- /nd the cultural safe -~eposit boxes of as ever are as accessibie~to ~lleE!~ tCl tap~ • 1J._ -.>pir,(l.J Thes"{ spirits 1 r "roots" are what has Drumvoices ' 7 owes ~ debt to a S'1iri ts , 11 Known and unknown . " 71. As a reference mrk , Dru~voices attempts to fo l low in•~~--ll!t!~Si='• such important works as Vernon Log ins ' ~he Negro_ Author in Amori ca, Benjamin Brawley ' s ~arly 1egro Anerican •~iters ~nd The 1egro ~enius , j Sterlin lake -- Brown•s Ne 1 ro Poetry ~nd LJrama 1 J . Saund:re nectding ' ~ To I!: Poet Black he establishMent o~~ion end focus was · ~l"ed GeQYge msr · ton \ i 1 liams , Benj aMin E . Nays , b-p: imuortant dtudieP of W. E . B. DuT3ois , John Fope i•'ranklin , Lofton A Mitcl1 e ll and Dorothy Porter , to name just a few . Uf the cri~ics and }iterary historians , only Brown was concerned exrJusively with poets . Loggins I , lso include a checklist of Black poets . " '4' ID rk views~ Jjlack author-5,\until 190C;; and liedding, Brown, throughat the mid Dr umvoi ces 1930s. area of poetry--~ t,{J wi t h (/ Lucy J.'erry · S~ ~~ who wrote a poem 2?? years ar;o . 18tl-i abd Unfort unately, ~igni~icant studies of 19th century alack uoetry 7 ��' . ~ we re not availa~le to k..~o OF:liM1n• while chapters on these a r eas wer~ being written; h~vo~ , Jean Sherman's ~I~n~v~i~s~i~b~l~e~~~~P~o~e~t~s: _A_f_r_o_ _e_r_1_·c_a_n_s of the 19th Century and M.A. Richmond's Bid the Vassal Soar:Interpretive Essays on the Life and Poetry of .Phillis ·J heatley and cteorge rI_o_s_e_s_~-I_o_r_t_o_n_ provided gr e at insi gh t text. a J ~ J!~us ~specially some slight resh uffling of my ws.s Early Black American Poets, William Robinson 1 s i mportant antholo gy(with not e s)i.mi•lilHl'l-; at this writing , pvm ~ 4 f' it remains the best source . in the fioldw r holars"9 20th century fie ..--, Black poets, I . _ am indebted to Jean v a gn er 1 s Bl a ck Poets of the United From Paul Laurence Dunbar to Langston Hughes, S'rephel'l l-h~hdel"';(;,.-,l 1.1ndg 'U i' 1ligt:b e Nei+t(l¼l'-P•~) StatesjAArthur P. Davis i F'rom the Dark Tower:Afro-American Hri ters, 1900-1960, Donald Gibson's Modern Black Poets, B~l~a~c~k~P~o~e~t!r~y:_Ji~n:!_:Am~~e!r~i~c~a~~--- Thurman Blyden Hac k son 1 s and Louis Rubin's B. 0 1 Daniel 1 s Langston Hughes: Black Genius, George P. Kent's Blackness and the Adventure of Western Culture and Joy Flasch 1 s Melvin B. Tolson. A book does not just happen an d the fuel for this one has been pouring in over a number of years and from a great many sources. 9 1 students AC Ch@ f ~ srd • teecbsrs ,:n Bi zber sa:1sstj sr in Es t §t I211i a tbs serrsjrst · ~~ a i fl 602 tsa r Jtpu li:16110 t1112 &Plldif Germinating ideas came from li!ll orrfse.fsoir ces: students, fri® ds, teache r s , a nd most,import~antly, from collea gues at Southern Illinoim , \..!., university 1 s ~xpe riment in Hi gher ~du cation i n ~ast St. Loui s. The hundreds of po e ts a n d critics with wh om I h a w met and talked t h rough nights and days s tand now faceless and nameless, some ev e1b daad, but ~ ~ .~as much a part of this project as the autho ~+@~lellil!~helpful in this area were the critic.al 1(1-j C1yde Taylor, ~Orm.fr• teacher Ted Hornback .IRik LQ I ii L\'k 11.JlS~ i1s ki$ ~ 6harles Rowell. for thlt.,Gr p a tience, a ssistance and great stores of knowledg e I am indebted to librarians at California St a te Unive rsity, I R(New Yor).{ Public Li brar"M:) Sa cramento, the Schomburg Gent e r for eaearch in black Gultur~, the Moorland-Spingarn Hesearch 0 enter at Howard Univ e rsity, Oberlin Colle ge, �. . 3 and ~outhern University . Just as a book does not hap~en in the mind'-A; neither does it just hanpen on paper . Hours o f ~ and relentless work were invested by my g raduate assistant Julie compilation bibliog aphY, and textual problems . . sG · P-~ : ai ±er ~ similar matters,_:@il:J 11 tJ e · z .h.eith Jefferson and +t iu ev~ '('..> Rona ld 'fibbs . :B I il l ion ' s share of the load 1 / s:u~e1--v1.1ur- 0 fo t- fl' • i Otk p S 1 10 was assumed by Marie Collinsr J x~who type ;1 ii:!! 1'/ r ..,. otherwise committedAto the pro~ect . t- by (SUS sec..-!_I( ry jfr•fa...-?-r:~1•••••••-lll!!l!IJillill•z•J■·11111-11111•2•r•••••••s1••~Beve,!1Y Williams Finally , my editor , Marie Brown, deserves a a ilS.t II y; El I l gaA; f . izt 1@!1 l J !D r'llute for ·• □H QF7SH J I l&&&gl SM bwpsa; her I ? \en- couragement , concern , and iw■Pi!, .,.;,. continued suppo rt of the writing- research through to the end. Onward, the poets ! Eugene B. Redmond Febrµary 13 , 1975 ~acramento , 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_22 Title A name given to the resource Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Preface 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 Draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Preface with a page 1 handwritten insert.