9 10 650 https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/382390ab6c05d8f127b7ae3fbcd6d447.pdf da48b7c97632c6ef1ea70ac4e2524ec0 PDF Text Text DTTRODUCTIOH CHAPTER I BLACK POETRY: II VIEWS, VISIONS, CONFLICTS .. . the double obligation of being both Negro and American is not so unified as we are often led to believe." Countee Cullen I During the last decade, Black American poetry emerged from its assigned position as an illegitimate--sometimes embarrassing--child of American literature to an official flower in the garden of world writing. Everywhere, on all continents, Black poetry is vigorously read, listened to and sometimes imitated. "Often imitated but never duplicated," quip the disc jockeys on Black-oriented radio stations--assuring their listeners that the "soul" or "heirloom" of their tradition is alive, well, and locked in ancestral safe-deposit boxe£. However, a silent reading of the DJ 1 s casually delivered quip belies the charismatic power and verbal dexterous·ness in "how" it is said. But, the '~ow" is always important in Black poetry and it will be one of the cornerstones in the discussions that will follow. To say that Black poetry is read and heard all over the world is not to say that it is studied in equitable proportion to other kinds of poetry. Indeed the current rash of anthol- ogies, individual collections, and the re-issuing of previously published volumes, suggest that a literary vacuum of criminal 1 �proportions has existed. The publishing flood, coupled with the appearance of new Black publishing houses, makes this vacuum glaringly, paradoxically obvious. The absence of Black poetry (or Black literature) courses from English departments at predominantly white colleges and public schools is ignominously aided and abetted by the culpable neligence at many predominantly Black learning centers--which often religiously place Walt Whitman over Paul Lawrence Dunbar, W.B. Yeats and T.S. Eliot over Jean Toomer and Melvin B. Tolson, Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg over Owen Dodson and Robert Hayden, and Marianne Moore and Edith Sitwell over Gwendolyn Brooks and Margaret Walker. One could go on, of course, reciting the cultural and literary negligence so officially a part of the academic and grants-in-aid scenes. The purpose here, however, is to explore, with teacher, student and layman, the vast richness of Black poetical and mythical life. II The study or teaching of Black poetry presents many frustrations, challenges and problems. Instructors preparing themselves to teach the subject must be aware of the many pitfalls, not least among them being the tendency of teacher and student alike to stray from the study of the poetry into political and rhetorical catharses. "Black" is a political work in the United States--and in most of the world--and to study or teach anything "Black" is to become embroiled in 2 �controversy and burdened with sociopolitical stress. That thin line between the ideological implications of a poem and those "trials scenes" so many classrooms and groups find themselves victims of is a line walked by all teachers and students of the Black Experience. In approaching Black poetry, then, one must "set" the atmosphere by dealing, from the outset, with substantive background materials. By "substantive" I mean the deepest philosophical, religious, ethical, artistic and cosmological tenets of Black life and expression. Thus a further intent of this handbook is to examine the scope and range of Black poetry via folk origins, methods of delivery, language, phonology, religiosity, racial character, recurring themes, individual and group identity, and poetic devices as they are developed indigenously or borrowed from other poetic traditions. III Like all bodies of writing , Black literature s,tems from a folkloristic trunk, making the job of teacher or student twofold: one) to deal with the great and complex storehouse of folk materials and themes; and two) to explore the chronological development of Black poetry--from about 1746 to the present. There are harmless differences among scholars over just where to start the study of Black written poetry. For example, in The Poetry of the Negro, Hughes and Bontemps begin with Lucy Terry's "Bars Fight," the account of an Indian massacre in Deerfield, Mass., in 1746. The Negro Caravan (an inclusive 3 , . �anthology edited by Brown, Davis and Lee) omits the Terry poem. Caravan was first issued in 1941 while the poetry anthology was published in 1949. The former begins its poetry section with Phillis Wheatley who first published poetry in 1770. Also omitted from Caravan is the work of Jupiter Hammon whose poetry was published in broadside in 1760. In Calvacade (Negro American Writing from 1760 to the Present), published in 1970 and edited by Davis and Redding, neither Terry nor Hammon appear and the poetry section begins with Phillis Wheatley. Early Black American Poets (Robinson) acknowledges Terry but Johnson's The Book of American Negro Poetry opens with Dunbar. Kerlin's Negro Poets and their Poems (1923) makes no mention of either "Bar's Fight" or its author; but Dudley Randall's The Black Poets {1971) does include the poem. ~t.14-ig~ This ~ only a random survey from the dozens of general and specialized anthologies. However, it seems that many teachers of Black poetry begin with Phillis Wheatley despite the fact that at least two Black poets were writing before her. Each one of these earlier poets was a slave, privileged by masters and taught {or allowed to learn) to read and write. Generally, they were spared the sustained hardships experienced by the majority of their brothers and sisters of color. -=Butmore w1JJ be said of them in Chapter Ill. In preparing this outline, I have allowed that some --en- -~~ will want to cover the full history and range of Black poetry while others may be interested in periods or 4 �regions. I have also assumed that many persons will want to move systematically through the poetry--establishing some sense of historical dev·e lopment and tradition in Black history, Black music, and the broad web Black culture in general. Hence, one of the main ingredients of this outline--as we move from chapter to chapter--will be the study of related and integral forms of expression such as folksongs, spirituals, blues, jazz, rhythm&: blues and what is known today as soul music. As stated earlier, however, the Black Experience is complex and frustrating. 1 At each juncture in the study of the poetry, for example, one teaching it will meet difficulties which may at first seem insurmountable. Some of these difficulties will be presented in familiar questions: Is a poet considered Black if be writes consistently--or temporarily--out of the "white" experience? 1. Can a Black poet really record Black experiences Most attempts to define the Black Experience have failed. And though I am dealing primarily with Black (North) American poetry, there will be references to other parts of the Black World. When one considers the cross-fertilization of folk and literary culture in this country, together with the existence of hybrid cultures all over Latin America and other parts of the world, the term "Black Experience" does indeed rebel against definition. It is hoped, however, that through continual return to the idea of the Black Experience (and discussion of Black life), the complexity and range of the term can be appreciated ·( also see bibliography). 5 �and feelings in English? Can a white poet write a Black poem {like the white musician who has developed a "feel" for Black music and has learned to master the technical vocabulary of that music)? Can white people "understand" Black poetry? Should white critics of Black poetry be taken seriously? 2 Black poetry primarily emotion and lacking in intellect? there a Black Aesthetic? poetry? Is Is Can a white professor teach Black How does Black Language differ from white language or English? And does Black poetry express the universal human condition? Black and white students will ask these questions (of themselves, each other, and teacher), indicating that they want more realistic and direct answers to some of the in-house issues which have consumed Black activists, artists, academicians, and white scholars of the Black Experience. The Black and white teacher confronting a racially-mixed class, an all-Black class or an all white class, will sometimes confront a distressing panorama of anger, rejection, fear, condescension,' accusation, anti-intellectualism, intellectual snobbishness, racism, distrust--and any number of other combustions of the contemporary student personality. The Black poets do not make burdens lighter since they, critically and thematically, are dispersed along a boundless spectrum of opinions, attitudes, creative 2. For a balanced discussion of this and related subjects, see Mphahlele's Voices in the Whirlwind. 6 �approaches, ideologies, techniques and literary ph i losophies. The teacher or student preparing for either a semester or year-long course (or for a "Black" unit to be integrated into a Humanities course, an American literature course, or a Black interdisciplinary project) should become steeped in the literature and lore of the Black past in order to give tentative answers and carry on adequate discussions when questions such as those above arise. After having been exposed to Black poets of national statute--via television pro grams such as Soul and Black Journal, at campus readings and conferences, Black Arts f es ti vals and coi,it::un i t y book parties--man:r students ( es pee ially Black students) may be informed, at the popular level, about the opinions and reading styles of the poets. However, neither student nor teacher must--and this point has to be stressed again and again--succumb to the temptation to "skip all poetry up until 1965. 11 IV True, there is great and growinG interest in the Black poetry produced out of what has been variousl~r called the Black Consciousness/Black Power/Black Nationalist/Black Arts/Neo-PanAfrican Movement. Yet one who defies the Black (or any) tradition will find himself engulfed in a maelstrom of conjecture and ideological hysteria; and the class, whose posture will be anti-historical, will be riddled with soap opera-type rhetoric about revolution and liberation and will s mack, again, of anti-intellectualism. Harold Cruse (The Crisis of the Negro 7 �Intellectual) points out that each generation of Black artists and activists suffers fro m a lack of historical/cultural tinuity. con- That is, they fail to study (or are unaware of) the mistakes and the pitfalls of past struggles and consequently find themselves in predicaments not dissimilar to those of their predecessors. Needless to say, such "cultural amnesia" is not the state from which one approaches the study of Black poetry. As observed earlier, the poets are not in agreement concerning what Black poetry is supposed to do, why it is written or whether whites can (or should) write or criticize it. 3 Reasons for the diverse beliefs and positions are numerous: the situation attending the birth and upbringing of the poet (note, for example, the distinctions between Claude McKay and Countee Cullen); his religious affiliation (Robert Hayden is of the f Baha'i faith; Askia Muhammad Toure is a Sunni Muslim; El-Muhajir 3. An important point at this ju ncture of Black poetry. For there is growing feeling among some poets and writers (many of who will not express the mselves in public) that there are concerted attempts to muzzle, circumvent or circumscribe some authors because of their personal political view points or their brand of writing. For further allusion to this, see back issues of the Journal of Black Poetry, Black World, and other periodicals dealing with the contemporary Black Arts scene. 8 �(Marvin X) is a member of the Nation of Islam (common called Black Muslims); K. Curtis Lyle was raised in the Catholic church; Sonia Sanchez expouses an Islamic position); his political leaning (which, in the case of many writers, is also religious); his preparation for poetry (did he go to a well-known writers school, pick bis talent up via individual study or apprentice under another writer); his associations with other poets (many Black poets, for example, hobnob (and this is historically true) with writers of other races; I met one Black poet in 1970 who had two masters' de grees but had not heard of Melvin Beaunorus Tolson!--a Black poet praised by the white literary establishment as having bested Eliot, Pound, Stevens and company in his technical virtuosity ); his current personal situation (does he live in the inner city? teach? time? play a musical instrument? write full write in other ,~enres? read primarily Black poets?), and his feelings on the question: t¼re you a poet first and then Black; or are .you Black first and then a poet?" Harmless as it raay seem, that rhetorical utter has entrapped scores of Black writers in ideological and political prisons-from which some would like to extricate themselves by asking simply: '~·Ihat difference does it make? 11 For the many poets, however, it matters a great deal and they have written profusely on the implications of this question and the several others listed earlier. The teacher or discussion leader must sample opinions of writers and students, sharing the diversity of opinions with the same vigor and thoroughness that 9 �the diverse creative works are shared. Such parity allows for a continual balance in criticism, social undercurrents and the poems themselves. be illustrative. Perhaps some examples here would Novelist Ralph Ellison has suggested that he is a writer first and that his racial identity is subordinate to that fact. Poet Robert Hayden has taken a similar stand (see introduction to Kaleidoscope, Poems by American Negro Poets, 1967). The same position had been take·n several decades earlier by poet Countee Cullen. In his critical- biographical introduction to Cullen's poetry (The Book of American Negro Poetry, 1922), James Weldon Johnson observed that: Some critics have ventured to state that Cullen is not an authentic Ne gro poet. This statement, of necessity, involves a definition of "a Negro poet" and of "Negro Poetry." There might be several definitions framed, but the question raised is pure irrelevance. Also there is in it a faint flare-up of the old taboo which would object to t he use of "white" material by the Negro artist, or at least regard it with indulgent condescension. Cullen himself has declared that, in the sense of wishing for consideration or allowances on account of race or of recognizing for himself any limitation to "racial" themes and forms, he has no desire 10 �or intention of being a Negro poet . In t h is he is not only within his ri ght; he is ri gh t. (italics mine) Johnson went on to note that because Cullen "revolts against" racial enclosures, the "best of his poetry is motivated by race." One could make a similar comment today about Ellison or Hayden. The works for which both are internationally acclaimed delve into the deepest regions of the Black man's psyche and feelings. Meanwhile some younger poets--those who gained exposure in the 1960's--and several poets and critics who straddle both generations lash out, sometimes not so diplomatically, at what they see as compensatory actions and unnecessary self-deprecation by the older poets. Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks said in a preface to Poems From Prison that Etherid ge Knich t was not t h e "stifled artiste." The comment represented an i mplied rebuttal to Black and white "academic" poets. Elsewhere Miss Brooks referred to the "inelegance" of some Black poetry as being consis~ent with the bleak, drab landscape of hopelessness and despair felt by some inner-city dwellers. (Other critics, h owever, support the position of poet-critic Larry Neal tbat t110 Black Experience should not be defined in terms of "negatives.") During the late Sixties, Miss Brooks became a ki nd of matriarch of the New Black Poetry Moveraent (at least i n Chicago), ceased publishing with Harper and Row, and began to rel ease h er writings t brough Broadside Press--a new Detro i t- based Blac k publish ing 11 �house under the supervision of Dudley Randall, a poet, librarian, critic and translator. Miss Brooks' new con- sciousness, she declares, came about as a result of having attended a Black writers conference in 1968 at Fisk University where she heard and mixed with poets Imamu Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Don L. Lee, Nikki Giovanni, novelist John Oliver Killens, and a host of other writers, activists and artists. The violent social explosions in the cities, the Vietnam war that took so many Black lives and crippled so many others, the persistent emergence of Africa--all, Miss Brooks said, aided in the development of her new consciousness. written that it 11 She has frightens 11 her to think that if she had died before she reached fifty, "I would have died a 'Negro• fraction." Hayden, disclaiming the Gwendolyn Brooks' position, assumes he has been 'Black' all along and continues to reject any singular, unarguable position on the Black Aesthetic, or the poet-first, Black-second/Black-first, poet-second controversy. Assessing Baraka, Hayden admits that he recognizes the younger poet's power but deplores "his Black nazism. 11 J. Saunders Redding, a dean of the Black critical establishment, feels there is no such thing as a "Black Aesthetic"; Poet Paul Vesey (formerly Samuel Allen) calls it "a voyage of discovery--! think it will y ield return not as greatly as in music, perhaps, wh ere the black aesthetic dominates an entire cultural area of the west." 12 Many poets and critics, �on the other hand, ignore questions dealing with aesthetics, the level of Blackness in their work, to whom they direct their poems, and out of what mood or spirit they write. At the same time there are trends, some regional and some national, that teachers and students can identify. Needless to say, identifying and exploring these trends is immensely rewarding. Some prerequisites to an understanding of trends and attitudes that stem from the on-going creative process, including the poets' knowledge of their own as well as the general literary tradition are: a study of slavery, as it was instituted by Europe and refined in the United States; an examination of Black social history, and a scrutiny of West African and Afro-American folklore. The thorough teacher or student of Black poetry will want to steep himself in the history of Western Civilization; he will also develop an appreciation for the complex web of Black-white interrelationsjips in America, and prepare to navigate the often tense-filled readings and discussions. V Slavery is not the most pleasant situation to explore; and investigators of Black poetry quickly notice that practically every poet writes about lynchings--especially poets writing after the Civil War. Those poets who do not deal with actual lynchings, as we have come to know or interpret them, deal with half-lynchings, character or cultural defilement and the 13 �mental and physical destruction of Black humanity . If a discussion of slavery is unpleasant, then, a consideration of lynching is horrifying. However, skilled teachers and students will maneuver judiciously through the rough waters of su~h sessions--keeping emotional deluges to a minimum by admitting facts and clear interpretations. During such occasions, everyone must be on guard less the classroom becomes a courtroom. At the same time, a convener who cannot preside over vigorous and thorough discussions of these painful events and details may find himself, at later junctures, trying to bridge even wider gulfs of doubt, frustration, mistrust and alienation. Again, the teaching and studying of Black poetry (or any aspect of the Black Experience) assumes the complexities of the Black Experience itself. Nevertheless, t h e study of Black poetry is infinitely rewarding because it is a vehicle which distills the particular insights and perspectives of Black Americans into concise and authentic forms: mer 6 ing the rich rural-Biblical-urban idioms with colorfully luscious imagery and (in many cases) peerless technical proficiency in the use of literary English and Western poetic i'orms. When students are coni'ronted with the various poems on lynchings, for example, study can be underscored by an examination of language, form, posture, poetic toolery and overall achievement or effeciveness of the poems. In Richard Wright's "Between the World and Me II the lynched poet becomes the persona; the oak tree narrates the lynching in Dunbar's "The Haunted Oak." 14 . �Cullen speaks as "I" in "Scottsboro, Too, Is Horth Its Song" which admonishes white American poets for remaining silent over unjust treatment of Black men while they sing: ••• sharp and pretty Tunes for Sacco and Vanzetti, I said: Here toe's a cause devinely spun For those whose eyes are on the sun, Here in epitome Is all disgrace And epic wrong, Like wine to brace The minstrel heart, and blare it into song. In McKay's "The Lynching" the killing of the Black man is made ahalagous to the crucifixion; a sonnet, and awesome throughout, the poem descends to its rhyming couplet with a final ghostly irony: And little lads, lynchers that were to be, Danced round the dredful thing in fiendish glee. Certainly in these poems--and the dozens of others that employ the lynching theme--there is much fuel for papers, classroom discussion and teacher preparation. In the four poems mentioned, the poets span such diverse forms as the sonnet, the ballad (Dunbar) and free verse {Wright). Helpful in this area will be the additional inquiry, by teacher and student, into the development of white hate groups such as the Ku Klux Inan 15 �and the history of race riots in America. Riots in at least a dozen American communities in 1919, for example, helped spur McKay to write "If We Must Die", a poignant sonnet with its even more poignant and popular ending couplet-Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting backf --a poem which Winston Churchill read before the Ho-qse of Commons, during World War II, to spark his countrymen in the dim hours; during the 1972 prison rebellion in Attica, N.Y., journalists found the poem scribbled on the wall of a cell and the national press attributed it to a prisoner! Of great assistance, too is a knowledge of tre history of slave revolts (many Black poets write about them) and the patterns of violence in America. Attuned teachers and students will want to consult sources such as 100 Years of Lynching (Ginzberg ), back issues of Black and liberal white news journals and papers and especially past issues of The Crisis, the official news and opinion arm of the National Association For The Advancement of Colored People. The scholar, W.E.B. DuBois, one of tj1e first Black men to receive a Ph.D., edited The Crisis for over 20 years from its beginning in 1910. For further readings, the teacher can refer to my extensive bibliography plus appropriate sections of any of the numerous anthologies, textbooks and bibliographical sources available. VI While I admit that information and opinions contained in 16 �this handbook reflect my own biases as a teacher, critic, activist, and poet, the prescribed patterns for teaching and studying Black poetry are ones generally adhered to across the country. The organization of any course is certain to mirror at least a minimum amount of the teacher's own political and critical biases. Consequently, when lecturing on or pre- paring curricula for Black poetry, I normally allow for a flexible outline, including options in both textbook use and period emphasis. The same holds true for concentration or saturation of study with re gards to individual poets. Teachers, naturally, will have personal preferences; in fact, like the students, teachers may even have developed attachments to specific poets, attitudes about the poets or prejudices toward poets who do not reflect what they feel is a correct posture for Black poetry. Just as there is ereat and h ealthy diversity in the poetry and the poets, t h ere will be divergent attitudes and critical points of view among teach ers and students. Some of the differentiations will be due to age differences (the "generation gag "?), as is the case with the poets, and some will occur regardless of age. The Black or white teacher should arm h imself to the best of his ability with the tools of criticism and a knowledge of Black culture. He must have some idea of what part "duality" plays in the lives of Blacks and how such "twoness" is manifest in Black poetry ; he sh ould reco gnize the key issues being raised by and debated among Black artists, scholars and 17 �activists--and have some feel for t h e historical circumstances out which these issue s and debates grew; he ought to understand Baraka's reference to some Black poets as "integrationists" and "art~r poets 11 ; b e will have to know ·what many of the Hew Black poets mean wh en t h ey say t bey reject Western "forms" and refuse to be judged , y wh ite sta no. ards (Bara.ka, for exa,:iple, 1 talks about post-American forms); he will also want to recognize Black in-house humor and intracommunal disparagement in words and phrases like "nigger, "oreo, 11 "colored, 11 "the man, 11 11 11 "negro," ''Uncle Tom, dicty," "bad mouth," "bust a nut," "brother," "crumbcrushers," "main squeeze, "Mr. Charley. 11 11 11 and (For further indication of this dictional and phonological richness and t h e breadth of Black Language, see The Dictionary of American Slang, Afro-American Slang, the 11 :i'·Ta jor' s Dictionary of Glossory of Selected Terms" in The Psychology of Black Laneuage (Haskins and Butts), Abraham's Deep Down in the Jungle, Andrews' and OWens' Black Language, Claerbout's Black Jargon in ·white America, Twi ggs' Pan-African Language in the Uestern Hemisphere, Welmers' African Language Structures, Kochman's Rappin' and Stylin' Out, and Dillard's Black English. Additionally the teacher or student will want to know the motivations of some of the poets. All poets, for example, do not rate being called "poets" in the traditional (white or Black) sense. Redding, in a. recent Muhammad Spee.ks interview, accused some of t he new Black writers of lacking •moral and 18 �esthetic' integrity' and called them 'literary hustlers'. Observing that Baraka recently signed a 10-year contract with Random House, Redding said such an act is inconsistent with the poet's nationalistic assertions and positions. In a recent Black World article, novelist and poet Ishmael Reed spoke disparagingly of some of the new Black critics ("Blackopaths") and poets ("nationtime poets," was the reference). Poet-essayist Lee has chided poet Nikki Giovanni for being an "individual" who lacks technical abilities; and in a recent issue of Jet magazine a reader irately asked if Miss Giovanni deserved respect after accepting a Woman-of-the-Year award from a national wh ite women's organization. Miss Giovanni and Reed were nominated for Pulitzer Prizes in 1973. Hayden, a member of the older group of poets, wh o was only 17 years old when the Harlem Renaissance burned out, feels that Lee (praised by Gwendolyn Brooks, Hoyt Fuller of Black World, Randall and Baraka) has potential as a poet but lacks discipline and seems unable to separate poetic technique from ideological ranting . On the other hand, Stephen Henderson, author-editor of Understand The Uew Black Poetry praises Lee relentlessly and says his popularity is "tantamount to stardom". Henderson, who holds a Ph .D., is currently chairman of the new Humanities division at Howard University where Lee is a writer-in-residence. Miss Brooks gives Lee credit (in her introduction to The Poetry of Black America) for spawning much of the contemporary Black consciousness literature. 19 �Any seriously dealing ·with the development of Black poetry as a body of writing, must be aware of these intense feelings and positions. One must also organize orderly discussions or readings around the divergent views; in this way the classroom or rap sessions do not become melees and participants get a complete picture of the richness and vastness of Black poetry and the political, social and h istorical tensions out of' which the poetry is generated. Writing on the New Black Poetry, (The United States in Literature, Miller, Hayden and 0'Neal), Hayden says: The emergence of a so-called school of Black Poetry in America h as been one of the si gnificant literary developments of the modern period. Although the Harlem Renaissance of t he 1920's brough t certain Afro-American poets into prominence, it was not until t h e intensification of the c iv il ri ghts struggle during t h e 1 960 1 s that a separate group of black poets began to take sh ape. Avowedly nationalistic (th at is, racially proud) and scornful of western aesthetics, these poets continued the protest traditio n, h istorically associated with Ne gro writers. But t h ey were more radical in outlook t h an t h eir predecessors. Unlike the Harlem group, they rejected entry into the mainstream of American literature as a desirable goal. Th ey insisted t h at their poetry 20 �could not be judged by white standards, urging its importance as an expression of black consciousness. LeRoi Jones--the most influential of the young activist poets--Don L. Lee, Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Mari Evans, Etheridge Kni ght, and David Henderson attune their lyres to the 'black esthetic.' Not yet satisfactorily defined, this term, originating in the sixties, may be interpreted as a sense of the spiritual and artistic values of blackness. It is, perhaps, a logical (some would say 'ch auvinistic') reaction to negative American racial attitudes. Perhaps the concept is best summarized by the slogan 'Black i s beautiful.' Those wh o accept this point of view re gard Ne gro subj ect matter as their exclusive domain, feelin g t hat only those who h ave shared 'black experience' can articulate it. Older poets wh ose work shows some ali gnment with the New Black Poetry include Margaret Walker and Gwendolyn Brooks, winner of the Pulitzer in 1950. 'Whether poetry should be valued prini R.,.. i ]."tr f 01" t ~~P. n11i nue. ·i 11ner exper ience i t I �that often recurs in discussions of true function of art today. Hayden's opening comments, then, corroborate tbe opening sentence to this introduction--that Black poetry , re gardless of one's position on it, is one of the most important movements on the literary scene today. Yet, while it is exciting to study this "poetry in process" (if you please), tbe enthusiast must be on guard not to skip the tradition (tbe folk precedents) in favor of plunging into a Black poem that heaps wrath on Watergate conspirators, or urban policemen who shoot rioters and looters. Swirling around and through the whole range of Black poetry, then, is the complex and multi-leveled nature of Black life. VII Many of the "literary hustlers" to whom Redding refers have capitalized on tbe topical and episodic issues--with little or no training in the Black tradition or writing. Hence, the student must assume that just because a statement is "relevant," it is poetry! will 11 The Black or white researcher dig ••• deeper to the gold 11 --in the words of James David Carruthers-- and "establish" a sound tradition against which to measure the Black poetry of today. If the Black poet in question fails, he fails because be collapses from the weight of the past--instead of being buoyed up by it. In establishing this sound tradition, the teachers and students must realize, first, that the Black Experience is not monolithic--although 22 �recurring trends and broad i r.1plica.tions do exist in the areas of language, religion, humor, dance, music and eeneral life style. Oddly enough, however, there is often more consistency in what Blacks know about popular "American" culture. L~ There are several reasons for such a paradoxical i rabalance and lack of .focus--many of them locked in the eni gmatic see-saw of Black history. Ellison observed in t he 1940's that if Black leaders ever unraveled t he puzzle of the zoot suit and the dark glasses (meaning t he secret of Black urban "styling" habits), they could, perhaps, take the political and psychological reigns of Black masses from whites. observation was accurate. Ellison's James Baldwin has written that, in Europe, he looked at the great Renaissance masterpieces and felt ashamed that his race had not produced such work. Baldwin was not aware that the great Italian painter, Pablo Picasso, had borrowed h eavily from African motifs, nor that the architect, Lee-Corbousier, was greatly influenced by thatched-roof huts used in Africa by Balwin's ancestors. The implications of this part of my disc ussion are many and far reaching because central to the idea of teaching and learning is what teachers and students expect from each other. 4. Ellison's, For an exciting r ecitation and indictment via a "cultural quiz", listen to poet-critic Stanley Croucb•s Ain't No Ambulances for no Ni gc;ah s Tonieh t (Flying Dutchman). 23 �Crouch's and Baldwin's observations are ti mely' and i mportant. They suggest to us that many, if not most, of t h e students who are in Black poetry (Black Studies) classes do not have a working knowlede e of the tradition out of wh ich the poetry grew. It bas beco me popular, in some quarters, to i gnore this fact which Ellison and others have so painfully and poignantly expressed. The teacher who assumes that a class of Black (or white) students is knowledgeable about the Black literary tradition is in for real trouble and many disappointments. The fore going point cannot be stressed too often or too emphatically. Interestingly enough , t he majorit:r of t be persons who want to know something about Black poetry are not preoccupied with the craft of poetry--wi th the bows and wh~rs of poetry. Rather the students and casual readers, Black and white, seem to be more interested in the sociological (some teachers say "pathological") aspects of the poetry. The situation varies, of course, fro m campus to campus, fro m atmosph ere to atmosphere, and from Black to white to interracial settings. Here again the enthusiast has to draw tbe line and keep the persuit of the poetry "ti ght" in terms of the discipline demanded by the poetry itself. Another problem the investi gators confront is how to organize segments when an appreciation of the material is what is sought. Th e "appreciation" approach could be the result of one's initial conception of t h e poetry or dictated 24 �by level of interest and preparation. A casual reader, for example, would not study the same poems with the same intensity as would a senior or graduate-level English major. Nevertheless, the teacher, students and poetry lovers must bear in mind that they are investigating Black poetry and not merely some literary imitation of traditional Western poetry--even though the two converge time and time again. Here, too, the point cannot be over-emphasized because in the context of racial and intellectual mixtures, the melting pot is all too often likely to boil over. Example: white students, well grounded in t h eir own literary tradition and having a skeletal knowledge of Black Culture will want to surge ahead. Not recognizing that many Black (and some white) students do not know the meanings of simple poetic devices (such as metaphors, similes, alliteration and onomatopoeia), the insensitive teacher and "aggressive" students could press on to the point of premature destruction of group participation. Such situations occur over and over. ' Even the best teachers of literature often take for granted that every student has been drilled in the use of fi gurative language. Ironically, many of the students have been "drilled" in the figures; but, the holes opened b y t h e drilling allowed the information to go in one ear and out the other! Many students, in the whir of words in the classroom and group discussions will not say they do not know t he names of poetic devices-especially if they happen to be Black students and think the 25 �instructor expects them to be "experts" on the Black Experience. On the other hand, the intellectual snobbery that often accompanies the development of student "clicks" should not be allowed to prevail in a course in Black poetry. Luckily, for teacher, student and general reader, the curves and crests and peaks in the study of Black poetry keep bringing all aspects of human nature full circle. 26 � 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_54 Title A name given to the resource Copy of draft of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Introduction and Chapter I 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/509acecce447b68a177512ba8bd70eed.pdf d777a8ef12f3ef0557882d42114bc750 PDF Text Text IV BIBLIOGRAPHY This bibliography is designed to serve the needs of beginning and advanced students of Black Poetry. It is not intended to be exhaustive since many biblioisraphies repeat the same items. No attempt has been made to cite the count- less single collections of poems because numerous checklists and specialized bibliographies are available. Moreover, most anthologies., critical studies and histories list indi- I vidual collections--in selected bibliographies and biographies. Since many Black poets publish privately or with small and relatively unknown publishing houses, the student will want to examine listings and reviews in Black periodicals (Black World, Journal of Black Poetry, Fr~edomw~ys_, Black Books Bulletin, Black Creation, C~ Journal and others). Some Black publishing houses print title listings on the inside covers of their books. Scores of records and tapes of readings, films, broadsides (single poems), pamphlet publications and tracts are also available from i ndividuals or small publishing houses. Recently, such lar1_se recording companies as Folkways, Flying Dutchman and MoTown have begun to record and distribute Black Poetry. However, the task of locating and developing a checklist for the myriad publications and publishing activities of Black poets still awaits some serious student of Black literature. For con- venience, a list of Black publishing companies is included at the end of this bibliograph~. (18 ~ �B I B L I O G R A P TI Y GENERAL dsiARCH AIDS Adams, Russell L. Great Negroes, Past and Pre?ent. Chicago, 1964. The Arthur B. Spingarn Collection of Nerrro Authors. Washington, D.r.., 1948. Bontemps, Arna. "The James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection (')f' Negro Arts and Letters." Yale University _,Libre,ry GazetJ&, XVIII (October 191.J.3), 19-26. • "Special Collect ions of Ne groana. 11 Li brarv --Q-.u-arterly, XIV (1944), 187-206 Chapman, Abraham. The Negro in American Literature and a Bibliography of' Literatur_~J;iy anc3 a.bout Negro Americans. Stevens Point, Wis., 1966. Deodene, Frank and William P. French. Black American poetry Since 1944, A Pre1=J_Il).inary Checklist. Chatham, 1971. Dictionary _Catalo_g_ of ...the __Jesse_ E. Moorland _Collec_tion of Neg;rQ_.1:,J_.f_~ and His_j;g_r.y ( at Howard University). 9 vols. Boston, 1970. Dictionary Catalo8 of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature & __History. 11 vols. Boston, 1962, 1967. Drzick, Kathleen, John Murphy, and Constance Weaver. Annotated Bibliography of Works Relatin~ to the Fegro in Literature and to Negro Dialects. Kalamazoo, Mich., 1969. Du Bois, W.E.B. A Select Bibliography of the Ne ~ro American. 3rd ed. Atlanta, 1905. , and Guy B. Johnson. Encyclooedia of the Negro: Prepa~at9ry _:V<:>l.UTT?-~• Rev. Ed. New York, 1946. Guzman, Jessie P., ed. Negro Year Book, Tuske gee, Ala., 1947. Index to Periodical Articles by and About NeGroes (formerly A Guide tQ_N~ro. Period lc_al__Li t~_r_a_t_u..r.....e and Index to Selected PeriQ.d..ic.alB). ~rnationa.l Library of Ne_Ero __Life an<) JJJ,story. 10 vols. Washington, D.C., 1967-1q6q. Jahn, J{anheinz. A Bib1J__Q_graphy of Neo-Africe n Literature from Afr~_g_. __ America_,__ _aQd tbe __ _C_e...ri hbean. New York, 196?. Johnson, Harry A. Multimedia Materials for AfroAmerican Studies, New York, 1971. Kaiser, Ernest. "The Hlstor"'r. of Ne rrro Hj_s+,orv. '' Negro Digest, XVII (~ebruary 146d ), lO-lS,-64-80. 11 Recent Books." Freedomways, in each issue. --- I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I �~ McPherson, James, et al, eds. Blacks in America: Bibliographical Essays. New York, 1072. Major, Clarence. Dictionary of Afro-American§)-a~_g. New York, 1970. Miller, Elizabeth W. and Mary L. Fisber. The Ner;ro :i,.n America: A Biblior:raphy. 2nd ed. Cambrid ge, Mass., 1970. The Negro in Print: Q~ plioaraphic Survey. Porter, Dorothy B. 11~arly American Ne r.i:ro Wri ti nP-s: <' - - A Bibliographical Study . 11 Papers of the Bibliq-_,, _.....,,. ~ 9_~ i Q.t y ___9 r __ AI!!.~T J.~!3- , xxx IX ( 191-i 5 ) , r~~: le:1--~ • North American Negro Poets: A Biblio--g-r-aph i c a.:J:_ __ .Qhey_k.___I,J_~t __ Q_f_ ~he. ~r _Writ i nr;s, 17 60 - l 9h4. Hattiesburg, Miss., 194S. Rowell, Charles H. 1¼ Bibliography of Bibliographies for the Study of Black American Literature and Folklore.1r _Black Experience, A Southern University Journal, LV (June 1969) 95-111. , Smith, Jessie Carney. ''Developin~ Collections of Black Literature." Black World . XX (June 1971), 18-29 Turner~ DBrwin T. Afro-American Writers. New York, 1970. Wori<, 1"Jonroe 11J. A Biblior;ra.phy of the Negro in Africa and America. New York, 192 3. Yellin, Jean Far;an. "An Index of Literary Materials in The Crisis, 1910-1934: Articles, Belles-Lettres , and Book Reviews. 11 CLA Journal, XIV ( 1 q71), 452-L~65. 73 e,. PERIODICALS Amistad Black Academv Review Black Books Bulletin Black Creation_ Black Orpheus: A Journal of A_f ri~~n ___ g_q<;:l __ t\f.r._Q.:-:1.\.!11.~.ri.c~.P Literature The Black Position Black Review The Black Scholar Black Theatre Black World (formerly Ferro Dicest) CLA Journal Controntation: A Journal of Third World Li.terature The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races Douglass• Monthlv ssence Freedomways ; ~1.c ~1,,Jl()~~k,t-) 1 �;d~ ¥ . ~ ~ Ir/~ o~,duo1 0\,()-; y PEnoD~CALS ( ~ t '<l) - ( ) ~ ~be Journal of Blac_k Poet:r_y The Journa.i of' Black Studies The Journal of Hec:ro His_to;r_y Ner-;ro American Li t~tu...-i;:;~.E..9.D-1~1 Negro Historv Bulletin Nkombo Nommo Opportunity: A Journal of Negro _Life Phylon: The Atlan_~~ __ l!_.!2._-~yers i tv Review of Race and ,culture Presence A.frica.ine: Cultura.l____ Revue ___of the __Negro World Roots: _A_ Journa.l ___of _Critical _and Creati ve _Expression Soulbook Studies in Black Literature Umbra Yard bird __Reader I C. ANTHOLOGIES (NOTE: - Most, but not aJ.l, of tbe followin g a.ntbolo rsies are devoted primar ily to Bl ack Poetry .) Adams! William, Peter Conn, and Bar~y Slepian, eds. Afro-American Literature: Poetry. Boston, 1970. Adoff, Arnold, ed. Black Out Loud: An Anth ology of Modern Poems by Black Americans. New York, 1970. , ed. I Am the Darker Brother : An Anthology --o-f-Modern Poems by Black AmeriQans. New York, 1968 . _ _ _ , ed. ~he Poetry of Black America. New York, 1973. Afro-Arts Anthology. Newark, 1966 . Alha~ isi, Ahmed and Harun K. Wan ~ara., eds. Black Arts: An Antholo gy o.f Black Creatio ns . Detroit, 1970. Baker, Houston A., Jr., ed. Black Literature in America. New York, 1971. Barksdale, Richard and Kenneth Kinnamon, eds. Black Writers of America. New York, 1972. ~_]2CD. Soul Sessi on. Newark, 196l). - Black History Muse um Comrni ttee of' Ph iladelphia. Black Poets Write On .. Philadelphia, 1969 (?). Jt/70~ Bontemps, Arna, ed. American Negro l1 oetry . New York, 1963. Brawley, Ben j ami n, ed. Early Ne r;:;ro American Writers. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1935. Brooks, Gwendol:in, ed. A Broadside Treasury . Detroit, 1971. �ANTHOLOGIES (cont'd) --=-...' ed. Jum~ Bad: A New Cbice ~o Antbolo gv . Detroit, 1971. Brown, Sterling A., Arthur P. Davis, ond Ul:rsses Lee, eds. The Ne,CJ'ro Caravan. New York, 19hl; Arno, 1969. Cade, Toni, ed. The Black Woman: An Antholo gy . New York, 1970. Calverton, Victor F., ed. Anthology of American Negro Literature. New York, 1929. Chambers, Bradford and Rebecca Mo on, eds. _Right On: Anthology of Black Literat~re. New York, 1970. Chapman, Abraham, ed. Afro-American Slave Narratives. New York, 1970. , ed. Black Voices: An~~hology of Afro-American __ L___i.,..terature. New York , 1968 . , ed. New Black Voices. Hew York , 1971. -c. l_a_r_k-e, .. John Henrik, ed. Harlem: Voices from the Soul of Black America. New York, 1970. Coombs, Orde, ed. We Spe ak as Libera.tors: Young Black Poets. New York, 1970. Cornish, Sam and Lucian W. Dixon. Chicory: Young Voices From the Black Ghetto. 1'iew York , 1969. Cromwell, Oteliz, Lorenzo D. Turner, and Eva B. Dykes, -'- eds. Readinr-;s from Ner;I_'_ Q_Authors. llew York, 1931. (cruise, Harold. The Crisis of the Ne r:ro Intellectual.) / _{_L.j'] New York, 1967. . ' Cullen, Countee, ed. Carolin g Dusk: An Antholor;y of Verse by Negro Poets. New York, 1927. Cunard, Nancy, ed. Ne~ro Antholo ev . London, 1934. Danner, Margaret. Regroup! Richmond, Va., 1969 . . The Brass House. Richmond, Va ., 1968 . _D_a_v_i_s_, Arthur P. and Saunders Reddin~, eds. Cavalcade: Ner;ro Amer i can Writin g from 1760 to the Present. Boston, 1971. Davis, Charles T. and Dani el Walden, eds. On Beinp; Black: Wri tings by Afro-Americans fr om Frederick Douglass to the Present . New York, 1970. Dreer, Herman, ed. American Literature by Negr o Authors. New York, 1950. - Emanuel, Ja mes A. and Theodor'e Gross, eds. Dark Symphonv: Negro Literature in Amer ica. . New York, - 1968. Ford, Nick Aaron, ed. Black Insi_gg.ts : Si rmificant Literature by Afro-Ameri ca.ns-_1760 to the Present. Waltham, Mass., 1971. Freedman, Franc es S., ed . The Black American Experienc:· A New Antholo gy of Black Li tera.tur_~. New York, 1970. Giovanni, Nikki. Ni ght Comes Softly . Newark·>· . 1971'. �ANTHOLOGIES (cont ' d) Haslam, Gerald W., ed. Forgotten Pa aes of American Literature. Boston, 1970. Hayden, Robert, ed. Kaleidoscope: Poems by American Negro Poets. New York, 1967. , David Burrows, and Frederick Lapides, eds. --A ....r.,..r-o-American Literature. • New York, 1971. Henderson, David, ed. Umbra Blackworks Antholoc;y 1970-1971. i'J ew York;T971. Henderson, Stephen. Understandinr, the New Black Poetry. New York, 1973. Hill, Herbert, ed. Soon One Mernin ~ : New Writin _ bv American Negroes., 19 0- 19 2. Now York , 1 963. Hughes, Langston, ed. The Book of Ne ~ro Hu'.11.or. New York, 1966. , .. ~ ., ed. La Poesie N~gro-Am~ricnine. Paris: Editions Se ghers., 19 06. fed. New Ne gro Poets U.S.A. Bloomington, Ind • ., ----1-9--fa~ • .. and Arna. Bontemps, eds. The Poetry of the Ner:ro_., 1146-1970. Rev. ed. Garden City ., IJ . 2: • ., 1970. Johnson, Charles S., ed. ~bonv and •r ooaz: .A Collectanea. New York, 1927. Johnson, James Weldon, ed. The Book of American Negro Poetry. Rev. ed. New York , 1931. , ed. The Book of Americe.n 1Je £Zro S irituals. --N-ew- York, 192 ; The Second Book of Ne r"T'_Q_ Spirituals. New York, 1926. Jones, LeRoi and Larry Neal, eds. __Black Fire: An. Anthology of Afro-Amer i can Writing . New York, 1968. - Jordan, June, ed. Soulscript: Afro-American Poetry. Garden City., N.Y., 1970. Kearns, Francis E., ed. r he Black Exp~:rj.~nc~: _An Anthologv of American Literature for t he 1970'~. New York, 19 70. Kendricks, Ralph, ed. Afro-American Voices: _1770's19709s. New York, t 9 70. Kerlin, Robert T., ed. Neero Poets and Their Poems. 2nd ed. Washingt on, D.c., 1935. - King, Woodie. _Blac~. §_ pJ F_i ts: A_ F':?.sti ya),__qf _N_e:w Blac~ _Poets in America. New York, 1 972. Kni cht, Etherid r e, ed. Black Voices f rom Prison. New York, 1970. Lanusse, Armand, ed. Creole Voices: r oems in French by Fr_~~ ---~§ln_ of _Colq_r. Ed. Edwar d re. Col em.e_ n. Centennial ed. Washine ton, D.C., 1945 . �ANTHOLOGIES (cont 1 d) Locke, Alaine, ed. Four Ner.:ro Poets. New York, 1927. , ed. The New Ner.:ro: An Interpretation. New --y--o-rk, 1925. Lomax, Alan and Raoul Abdul, eds. 3000 Years of Black Poetry. New York, 1970. - ¥"~Lowenf'els, Walter, ed. In A.Time of Revolution: Poems From our Third World. New York, 1969. Major, Clarence, ed. The New Black Poetry. New York, 1969. Mi ller, Adam David, ed. Dices or Black Bones: Black Voices of the Seventies. Boston, 1970. ~ Miller, Ruth, ed. _B lacka.merican Liter~e 1760-Presen_t. Beverly Hills, Calif., 1971. Moon, Bucklin, ed. Primer f'or White Folks. Garden City, N.Y., 1945. Murphy, Beatrice. ed. ~ero Voice§. Hew York, 1938 . • Ebony Rhythm. New York, 19~.8 and 1G68 . - - - . Today's Negro Voices. New York, 1970. Nelson, Alice Dunbar, ed. Masterpieces of Nerrrp Eloquence. New York, 1914. -.. Nicholas, Xe.vier, ed. Poetry of Soul. New York, 1971. ~ ,f-:: 0 'Daniel, Thurman, ed. Langston Hu r;hes, Black Genius: )~: ~Jn_ t\C ( A Critical Evaluati on. New York, 1971. · Osofsky, Gilbert, ed. Puttin' on Ole Massa : The Sle.ve Narratives of Henry Bibb, William W. Brown, and Solomon Northrup. New York, 196G. Patterson, Lindsay, ed. An Introduction to Black Literature in America from 1 to the Present. W&shington, D.C., 19J9. -Perkins, Eugene, ed. Black Expressions: An Anthology of New Black Poets . Chicac o. 1967. Poems by Blacks, vol. I. Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1970. , Vol. II. Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1972. - - - , Vol. III . ( Pinkie Gordon Lane, ed.). Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1973. Pool, Rasey E., ed. Bevond the Blues : New Poems by American Nep.:roes. Lympne, Kent, Entland, 1962 • • Ik Ben de Nieuwe Ne ~er. The lla r ue: Bert __ B_a,.....kker, 19 64. Porter, Dorothy, ed. Early Ne vro Nritin5, __1_760-1S37. Boston, 1971. - Randall, Dudley , ea. Black :)_)o~1I'...Y: A Supplement to Anthologies 1,lhich Exclude Black Poets. Detroit, 1969. and Margaret Burrour;hs , eds. For .Malcolm : Poems on the Life and Death of Malcolm 2(. . Detroit, 1969. , ed. The Bl•ck Poets . New York, 1971 . .--· _R_e_d_m_o-nd, Eugene. Sides of the Ri ver: _A Mini Antholo gy of Black Hri tings. f..£;.:.!.·T $-j. ·L..o"t1 \S /'I LL~ .·- , 19 70. -:~Long ., Richard 4. and Pu~·enla Go l 1ier1 e.ds .. Af-ro - Amerfc~n ~ ~nol_oey_ of' Pro5e. -and_ J)oe.tn/. :;l._ vo -1 5 . ~;: t~~°t·A79 1 I I I I .~ I �ANTHOLOGIES (cont'd) Reed, Ishmael, ed. 19 Necromancers from Now: An _Anthology of Original American Writing tor the 70s. Garden City, N.Y., 1970. Robinson, William H., ed. Early Black American Poet~. Dubuque, Iowa, 1969. Rodgers, Carolyn M., ed. For Love of Our Brothers. Chicago., 1970 •. -- Schulberg, Budd, ed. From the Ashes: Voices of Watts. New York, 1967. - Shuman., R. Baird, ed. A Galaxy of Black Writing.~~ Durham, N.C., 1970. . ., ed. Nine Black Poets. Durham, N.c., 1968. So'~ession. Newark, 1970 (?) Stanford, Barbara Dodds., ed. I, Too, Sing America: Black Voices in American Literature. New York, 1971. Ten: An Antholof. of Detroit Poets. Fort Sm1 th, Arks,nsas, 196 • - Troupe, Quincy, ed. Watts Poets and Writers. Los Angeles, 1968. Turner., Darwin T., ed.· Black American Literature: Poetry. Columbus, Ohio, 1970. Watkins, Sylvester c., ed. Antholo~ of American Negro Literature. New York, 1944. White, Newman I. and Walter c. Jackson, ed.s . ..Alt Anthologfuof Verse by American Negroes. Durham, N.C., 19 • Wilents, Ted and Tom Weatherly, eds. Natural Process: An Anthology of New Black Poetry. New York, 1971. Woodson., Carter G., ed. Negro Orators and Their Orations. Washington, D.c., 1925. -. D LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) Allen, Samuel. "Negritude and Its Relevance to the American Negro Writer. " The American Ne_gro Wr1 te:r and His Roots. New York,7:'960. Pp. 8-20 The Am.eri.c.a-n Ne-gr() Writer and_~l.1LB09t~. New York, - 1960. Baraka, Imamu Amiri {LeRoi Jones). "The Black Aesthetic." Negro Digest, XVIII (September 1969), 5-6. Bontemps, Arna. "The Black Renaissance of the Twenties," Black World, XX (November 1970), 5-9 • • "Famous WPA Authors." Negro Digest, VIII - . . .c....J--uo.e 1950), 43-47 . • "The Harlem Renaissance." The Saturday Review __o_f,....Literature, XXX (March 22, 1947}, 12-13, 44 . • "The Negro Contribution to American Letters." --Th--e American Negro Referenye Book. Ed. John P. D•vis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1966. Pp. 850-878. �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICIS M (General) • "The New Black Renaissance." Ne a:ro Dir-est, 1961)., 52-53. , ed. , The Harlem Renaissance Remembered. New --y--o-rk, 1972. Brawley, Benjamin. "The NeGI"O in American Literature. u The Bookman, LVI (October 1922), 137-141. Bronz, Stephen H. Roots of Negro Racial Consciousness: The 1920's: Three Harlem Renaissance Authors. New York, 1964. Brooks, Russel 1. "The Comic Spirit a.nd the Ne gro's New Look. 11 CLA Journal, VI {1962), 35-1-1-3. Brown, Lloyd W. "Black Entitles: Hames e.s Symbols in Afro-American Literature." Studies in Black Litera~ , I (Spring 1970), 16-44·. Brown., Sterling A. "The American Race Problem as Reflected in American Literature. 11 The Journal of Negro Education, VIII (1939), 275 -290 • • ''The New Ne gro in Literature (1925-1955)." ---,,.T.,...h-e New Negro Thirtv Years Afterward. Ed. Rayford W. Logan et al. Washing ton, D.C., 1955. Pp 57-72. Calverton, Victor F. 'r he Liberation of American Literature. New York, 1932. 11 • Tbe Ne gro and American Culture. " The Saturday --R-e-view of Literature, XX II (September 21, 1940), 3-4. Cayton, Horace R. "Ideolo g ical Forces in the Work of Ne gro Writers. " _-B,nr;er, and Bevond: The Negro Writer in the United States. Ed. Herbert Hill. New York, 1966. Pp. 37-50. Chapman, Abraham. "The Harlem Rena .i.ssance in Li tera.ry - History. 11 .Q.LA Journal, XI (1q67), 3>3 -58. Clarke, John Henrik. "The Ne glected Dimensions of the Harlem Renaissance. 11 Black Horld, XX (November 1970) --x. .I~{November . 118-129. - • "The Ori g in and Growth of Afro-American Litera----rt-u-re. 11 Negro Digest, XVII (December 1967), 5Li-67. 11 Clay, Eug ene. The Ne gro in Recent American Literature. 11 Am~rj._Q_fl..!}___Wrtt~:r.s' _Qong:r:~i:i.§. Ed. Henr y Hart. New York, 1935. Pp. 145-153. - _Qg_lf~~µ-tI~66J\-~~~~-~-s~~{~ A~~1~!-r~~-~~~1 ~~6-%~ ~~iq6~. N~-~ 0 Conrad, Earl. '~merican Viewpoint: Blues School of Literature. 11 The .. Chica g o Defender, December 22, 1945, p. 11 • ..... Cook, Mercer and Stephen Henderson. The Militant Black Writer in Africa and the United States. Madison, ~ W i s . , 1969. - · Cullen, Countee. "The Dark Tower. 11 gpportuni ty, monthly column, 1926-1928 . -i!Cru.N se; l+a ~ 1 d • l'h.-.e. S.r~j_S___Q f' Jb_~ .N.?..St9__ J_t:1!.~_l.1~c t ua1. ew Yor r-. ~ 1 0-:1 ·61 - I 2 l.o �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICIS ( Genera.l) ,1 Davis, Arthur P . "Growing up in the New Nev,ro Renaissance: 1920-1935. 11 Ne,:,-ro Ameri~an Literature Forum, II (1968 ), 53-59 . Dillard, J.L. Bleck English. New York , 1q72. Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls·of Black Folk . Chica ~o. 1903. Ellison, Ralph. ~hadow and Act.. New York, 1964: Evans , Mari. "Conte mporary Black Lite:rl:lture. 11 Black World, XIX ( June 1970), 4, 93-9L~. Ford, Nick Aaron. Annual "Critical Survey of Significant Belles Lettres by and About Nerroes . 11 Phyl on, XXII (1961), 119-134; XXV (1961-!-), 123-lJJr. • "Black Literature and the Pro b lem 01"' Eval11 --u-a.... tion. College English, XXXII ( 1971), 536-5L~ 7. • Black Studies: 'I1hreat or Challen r:e? Port ,ie.fl<9.,.. --r-!ashinr;ton., N. Y., 1973. rf,:.( ·,.C Oi;,.s}.!}' St>• ?uller, Hoyt W. "Black Imo.res and Wbite Critics. "\/~e~~~; uA ~ 1 • "The lJe .n ;ro Writer in t he Un it ed St ates." ~e.,n J • ~ n y , 11XX (November• 196Ld, 126-134. • Porspecti ves. 11 Ne r-ro Di t·est and Black 1:lorld, --m-o-ntblv column. , e~. '½ Survey: Bleck Writers ' Views on Lit--e-r-ary Lions and Values_, 11 Kep:ro DL..,.est, XVII ( January 1968), 10-4 n , a1- B9 . Gayle, Addison, Jr., ed. The Black Aesthetic. Garden City, N.Y., 1971. , ed. Black Expression: Essav s bv and About ---=B--1-ack Americans in the Creative Arts. :-iew York, 1969. --- -- - -·· - Gerald, Carol:rn. "Th e Black Hri ter and His Role . 11 Ne~ro Dipest, XVIII ( January 1 969), u.2-h S. Haskins, Jim and Hu 3h F. Butts, I'-1 .D. The Psyc h olor;y of Black Langu~ ne. New York, 1973. Haslam, Gerald W. --nThe Awakenj_nr,. of American l~ec;r o Literature 1619-1 900. '' The Black Americat1__Wr iter. Ed. C.W.E. Bipsby . Deland, Fle ., 1969. Vol. II, pp. 41-51. • "Two '.J.1radi tions in Afro-American Literature. 11 --n-e-search Ctudies, A Quarterl y Pu b lication of Washington State University, XX.,'C~!II ( S eptember 1969), 183-193. Hill, Herbert. "The Negro Writer and the C-reat i ve 11 Imagination. Arts in Societv, V (196 G), 24L~-255. Huggins, Nathan I. Harlem Rena.is-sance_. Hew York, 1971. Huc;bes, Lang ston. The Birr Sea. i-Jew York, 19l~O. I Wonder as I 1..la. nder. New York, 1956. • "Tbe Ner,:ro Artist and the Racial ;vlountain. 11 ---T~h-e Nation, CXXII (1926), 692-694. tJ.1 �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICIS f.i ( General) 11 To Negro Writers. 11 Amer i can 1tJr :t ters' Con['",X..M_fl. Henry Hart. New York, I'9]~: ,~ ·Pp :"-\39-llrl. • uThe Twenties: IIarle:-n and Its He -·r·i tude. " -~Af-r-ican Forum, I (Spr inc 1 19~6), l].-20. Jackson, Blyden. Annual "R~ sume of iJc r-.:ro Li terature. 11 Phylon, XVI (1955), 5 -12; XVII (1956 ), 35-40. Jahn, Janheinz. Neo-African Literature: A Hi story of Black Wri tin ~ . New York, 1968. Jeffers, Lance. '~fro-Ameri can Literature, The Conscience of Man." The Black S choler, II (Ja n uary 1971), Li7- 53 . -------- Johnson, Charles S. "T'he 1'1ep;ro Enters Literature . " Carolina Har:azine, LVII ( ~1a y 192 7 ), 3- 9 , Ji4 -l~ G. Johnson, .James Weldon. Alon r; This Way . New York, 1933. Jones, LeRoi (Imamu Amir i I3araka) . Home: S oc ia l Essays. New York, 19 66 . -Keller, Joseph. "Black Writ i nr; and the Wt1i te Cri t le. 11 N.~r;ro American Literature Forurq., III ( 1969 ), 1()3-110. Kent, Geor g e E. Blackness and the Ad v enture of Western Culture. Chica go , 19 71. Ki l r.:r, orc, James C. "Tbe Case fo r Black Li te:ra.ture. n Negro Dl~est, XVIII ( July 1 969), 22-25,6 6 -69 . Kill.ens, Jorin Oliver. ''A nothe r T.i.mc Wn c n Bl ack Was Beautiful." Black t·:orld, XX ( Hov e::nb e:r 1970), 20-36. Lamming , Geor c·e. "':Pbe 1Je 0 ro Writer and Il is H orld. " Prlsence Af rica ine , Nos. 3-1 0 ( J une- Novemb er 1956), pp. 32!~-332. Lash _, John. Annual "Critical Summar y o.f Literature by and About Ne groes. 11 Phvlon, XVIII (1q c;7 ), 7-24; XIX (1958 ), ll-1-3-154, 2h7-257; XX ( 1 9_c;g }. 115-131; XX:I (19 60), 111.-123 . Llorens, Davi d. '~hat Contemporary Bla ck Writers are Saying. 11 Nommo, I (Winter 1969), 2µ-27. 11 • Wri ters Conv er f-: e a.t Fisk Un i v ers i t~r . 11 Ne r::ro --D~i-gest, XV (June 1966), 54 - 6£:!i . Locke, Alain, ed. The New Nerro _: An Interpretation. New York, 1925 . Lo gg ins, Vernon. The Necro Auth or: His Development in America to 1900 . New York, 1931. 'V[urray, Albert. The Omni-Amer i cans _: New Pe~pectiv.e..s on Black Experience and -American Gul ture. New York, 19 70 • • South Ar ain to~ Verv Old Place. New York, --E-a-. • --19---7~. , ---~ 11 Neal., Larry . Any Day Now: Blac k Art and Blnck Liberation." Ebony, XJCIV (/\u r:ust 1969), 54 -5,9 , 62. "Our Prize Winners and Wbat '11hev ::-_;av of ~l.'hemsel ves. " Opportunit v , IV (1 926 ), l GB-i G9 . ~eddinc; , Saunders. "American Ne g ro Lite rature. 11 'rhe American S cholar, XVIII (19h9), 137-14 8 . ~K) I Dani e.1: Thu ff'()an., e.d 1an_~t~Y1 jfug_h~SJ S1a.ct Genf u-5: ,4 _Cr; tt ca1 __E'fa_Tuati a1. New Yarr; 7977, -- - -· O �I I LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) I I • "The Negro Writer and His Relationship to --H'T"i-s Roots. 11 The American Negro Writer and His Roots. New York, 1960. Pp 1- B. • To Make a Poet Black. Chapel Hill, N.C., I I __1"'""'9,..,..39. I Rourke, Constance. "Tradition· for a Ner;ro Li terature. 11 Roots of American Culture. New York, 1942. Pp. 262-274. Shapiro, Karl. "The Decolonization of Ame rican Literature. 11 Wils_pn Library BulletiQ, XXXIX I I I (1965), 842-853. Spingarn, Arthur B. "Books by Negro Authors. 11 The Crisis, 1938-1965, annual feature. Thurman, Wallace. "Negro Artists and the Negro." The New Republic, LII {August 31, 1g27), 37-39. Turner, Darwin T. "A.fro-American Li tere.ry Critics. 11 Black World, XIX (July 1970), 54-67. • "The Teaching of Afro-American Literature. 11 --.c. .o---llege . Engli~h, YJXI (1970), 666-670. Williams, Sh~rl9y. G~ve Birth to Brightness: ~Thematic Study in Neo-Black Literature. New YOrk, 1972. {Poetry) Bailey, Leaonead. Broadside Authors: A Bio~raohica1 Directory. Detroit, 1971. Barksdale, Richard K. "Trends in Contemporary Poetry . PhyloQ, XIX (1958), 408-416 . • "Urban Crisis and the Black Poetic Avant--G-a-rde. 11 Nep;ro American Literature Forum, III (1969), 40-44. 11 Bennett, M. W. "Negro Poets.,, Negro History Bulletin, IX (1946), 171-172, 191. Berger, Art. "Negroes with Pe ns. 11 Mainstream, XVI (July 1963}, 3-6. Bland, Edward. "Rae ial Bias and Negro Poetry. " Poetry, LXIII (1944), 328-333. Bone, Robert. "American Nec;ro Poets: A French View. 11 Tri-Quarterly, No. 4 (1965), pp 185-195. Bontemps, Arna. "American Ne gro Poetry. 11 The Crisis, LXX • (1963), 509. "Negro Poets, Then and Now." --(1.--950), 355-360. Phylon, XI '1 I I �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICIS M (Poetry) Braithwaite, William Stanley. "Some Contemporary Poets of the Negro Race. " The Cris is, XVII ( l q19), 275-280. Breman, Paul. "Poetry Into the •Sixties.'' The Black American Writer. Ed. C.W.. E. Bigsby. Deland, Fla. , 1969. Vol. II, pp 99-109. Brooks, Gwendolyn. "Poets Who Are Negro. " Phylon, XI (1950), 312. • Report from Part One. Detroit, 1972. ---. "Introduction. 11 The Poetry of Black America. Arnold Adoff, ed. New York, 1973. Brown, Sterling A. "The Blues." Pbylon, XIII (19_52), 286-292 • 11 • Nep.;ro Folk Expression: Spirituals, Seculars, --n-a--llads, and Songs. II Phylon, XIV (1953), 45-61 . • Negro Poetry and Drama. Washington, D.C., - ......1.....9,_.37 • • Outline for the Study of the Poetry of American --N~e-groes. New York, 1931. Cartey, Wi lf'red. "Four Shadows of Harlem. '' Negro Digest, XVIII (August 1969), 22-25. Chapman, Abraham. "Black Poetry Today. 11 Arts in Society, V (1968), 401-40 8. Charters, Samuel B. The Poetry of the Blues. New York, 1963. 11 Collier, Eugenia W. Heri tage f'rom Harlem. 11 Black World, XX (November 1970), 52-.59. 11 • I Do Not Marvel, Countee Cullen." CLA --3-0-~nal, XI (1967), 73-87. Davis, Arthur P. "The New Poetry of Black Hate." CLA Journal, XIII (1970), 382-391. Daykin, Walter I. "Race Consciousness in Nee;ro Poetry." pociology and Social Research, XX (1936), 98-105. Echeruo, M. J.C. "American Ne g ro Poetry. 11 _Phylon, XX.IV (1963), 62-68. Ellison, Martha. "Velvet Voices Feed on Bitter Fruit: A Study of American Ne~ro Poetry. rr Poet and Critic, IV (Winter 1967-1968), 39-49. Ely, Effie Smith. "American Negro Poetry . 11 The Christian Century, XL (1923), 366-367. Fla.sch, Joy. Melvin B. Tolsop. New York, 1973. Furay, Micha.el. "Africa in Negro American Poetry to 1929. 11 African Lit~r.gture TodfilT, II (1069), 32-41. 1 Garrett, DeLois. ~ream Motif in Contemporary Negro 11 Poetry. English Journal, LIX (1q70), 767-770. /30 I I ,I I I �LITERARY HISTORY A1'J'D CRITICISM ( Po etry) Garrett, Naomi M. '~acial Motifs in Contemporary .. Am~rJ_Q,{3,t]..,_an<LF_r_ench Negro Poetry. 11 West Virr:inia ·····• ·"''' ·university Phil5IBical Papers, XIV (1963), 80-101. Gibson, Donald B, ed. Modern Black Poets: _A Collection of Critical Essays. Enc;l~wood Cliffs, N• .J., 1973. Glicksberg, Charles I. "Ner_::ro Poets and the American Tradition. 11 rrhe Antioch Review, VI (1946), 2~.3-253. 11 Good, Charles Hamlin. The First Americe.n Ne gro Literary Movement.u Opportunity, X (1932)~ 76-79. Heath, Phoebe Anne. '~e gro Poetry as an Historical Record." Vassar Journal of Underc;ra.dua.te Studies, III (May 1928), 34-52. Horne, Franks. "Black Verse." Opportunity, II (1924), 330-332. Johnson, Charles S. "Jazz Poetry and Blues." Carolina Magazine, LVIII (May 1928), 16-20. Johnson, James Weldon, "Preface. 11 The Book of American Negro Poetry. Ed. James Weldon J ohnson. Rew York, 1931. Pp . 3-46. Kerlin, Robert T. "Conquest by Poetry. 1' The Southern Workman, LVI (1927), 282-284 . • Contemporary Poetry of the Nepro. Hampton, --v.a-., ... 1921. . - • "A Pair of' Youthful Negro Poets. 11 Tbe -'Southern Workmar::i, LIII (1924), 178-l Ml. 11 • Present-Day Nep;ro Poets. 11 The Southern --w-•o-rkman, XLIX (1920), 543-548. • "Singers of' New Songs. " Oppor t uni t_y, IV ---,(,.....1--926), 162-164. Kilgore, James C. "Toward the Dark Tower." Black World, XIX (June 1970), 14-17. - Kjersmeier, Carl. "Ne gro es as Poets. 11 The Crisis, XXX (1925), 186-189. Lee, Don L. "Black Poetry: Which Direction?" Negro Digest, XVII {September-October 106R). 21-32 . • Dynamite Voices: Black Poets of the 1960'~· --n-e~troit, 1971. Locke, Alain. "The Message of the Negr•o Poets. 11 Carolina Magazine, LVIII ( May 1928), 5-15. Moore, Gerald. "Poetry in the Harlem Renaiss ance. 11 The Black Ameri,gaQ __J_-J"ri_t._~r. Ed. C. W.E. Bigsby. Deland, Fla., l9b9, Vol. II, pp. 67-76 . Morpurgo, J.E. "American Negr o Poetry. 11 Fortnightly. CLXVIII {July 1947), 16-24. Morton, Lena Beatrice. Ne ~ro Poetry in America. Boston, 1925. "Negro Poetry. 11 Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poeti.cs. Ed. Alex Preminger, Frank J. Warnke, nnd O.B. Hardison. Princeton, N.J., 1965. Pp 556-559. 13/ I I I I I I I �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM {Poetry) "Ne gro Poets, Singers in the Dawn. 11 The Nec:ro History Bulletin, II (1938), 9-10, 14-15. Oliver, Paul. Blues Fell This ~orning : The Meaning of' The Blues. New York, 1960 • • Conversation with the Blues. New York, 1965. _P_o_o-1-,-Rosey. "'l1he Discovery of American Ne rrro Poetry. 11 Freedomways, III (1963), 46-51. 11 Ram.saran, J.A. Tbe 'Twice-Bore' Artists' Silent 11 Revolution. Black World, XX (May 1971), SF.3 -68 . 11 Redmond, Eugene B. The Black American Epic: Its Roots, Its Writers." The Black Scholar, II (January 1971), 15-22. • "How Many Poets Scrub the River's Ba.ck? 11 --c-o-nf'ronta.tion, I (Spring, 1971), 47-.53. 11 Rodgers, Carolyn M. B~-~-~tc Poetry-\fuere It's At. 11 Negro Dig~st, XVII {S~tember 1969), 7-16. Rollins, Charlemae. Fa .,t uUS American lJe~r_o P_~ets . New York, 1965. Taussig, Charlotte E. "The New l'fa~ro as Revealed in His I)oetry." Op?,ortunity, V (1927), lO P-111. 7 Ne gro Poets and Their Poetry." Thurman, Wallace. The Bookman, LXVII ( 1928), 555-561. "The Umbra Poets . 1r Mainstream, XVI ( July 1963), 7-13. "The Undaunted Pursuit of Fury. 11 !ime, XCV (April 6, 1970), 9 () -100. , , Wagner, Jean. Les poete~ nacres des Etats-vnts : Le ' sentiment rayial ~_t_relii:deux dans la poesi~~ P.L. Dunbar a L. Hughes. Paris, 1963. lt:-~lker, Margaret. "New Poets.'' Yhylon, XI (1950), 345-354. White, Newman I. ''American Ne gro Poetry." _South Atlantic Quarterly, XX (1921), 304-322 . • "Racial Fee line; in Nep;ro Poetry. " South --1-t-lantic Quarterly, XXI (1922), 14-29. Work, Monroe N. '1The Spirit of Nerrro Poetry. 11 The Southern Workman, XXXVII (19o e ), 73-77. ( Fo 1 kl ore .,_-_.,N,,,,"'""'".,....~"" b ) * Abrahams, Roger. Deep Down in the Jy.t}_g],~: _Negro Narrative Folklore from the Street 0£ Philadelphia. Hatboro, Pa.. , 1964. · -· Brewer, J. Mason . "American Negro Folklore. u Phylon, VI {1945), 354-361. ,_ - - - : . r r--•,•y.··,·n·•,-. l i ···q) - 7 . c:-7 ·n·1 , 1.... l ) ; -,1, Yl·:-,. ~-~ 1,. ::.-, .. ,.., ,J 1. • 1 .... 7 7 '"'J.l ~}-, .. ·-!1 ,/:. ,. · _ ·t·) FvJ•'••~ l! . . . . -- ',· ··: - , , ..., T ·-,· ...•-. ; '-·i '>_ JJ r'\·1 •1 ff ·. ,-·,v,;;:L1~· I -, ·~ '? j" 1 I �LI'rEHARY HISTORY A1ID CRITICIS E (Folklore) • American Ne~ro Folklore. Chicar,o, 1968. =B_r_o_w_n_, Sterlin~ A. 7 11'he Blues. 11 Phylon, XIII (lq52), 286-292. • ''Negro Folk Expression: Spirituals, Secu~1-a-rs, Ballads, ar.,.d Songs. 11 Phylon, XIV (1953), l15-61. . 11 Conley, Dorothy L. 0ric;in of the Ner::ro Spiri tue.ls. 11 The Negro Histo_ry __ Bulletin, X,Y..V ( 1962), l 79-lBO. Courlander, Harold. Negro Folk Music, Q. S .A. New York, 1963. Dorson, Richard M. American NeRro Folktales. New York, 1967 . • ed. Arrican Folklore. New York . 1972. -E-1-1~1-s-, A.B. '~volutlon in Folklore: Som~ West African Prototypes of the Uncle Remus Stories ." Popular Science, XLVIII (November 1895), 93-104 . Fisher, Miles Mark. Negro Slave Songs in the United States. New York, 1963. Georgia Writern' Project. Drums and Shadows: ~ vi val Studies Among -~b e Georr;ia Co_~~~~~___ Ner:roes. Athens, Ga., 19h0.({1 !V-: ,: .•.C.:t-J ,2•J '/s:,1-i<. 1l'"f7;.!.,; Handy, W.C. and Abbe Niles, eds. Treasury of the Blues. New York, 1949. Harris, Joe 1 Chand 1 er • D'----a_d_d....,_y_J-'a'-'--k-'-e.C...-_t=h-"e--"-R-'--'u"'.""n=a=w-"-a=y~,~a__i1___d Short Stories Told After Dark. Hew York, 1:J[1 9, Jones, LeRoi (Imamu Amir[ Ba.rake) . Black Music. New York, 1967 . • Blues People: Ner;ro Music in White America. --N-ew- York, 1963. Krebhiel, Henry Edward. Afro-American Folksonrrs: A Study in Rae ial and National Music. ~tfow York, l 9ll~. Lovell, John. "Reflections on the Orir;lns of the Negro Spiritual. " Neg1•0 American Literature Forum, III (1969), 91-97. McGhee, Nancy 13. 11 The Polk Sermon: A Facet of tbe Black Literary Heri tare. 11 CLA Journal. XIII ( 1969), 1 57-61. Odum, Howard W. and Guy B. Johnson. Tbe Ne,~ro and His Songs. Chapel Hill, N.C., 192_5 • • Negro Workaday Songs. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1926. ~O~l~i-v-er-, Paul. Blues Fell This Mornin g : The Meani ng of the Blues. New York, 1960. Scarborough, W.W. "Negro Polklore and Dialect. 11 Arena, XVII (1897), 186-192. Talley, T. vL Negro Folk Rhymes. Wise and O~berwise. New York, 1922. 133 �LITERARY IIIS':PORY AlilD CRIT IC I S ' -; ( F o lklore ) Thurman, Howard. Deep River. New York, 1955 . 11 Twinine;, Mary Arnold. An Ant b ropolo i:;-:ic nl Look at Afro-American Folk Narrati ve . 11 CLA Journal. XIV (1970), 57-61. . White, Newman I. American Ne gro Folk-~9 n ~s. Cambrid ge, Mass., 1928 . 11 Work, John W. Ne gro Folk S on g ." Oppor tun i t y , I ( 1923), 292-29!~. � 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. 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In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B. Description An account of the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Bibliography, p. 118-134 https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/files/original/6c8b122f225b26f0c41a0ce3394ddfea.pdf 19076a7f3309a78c9dd9a24de4a6f363 PDF Text Text BIBLIOGRAPHY This bibliography is designed to serve the needs of beginning and advanced students of Black Poetry. It is not intended to be exhaustive since many bibliographies repeat the same items. No attempt has been made to cite the count- less single collections of poems because numerous checklists and specialized bibliographies are available. Moreover, most anthologies, critical studies and hist ories list individual collections--in selected bi bliographies and biographies. Since many Black poets publish privatel3r or with small and relatively unknown publishing houses, the student will want to examine listin~s and reviews in Black periodicals (Black World, Journal of Black Po~try, Freedomways, Black Books Bulletin, Black Creation, CLA Journal and others). Some Black publishing houses print title listings on the inside covers of their books. Scores of records and tapes of readings, films, broadsides (single poems), pamphlet publications and tracts are also available from individuals or small publishing houses. Recently, such large recording companies as Folkways, Flying Dutchman and MoTown have begun to record and distribute Black Poetry. However, the task of locating and developing a c h ecklist for the myriad publications and publishing activities of Black poets still awaits some serious student of Black literature. For con- venience, a list of Blacl: pub~ ishing compa nies is included at the end of' tllLs~ibl io rrra nbv. �B I B L I O G R A P TI Y GENERAL RESEARCH AIDS Ada.ms, Russell L. Great Negroes, Past and rrese_n_:t. Chicago, l 96~. The Arthur B. Spingarn Collection of Nerrro Authors. Washington, D.C., 191i,fJ. Bontemps, Arna. "The James Weldon JohnsoQ __l:~.rr1orial Collection of Negro Arts and Letters. 11 Yale University Li~r.ary Gazette, XVIII (October 1943), 19-26. • "Special Collect ions of NeP:roana. " Li brarv --o-u-arterly, XIV (1944), 187-206 Chapman, Abraham. The Negro in American Literature _ and a Bibliography of . Literatur.~____Qy and about Negro Americans. Stevens Point , Wis., 1q66 . Deodene, Frank and William P. French. Black American poetry Since 1944, A Pre1_l_IT!.inary Checklist. Chatham, 1971. Dictionar:_y__Catalo_g_ of ... the __ Jesse_ E. __ Moorland__Collection of~Ne gro Life _and_History (at Howard Uni versity,. 9 vols. Boston, 1970. Dictionary Cata.lo ~ or the Schomburg Collection of Negro _Literature_&_ Hist ory-. 11 vols. Boston, 1962, 1967. Drzick, Kathleen, John Murphy, and Constance Weaver. Annotated Bibliography of Works Re latin r to the Negro in Literature and to Negro Dialects. Kalamazoo, Mich ., 1969. Du Bois, W.E.B. A Select Bibliography of the NA~ro American. 3rd ed. Atlanta, 19n5. , and Guy B. Johnson. Encyclopedia of the Negro: Pi:_~p-~_!'-~_t;o:ry _Vol un:_i~. Rev. Ed. New York, 1946. Guzman, Jessie P., ed. Ne ~ro Year Book, Tuske~ee, Ala., 194 7. Index to Periodical Articles hy and About Neproes (formerly A Guiq~__t__g__N.?. .Kt:Q ___ ]:~x.i od ic.al.. Li..teratJJ.r.e and Index to Selected Pe..r.i..QQ~_c..al.s.). International__ Library __ of_) fo.e:.ro _Lif e_and .. Utstory. 10 vols. Washington, D.C., 1967-l06G . Jahn, Hanheinz. A -Bibli_o~raphy of Neo-Af'rican Literature from Afri_ga, __ Arnerica_t.__and tw _Car:lhbean. New York , 1965. Johnson, Harry A. Multimedia Materials for AfroAmerican Studies, New York , 1971. 11 Kaiser, Ernest. The }Li.~torr of Neri-:r0 TU s~()rv. 11 _Negro Dige_st, XVII 0• ebruary lt.J6 t\ ), 10-l_S, 64-80. 11 Recent Books. H Freedomwe.ys, in each issue. --- 1 i �McPherson, James, et al, eds. Blacks in AmericA: Bibliographical Essays. New York, 1G72. Major, Clarence. Dictionary of Afro-American Slang. New York, 1970. · Miller, Elizabeth W. and Mary L. },isher. The Ner.;ro tn America: A Bibliopraphy. 2nd ed. Cambridge, Mass., 1970. The Negro in Print: ~i,p).iori:raphic Survey. Porter, Dorothy B. 11~arly American NeP:ro Writinrrs: ;;,.\i '( tw,J..7-,_Q,;.,,~..''.} A Bibliographical Studv." Papers of the BiqJiq.:·· ___,, 9_f __Arg~_:rjqQ-, XXXIX ( 19~), T~~:~gg:J__§--9~i~:!;y___ • North American Ne~ro Poets: A Biblio--g-r-aphical __ Check _List__ of~Th_e ir __ Wri ti ops, 1760-19h4. HattiesburB, Miss., 194~. Rowell, Charles H. 1¼ Bibliography of Bibliographies for the Study of Black American Literature and Folklore. 11 Black Experience, A Southern University Journal, LV (June 1969) 95-111. Smith, Jessie Carney. ''Developing Collections of Black Literature. 11 Black World. XX ( June 1971), 18-29 Turner. Darwin T. Afro-American Writers. t~- - ~ - ~-New York, 1970. Wor'k, l"Jonroe N. A Biblior;ra.pby of the Negro in Africa and America. New York , 1923. 11 Yellin, Jean Fac;an. An Index of Literary Materia.ls in _The Crisis, 1910-1931+: Ar ti cles, Belles-Lettres, and Boole Revfews. '' CL'-1. Journal, XIV (1971), 452-1~65. PERIODICAL.S Amistad Black Academy Review Black Books Bulletin Black Creation Black Orph~_us: A Journal o;f _Af'.r.ican _nnd _Afro-American Literatur~ The Black Position Black Review The Black Scholar Black Theatre Black World (formerly Ner:ro Dipest) CLA Journal Controntation: ~ Journal of Third World Literature The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races Douglass• Monthly Essence Freedomways �PERIODICALS (cont'd) The Jo_ul'nal of Black Poetr..:r The Journal of Black Studies The Journal of Ner:ro Histo.u Ner;ro American Li te_J;:1.§.~t1!l:!LJ.:.~ Negro History Bullet::l,...rr. Nkombo Nommo Opportunity: A Journal of Negro _Life Phylon: The Atlanta _University Review of nace and ,culture Presence Africain~: Cultura.l _..Revue_ of _the_Ne_g]'o World Roots: _A __Journal __ of' Cr:i.tical __and Creat_i ve. Expression Soulbook Studies in Black Literature Umbra Yardbird __ Reader ANTHOLOGIES (NOTE: Most, but not all, of the followinr.; antholoA;ies are devoted primarily to BlQck Poetry.) Adams. William, Peter Conn, and Barry Slepian, eds. Afro-American Literature: Poetry. Boston, 1970. Adoff, Arnold, ed. Black Out Loud: An Anthology of Modern Poems by Black Americans. New York, 1970. , ed. I Am the Darker Brother: An AntholoBv --o-f-Modern Poems by Black Americans. New York, 1963. , ed. The Poetry of Black AmeJ1~.9a. New York, -,973. Afro-Arts Anthology. Newark, 1066. Alha~nisi, Ahmed and Harun K. Wa.ngara, eds. Black Arts: An Anthology of Black Creations. Detroit, 1970. Baker, Houston A., Jr., ed. Black Literature in America. New York, 1971. Barksdale, Richard and Kenneth Kinnanon, eds. Black Writers of America. New York, 1972. __12CD. Soul Sessioq. Newark, 1969. Black History Museu~ Co~Mittee of Philadelphia. Black Poets Write On. Philadelphia., 1969 (?). Bontemps, Arna., ed. American Negro Poetrv. New York, 1963. Brawley, Benjamin, ed. Early Negro American Writers. Chapel Hill, N.C • ., 19~ Brooks, Gwendol::,i., ed. A Broa.dside T:reasur__y. Detroit, 1971. *_ -:1-Belt., 6e 'rtlt'A.Y'ti ~ .e.d, WeM\ ctnd_ _~.o~_~mpot"o..r A~e Y' ·i c~n.~J:..rj/,. Sot'nn·, ~ . 0 Afr.Q- �ANTHOLOGIES (cont'd) , ed. Jump Bad: A New Chicar:o Anthology. ---=n-e~troit, 1971. Brown, Sterling A., Arthur P. De.vis, and Ulysses Lee, eds. The Ne~ro Caravan. New York, 19ltl; Arno, 1969. Ca.de, Toni, ed. The Black Wome.n: An Anthology. New York, 1970. Calverton, Victor F., ed. Anthology o~ American Negro Literature. New York, 1929. Chambers, Bradford and Rebecca Mo on, eds. Bight On: Anthology of' Black LiterattJ,re. New York, 1970. Chapman, Abraham, ed. Afro-American Slave Narratives. New York, 1970. . , ed. Black Voices: An~~hology of Afro-American _ _L_.i...-terature. New York, 1968 . , ed. New Black Voices. New York, 1971. -0--1-a.-r.....k-e, John Henrik, ed. Harlem: Voices from the Soul of Black America. New York , 1970. Coombs, Orde, ed~ We Speak as Libera.tors: Young Black Poets. New York, 1970. Cornish, Sam and Lucian w. Dixon. Chicorv: Young Voices From the Black Ghetto. New York, 1969. Cromwell, Oteliz, Lorenzo D. Turner, and Eva B. Dykes, -. eds. Readings from Negr__Q_Authors. New York, 1931. /cruise, Harold. The Crisis of the Ne ,;:ro Intellectual.) 1,.ds/1'] ~ New York, 1967. Cullen, Countee, ed. Carolin~ Dusk: An Anthology of Verse by Negro Poets. New York, 1927. Cunard, Nancy, ed. Ne~ro AntholOBY• London, 1934. Danner, Mar garet. ReRroup. Richmond, Va .• 1969 • . The Brass House. Richmond, Va ., 1968 . -n-a_v_i_s_, Arthur P. and Saunders Reddin~, eds. Cavalcade: Ner;ro American Writinp from 1760 to the Present. Bosto n, 1971. Davis, Charles T. and Daniel We.lden, eds. On Beinp; Black: Writings by Afro-Americans from Frederick Dou~lass to the Present. New York, 1970. Dreer, Herman, ed. American Literature by Negro Authors. New York, 1950. Emanuel, James A. and Theodore Gross, eds. Dark Symphonv: Negro Literature in America. New York, 1968. Ford, Nick Aaron, ed. Black In?.iggts: S i~nificant Literature by Afro-Ame_r icans-1760 to the Present. Waltham, Mass., 1971. Freedman, Franc Gs S., ed. The Black American Experienc :· A New Anthology of Bla.ck Li te~atur_~. New York, 1 g70. Giovanni, Nikki. Night Comes Softly. Newa.r-K >· • 1971'. �ANT!IOLOG IES (cont'd) Haslam, Gerald W., ed. Forgotten Pa.rre s of American Literature. Boston, 1970. Hayden, Robert, ed. Kaleidoscope: Poems by American Negro Poets. New York, 1967. , David Burrows, and Frederick Lapides, eds. --A-r-ro-American Literature. - New York, 1971. Henderson, David, ed. Umbra. Blackworks Antholoc;y 1970-1971. New York;-T971. Henderson, Stephen. Understa.ndine; the New Black Poetry. New York, 1973. Hill, Herbert, ed. Soon One Mernin~: New Writi n bv American Negroes, 19 0-19 2. New York, 1963. Hughes, Langston, ed. 'l1he Book of Ner,:ro Humor. New York, 1966. , . ~ , ed. La Poesie N,gro-Am~ricaine. Paris : Editions Segbers, 1966. , ed. New Negro Poets U.S.A. Bloomington, Ind., --19-64. and Arna Bontemps, eds. 'l'he Poetrv of the Nerro_, 1Tu6-19~l.Q. Rev. ed. Garden City, U.Y ., 1970. Johnson, Charles s., ed. ~bony and Topaz: A Calleetanea. New York, 1927. Johnson, James ·weldon, ed. The Bo ok of' American Ne ,q;ro Poetry. Rev. ed. New York, 1931. , ed. The Book of American NoQro S irituals. --N-ew- York, 192; The Second ~ook of Nerrro Spiritua ls. New York, 1926. Jones, LeRoi and Larry Neal, eds. _Black FirQ: An. Anthology of Afro-American Writing. New York, 1968. Jordan, June, ed. Soulscript: Afro-American Poetry . Garden City, N.Y., 1970. Kearns, Francis E., ed. The Black Exp~;r.J~nq~: _AQ_ Anthology of American Literature for the 197.Q...!_~. New York, 1970. Kendricks, Ralph, ed. _Afro-Americn.n Voice~: 1770' s1970' s. New York, 1970. Kerlin, Robert T., ed. Negro Poets and Their Poems. · 2nd ed. Washington, D.C., 1935. King, Woodie. ]?lack Spir_i ts: A_Festi val _ of __}I~~ Black Poets in Amer ica. New York, 1972. Knight, EtheridGe, ed. Black Voices from Prison. New York, 1970. Lanusse, Armand, ed. Creole Voices: :e9_~ms __ in French by Fr_e~ __ M~_n_ of . Color. Ed. Edward r~. Coleman. Centennial ed. Washington, D.C., 1945. �ANTHOLOGIES (cont'd) Locke, Alaine, ed. Four Negro Poets. New York, 1927. , ed. The New Ner:;ro: An Interpretation. New York, 192.5. Lomax, Alan and Raoul Abdul, eds. 3000 Years of Black Poetry. New York, 1970. ~Lowenfels, Walter, ed. In A.Time of Revolution: Poems From our Third World. New York, 1969. Major, Clarence, ed. The New Black Poetry . New York, 1969. Miller, Adam David, ed. Dices or Black Bones: Black Voices of the Seventies. Boston, 1970. Miller, Ruth, ed. .Blackamerican Li tera.tu.r_e 1760-Present. Beverly Hills, Calif., 1971. Moon, Bucklin, ed. Primer for White Folks. Garden City, N.Y., 1945. Murphy, Beatrice, ed. Nee;ro Voi~. Hew York, 1938. • Ebony Rhyt_h~. New York , 19µ. 3 and 1968. - - - . Today's Negr o Voices. New York , 1070. Nelson, Alice Dunbar, ed. Masterpieces of Ner:r.9 Eloquence. New York , 1914. Nicholas, Xavier, ed. Poetry of Soul. New York, 1971. , ~ ;-• Lanp;ston IIur;hes, Black Genius: ) 6£'...\.a,1 . Ji ( O 'Daniel, Thurman, ed. • A Critical Evaluation. New York, 1971. Osofsky, Gilbert, ed. Puttin' on Ole Mass? : ____T11e Sle.ve Narratives of Henry Bibb, Willi.am W. Brown, and Solomon Northrup. New York, 1969 . Patterson, Lindsay, ed. ~n Introduction to Black Literature in America from l to the Present. W&shington, D.C., 19 9. Perkins, Eugene, ed. Black Expressions: An Anthology of New Black Poets. Chicaso, 1967. Poems by Blacks, vol. I. Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1970. , Vol. II. Fort Smith, Arkansa s, 1972. - - - , Vol. III. ( Pinkie Gordon Lane, ed.). Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1973. Pool, Rasey E., ed. Beyond the Blues: New Poems by American Hep:roes. Lympne, Kent, Entland, 1962. • Ik Ben de lJieuwe Neger. The Ha.cue: Bert --B-a....-kker, 196h. Porter, Dorothy, ed. Early Nep;ro Writ_ins, ____1760-183..7. Boston, 1971. Randall, Dudley , ed. Black Poet~_y: A Supplement to Anthologies Uhich Exclude Black Po~_t s. Detroit, 1969. and Margaret Burrour;hs, eds. For Malcolm: Poems on the Life anj Death of Malcolm X. Detroit, 1969 ., ed. The Black Poets. New Yo~k, 1971. _R_e_d_m_o-nd, Eugene. Sides of the River: _A Mini Anthology . of Black Hritings. ·E.k!.·t"S1".1.. m.ti~Jt.t.L·;.~- , 1970. ~,tona·r Rich~F& A. ~r'\d ~u'be.Y\i~ ct3l.l:ler.J" eds .. Af.r:,o-Ahl.e·ry.can ~ i ,°\l\ , _, t'\ A.nttlplOBY oP Pt~ ro:~'n-if ~ voG. 1\-ew \ •ot1-K1 'r..?;~ -.__ 'q w O �ANTHOLOGIES (cont'd) Reed, Ishmael, ed. 19 Necromancers from Now: An _Anthology of Original American Writing tor the 70s. Garden City, N.Y., 1970. Robinson, William H., ed. Early Black American f--2.tl.§.. Dubuque, Iowa, 1969. Rodgers, Carolyn M., ed. For Love of Our Brothers. Chicago, 1970 •. Schulberg, Budd, ed. From the Ashes: Voices ot Watts. New York, 1967. Shuman, R. Baird, ed. A Galaxy of Black Writing.~~ Durham, · N. C., 1970. , ed. Nine Black Poets. Durham, N.C., 1968. BourITession. Newark, 1970 (?) Stanford, Barbara Dodds, ed. I, Too, Sing America: Black Voices in American Literature. New York, l • 1971. Ten: An Antholof. of Detroit Poets. Fort Smith, Arkansas, 196. Troupe, Quincy, ed. Watts Poets and Writers. Los Angeles, 1968. Turner, Darwin T., ed.· Black American Literature: Poetry. Columbus, Ohio, 1970. Watkins, Sylvester c., ed. Antholo~ of American Negro Literature. New York, 1944. White, Newman I. and Walter C. Jackson, eds. An. Anthology of Verse by American Negroes. · Durham. N.C., 1924. .I Wilentz, Ted and Tom Weatherly, eds. Natural Process: An Anthology of New Black Poetry. New York, 1971. Woodson, Carter G., ed. Negro Orators and Their Orations. Washington, D.C., 1925. LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM · (General) Allen, Samuel. "Negritude and Its Relevance to the American Negro Writer. 11 The American Ne_gro Writer and His Roots. New York, 19-60. Pp. ·cT.:..20 -- ----The America-n Negr_Q__ W.!"~_ter_~_n_g.__ H~-~ Ro_ ot~. New York, 1960. Baraka., Imamu Amiri (LeRoi Jones). "The Black Aesthetic." Negro Digest, XVIII (September 1969), 5-6. Bontemps, Arna. "The Black Renaissance of the Twenties," Black World, XX (November 1970), 5-9. • "Famous WPA Authors." Negro Digest, VIII --.(.-..J.... une 1950), 43-47. · • "The Harlem Renaissance." The Saturday Review __o_f....L1terature, XXX (March 22, 1947), 12-¼3, 44 . • "The Negro Contribution to American Lettere." --...Th..----e American Ne~ro Reference Book. Ed. John P. Davis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1966. Pp. 850- 878. _,. �LI'.11ERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) • "The New Black Renaissa.nce." Nea:ro Dir·est, --x-r--(November 1961), 52-58. , ed. The Harlem Renaissance Remembered. New --y~o-rk, 1972. 11 Brawley, Benjamin. The Uegro in Amer>ican Literoture. u The Bookman, LVI (October 1922), 137-1~1. Bronz, Stephen II. Roots of Negro Racial Consciousness: The 1920's: Three Harlem Rena issance Author~. New York, 1961.i.. 11 Brooks, Russell. "rhe Comic Spirit and the Negro's 11 New Look. CLA Journal, VI (1962), 35-L~3. Brown, Lloyd W. "Black Entitles: Hames a.s Symbols in Afro-American Literature." Studies in Black Litera.~ , I (Spring 1970), 16-44-. 11 Brown, Sterling A. The American Race Pr oblem a.s Reflected in American Literature. " The Journal of Negro Education, VIII (1939), 275-290 • 11 • The New Ne gro in Literature (1 925-1955)." _ _T.,...h-e New Negro 'rhirtv Years Aft_erward. Ed. Rayford w. Logan et al. Washingto n, D.C., 1955. Pp 57-72. Calverton, Victor F. rhe Liberation of American Literature. New York, 1932 • 11 • The Negro and American Culture. 11 The Saturday ----:R'eview of Literature, XXII (September 21, 1940), 3-4. Cayton, Horace R. "Ideological Forces i.n the Work of Negro Writers. 11 :fl.ne;er, and Beyond: The Nee;ro xfriter in the United States. Ed. Herbert Hill. New York, 1966. Pp . 37-50. Chapman, Abraham. "The Harlem Renaissance in Literary History. 11 CLA Journal, XI ( 1967), 38-58. Clarke, John Henrik. "The Neglected Dimensions of the Harlem Renaissance." Black World, XX ( Nove mber 1970) 1 118-129. - • "The Origin and Growth of Afro-American Litera----r-t-u-re. 11 Negro Digest, XVII (December 1967), 51-t-6 7. Clay, Eugene. "The Ne gro in Recent American Literature." Ed. Henry Hart. New ~~!~~-gl~}?'t.t~~: ':df5~r5~:13. _Col l_QQ_ui um_ 9. q_E~E!'..~ Jl:r.t : !:.~_rs t Wor 1 d Fe_~t?:..~-~ l- of N~_fil'....O W (1966). Presence Afr i caine Editions, 19bD. Conrad, Earl. '¼merican Viewpoint: Blues School of Literature." The _Chi_ca~Defender, December 22, 1945, p. 11. Cook, Mercer and Stephen H~p,d,erson. The Militant Black Writer in Africa and United ~tates. Madison, Wis., 1969. Cullen, Countee. "The D~,,rk Tower. 11 Opportunity, rrronthly column, 1926... 1928. --.,.'Cru$e tto.r~ld ; 0 .. ~ , s;. c.f t'he N._~~-D.__J1?~~7~J~ttu~1.. J~ew yv ""i-~ J--:J too �LITERARY HISTORY AND CTUTICISP (General) Davis, Arthur P. "Growing up in tlrn New Nec;ro Renaissance: 1920-1935." Nee:ro Amer:i.cnn Literature Forum, II (1968), 53-59. · Dillard, J.L. Black English. New York. 1q72. Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls·of Black Folk. Chica~o, 1903. Ellison, Ralph. ~hadow and Act. New York, 1964: Evans, Mari. "Contemporary Black Li tereture. 11 Bl a.ck World, XIX ( June 1970), 4, 9 3-9ti. Ford, Nick Aaron. Annual "Critical Survey of Significant Belles Lettres by and About Nee-r oes." Phylon, XXII (1961), 119-131+; XXV (196h), 123-lJh . • "Black Literature and the Pro blem of Eval_ _u_a..,...tion. 11 College Enr:lish, XXXII ( 1971), 536-5L~ 7. ~ Black Studies: Threat Or' Cballen r,:e? Port \1'(tiG_,# Washin 0 t?n, N.Y., 1973. _. . . ,Jticn-'Cl}~.s~.!J~ _ D.' Fuller, Hoyt W. "Black Ima g es and Wnite CrJ.tics. "\' ~ 1 -·v-~~-\J u,q b 1 • "Tho llier1:ro Hriter in the Un1ted States ." ~--.1• Jt~ n y . XX (November 1964), 126-131-1-. • " Perspectives." Nep-ro Di r·est and Black ·world, --m-o-nthlv column. , e~. '¼ Survey: Black Writers' Views on Lit--e-r-nry Lions and Values, n ~-~_p;ro Digest, XVII ( January 1968), 10-48, 81-89. Gayle, Addison, Jr., ed. The Black Aestbeti~. Garden City, N.Y., 1971. , ed. Black Expression: Essavs bv and About ---=B...-1-ack Americans in the Crea.ti ve Arts. h ew York, 19 69 • . - -- -- - Gerald, Carolyn. n'I1be Black Wr:l ter and His Ro le. 11 Negro Digest, XVIII (Januar y 1969), 42-4 9. Haskins, Jim and Hu gb F. Butts, M.D. The Psycbology of Black Lanrrua!{i• New York, 1973 . Haslam, Gerald W. The Aweke □ inc of American Negro Literature 1619-1900. n The Black American Writer. Ed. C.W.E. Bigsby. Deland, Pla.. , 1969. VoT-~ II, pp. 41-51. 11 • Two 'l1 radi tions in A.fro-American Literature. 11 -ires"ea.rch Studies, A Quarterly i)ublication of Washington State University, XXXVII (Septembe r 1969), 183-193. Hill, Herbert. "The Negr o Writer and the Creative 11 Imap;ination. Arts in Societv, V (196D), 24Li-255. Huggins, Nathan I. Harlem Renais-sance_. New York, 1971. Hue;bes, Langston. The Biv Sea. Hew York, l 9L~O. I Wonder as I Wander. New York, 1956. • "The Ne r;ro Artist and tbe Racial Mountain. 11 --T~h-e Nation, CXXII (1926), 692-694. �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) "To Negro vlri ters. 11 American Writers' ConD.:ress. --E-a-. Henry Hart. New York, 19J5:~~~-==:Pp';'139_141. • "The Twenties: Harlem and Its He p:ritude." --A-f-rican Forum, I (Springl 19~6), 11-20. Jackson, Blyden. Annual "R~sume of Ne p:ro Literature." Phylon, XVI (1955), 5-12; XVII (1956), 35-L~o. Jahn, Janheinz. Ueo-African Literature: A History of Black Writing. New York, 1968. Jeff'ers, Lance. "Afro-American Literature, The Conscience of Han. 11 The Black Scholg_r. II (January 1971), L).'7-53. Johnson, Charles S. "T·be Necro Enters Literature." Carolina Magazine, LVII ( May 1927), 3-9, Ji4-L~8. Johnson, James Weldon. Along This Way. New York, 1933. Jones, LeRoi (Ima.mu Amiri Ba.raka). Home: Social Essays. New York, 1966. -Keller, Joseph. "Black Writing and the Wt1ite Critic. 11 Negro American Literature Forum, III (1969), 103-110. Kent, Geor ge E. Blackness and the Adventure of Western Culture. Chicago, 1971. 11 Kile;ore, James C. The Case for Black Literature. " Negro Digest, XVIII (July 1969), 22-25,66-69. 11 Killens, John Oliver. Another T:ime Wben Black Was Beautiful." Black ·world, XX (IJovember 1970), 20-36. Lamming, George. "The Ne p;ro Writer and His World. 11 Prisence Africaine, Nos. 8-10 (June-November 1956), pp. 324-332. La.sh, John. Annual "Critical Summary o.f Literature by and About Ne groes." Phvlon, XVIII (19 c~7), 7-24; XIX (1958 ), 143-154, 21~7-257; XX (1959), 115-131; • XXI (1960), 111.-123. Llorens, David. '~hat Contemporary Black Writers are Saying." Nommo, I (Winter 1969), 2L1-27. • ''t-Jriters Conver ge at Fisk University. 11 Ner.;ro --n-i-gest, xv (June 1966}, 54-63. Locke, Alain, ed. The New Ne gro; An Interpretation. New York, 1925. Loggins, Vernon. The Negro Author: His Development in America to 1900. New York, 1931. 11.lurray, Albert. Tbe Omni-Americans: New P~pectives on Black Experience and American Culture. New York, 1970 • • South A0:a.in to A Verv Old Place. New York, - ...... 19"""'7~- -~ --- Neal, Larry. "Any Day Now: Black Art and B~ack Liberation." Ebony. XXIV (August 1969), 54-58, 62. "Our Prize Winners and What They Say of Themselves. 11 Opportunitv, IV (1926), 1 80 -1 09. ~edding, Saunders. ''American Ne gro Literature. 11 The American Scholar, XVIII (19L~9), 137-11-1-G. " ,,~, Dani~l , i"hu trrn'1n. , ed. .an_grf'i,fl BQ,lhe.s, 6to..c)( Geni \J,;Sl : .L- A. Cv-i -1--i cetl /;;v;?i,'lP.~tJJf(I' . l\etu </'ow-iKJ lq'71, · �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (General) • "The Negro Writer and His Relationshi.p to ---...H.....i-s Roots. " The American Negr o Writer and His Roots. New York, 1960. Pp 1-8 • • To Make a Poet Black. Chapel Hill, N.C., --19~39. Rourke, Constance. "Tradition· for a Negro Literature." Roots of American Culture. New York , 1942. Pp. 262-274. . Shapiro, Karl. "'rbe Decolonization of American Literature." Wils_pn Library Bul letiQ, XXXIX (1965), 842-853 . Spingarn, Arthur B. "Books by Negro Authors. 11 The Crisis, 1938-1965, annual feature. Thurman, Wallace. "Negro Artists. and the Negr o. 11 The New Republic, LII (August 31, 1q2 7), 37-39. Turner, Darwin T. "Afro-American Li tera.ry Critics. 11 Black World, XIX (July 1970), 54-67. • "The Teaching of Afro-American Literature." --c-o--llege Engll~l-:1, YC{XI (1970), 666-670. Williams, Sherle-y. _gJve Birth to Bris;htness: ~Thematic Study in Nee-Black Literature. New YOrk, 1972. (Poetry) Bailey, Leaonead. Broadside Authors: A Bigpraphical Directory. Detroit, 1971. Barksdale, Richard K. "Trends in Contemporary Poetry. Phylon, XIX (1958), 408-416 . • "Urban Crisis and the Black Poetic Avant--G-a-rde. 11 Negro Ame-rican Literature Forum, III 11 (1969), 40-44. Bennett, M. W. "Ne gr o Poets.'' Ne e;r o History Bulletin, IX (1946), 171-172, 191. Berger, Art. "Negroes with Pens. 11 Mainstream, XVI (July 1963), 3-6. Bland, Edward. "Rae ial Bias and Negro Poetry . " Poetry, LXIII (194~.), 3213-333. Bone, Robert. "American Nec;ro Poets: A FY'ench View. 11 Tri-Quarterly, No. 4 {1965), pp 135-195. Bontemps, Arna. "American Nep;ro Poetry. 11 The Crisis, (1963), 509. LXX • 0 Negro Poets, Then and Now." -~(-1""'950), 355-3 60 . . Phylon, XI �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICIS M ( Poetry) Braithwaite, William Stanley. "Some Contemporary Poets of the Negro Race. " The Cr•is is, XVII {1 q1 g), 275-280. Breman, Paul. "Poetry Into the 1 Sixties." The Black American Writer. Ed. C.W... E. Bigsby. Deland, Fla., 1969. Vol. II, pp 99-109. Brooks, Gwendolyn. "Poets Who Are Negro. " Phylon, XI (1950), 312. • Report from Part One. Detroit, 1972. - - - . "Introduction." The Poetrv of Blacl\ America. Arnold Adoff, ed. 11 New York, 1973. Brown, Sterling A. "The Blues. Phylon, XIII {1952), 286-292. • "Negro Folk Expression: Spirituals, Seculars, --B-a..-llads, and Songs." Phylon, XIV (1953), 45-61 . • ~egro Poetry and Drama. Washington, D.C., -.....,1,..,.9.....37 • • Outline for the Study of the Poetry of American --N-e-groes. New York, 1931. Cartey, Wilfred. "Four Shadows of Harlem.'' Negro Digest, XVIII (August 1969), 22-25. Chapman, Abraham. "Black Poetry Today. 11 Arts in Society, V (1968), 401-!~08. Charters, Samuel B. The Poetry of the Blues. New York, 1963. Collier, Eugenia W. "Herl tage from Harlem. 11 Black World, XX (November 1970), 52-59. . ''I Do Not Marvel, Countee Cullen." CLA ----;Journal, XI (1967), 73-87. 11 Davis, Arthur P. The New Poetry of' Ela.ck Hate. " CLA Journal, XIII (1970), 382-391. Daykin, Walter I. "Race Consciousness in Nec;ro Poetry." Sociology and Social Research, XX (1936), 98-105 . Echeruo, M. J.C. If.American Negro Poetry. " _phylon, XXIV (1963), 62-68. Ellison, Martha. "Velvet Voices Feed on Bitter Fruit: A Study of American Neero Poetry." Poet and Critic, IV (Winter 1967-1968), 39-49. Ely, Effie Smith. "American Negro Poetry . " The Christian Century, XL (1923), 366-367. Fla.sch, Joy. Melvin B. Tolson. New York, 1973. Furay, Michael. '¼frica in Negro American Poetry to 1929." African Li~ture Tod§:Y, II (1069), 32-41. 1 Garrett, DeLois. ~rAam Motif in Contemporary Negro · Poetry." English Journal, LIX (1970), 767-770. �LI'rERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM (Poetry) -·~l·~/' Garrett, Naomi M. •~acial Motifs in Contemporary ., ..Jtr11,§,!'JCll.JLJlnd...F.r__ench Negro Poetry. 11 West Virf1:inia __..,,.,.,,-•· IJniversity Phil6!dcal Papers, XIV (1963), 80-101. Gibson, Donald B, ed. Modern Black Poets: A Collection of Critical Essays. Engl~wood Cliffs, N.J., 1973. Glicksberg, Charles I. "Neero Poets and the American Tradition." The Antioch Review, VI (1946), 243-2.53. Good, Charles Hamlin. ttThe First America.n Negro Literary Movement." Opportunity, X (1932)~ 76-79. Heath, Phoebe Anne. "Negro Poetry as an Historical Record." Yassar Journal of' Underc;ra.dua.te Studies, III (May 1928 ), 34-52. Horne, Frank s. "Black Verse." Opportunity, II (19211-), 330-332. Johnson, Charles S. 11 Ja.zz Poetry and Blues." Carolina. Magazine, LVIII (May 1928), 16-20. Johnson, James Weldon, 11 Freface. tr Tt.e Book of American ~egro Poetry. Ed. James Weldon Joh nson. New York, 1931. Pp. 3-46. Kerlin, Robert T. "Conquest by Poetry.'' The Southern Workman, LVI (1927), 282-2 04 . • Contemporary Poetry of the Negro. Hampton, --v~a-., 1921. . • "A Pair o.f Youthful Ne vro Poets. 11 The --'Southern Workman, LIII (1924), 178-l f~ l. · • "Present-Day Ne gro Poets. 11 The Southern Workman, XLIX (1920), 543-548. • "Singers of' New Songs." Opportunity, IV --(-1--926), 162-164. Kilgore, James C. "Toward the Dark Tower." Black World, XIX (June 1970), 14-17. · Kjersmeier, Carl. "Ne groes as Poets.'' The Crisis, XXX (1925), 186-189. Lee, Don L. ''Black Poetry: Which Direction?" Negro Digest, XVII (September-October 1968 ), 27-32. • Dynaml te Voice~: Black Poets of the 1960 !..§.. --n-e-troit, 1971. Locke, Alain. "The Message of the Ne gro Poets. 11 Carolina Magazine, LVIII ( May 1928 ), 5-15. Moore, Gerald. "Poetry in the Harlem Renaissance. 11 The Black America_t:}___lf.I"_U_~r. Ed. C.W.E. Bi gsby. Deland, Fla., 1969, Vol. II, pp. 67-76. Morpurgo, .J.E. "America.n Negro Poetry. n Fortnightly, CLXVIII (July 1947), 16-24. Morton, Lena Beatrice. Negro Poetry in America. Boston, 1925. · "Negro Poetry. 11 Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Ed. Alex Preminger, Frank J. Warnke, and O.B. Hardison. Princeton, N.J., 1965. Pp 558 -559. �LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM { .Poetry) "Ne gro Poets, Singers in the Dawn. fl Bulletjn, II {1938), 9-10, 14-15 . Oliver, Paul. The Ner;ro History Blues Fell This ~ ornin ~ : The Meaning of The Blues. New York, 1960 . • Conversation with the Blues. New York, 1965. Foo!-,-Rosey. "The Discovery of American Ne i-:i; ro Poetry. " Freedomways, III (1963), 46-51. Ramse.ran, J.A. 11 Tbe ''I'wice-Bort~' ,'\rt .i sts I Si lent Revolution. 11 Black World, XX {May 1971), SB-68. Redmond, Eur;ene B-~ "The Bla ck American Epic : Its Roots, Its Writ ers. 11 The Ela.ck Scholar, II ( January 1971), l .' J-22. 11 • How Many Poets Scrub tbe River's Bae k?" ---Confrontation, I (Spring, 1971), 47-53. Rod gers , Carolyn M. "BJ.Pr,!{ Poetry-Wh ere It's At. 11 Negro Digez,g_t, XVII (S{oQtemoer 1969), 7-16. Rollins, Charlemae. Fa,,,0us American lJ~ro Poets. New York, 1965. 11 Taussig, Charlotte E. The New lfo t-;t'o as Revealed in His Poetry.'' Op?iortunity, V (1927), l OP, -111. Thurman, Wallace.Negro Poets and Their T' oetry. 11 The Bookman, LXVII tl92 8 ), 55'_5-_,'61. "The Umbra Poets. 11 Mainstream, XVI (July 1963), 11 7-13. The Undaunted Pursuit of Ii'ury. 11 Jime, XCV (Apri 1 6, 1970)' 91'3 -100. ' ' ' Wagner, Jean. Les poete¥ n0gres des Etats-vnis: Le ' sentiment ra'f ia_l __~t relig ieux dans la poesie de P.L. Dunbar a L. Hughes. Paris, 1963. 1t:----1fa.1ker, Harga1"et . "New .P oets. 11 _ })hylon. XI (1950), 345-35'4. White, Newman I. "American Negr o Poett'y ." Atlantic Q.uarterly, XX (1921), 304-322. • ttRa.cial Feeling in NeP:ro Poetr~r. •r __;)outb South --A-t-lantic Quarterly, iXI (19~2), 14-2~. 11 Work, Monroe N. 'I11:i.e Spir:L t of Ner:ro P oetr:l • " The Southern Workman, XXXVII (1 900), 73-77 . (Folklore) Abrahams, Roger. Deep Down in the JunP.;l~: Ne~ro Narrative -·. Folklore from the Street of Phi ladelphi~. ···- - - ; T -·- -·------· - -· -···---·-·· -- -----·-·- .. ···-··--··llatboro, Pa ., 1904. Brewer, J. Mason. "American Negro Folklore. 11 Phylon, VI (1945), 354-361. * --- ·r,_-: ·~-)'·•~), . -_ ....- ~ • - ,..·1-;::-;...-,J -P:1 r' :~· : ,. ~ .c, 1--·... l', ., ,. " ; 1) .- ,:-:·-~~-.-.- . ·y -f"--::1· .- ·.'.--- ------- - --,1-- ·-··--;:-~·-,. -_7~---· 7 -:,-y_... ·--. ·:··,.. ~---=-1·~r -,. ·.. - -:·1--.. :,··~- ·--·---. .,. ., _,, ,, - -- - -~ F,,., ... r>1 prn) -:-~- ~-,:-:;-,--:.t:"t �LITERARY HISTORY A1i:D CHITICIS M (Folklore) • American Ne§ro Folklore. Chica c o, 1968. """B_r_o_w_n_, Sterling A. The Blues. n Phylon, XIII (1952), 286-292. · • "Negro Folk Expression: Spirituals, Secu---1-a-rs, Ballads, and Songs. 11 Phylon, XI V (1953), q.5-61. Conley, Dorothy L. 11 0ri gin of the Ne p::ro Spirituals. 11 The Negro HistorY_Bulletin, YJ..V (1962), 179-1 80. Courlander, Harold. Necro Folk Music, U.S.A. New York, 1963. Dorson, Richard M. American Negro Folktales. New York, 1967 • • ed. African Folklore. New York. 1972. Ellis, A.B. "Evolut io n in Polklore: Some West African l)rotot y pes of the Uncle Remus Stories. tr Popular Selene~, XLVIII (November 1895 ), 93-104. Fisher, Miles Mark. Ne~ro Slave Songs in the United States. New York, 1963. Geor p.; ia Writers• Pro j Act. Drums and Shadows: ~ vival Studies Among the Geor P,ia Coastal Ner;roes. Athens, Ga. , 19h O. ((i'i;~~-z.,,:c .: fl cu• I -~t ;,. ;; 1o/;'.-y--·· ·Handy, W.C. and Abbe Niles, eds. Treasury of the Blues. New York, 1949 . Harris, J·oe 1 Chand 1 er. D;:; _; ,;a.'-"d:. .:.d:. .y--'J:. .:a: .:. ;kc::. e; :__..; . t=h..=ce--=-R:. .; u.:..:n=a=w"-'a=y"'-:!:-,-;,:-=a.c;;.;n'"""d Short Stories Told After Dark. New York, 1089. Jones, LeRoi (Imamu Amiri Baraka). Black Music. New York, 1967 • • Blues People: Negro Mu3ic in White America. --N~ew- York, 1963. K.rebhiel, Henry Edward. Afro-American I-<'olksongs: A Study in Racial and National Music. New York, 1914. Lovell, John. "Reflections on the Ori p;J. ns of the Ne c:ro Spiritual. 11 Negro American Li tera.ture Forum, III (1969), 91-97. McGhee, Nancy B. "The Folk Sermon: A Facet of the Black Literary Herita ge. 11 CLA Journal. XIII (1969), 57-61. Odum, Howard W. and Gu:r B. Johnson. Tbe Ner-ro and His Songs. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1925 . • Negro Workaday Songs. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1926. -◊-1-1-v-e-r, Paul. Blues Fell This Mornin g : The Meaning of the Blues. 1~ew York, 1960. Scarborough, W. \r-l. "Ne gro Folklore and Dialect. 11 Arena, XVII (1 897), 186-1 92. Talley, T. W. Ner:ro Folk Rhymes, Wise and Otherwise. New York, 1922. 1 . ' ' I �LI'l1ERARY HISTORY AHD CHI':I.1ICIS V (Folklore) Deep River. New York, 1955. ffAn Anthropolo s ical Look at Afro-American Folk Narrative." CIA Journ1J.l, Thurman, Howard. '11wining, Mary Arnold. XIV (1970), 57-61. White, Newman I. American Negro Folk-_~onP-s. Cambridge, Mass., 1928. 11 Work, John W. Ne?ro Folk Son g . " Opportunit y , I ( 1923), 292-29L~. �B L A C K P U B I, I S II I N G H O U S E S AFRO-AM PUBLISHING CO. 1727 South Indiana Avenue Chicag o, Illionois 60616 AL KITAB S1JDA~,J PUDLISHETG CO* P .O. Box 6536 San Francisco, California 9hl0l ASSOCIATED PUBLISHERS 1530 19th Avenue, N.W. 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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/b625894b140d30b742878a18c9202118.pdf aeadc798dc9d2499046cb2f891cedc61 PDF Text Text CHAPTER II THE BLACK AND UNKNOWN BARDS 0 black and unknown bards of long ago, How came your lips to touch the sacred fire? -- James Weldon Johnson I Origins of Black Expression: In this chapter, as in subsequent ones, I will attempt to place the Black creative mind within the spirit and letter of an African-American cultural tradition. Unfortunately, many early scholars either played down or ignored African influences on Black American poetry. these early scholars. This was certainly not true of all For while some gloated over the "findings" of "Southern whites"--purposting to prove that the Spirituals were derived solely from English (Hymns and Psalms) sources-Johnson (Book of American Negro Spirituals, 1925), Professor Work (Folk Song of the American Negro, 1915), and others, displayed faultless proof of Africanisms existing in practically · all Black American folk materials. The approach to this chapter will be via the philosophical concerns, updatine some of the thinking on traditional African views and mannerisms in Black America. Then brief consideration will be given the major trunks of the folk poetry: The Spirituals and the Seculars (or religious folk poetry and everyday workand-pl·a y folk poetry). I have included a fair representation of the original folk poetry. This is appropriate 27 of course, �since most anthologies of Black literature and poetry omit these items; and because without a knowledge of them one will be hard-pressed to understand the Black poet's use of folk materials (see Dunbar, .Johnson, Brown, Hughes, Hayden, Walker and others). However, before discussing the origins of Black expression, we should give mention to the role of the griot-or story teller--in pre-industrial African (and other) societies. The Black poet, as creator and chronicler, stems from the group of artisans known as griots--human records of family and national lore. Originally trained to recite--without flaw--the gene- ologies, eulogies, victories and calamities of the folk, the griot (like the lead singer of Spirituals) had to spice his reportage with dramatic excitement. Hardly a Black youngster grew up (even in recent times) without input from a sort of griot (uncle, grandmother, big brother or sister, mother or father, preacher, etc). The job of the grito, like that of the mater-ceremonial drummer, W 8.S so important that in many ancient societies a mistake could cost him his life. The griot began at a very early age his mastery of technique and information. Like the drummer, he understudied an elder statesman of the trade. His training demanded a certain psychological adjustment to the significance of his job-which was to contain (and give advice on) the "heirlooms" of the community. As years and centuries passed, this "factual" information was converted into a lore, mythology, cosmology and legend; it became a part of the vast web of racial conscious- • 28 �ness and memory. It became the legacy with which every new born child entered the world. Clearly, tnen, the myth-and legend-building Black poet has a past into which to dip and a future to predict, project and protect. And any violation of the past, present or future constitutes a serious crime against one's ancestors--against one 1 s parents, against one's blood, against one's god. So it follows that the poet--griot-- is not some haphazzardly arrived hipster or slick-talker simply mouthing tired old phrases. To the Black griot-singer- poet the job of unraveling the complex network of his past and present-future worlds is a painful but rewarding labor of love. We can say, then, that tbe Black Experience in the United States continues via the African Continuum: a complex of mythical (see Jahn), linguistic (see Twiggs), gestural (see Emery, Black Dance), psychological, sexual, musical, physical and religious forms. This complex is evidenced in the day-to-day attitudes and activities of Blacks: their sacred and secular (organized and random) expressi'ons, their physical appearances, their dress patterns and their family life. Not only in the United States, but in the Caribbean, in the West Indies, in Latin America, in all areas of the world where Blacks live in suhstantial numhers--tbey exhibit characteristics peculiar to the nature and culture of indigenous Africans. Naturally, general Black expression evolves from the myriad components of Black culture; and the artistic (song, poetry) expression--traditional Black (African) 29 �communities did not separate life .from art--is a more soph isticated form honed from t h e ge neral "storeh ouse." No one has yet put t h eir h ands on exactly 1-rhe.t mome nt in ti me a nd wher e t h e first Af ri can s ound?, or i,wvements Here incorpor ated into 11 1-1h i te II or 1fo stern fra mes of references or vice versa; but we do know t hat it did h app e n. Unfortunately , i nept reporting on t he Black Experience b as muddied t h e waters so much that one is repulsed a nd h orrified b y ob servations and conclusions of some Black and w11i te "researchers. 11 In an unf'linchingly br illiant analysi s o.f Black Afr i can Oral Literature, presented at t h e First World ' Festival of Ne gro Arts (1966) in Dakar., Senegal, Basile-Juleat Fouda., noting that "oral literature is as old as creation, 11 coined the phrase "Archival Literature of Gesture." important revelations., Fouda s aid: Concluding his "Thus in t he Black Africa of tradition., literary art is an ano nymous art because it ts a social a.rt; it is a social art because it is a functional art; and it is functional because it is humanist." research is not b ounded by color. Good Blo.c k sociologist E. Franklin Frazier (Black Bourgeosis) held(wrongl y ) t h at t h ere were no significant carryovers (cultural transplants) from Africa to the United States. (Slavery., Frazier said, "stripped II the African of his culture and "destroyed" his personality.) White anthropologist Melville Herskovits (The Myth of the Negro Past) proved without a doubt that there were African "survivalisms" operating daily in Black Americans culture. 30 (For more thought �.....,. . on this see Jahn' s r-iuntu, 1:lork' s findings, memoirs of Katherine Dunham, works of Lorenzo Dow Turner, Negro Folk Music of Africa and America. (Folkways, Lp) and others.) Rudimentary Black expression and the numerous folk forms it produced (field hollers, vendors shouts, chants, worksongs, Spirituals, blues, Gospels, jazz, rhythm 'n blues, soul music) form the linguistic and modal bases for most Black poetry. The early song and chant forms were almost always accompanied by what we have come to call "dramatic ideograms"--or dances. Dance became one of the three basic artistic modes encapsulated by folk expression. The other two are Song and Drum. Aside from being the first means of communicating over distances, the drum also played a major role in the social lives of traditional African peoples. The career drummer, like the Black American musician today, went througb yea.rs of grueling practice and preparation--learning not only drumming techniques but the legends, the myths, the meanings and symbols of which the drum was derivative. Dance always accompanied song--Fouda re.fers to the "acoustical phonetic alpha.bet"--so that the complex web of oral nuances was illustrated vividly and graphically. Obviously, when teaching or entertaining, the artist/teacher had to present his material in -interesting and exciting ways so as not to bore the audience. Thus repetition became a backbone of Black expression--a flexible, buoyant repetition that was designed to reinforce and increase group participation. The three essential modes--dr~, song and dance--heightened 31 ' �I the immediate experience, which was ecstatic, therapeutic, spiritual, visceral and revelatory. Added to these intricate and varying modal patterns were the colorful costumes, make-up, props and important subject matter. The achievement was not just the vicarious experience but one of the act and symbol being actualized together. \foile such a prospect boggles the mind, a serious study of these forms and the general tradition will prove eye-opening for many a disbeliever. Early Black American oral and gestural art forms inherited the qualities described thus far. In language, in dance, and, more importantly, in points of view (attitudes) toward time, life and death, the cosmology of Africa "continued" (with some modifications) in the Black culture of the Western Hemisphere. Specifically, information was conveyed by way of aphorisms, riddles, parables, tales, enigmatic dances and sounds (tonal scales). jokes and poetry. Oblique and cry ptic utterances, puzzles, The pattern remains in tact today. Jahnfs Muntu documents many examples of t h e African "carryovers" and "survivalisms" operating in t l1 e Western Hemisphere. 1. One can For a brilliant and co[sent statement on t h is aspect of Black expression see Samuel Allen's "Tbe African Herita ge" in the Jan., 1971, issue of Black World. Allen--a.lso known as Paul Vesey--is a.n acknowledged auth ority on b oth African and Afro-American culture. In the article, ~e finds African "carryovers" in the Black American church (Baldwin), literature (Sterling Brown, Cleaver) and secular life. 32 �find the tradition in Black poets, in the sermons of Black ministers and in family and otber social gatherings. The scintillating Black poet Tolson operates in the old enigmatic (word-fencing) frame when in "An Ex-Judge at the Bar" he says: Bartender, make it straight and make it twoOne for the you in me and one for the me in you. Tolson (known to carry this Black nature into his teaching at Langston University where be reportedly gave a student an "Frr to the 20th power) ends the poem with an equally enigmatic mock: Bartender, make it straight and make it threeOne for the Negro ••• one for you and me. In the Spirituals (to be discussed) one finds similar debts to the African tradition of Song, Dance and Drum. So too in the shouts and hollers where actual African words and phrases were often used. 2 Hence we can say that the traditional African phonology and ritual, modified on the anvil of slavery, were operating and continue to be represented in different forms of Black American expression. The African slave, forced to acquire functional use of English and to reject surface aspects of bis religion, went "underground" so to speak and became bi-lingual and bi-physical. 2. Hence, while much of the The fine poet Raymond Patterson (26 Ways of Looking at a Black Man) is currently assembling a book listing several hundred African words that are used daily in the American 33 �thematic material of the Black folk tradition is taken fro m the harsh difficulties the slave encountered in America, t h e form, spirit and phonology were essentially African. The use of poly-rhythms 3 and the introduction of s yncopation, t he reliance on various rhythmic instruments (drum-related and sometimes invented), the adherence to a non-European tonal scale and the employment of the blue tone, the development of a distinct body of folklore and a rich language to . convey the lore--all represent t h e African's resourcefulness. Cross-cultural inputs are also evident, however, in--for example--the Spiri tuals wh ich, in many cases, were influenced by the English Hymn and the Psalm. Other considerations in- clude the slave's use of European instruments (Baraka points out, in Black Music, that the piano was the last instrument to be mastered by the Black musician.4 The reason ought to be obvious.), the Black adaptation of songs beard in the "big house," the continual re-styling of American fads and tbe vocabulary. See b i bliography for more on the little known area of scbolarship. 3. Isaac Faggett, a y oung Black composer-band director in Sacramento, Calif., has said that the word "poly-rhythm" (i.e., many rhythms overlapping each other) should perhaps be replaced by or alternated with the words "poly-meter" or "poly-metrics." 4. Eileen Southern, in 'E1e Music of Black Americans, sets forth a thorough and accurate discussion of these points. 34 She �employment of Biblical imagery and language in songs and sermons. Langston Hughes noted tbat the Blues usually dealt with the theme of the rejected lover and personal depression. Hughes' first volume of poems, in fact, was entitled The Weary Blues. However, the Blues, like the Spirituals, do not simply preach resignation or submissiveness. Rather, as Janh and Howard Thurman {The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death) ·note, underneath the complaint is a "plaint": or change! things must get better For as the slave said: Freedom, oh Freedom, how I love thee! Freedom, oh Freedom, how I love thee! And before I'll be a slave I'll be buried in my grave And go home to my Maker and be Free! II Black Folk Roots in America: "Get it together or leave it alone" --Jackson Five Black poets have been writing in the English literary tradition since the middle of the ei ghteenth century. But notes with some detail how the Africans {made slaves) had to learn to use the instruments of the New World. Professor Southern also relates how Black music lnf'luenced whites in the early _days of America. 35 �it is the folk literature--those productions of the everyday people--which must be examined before a literary or poetic tradition can be viewed in its entirety . There are few persons in the United States who have not been touched or inI'luenced (in one way or another) by the folk expression of Black America. White Americans began collectine Black folk lyrics and stories in the early :,ears of t h e ni neteenth century (see bibliography). In the same century , this aspect of Black culture reached wide audiences via at least three major vehicles. The fir s t was the abolitionist movement which featured Black poets (Francis E. W. Harper, James Whitfield, Benjamin Clark, and others), orators and prose writers (David Walker, Frederick Douglass, etc.), and journalists (John Russwurm, etc). The seco nd veh icle was the national and European tours (in t he 1870 's) of student ch oirs from Hampton Institute and Fis k (The J ubi lee Singers) University. The abolitionist movement popularized anti-slavery and freedom songs and the colle ge ch oirs gave wide ex posure to t h e Spirituals, considered by most sch olars (of' Black culture) to be t h e first authentic poetry of Blac k America.. Tb e t h ird major veh icle was the publication (in t h e late ninete ent h century ) of Brer Rabb it tales b y Joel Chandler Harris. In st ud ies and writings, Harris reco,enized t he r,1yt h ic wor t h in Blac k f ol kt ales and exposed readers to s uch charac t ers a3 Brer Te r rapin , Brer Bear, Brer Fox, Brer :Tol f and others . 1 Hany of t l10 se t ale s and ch aracters have African counterpart s . 36 �F '!R III Spirituals: "Tryin' to get h ome" For many reasons, t~10 use of tbe word "spiritual II to describe Black reliciosity is a misnoLler. Current inter- pretations, outlined by neu ini'ormation and er.1pirica._!- research into history and thought convinces us that the entire Black world is 11 spiri tual 11 : i.e., lnforrned by and responsible to a "higher order "--the order of God or the "eods." The ex- huberance, the spontaneity, the ecstas?, the trances, the talking in tongues, the racial flavor and flair in dress (at church and nightclub), all point up the interdependence and the integration of various modes and points of view in the Black community. Professor Work describes it as "this difference and this oneness." The contemporary Black poet Hayden understands this intee;ration w11en, in a poem to Malcolm X, he exclaims tlle 11 blazine oneness" of Allah. Further proof of this fusion is seen in the emotional abandonmerit of church folk during secular picnics, socials and other events of merriment. One has only to listen to Aretha Franklin alter- nate between Gospel and blues to see this unity of expression r:'. operating today • .? 5. And certainly it is clear in the works of Let us observe that the most brilliant and influential Black poets have intimately understood this aspect of Black culture. Almost without exception (and Kerlin, Brown and 37 �the Staples Singers, tbe Edwin He.wkins Singers a nd in a more vulgarized manner in Flip Hilson (Rev. Leroy ). In t he words or one brother, "the preach er and the pimp style out heavy." Still, it is i mportant that we offer t h e traditional portrait and break-down of Black folk expression--so as not to confuse or invade the "sacred" bastions of h istory. The Spirituals have been the source of continuing debate among scholars: Are they completely African in ori gip? Are they primarily English (I:Iethodist, Wesleyan, etc.) in origin? Or do they represent t he co-joining of African/European t h emes and religiosity ? Persons desiring to concentrate on t h is area of Black poetry should trace t h e history of these ar guments and debates and reach conclusions of tbeir own. Johnson (and bis brother, J. Rosamond) put togetb er t h e best known collection of these songs in Th e Book of American Negro Spirituals (1925), and The Second Book of American ITe gro Spirituals (1926). The Spirituals usually deal with phy sical or fi gurative contact between the singer (or congre gation) and God. (Early Afro-Americans often used the words God, Jesus, Savior, and Lord interchangeab l y . For a. more t h orough discussion of this see Benjamin May s ' The Negro's God.) The songs also deal with others warn young Black writers to follow example) Black poets since the Civil War have availed t h emselv es of integral folk rudiments--even when they did not use t h em in poetry. It is still a fact that Black culture (despite the racist and techno- 38 ' �a longing for rest and the overcoming of for midahle obstacles or adversaries. Professor Work's 1915 study was seminal and remains a land mark in the study of African and Black American songs. His work provides many answers to questions and issues that had been (and continue to be) muddied by the waters of insensitivity and careless research. His efforts, "undertaken for the love of our fathers' songs," gives clear connections between the African and Afro-American folk song. His main concern is for the religious songs--although his comments 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 species of music, the interest in which is intensified by tbe rhythmical patting of hands and feet. This rhythm is most strikingly and accurately brought out in their work songs. Citing the emotionalism and songified intensity of the Black American, Professor Work says "He worships not so much because he ought, as because he loves to worship." This "worship," of course, is the kind we referred to earlier: the integration logical barrages of the West) still remains more consciously "integrated" than other cultural unit in America. 39 �of sensuality and ecstasy into the swee ping rit ual of live and immediate drame. Such musical acti v ity is "as natural to the American Negro as his breath 11 : Indeed, it is a portrayal of h is soul, and is as characteristic as are h is phy sical features. Hear him sing in his church , h ear h i CT preach, CToan, and g i ve 1 gravery 1 in h is sermon, h ear t h e wash er- woman sing ing over h er t ub , h ear t h e lab orer singing his accompaninent to h is toil, h ear the child b abbli ng an extemporaneous tune •••• Even those Negroes wh o have b een educ a ted and wh o have been influenced by lonG study , f i nd it difficult to express their musical s el ves in any other way. Black song, as is readily observa ble, possesses b oth pure song (the verse and chorus plan) a nd ch a nt (use of interjections and expletives) qualities: Poor man Laz'rus, poor as I, Don't you see? Poor man Laz'rus, poor as I, Don't you see? When be died h e found a h ome on h i gh , He h ad a home in dat roc k , Don't y ou see? Alluding to the deeper, more psy ch ological, meaning of these songs, Professor Work says "there are closer relations b etween 40 �the soul and musical ex pressions t h an h ave satisfactorily explained. These relations can be felt, but any accurate description seems beyond the grasp of man's mind." Never- theless this important study goes on to classify and number these songs of: Joy, Sorrow, Sorrow with Note of Joy, Faith, Hope, Love, Determination, Adoration, Patience, Courage and Humility. Like most scholars of the Spirituals, this one points out that there is no h ate, resentment or vindic.tiveness in them. However, Dr. Thurman, theolo gian and ph ilos9pher, has excavated underpinnings of turbulence. In The Negro Spiritual, Dr. Thurman tells us death was i mmediate and ever-present for the slave. In such an atmosphere of anxiety and fear, the slave developed a rather stoic attitude in which he saw death as inescapable arrl as, possibl y , the only remaining vehicle for mediation with t h e plantation lords. The slave could take his own life, if he wanted to--as h e did many times in preference to slavery or separation fro m family and/or loved ones. Dr. Thurman's brilliant analysis must be read by any serious student of Black t h ought and culture. Johnson (who also classified the songs) 6 said a hierarchy of poets for the Spirituals included the song-maker (writer) and the song~leader. 6. The leader h ad to remember leading lines, Johnson, Brown, Kerlin and Dr. Thurman also give con- sideration to the "poetic" content of the Spirituals. Johnson and Professor Work discuss the preservation and promotion of 41 �WWW W pitch tunes true and possess a powerful voice. Johnson, who (like Professor Work) believes the earliest Black American songs were built on the common African form, says the Spirituals were written by individuals and set to tm moods of groups. Like the blues, their secular and structural cousins, the Spirituals incorporated antiphony or call-and-response which allowed for audience (congregation) participation (either by alternating, or intermingling, with the leader): Leader: Oh, de Ribber of Jordan is deep and wide, Congregation: One mo' ribber to cross. Leader: I don't know how to get on de other side, Congregation: One mo' ribber to cross. Heavily influenced by Chrlstian imagery and mythology, the creators of the Spirituals often chose the most militant of biblical personalities as their heroes. This aspect of these "poems" opens up an entire area of questions and research for the student seeking to compare/contrast biblical themes and characters to the Spirituals. Certainly there is need to ex- amine the English Hymns and Psalms in the framework of such a study. The Spirituals should also be compared/contrasted to the Black literary verse or the period during which they these songs through archival holdings, choir concert tours and the attention paid to them by composers. �were forged--especially the work of Jupiter Hammon, Phillis "Wheatley and George :Moses Horton. IV Folk Seculars: Don wid massa's hollerin'; Don wid massa's hollerin'; Don wid massa's hollerin' Roll Jordan roll. We observed that there is a thin line between the Black religious and secular worlds. This is true for many reasons-- some of them stemming from the African tradition of interrelating all aspects of life. As John M'Biti (African Religions and Philosophies), Gabriel Bannerman-Richter and others point out, the African takes his religion (his beliefs) with him where ever he goes. Many investigators (Jahn, M'Biti and others) also remind us that most African languages have no word for religion or art. The two are inseparable. Again the ways of African peoples (see Mphahlele's Whirlwind) are expressed in "integrated" terms. True, in Black America there is some tension between secular and religious communities--but so often ( and most Blacks understand this well though they don't always admit it) they are the same: on different occasions. wearing different hats Study, again, the case of a Rev. Jesse Jackson or a Rev. Ike or a Rev. Adam Clayton Powell! We have also observed that many motifs and components of Black expression are interchangeable. That is, songs and . I, 43 �speeches designed for church or other religious activity are often re-cut (modified) for a secular--social affair. are numerous examples of t h 1.s practice. There During the Civil R:i.gh ts era, we would s in8 I woke up this mor nin' with my mind stayed on freedom though we were .fully aware that church .folk were used to singing it this way: I woke up this mormin' with my mind stayed on .Tesus 1-rany of Curtis Hayfield's (and the I mpressions') songs rely strongly on the material of songs sung in Black churches. Even Hayfield's more recent tunes (see "If There's A Hell Below") carry the Black church flavor--with their warnings, admonishments, threats of societal destruction, and pleas for love (see also :Marvin Gay's pieces like "Save The Children"). Some works by the Temptations ( "Run Away Child Running Wild") reflect the historical theme of "searching" found in Black religious songs. This same group's "Poppa Was A Rolling Stone" describes poppa "stealing in the name of the Lord." B.B. King's "Woke Up This Mornin" is a blues treatment of the idea expressed above in the Spiritual: "I Woke Up This Mornin. 11 When heard the old Supremes singing "Stop in the Name of Love" we were tempted to replace "love" with "God." Often the songs contain exchangeable and interchangeable words such as "Lord" and "Mother"; ''Baby II and "God"; "Sweet thing" and "Sweet .Tes us 11 ; ' ' . "Captain" and "Maker"; and "God" and "I'-1'.an". The reasons for such usages, as we have stated, are deeply enmeshed in the 44 �mythos of Blacks. Richard Wri ght's "Bright and Morning Star" (in the Bible, a metaph or for Jesus) becomes t he son of old Aunt Sue in the sbort story b y that name. Th e h ero of John A. Williams' novel, Th e Nan Who Cried I Am, says "thank you man" to God after a sex act. "Slipping into Darkness 11 ( Wh en we h ear a tune like War's "when I b eard my mother say") we must understand tlehistorical significance and function of social (therapeutic) art--just as we must understand· the function of the mother-like voice t hat admonish es Isaac Hayes to "shet yo mouf II in "Sh aft. 11 When conserve.ti ve Black Christians complained of Duke Ellington's use of reli gious the mes in jazz, he replied "I'm just a ecumenical cat"--mea.ning he avoided fine distinctions in where or to whom he played. The church has been the training ground (academy, if you will; see Frazier's The Negro Church in America) for most of the big (vocal) names in Black popular music as well as for important orators, race leaders and community business men. Against the fore going discussion we can view' t h e Folk Seculars in their ri gh t perspective as a vital part of the rich storehouse of Black folklore. (my own grandmother: Through songs, aphorisms "You don't believe fat meat's greasy!" and "If you ain't gon' do nothing get off the pot!"), fables (see Aesop), jokes (see minstrelsy and t he Black comedy tradition), blues and other enduring forms Blacks capture severe hardships and tribulations, folk wisdom, joys and tragedies, and the longings and h opes of Blacks during slavery afterwards. 45 �Tbe Seculars, more so than the Spirituals, give important clues to the inner-workings of the common Black mind. And a closer look at the total folk tradition will reveal the structure and 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 delineating the feelings, emotions and thought patterns of Blacks. The Seculars are surer indices to the workings of the folk mind because they are not as limited as the Spirituals. Though most Blacks in the United States are awe.re of and have heard the Spirituals, an even larger number have had sustained exposure (directly or indirectly) to the secular vocalizations and gestures of Black culture. Contemporary Black popular music and culture con- tinue to be informed by the street and home utterances. An exciting reciprocity allows entertainers to borrow freely from what they bear while the folks recorded. 11 run and tell that" once it's Some examples of songs, titles and other epithets borrowed directly from the people are: James Browh's "Brand New Bag, 11 "Licking Stick" ( see "honey stick" in :McKay's story "Truant"), "Give It Up or Turn It Loose," "The Payback" and "It's Hell"; Marvin Gaye's 11 1-Jhat's Going On" and "Let's Get it On"; Curtis Hayfield's "Superfly"; the . Jackson Five's "Get It Together or Leave It Alone 11 ; Flip Wilson's ''What You See is ·what You Get" (and the Dramatics' tune by the same name); Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and "Run and Tell That"; and Jean Knight's nMr. Big Stuff"--to name just a few. - 46 �As with the Spirituals, whites (primarily abolitionists) were among the first to collect Seculars of wbatever type. William Wells Brown, the first published Black novelist and playwright, collected "anti-slavery" songs. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, writer and abolitionist wbo led a Black regiment in the Civil War, collected songs be heard among his men around campfires and during marches. Though primarily con- cerned with religious songs, he also described some of the properties of general Black song delivery. One of the most important collections of these seculars was put together by Thomas W. Talley ( of Fisk Universit:r, as was Professor Hork). Professor Talley did pioneering work in the identification and classification of Negro Folk Rhymes. Describing the philo- sophy, structure and, in some cases, origin of the songs, the Fisk scholar collected well over JOO examples. r important examples and discussions of the artistic products of folk secular folk life can be found in the works of Hughes and ' Bontemps, Brewer, Spalding, Dodson, Chapman, Brown (Negr£ Poetry), Abrahams (Deep Down in The Jungle) and Bell (The Folk Roots of Contemporary Afro-American Poetry). Bell's ·work i's recent (from the new Broadside Press) and is somewhat vague in perspective as a result of an -imposed ("foreign") construct. Also valuable to an examination of the Seculars are regional works ( such as Abrahams') including Drums and Shadows (Georgia and South Carolina), Goldstein•s (ed.) Black Life 47 �, ' 'I and Culture in the United States, Lore nzo Dow Turner's work in the Gullah culture, Dorson's Negro Folktales in Mich igan, and others (see b ibliography). By f ar the most faithful representation of secular or reli g ious folk materials in the written poetry is in t h e work of Sterling Brown (see his Southern Road, especially Joh nson's introductio n , and h is critical comments in Negro Poetry ). Brown takes exception to Johnson's comment that dialect poetry has onl y two stops-1.1humor and pathos "--and implies that Black poets up until his time had been remiss (or lazy) in not de velop i ng broader uses and deepening the r.1eaning of Black life t 11rou gh the use of folk materials. The tradition of "tall" tale-telling is, of course, submerged in the American my t h os. So the Black narrator found a flexible atmosphere into wh ich h e could introduce his own manner of storytelling and h is own tradition of song. As he had done in the Spirituals, he Gained a resourcefulness in the use of langua ge, acquired instruments to accompany the song or story, and de veloped an ab ility to seize upon a good or amenable context in wh ich to tell or sing h is story; h e also made use of t h emes and ideas fro m the vast ethnic potpourri of America. the Spirituals. The Seculars grew up side-by -side with The Spirituals emerc ed from the attempt of the slave to web to gether his disparate (yet mutual) wounds. Spirituals represent t he slave's perserverence and (in many instances) bis hope and faith in mankind. The Seculars, also �developing in the shadows of the 11 biG 11ouse, 11 reflect the social life of the Black American on the plantation and later. In songs and ditties, the Black American couched his longings and bitternesses, but voiced his hopes and cynicisms through the oblique, eliptical and encoded words and seemingly unintelligible phonetic symbols. These African forms (see Rappin' and Stylin' Out, Kochman) have continued up to the present. Few Black youngst-ers are able to side-step the rigorous (and sometimes painful) verbal desterity demanded by playmates during verbal sparring matches that inevitably take place. The forms of such behavior were in tact during slavery--when a slave might be discussing a master's "moma" or "old lady" during a rather harmless "rap" (rhapsond? rapport?) with his fellow field workers. Frederick Douglass reports (Narrative) tbat slave over-seers thought slaves sang because they were happy. We know that such was not the case (se DuBois Souls of Black Folks) and that such refrains as "stealing away" implied a lot more than wanting to reach the arms of Jesus on the cross. similar codes in his stories and poems. Henry Dumas chronicles And Mel Watkins (Amistad 2) discussed an updated version of at least part of this phonenon in his article on folk singer-hero James Brown. Though he is discussing a secular character, Watkins' revelations are similar to Dr. Thurman's: that in the absurd context of being owned by someone else, it is not life or death that loom so importantly. One lives, Ellison suggests (Invisible Man), the day-to-day 49 �absurdity in a sort of comic-tragic vi ce. TTatkins says: James Brown's initial acceptance by a black audience is fixed in this crucial factor. From the moment he slides onto the staee, whether unconsciousl~,r or intentionally, his gestures, his facial expressions and even the sequential arra.n ge ti1ent of b is materials are external affirmations of a shared acceptance of t ~ e absurd or, more ineenously, of jiving. The i mpeca'bly tailored s uit s, which be brandishes at the outset, become meaninGless accoutrements as his act progresses and, sweating and straining , he ge ts down, li terall:r down on the floor, to wring t ;:10 last drop of emotion fro m a sonc;. Watkins is incorrect about the dress ½ecomine "meaningless" to a Black audie nce, but his general thesis is on tar get. Elsewhere Watkins, fir mly understand:i.nc; the i mp ortance of 11 verbal agility a mons Blacks, sa:rs :t.t is conmen to ·h ear 1-)lack women discussins a ~an's 'rap' or 'progr am' on the same level as tbey di8cuss l1is bank account. TT Blacks c;e~1erally witl11::l old t h eir judc;u~nt on (or acceptance) of a speaker or e ntertainer until he exbil)it s , in b is dress- c;eotnre -rat) , that l1 e under stands t'-:o 1rnllspring tbat f':C'ocl uced the "Slac k a,.1d unknown bards. 11 Return:i. n 6 :)riefly , to ou1• b istorical assess ment, we can 1101-1 see bou t he folk strain in Black writte n nr t eYolved. �From this 11 song" record ed :i.n the l ·S50 ' s by Douglass, Dey gib us de liquor, And say dat 's good enough for the nigger. to the fea1"' of 11 de Cunjab Hrrn" captured in "Gullah" by Campbell in the latter part of the 1900 's, De Cunjah man, de Cunjah li1a.n, 0 chillen run, de Cunjah man ! the deceptively "sin ple" ernplo:rr:1ent of folk expressions have prevailed as an ioportant antidote for the social maladies inherited by Blac ks in the Western Hemisphere. ''De Cunjah i-1an 11 is, of course, equivalent to the "things that go bumping in the night" in Ireland--and tbus has ties to general folk superstitions and t:iythology. But there was also the "buggah- man 11 (Dunbar's "Little Brown Baby"), the 11 rag man", "p~e;-leg," "raw-bead and bloody bones" and ( in places lik_e Trinidad) the "obeah man." Most of these supernatural characters a.re throw backs to various African reli gious and ritual practices. Of the new generation of poets, Ishmael Reed (Catechism of a neoamerican hoodoo church) is the innovator in the use of supernatural the mes and vocabulary. The theme of the 2nd Annual John Henr~r Memorial Authentic Blues and Gospel Jubilee (held in Cliff Top, W. Va., in August and September of 1974) was 11 Tryin' to Get Home. 11 How stea.d- :fastly the folk tradition runs like a vein through Black history. In the Seculars (and the Spirituals) we repeatedly hear something similar to the last stanza of "Rainbow Roun Mah Shoulder": 51 �I'm gonna break ri ght, break ri ght pas that shooter, I' m goin h ome, Lawd, I'm goin home. Again the use of -the work "Lawd" in a "secular" song further bears out the communal integration of the folk expression. My own sisters often interject or exclaim "Lord" or "Lawd" in everyday discussions ab out life. It is next to impossible to list all (or each type) of the Seculars. We have mentioned Professor Talley's pioneering efforts at classifying t h em. But many obstacles lay in the way of recorders of secular folk life. of censureship of language. One problem was t hat Such censuring marked all types of Black creativity, fro m t h e slave narratives to reli gious songs. Hence the more "protesting " aspects of the works were deleted as were "offensive words." Anyone wh o has b eard "authentic" Black folk songs knows t hat t h ey reflect tlJe convergence of madness, absurdity and h ope in t he Black body. Subsequently what are known as "curse" or "obscene" words are sprinkled throughout much of the "secular" lore. ' Brown discusses the "realism II in the folk r hymes along with an attempt to slassi.fy at lee.st some of t h em ("fiddle-sings," "corn-songs," "jig-tunes," "upstart crows"): Ballads, Ballads: Negro Heroes, John Henry (folkified in song), Work Songs, The Blues, Irony and Protest. Irony and protest, of course, run through Black folk and literary poetry from the earliest days (Whitfield, Harper, . anti-slavery songs) to the most recent times (Josh White, 52 . �Leon Thomas, Don L. Lee, Jobn Ecbols, Jo:1nn:.· 8 c ot t ). observers have pointed to the silliness of □ a n:, ::o ~e researct~ era who, white as ever, appeared in person to ask Black folk sonr; writers arrl singers if they endorsed "protest,n then went away satisfied with a "no" answer. Given the nature and history of race relations one can understand the reluctance on the parts of Blacks to tell whites the truth about "anything" let alone ab out such a sensitive area as "protest." ·Yet in the dog-eat-dog world of survival, t he folk person knows that "If he dies, I'll eat h is co'n; An' if he lives, I'll ride 'i m on." In summary we can say that unlike other eth nic immigrant groups ( the Afro-American was not a willing i mmigrant!), the Black American did not simply transplant h is stories--keeping them in their exact same form. He found American or European language counterparts for h is t h emes and vocabularies. But his phonology, style and spirit were informed by the African tradition. The student of Black folk poetry will want to compare and contrast the Seculars to other eth nic stories and songs. Boasting or "ly ing ," for example, is one ingredient o'f the "tall" tale. How does the Black song or story (Le., . "Shine," "Signify ing :Monkey ," "Dolemi te," "Frankie and Johnnie," . . . etc.) fit this motif? How does it conceal deeper meanings on the issues of slavery , inh uman work conditions, or contradictions in Christianity ? What are the similarities between the Seculars and the Spirituals? Between the Seculars and �the literary poetr~? These and other questions (on Black heroes, cultural motifs, blues themes, language and endurance) will lead one through exciting corridors of Black folk creativity and thought. V . SPIRITUALS GO DOWN, MOSES Go donw, Moses, Way down in Egypt land Tell old Pharaoh To let my people go. When Israel was in Egyptland Let my people go Oppressed so hard they could not stand Let my people go. Go down, Moses, Way down in Egyptland Tell old Pharaoh 11 Let my people go. 11 "Thus saith the Lord, 11 bold I1oses said, "Let my people: If not I'll smite ~our first-born dead Let my people go." 54 �"No more shall they in bondage toil, Let my people go; Let them come out with Egypt's spoil, Let my people go," The Lord told Moses what to do Let my people go; To lead the children of Israel through, Let my people go. Go down, Moses, Way down in Egyptland, Tell old Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" SLAVERY CHAIN Slavery chain done broke at last, broke at last, broke at last, Slavery chain done broke at last, Going to praise God till I die. Way down in-a dat valley, Praying on my knees; Told God about my troubles, And to help me of-a He please. I did tell him how I suffer, In de dungeon and de chain, And de days I went with head bowed down, And my broken flesh and pain. 55 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) Slavery cbain done broke at last, broke at last, broke at last, Slavery chain done broke at last, Going to praise God till I die. I did know my Jesus heard me, 'Cause de spirit spoke to me, And said, "Rise my child, your cllillun, And you too shall be free. "I done 1 p'int one mighty captain For to marshall all my hos ts, And to bring my bleeding ones to me, And not one shall b e lost." Slavery chain done broke at last, broke at last, broke at last, Slavery chain done broke at last, Going to praise God till I die. NO HORE AUCTION BLOCK No more auction block for me, No more, no more, No more auction block for me, Many thousand gone. No more peck of corn for me, No more, no more, 56 . . �SPIRITUAIS (cont'd) No more peck of corn for me, Many thousand gone. No more pint of salt for me, No more, no more, No more pint of salt for me, Many thousand gone. No more driver's lash for me, No more, no more, No more driver's lash for me, Many thousand gone. SHOUT ALONG, CHILLEN Shout along, cbillen! Shout along, chillen! Hear the dying Lamb: Ob! take your nets and follow me For I died for you upon t h e tree! Shout along , cbillen! Shout along, chillen! Hear the dying Lamb! SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home, Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home. 57 �SPIRITtJAI.S (cont'd) I looked over Jordan and what did I see Coming for to carry me home, A band of aneels, coming after me, Coming for to carry me home. If you get there before I do, Coming for to carry me home, Tell all my friends I'm coming too, Coming for to carry me home. Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home, Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home. STEAL AWAY Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus, Steal away, steal away home, I ain't got long to stay here. My Lord, He calls me, He calls me by the thunder, The trumpet sounds within-a my soul, I ain't got long to stay here. Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus, Steal a.way, steal away home, I ain't got long to stay here. 58 • �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) Green trees a-bonding, Po' sinner stands a-trembling The trumpet sounds within-a my soul, I ain't got long to stay here. DEEP RIVER Deep river, ~ay home is over Jordan, Deep river, Lord; I wa.nt to cross over into camp ground. 0 children, o, don't you want to GO to t h at gospel feast, That promised land, that land, wh ere all is peace? Deep river, my home is over Jordan, Deep river, Lord; I want to cross over into camp ground. I GOT A Hmm I N DAT ROCK I got a home in dat rock, Don't you see? I got a ho me in dat rock, Don't you see? Between de earth an' sl~, Thought I h eard my Saviour cry, You got a home in dat rock, Don't you see? Poor man Laz'rus, poor a.s I, Don't you see? PooRman Laz'rus, poor as I, 59 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) Don't you see? Poor man Laz'rus, poor as I, 'Wben he died he fonnd a h ome on h i gh , He had a home in dat rock, Don't you see? Rich man Dives, he lived so well, Don't you sec? Rich man Dives, he lived so well, Don't you see? Rich man Dives, he lived so well, When he died h e fou nd a 11ome in Hell, He had no borne in dat rock, Don't y ou see? God gave lfo ab de Rainbow siGn, Don't you sec? God g ave No~ 1 de Rainb ow sign, Don't y ou see? God c;a ve 1'00.1" de RatnboH sisn, No r.wre wat er 1_w.t f:i.re next ti me , Better get a h ome in dat rock, Don't you see? ' 60 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) I BEEN .REBUKED A:t:ID I BEEN scornmn I been rebuked and I been scorned, I been rebuked and I :Jeen scorned, Chillun, I be en rebuked and I be en scorned, I'se had a hard time, so's you born. Talk about me much as you please, Talk about ne much ns you please, Chillun, talk about me much as you please, Gonna talk a;)out you when I get on my knees. DE OLE SHEEP DEY KNOW DE ROAD Oh, de ole sheep, dey know de road, De ole sheep, dey know de road, De ole sheep, dey know de road, De young Lambs must find de way. My brother, better mind how you ·walk on de crqss, De young lambs must find de · ·wa~r, For your foot might slip, and yo' soul git lost, De young lamb s mus t find de way. Better mind dat sun, and see bow she run, De young lambs must find de way, And mind, don't let her catch you wid yo' work undone, De young lambs must find de way. 61 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) Oh, de ole sheep, dey know de road, De ole sheep, dey know de road, De ole sheep, dey know de road, Young lambs must find de way. DE HAHMER KEEPS RINGDTG Oh, de hammer keeps ring ing On somebody's coffin, Oh, de hammer keeps ringing On somebody's coffin, Oh, de hammer keeps rin r; ing On somebody's coffin: Good Lord, I know my time ain't long . Oh, de wagon keeps rolling Somebody to de graveyard, Oh, de wagon keeps rolling Somebody to de graveyard, Oh, de wagon keeps rolling Somebody to de graveyard: Good Lord, I know my time ain't long. Oh, de preacher keeps preaching Somebody's funeyal, Oh, de preacher keeps preaching Sombody's funeyal, 62 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) De preacher keeps preaching Somebody's funeyal: Good Lord, I know my time ain't long. MOTHERLESS CHILD Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, A long ways from home, A long ways fro m home. Sometimes I feel like I' m almost gone, Sometimes I feel like I'm almost gone, Sometimes I feel like I'm almost gone, A long ways .from home, A long ways .from home. Sometimes I .feel like a feather in the air, Sometimes I feel like a feather in the air, Sometimes I feel like a featber in the air, And I spread my wings and I fly, I spread my wings and I fly. NOBODY KNOWS DA TRUBBLE AH SEE Oh, nobody knows da trubble ah see, Nobody knows but Jesus. 63 �SPIRITUALS (conttd) Nobody knows da trubble ah see, Glory, Hallelujah! Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I' m down, Ob, yes, Lord! Sometimes I'm almost to the grounr, Oh, yes, Lord! Although you see me goin along , so, Ob, yes, Lord! I have my trubbles here below, Oh, yes, Lord! Nobody knows da trubble ah see, Nobody knows my sorrow. Nobody knows da trubble ah see, Glory, Hallelujah! One day when I was walkin along , Oh, yes, Lord! The elements open and his love came down, Oh, yes, Lord! I never shall forget dat day, Oh, yes, Lord! ·' 'When .Jesus wash my sins away, Ob, yes, Lord! 64 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) Ob nobody knows da trubble ah see, Nobody knows my sorrow. Nobody knows da trubble ah see, Glory, Hallelujah! DE BLIND MAN s TOOD on DE ROAD O, de blind man stood on de road and cried O, de blind man stood on de road and cried Crying "O, my Lord, save-a me; 11 De blind man stood on de road and cried. Crying dat he might receive his sight Crying dat he might receive his sight Crying "O, my Lord, save-a me;" De blind man stood on de road and cried. HE MEVER SAID A MCTMBALil'JG WORD Oh, de wbupped him up de hill, up de hill, up de hill, Oh, de wbupped him up de bill, and he never said a mumbaling word, Oh, dey whupped him up de hill, and he never said a mumbaling word, He jes' bung down his head, and he cried. Oh, dey crowned him wid a thorny crown, thorny crown, thorny crown, Oh, dey crowned him wid a thorny crown, and he • 65 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) never said a mumbaling word, Oh, dey crowned him wid a thorny crown, and he never siad a mumbaling word, He jes' bung down bis head, and be cried. Well, dey nailed h im to de cross, to de cross, to de cross, Well, dey nailed h im to de cross, and be never said a r:m mbaling word, Well, dey nailed him to de cross, and he never said a mumbaling word, He jes' hung down bis bead, and he cried. Well, dey pierced him in de side, in de side, in de side, Well, dey pierced him in de side, and de blood come a-twinkline; down, Well, dey pierced him in de side, and de biood cor.1e a-twinkling down, Den be hung down his bead, and he died. JOSHUA FIT DE BATTLE OF JERICHO Joshua fit de battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho, Joshua fit de battle of Jericho, And de walls come tumbling _down. 66 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) You may talk about yo' king of Gideon Talk about yo' man of Saul, Dere's none like good old Joshua At de battle of Jericho. Up to de walls of Jericho, He marched with spear in hand; "Go blow dem ram horns," Joshua cried, "Kase de battle am in my band." Den de lamb ram sheep horns begin to blow, Trumpets begin to sound, Joshua commanded de chillen to shout, And de walls come tumbling down. Dat morning, Joshua fit de battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho, Joshua fit de battle of Jericho, And de walls come tumbling down. OH, MARY, DON'T YOU WEEP . Oh Mary, don't you weep, don't you moan, Ob Mary, don't you weep, don't you moan, Pharaoh's army got drownded, Oh Mary, don't you weep. 67 �SPIRITUALS (cont'd) One of dese mornings, bright and fair, Take my wings and cleave de air, Pharaoh's army got drownded, Oh Mary, don't you weep. One of dese mornings, five o'clock, Dis ole world gonna reel and rock, Pharaoh's army got drownded, Oh Mary, don't you weep. Don't know what nry mother wants to stay her fuh, Dis ole world ain't been no friend to huh, Pharaoh's army got drownded, Oh Mary, don't you weep. Oh Ha.ry, don't you weep, don't you moan, Oh :Mary, don't you weep, don't you moan, Pharaoh's army got drownded, Oh Mary, don't you weep. VI FOLK SECULARS HE IS MY HORSE One day as I wus a-ridin' by, Said dey: "Ole man, yo' boss will die." "If he dies, he is my loss; And if he lives, he is my boss." 68 �FOLK SECULARS (co nt'd) Nex' day w'en I come a'ridin' by, Dey said: "Ole man, yo' hoss may die. 11 "If be dies, I•ll tan 'is skin; An' if he lives, I'll ride 'im a g 'in. 11 Den ag'in wten I come a-ridin• by, Said dey: "Ole man, yo' b oss mou gh t die. 11 "If h e dies, I'll eat his co•n; An' if he lives, I'll ride 'im on. 11 DID YOU FEED HY COW? ''Did yer feed my cow?" "'Will yer tell me h ow?" "Yes, Mam!" ., "Yes, Mam!" ' 11 0h, w1 at did y er give , er?" "Cawn an h ay. If 11 0h , w•at did y er gi ve 'er?" "Cawn an h ay. fl "Did yer milk 'er good?" "Yes, Ham!" "Did yer do lak yer should? 11 "Oh, how did y er milk 'er?" 11 Yes, Ha.mt "Swish ! 11 Swish ! Swish ! 11 "Did dat cow g it sick?" "Yes, Ham!" "W'us sh e kivered wid tick?" ''Yes, Mam!" "Oh, h ow wus she sic k ?" "All bloated up. II "Oh, how wus she sick?" "All bloated up. II 69 �FOLK SECULA~S (cont'd) SONG (From Frederick Douglass, Ny Bondaee and lI:r Freedom, 1853) We raise de wheat, Dey gib us de corn: He bake de bread, Dey gib us de crust; We sif de meal, Dey gib us de huss; We peel de meat, Dey gib us de skin; And dat's de way Dey take us in; We skim de pot, Dey gib us de liquor~ And sa.y dat's good enough for ni cger. SONG (Fro ~n Hartin .R . Delany, "Blake; or, The Huts oi' At;ierica, 11 in The Anclo-Af'rican EnQ;azine, June 1859) Come all m:~ bret1)r e n, let us take a rest, While t b e ::-ioon sbi ne s br:t o;t1t and c 1. 0 0 1,,; Old ,.1aster d5-ed 8.:.x: : .e:ft us all at last , And b as gone a t t h e bar to a pp ear! Old raaster's dead and lying in b is grave; And our b lood will now cease to .flow ; He will no ri10re tramp on the neck o.f the slave, For he's gone where slave-holders go! '7 0 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) Hand up the shovel and the h oe-0-0-0! I don't care whetber I work or no! Old master's gone to the slave-holders rest-He's gone where t he:r all ou3ht to go! SELLIH' TIT-1E Goodbye, Goodbye, If I nevah, nevah see you a.ny mo. Goodbye, Goodbye, I will meet you on the utha sho. Pray f'or me, Pray for me, If I nevab, nevah see you any mo. Pray for me, Pray ror me , I will meet you on the utha sbo. Be strong, Be strong, If I nevah, nevah see you any mo. Be strong, Be strong, I will meet you on the utha sh o. Fare thee well, Fare thee well, If I nevah, nevah see you an;r mo. Fare thee well, 71 �FOLIC SECULATIS (cont ' d ) Fare thee well, I will meet y ou on the uth a s h o. MANY A THOUSAND DI E No r:1 ore dri ver call for me, No more dri ver call; No more driver call for me, Many a thousand die; No more peck of corn for me, No more pock of corn ; No more pec k of corn for me, Many a t b ousand d ie! No more h undred las h for me, no more h u ndred lash ; No more hu ndred lash for me, Many a thousand die! FHEEDOH Abe Lincoln freed t h e ni gger, Wid da gun and wid da tri gger, An I ain't ginna g it wh ipped no mo. Ah e;ot mah ticket Out of dis heah t h icket, An I'm headin for da golden sh o. 0 freedo m, 0 freedo m, 72 �FOIJC 0 SECULARS ( cont f d) freedom after a while, And before I 1 d b e a slave, I'd b e burie d in my grave, And go home to my Lord and b e free. Therefll be no more moaning , no more moaning , No more moaning after a wh ile, And before Ifd b e a slave, I'd be buried in my grave, And go home to my Lord and be free. No more weeping , no more crying , No more weep i ng after a wh ile, And before I'd be a slave, I'd be buried in my grave, And go home to my Lord and be free. Therefll b e no more kneelin g , no more bowing , No more kneeling after a while, And before I'd b e a slave, I'd be buried in my e rave, And g o home to my Lord and b e free. There'll b e sh outin g , t h ere'll b e s h outin13 , There'll be s h outing after a wh ile, And before I'd be a slave, I'd b e buried in my grave, And go home to my Lord and b e free. WE 'LL SOON BE FREE We'll soon be free, We'll soon b e free, 73 �FOIJC SECULARS (cont'd) We'll soon be free, When de Lord will call us home. My brudder, how long My brudder, bow long , My brudder, bow long, 'Fore we done sufferin' here? It won't be long (Thrice.) 'Fore de Lord will call us home. We'll walk de miry road (Thrice.) Where pleasure never di.es. My brudder, how long (Thrice.) 'Fore we done sufferin' here. We'll soon be free (Thrice.) When Jesus sets sets me free. We'll fight for liberty (Thrice.) When de Lord will call us home. DON WTD DRIBER'S DRIBII'I ' Don wid driber's dribin' Don wid driber's dribin' Don wid driber's dribin' Roll, Jordan, roll. Don wid massa•s hollerin' Don wid massa's hollerin' Don wid massa's hollerin' Roll, Jordan, roll. 74 . ' �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) RAINBOW ROUN MAH SHOULDER Evahwhuh I, shuh I look dis mawnin, Looks lak rain, looks lak rain. I gotta rainbow, tied a.11 roun mah shoulder, Ain gonna rain, a.in gonna rain. I don walk till, walk till mah feets gone to rollin, Jes lak a wheel, jes lak a sheel. Evah mailda:r, I gets a letter, "My son come home, my son come bome. 11 Da.t ol letter read about dyin, Mab tears run down, mah tears run down. I'm gonna break right, break right pas dat shooter, I'm goin home, Lawd, I'm goin home. RAILROAD SECTION LEADER'S SONG E.f ah could, ab sholy would, Stan on da rack ·whub Moses stood. Mary, Martha, Luke and John, ' All dem sciples dead an gon. Ah gotta woman in Jennielee Square, Ef you wanna die easy, lemme ketch you there. 75 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) Lil Evaline, settin in da shade, Figurin on da money I ain't made. Jack de rabbit, Jack de bear, Cancba move it jus a hair? All ah hate b out linin track, Dese ol bars bout to break mah back. You keep talkin bout da joint ahead, Never sa:t nawtbin b out mah ho g an b read. Way down yonder in da b olla of da fiel, Angels wukkin on dacha.yet wbeel. Reason I stay wid my cap'n so long , He giv me b iscuits to rear b ack on. Jes lemme tell ya whut da cap'n jes done, Looked at his watch and looked at da suh. Ho, Boys, it ain time. Ho, Boys, you cain't quit. Ho, Boys, it ain ti me. Sun a.in gone down yit. GO D mvN, OL' HANNAH Go down ol' Hannah, wen you rise no mo? 76 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) Go down ol' Hannah, Won you rise no mo? Lawd, if you rise, Bring Judgment on Lawd, if' you rise, Bring Judgment on. Oh, did you hear What the cap'n said? Oh, did you hear What the cap'n said? That if' you work He'll treat you well , And if' you don He'll give you hell . Oh, go down ol' Hannah, Won you rise no mo? Won you go down, ol' Hannah, Won you rise no mo? Oh, long-time man, Hold up ye ha.id. Well, you may get a pardon And you may drop daid. 77 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) Lawdy, nobody feels sorr:y For de life-time man. Nobody feels sorry For de life-time man. J{)HN HENRY HAMMER Dis is de hammer Killt .John Henry, Twon't kill me, baby, Twon't kill me. Take dis hammer, Carry it to de captain Tell him I'm gone, baby, Tell him I'm gone. Ef he axe ·you, Was I running Tell him how fast, b aby, Tell him how fast. Ef he axe you Any mo' questions, Tell him you don't know, baby, You don't know. Every mail day, Gits a letter, 78 SONG �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) "Son, come h ome, baby , Son come h ome. 11 Been all ni gh t long Backing up timber, Want to go h ome, baby, Want to go bome. Jes' wait ti 11 I :nake Dese few days I st arted I' m going h ome, ba by , Is going h ome. Everywhere I Look dis morning Look lak rain, baby, Look lak rai n . I got a rainb ow Tied 'round my s h oulder, Ain't gonna rain, ½aby , Ain't gonna rain. Dis ole hammer Ring lak silver, Shine lak gold. Take dis h ammer 79 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) Throw it in de river, It'll ring rigbt on, baby, Ring rigbt on. Captain, did you bear All yo' men gonna leave you, Next pay day, ba9y, Next pay day? SHINE AND THE TITANIC It was 1912 wben the awful news got around That tbe great Titanic was sinking down. Shine came running up on deck, told the Captain, "Please, The water in the boiler room is up to my knees. 11 Captain said, "Take your black self on back down tbere' I got a bundred-fifty pumps to keep tbe boiler room clear." Shine went back in tbe hole, started shovelling coal, Singing, "Lord, have mercy, Lord, on my soul!" Just then half the ocean jumped across the boiler room deck. Shine yelled to the Captain, "The water's round my neck!" Captain said, "Go back! Neither fear nor doubt! I got a hundred more pumps to keep the water out." ''Your words sound happy and your words sound true, But this is one time, Cap, your words won't do. 80 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) I don't like chicken and I don't li ke h a mAndi don't believe your pumps is worth a damn!" The old Titanic was b e ginning to sink. Shine pulled off his clothes and jumped in the brink. He said, "Little fish, bi g fis h , and shark fishes, too, Get out o.f my way because I'm com1.ng throu gh." Captain on bridge hollered, "Shine, Shine, save poor me, And I'll make you as rich as any man can be. 11 Shine said, "Th ere's more gold on land t h an there is on sea." And he swimmed on. Jay Gould's millionaire dau ghter came running up on deck ·w1 th h er sui tease in h er hand and h er dress 'round her neck. She cried, "Shine, Shine, save poor me! I'll g ive you everyth ing your e~es can see." Shine said, "There's mo:ce on land t h an t here is on sea." And he swimmed on. Big fat banker beggine , "Shine, Shine, save poor met I'll give you a thousand s h ares of T and T." Shine said, "Hore stoc ks on land than there is on sea." And he swimmed on. When all them white folks ·w ent to heaven, Shine was in Sugar Ray's Bar drinking Sea.grams Seven. 81 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) THE SIGNIFYTNG IIOYimY Tbe monkey and Lion Got to talking one day. Monkey looked down and said, Lion, I hear you's ling in every way. But I know somehody 1-fuo do not think tha.t is trueIle told me he could whip The l 1 ving da:rliGhto out of you. Lion said, Hho? Monkey said, Lion, He talked about your marmna And talked about your grandr1a, too, And I'm too polite to tell you What he said about you. Lion said, Hho said wbat? rn: o? ;,fonkey in t 1, e tree, Lion on t he cr ou nd . Monkey kept on sic~lf~ing But b e d j_dn ' t co :.:.2 d o~ m . i:ionke~r said , Fis n ai.ie is Elephant-- He stone sure is not your friend. Lion so.id, Fe don't need to be Because toda~ will t e b is end. Lion took off tbrou gh the junGle 32 �FOLK SECULI\.TIS (cont' c5.) Lickity-split, Meaninc; to grab Elephant And tear hit:~ h it to hit. Period! He come across Elep':1ant copping a ri gh teous nod Under a fine cool shady tree. Lion said, You big old no-good so-and-so, It's either you or me. Lion let out a solid roar And bopped Elephant with h is paw. Elephant just took his trunk And busted old Lion's jaw. Lion let out another roar, Reared up six feet tall. Elephant just kicked him in the belly And laughed to see him drop and fall. Lion rolled over, Copped Elephant by the throat. Elephant just sbook bim loose And butted him like a eoat, Then he tromped him and he stomped him Till the Lion yelled, Oh, no! And it was near-nigh sunset When Elephant let Lion go. The signifying 1-fonkeJr Was still setting in his tree 83 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) ·when he looked down and saw the Lion, Said, Why, Lion, who can that there be? Lion said, it's me. Monkey rapped, Why, Lion, You look more dead than alive! Lion said, Ifonkey, I don't want To hear your jive-end-jive. Monkey just kept on signifying, Lion, you for sure caught hellMister EleplJant 's done whipped you To a fare-thee-well! Why, Lion, you look like to me You been in the precinct station And had the third-degre, Else you look like you been high on gage And done get caught In a monkey cage! You ain't no king to me. Facts, I don't think that you Can even as much as roarAnd if you try I'm liable To come down out of this tree and Wbip your tail some more. The Monkey started laughing And jumping up and down. 84 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) But he jumped so hard the limb broke And he landed--bam!-on the ground. When he went to run, his foot slipped And he fell flat down. Grr-rrr-rr-r! The Lion was on him With his front feet and his hind. Monkey hollered, Ow! Lion said, You little flee-bag you! Why, I'll eat you up alive. I wouldn't a-heen in this fix a-tall Wasn't for your signifying jive. Please, said lfunkey, Mister Lion, If you'll just let me go, I got something to tell you, please, I think you ought to knOi-J, Lion let the Monkey loose To see what bis tale could beAnd Monkey jumped right back on up Into his tree. What I was gonna tell you, said Monkey, Is you square old so-and-so, If you :fool with me I'll get Elephant to whip your head some more. Monkey, said the Lion, Beat to his unbooted knees, 85 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) You and all your signifying ch ildre n Better stay up in them trees. Which is wb:r today Manl ey does h is si gnifying A-way-up out of t h e way. FRANKIE AND JOHNNY Frankie and Johnny were lovers, Lardy, how· they could love, Swore to be true to each other, True as the stars u p ab ove, He was h er man, but be done her wrong . Frankie went down to the corner, To buy h er a bucket of beer, Frankie says "Hister Bartender, Has my lovin' Johnnie been h er~? He is my man, but he's doing me wrong ." "I don't want to cause you no trouble Don't want to tell you no lie, I saw your Joh nnie half-an-h our a. go I-Taking love to Nelly Bly. He your man, but he's doing you wrong ." Frankie went down to the hotel Looked over t h e transom so h i gh , 86 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) There she saw her lovin' Johnnie Making love to Nelly Bly He was her man; he was doing her wrong. Frankie threw back her kimono, Pulled out her big forty-four; Tooty-toot-toot: three times she shot Right through that hotel door, She shot her man, who was doing her wrong. nRoll me over gently, Roll me over slow, Roll me over on my right side, Cause these bullets hurt me so, I was your man, but I done you wrong." Bring all your rubber-tired hearses Bring all your rubber-tired hacks, They're carrying poor Johnny to the burying ground And they ain't gonna brin g h i m back, He was her man, but he done her wrong. Frankie says to t h e sheriff, "Wba t are they going to do?" The sheriff he said to Frankie, "It's the 'lectric ch air for you. He was your man, and be done you wrong." 87 .,.. I • �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) 11 Put me in that dunc eon, Put me in t h at cel l, Put me where t h e nor t'!:i east wind Blows from the south east cor ne r of h ell, I shot my man, 'cause be done me wrong ." ST. JAiffiS I NFIRJ.mRY BLUES I went down to St. James Inf'irmar:r , Hy baby t h ere she lay, Out on a cold , cold table. Well, I looked a n I tur ned away. What's my baby's chances, I asked old Dr. Tharp. '~y six o'clock this eve nin She'll be play in a g olden h arp." Let her go, let h er go, God b less h er, 'Wh erever sh e may b e. She can hunt this wod e world over, But she'll never find a noth er man li ke me. JUST BLUES I got a sweet black gal Liven down by t h e railroad track , A sweet black gal 88 1 ' �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) Down by the railroad track, And everytime she cries The tears run down her back. Cryin', baby, bave mercy, Baby, have mercy on me! Baby, baby, baby, Have mercy, mercy on me! If this is your mercy, What can your pity be? BLACK 'WOMAN Well, I said come here, Black Woman, Ah-hmmm, don you bear me cryin, Lawd, Lawd! I say run heah, Black Woman, . Sit on your Black Daddy's knee, Lawd! ; Mmmmm, I know yo house feel lonesome, Ah, don you heah me wboopin, Lawd, Lawd, Don yo house feel lonesome, When yo biscuit roller gon, Lawd, help my cryin timeDon yo house feel lonesome, Mmmm, When yo biscuit roller gon. 89 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) I say my house feel lonesomeI know you heah me crying , oh Baby, Ah-hmrnm, ah , when I looked in my ki tclien, Mama, An I wen all tboo my dinin room An-m.mmm, when I woke up this mornin I foun my b iscuit roller done gone. Goin to Texas, Mama, Justo heah the wild ox moanLawd help mah cryin time-Goin to Texas, Mama, Jus to heab the wild ox moan, An if they moan to suit me, I'm goin to bring a wild ox home. Ah-hmmm, I sa~r I' m got to go to Texas, Black MamaI know you h eah me cryin, Lawd, Lawd- Ah-hmmm, I 1 m got to go to Texas, Black Mama, Ahm-jus to h eah the wh ite cow, I say, moan! Ah~hmmm, ah, if they moan to suit me, Lawd, Lawd, I bleeve I'll bring a white cow back home. Say, I feel superstitious, Mama, 'Bout my hoggin bread, Lawd help my bungry time, I feel superstitious, Baby, ' b out my h oggin bread! Ah-hmmm, Baby, I feel superstitious, 90 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) I say'stitious, Black Woman! Ah-bmmm, ab you heah me cryin Bout I don got bungry, Lawd, Lawd Ob, Mama, I feel superstitious Bout my hog, Lawd Gawd, it's mah bread. I want you to tell me, Mama, Ah-hmmm, I heah me cryin, oh Mama! Ah-hmmm, I want you to tell me, Black Woman, 0 wbeah did you stay las ni ght? I love you, Black woman, I tell the whole werl I do. Ah-hmmm, I love you, Black Woman, I know you heah me whoopin, Black Baby! Ah-hmmm, I love you Black Woman An I'll tell yo Daddy, I do, Lawd. YOUND BOY BLUES I'm a real young boy, jus sixteen years ol, I'm a real young boy, jus sixteen years ol, I need a funky black woman to satisfy my soul. Hy father was no jockey but he sure taught me how to ride. I say my father was no jockey but be sure taught me how to ride. 91 �FOLK SECULARS (cont'd) He said f'irst in t h e middle, Then you sway fro m side to side. DACKDOOR BLUES I left my baby sta ndin in t h e back door cryin' Yes, I left my b aby standi n in t h e b ack door cryin' She said, baby , you gotta h o me jus as long as I eot mine. A BIG FAT HA.HA I' m a b i g fat ma rna, [!;Ot t h e meat s haki n on ma.b b ones, I'm a bi g fat r,i arna , got t h e meat sh aki n on mab bones, And every t i me I s h a kes, some skinny g irl loses h uh home. HOH LONG BLt:ms How lone; , h ov, lon 6 , h as t h at eveninc t r a in b in gone? How lo ne , ~ 0 11 long , baby, h ow l ong ? Had a gal l i ved up on t h e b ill If she' s t he r e, sh e lo ves ~e still Baby, b ow l ong , h ow long , b ow l on e ? Sta. nd :i.n a t t h e st a ti on , watch r,~:r b aby c o Feel dis c ust ed, blue , me an a n l ow How lone; , 1 7 0W lo ns : b aby , :1 0 1-1 92 lo ng ? ,, � 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_01_01 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter II. The Black and Unknown Bards, p. 27-92 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/efe6c634b118d7cbf0a40da224b42850.pdf ca15909d8f48fc93de485455eb1174df PDF Text Text CHAPTER III AFRICAN VOICE IN ECLIPSE: IMITATION & AGITATION 1746 - 1865 Slaves, though we be enroll'd Minds are never to be sold --from David Ruggles' Appeals, 1835 I Overview As we embark on a survey of the chronological development of Black written poetry, it is important to remember that any study of such literature concerns that which is "written" and "available." The fact that one writer has made more works accessible to the public than another writer does not make him/her the "greatest II or even "greater. 11 In every era., quiet and important writers have been passed over in favor of literature that is more "timely, 11 'flamboyant II and "relevant 11 --to use an overworked contemporary term. Here and following chapters, I am including brief representations of the poetry. And while this book certainly is not an "anthology," "samples" are given to reinforce comments on styles, themes, subjects, language and other aspects of the poetry. The poems included, it is hoped, will allow student, general reader and teacher immediate access to comparisons, contrasts and tentative analyses. There also is no over-riding effort to explain the works in a • 93 .I �poem-by-poem breakdown. However, Chapter VII will offer an historical "runnlng " a nal:,rsis of several poems with emphasis on how the poems can be read silently and aloud. Also to be examined are some of the consistencies (and similarities) in themes that can be found i n many of the poems. II Literary and Socia~ Landscape Blacks have he en in the Western Hemisphere almost as long as whites. After 1501, most of the Spanish exped:i.tions 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 had been felt for at least 100 years (see Bennett, Franklin). Crucial to an understanding of early Black poetry are the circumstances surrounding slavery and the political and religious moods of ½oth England and Colonial-Revolutionary America. British America did not follow the Greco-Roman tra- dition of the well informed slave. It was quite unlikely, then, that a "revolutionary" Black poet would emerge from a social and literary landscape so charged with self-righteousness and Neoclassicism (or from the Romanticism of the lBOOts). Lucy Terry's "Bars Fight 11 (written in 1746 and published in 1895) could hardly be called "protest"; neither could the work of Phillis Wheatley, co nsidered the finest Black talent of the colonial era, caught between contrivances of the Age of Enlightenment and the approaching grip of the romantics. 94 The neoclassical �tradition that reached its height in the poetry of England's Alexander Pope, had already begun to die out with the death of Pope himself in 1744. All over Colonial America, however, white poets were imitating the stiff-collared conventionality of that period. The moral issues considered by most of the poets (Black and white)--universal brotherhood of man, quest for reason and order, the Jeffersonian ideals of freedom, liberty and representative government--were removed from the everyday brutality of slavery. Some of the most liberal men of the day (Jefferson, Washington, Hume) implicitly justified slavery by suggesting that Blacks were in some ways inferior. Despite Jefferson's pontifications on humanitarianism, he was unable to reconcile the disparity between his public stands and his failure to manumit his own slaves. Although Jefferson carried on a written correspondence with Black astronomer and mathematician, Benjamin Banneker, he considered Phillis Wheatley's work "beneath criticism. 11 On the general American scene, the Revolution behind, a national literature had begun to emerge. 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 religious fervor was still high (Calvinism, Weslyanism and deism had run their courses), political problems dominated. Between 1790 and 1832 the new American government was being consolidated and the writings of men like William Bradford, • 95 �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 Irving, William Gilmore Simms an:1 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," the early decades of the 19th Century saw increasing tension between New England puritanism and Southern aristocracy over the question of slavery. over slavery Debates continued up to the beginning of the Civil War. The early part of the century also saw the birth of many of white America's greatest writers along with romanticism and rugged individualism. :Mystified by the noble savage (Indians and sometimes Blacks) and challenged by the "new frontier," Americans began to romanticize their situation and especially that of explorers 1~0 became the first original folk heroes. White writers who dominated the period from 1826-1865 included Edgar Allan Poe (poet and short story writer, credited with creating the first detective in American fiction), Nathaniel Hawthorne (cons:J.dered the first great American novelist--The Scarlet Letter), John Greenleaf vJhi ttier, 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), Ra lph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, �Herman Melville (considered to have written one of the handful of "great Tl American no ve ls-- r-Iohy Dick), Walt '!rJhi t man ( termed the Tlgreatest" American poet--Leaves of Grass). Other writers, primarily political acti vists or abolitionists, included John G. Calhoun, Willlar:i Lloyd Garrison, and Abrahar,1 Lincoln. Using their own and Black materlal, a numhe r of white composers i mmortalized t he era ln songs-- man:- of t 1.1 em national:tstic. It wa s C.nr ing t hj_::.; r, e rio( t11at Fran c:Ls Scott Key wrote TIThe Star Spangled Banner. 11 Step:1en Foster b8. S since b een accused of merely putting to music the s on cs that were sung by slaves. There was no i.:;oncral encot1rage r:1ent, bowever, for Blacks to earn to read; but many slave owner s indul ged their chattel tn uriting exercises as pers onal pasttir.1es and h obbies. So nany of the early Black poets, then, grew up in relative security. To be totally free, David Walker ohser ved in h is Appeal (1829) to be economl cal ly insecure, socially ostracized and psycho- ':lrn : og1 cnlly oppres sed . Co nseque ntly, t h ose slaves priviledged to read and writ e invariably took European literary models. f~ta , of course, were not the only ones writing. In addition o n ol1tionists-essayists, like Walker and Frederick Douglass, '1h per iod of Black literary activity was highlighted by •lt1t tng slave narratives: ·r t troed slaves. autobiogra phical accounts of escaped The most popular of t h ese, and one of the rit rocorded, was The Interesting 'JITarra ti ve of the Life of Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789). includes it in bis Great Slave Narratives 97 Arna (1969). �Vassa, who also included penned some notable verses, c onstructe(l a story pattern that was to b ecome fa miliar to readers of early America: that of the escaped, freed or run away slave w1 o reported his or h er hardsh ips and struggles. Vassa descri hes his life in Africa up until the time of h is kidnapping . With vivid memory and detail, he establishes the orig inal bases for what we have come to call the nAfrican Continuum" in America. It is not just mere coincidence that t b is statement from 1789 almost fits parts of Black America of today. We are almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets. Thus every great event ••• is celebrated ·in public dances which are accompanied with songs and music suited to the occasions. Vassa's debut into this literary genre was followed by hundreds of other narratives, many of them fakes. Early Negro Writing : Dorothy Porter, in 1760-1837 (1971), h as d l scussed the problem of determining auth enticity of the narratives. Hrs. Porter is librarian of the Moorland Foundation at Howard University--which houses an outstanding collection on the Black past. book she included: constitutions and laws of beneficial societies; speeches before mutual aid and educational societies; the report of the earliest annual convention for the improvement of free people of color; arguments for and a gainst colonization; printed letters, sermons, petitions, orations, lectures, essays, reli g ious and In her �moral treatises, and such creative manifestations as poems, prose narratives, and short essays. Mrs. Porter thus sums up the intellectual and literary output of the early Africans. The word "African," was used generously by most writers and speakers of the era. 'When "African" was not employed it was i r:1plied through the use of "Coloured," "Black, 11 "an Ethiopian P.r incess" and other terms. Placed against the sometimes sophomoric and heretical accusations of some of today's Black critics, these early displays of pride in the African heritage makes one want to send many a loudmouth back 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, there was also much political-social consciousness raising through oration. In the early years great religious and political leaders such as Richard Allen, Peter Williams, Absalom Jones, Prince Hall (founder of Black Masonry), Paul Cu:ffee and Daniel Coker, took up projects of "mutual aid" for Africans. Their work set the stage for missionary, ab olitionist and self-help programs undertaken later by people like Jarena Lee, Frederick Douglass, R. Martin Delaney, Sojourner Truth, and Alexander Crummell, to name only a handfull. The intellectual, relig ious and moral work of Blacks in the North was paralleled by the development of folk materials 99 �(the songs and stories) of Blacks on S outhern plantations. In general few states, North or S outh, allowed educational or vocational opportunities for Blacks. Thus the energies of early Black writers and intellectuals, Mrs. Porter and William Robison point out, were aimed at setting up of various '~frican" societies and free schools, and the promotion of literacy and self-betterment among newly freed slaves. Many educated Blacks of the North also acted as conduits for the Underground Railroad. The Rev. Allen, popular religious crusader and founder of tre Bethel African Methodist Episcopan Church, seems to have been referring to the sa:ne Black "sensib ility" described by Vass a when he said ( in 1793) that be was confident that there was no religious sect or de nomination that would suit the capacity of the colored people as well as the Methodist; ••• Sure I am that readin g sermons will never prove so beneficial to the colored people as spiritual or extempore preaching ••.• Much evidence exists, then, of Blacks b anding together for "mutual" concerns in the early days of America. The horror~ of slavery, the psychological pressures of Northern "freedom," white reprisals in wake of slave revolts (such as those led by Gabriel Prosser in 1800, Denmark Vesey in 1822 and Nat Turner in 1831), made for a most unsettling atmosphere (see Walker's 100 �Appeal). Reporting on white America's "need" to vent its fears and hatreds on Blacks, Winthrop Jordan (vJbi te Over Black, 1968) noted that whites initially feared tbree things: loss of identity, lack of self-control and sexual license. In an ei'i'ort to e.scape the "animal within h imself t11e white man debased the Negro, surely, but at the same time he debased himself." And a young Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, visiting America in 1831, said racial prejudice was "stronger in the states that bave abolished slavery than in tbose where it still exists." Needless to say, creative literature of the "arty" sort (though much of it was being done at the time) was not the number one priority for Blacks facing hell from all sides. Nevertheless a literary tradition did develop and flourish in Black America. The example of the narratives (including those by }Iarrant, Douglass and Truth) led to publications by the first Black novelist and playwright, William Wells Brown. novel was Clotel: Brown's or The President's Daughter (1853) and his play was called Escape: Or A Leap to Freedom (185,7). The second novel by a Black American was The Garies and their Friends (1857) by Frank J. Webb. Delaney published the third novel, Black, or the Huts of America, in 1859. Webb were both published in England. The works by Brown and Brown also worked on in the cause oi' abolition and other social reform programs. His Anti-Slavery Harp (1348 ) contained songs and poems whose themes are implied in the book's title. The pattern of the Black educator, intellectual or artisan carrying on the dual role o~ creator and activist, characterizes the history of Black • 101 �creativity in America. Yet many critics, Black and white, unaware of the stresses and demands on Black artists do not approach their subjects with the understanding required. Political journalism (see Dann's The Black Press, 1827-1890), also, was a strong vein in the development of Black American writing. Beginning with John Russwurm (the second Black college graduate and first Black newspaper editor, Freedom's Journal, 1827-29), and evolving through Ruggles' Hirror for Liberty (first Black magazine, 1838), Douglass' Monthly 1844) and North Star (1847), to Hamilton's Anglo-African Magazine {1859), the tradition of Black journalism and research on the African experience was firr;1ly established. Huch of the journalistic writing (like the poetry) took pros or cons on the question of imigration, colonization or the elevation of the Black man's plight in America. During the early and middle years of the 19th Century, white travelers through the South collected and compiled slave songs-Seculars and Spirituals. These songs would . later form the nucleus for much of the Black and wh ite writing themes. On the eve of the Civil Har, tbe Dred Scott decision (a hlow to slaves and abolitionists) help step up the demands for the abolishment of slavery. Brown's The Black I-Tan (1 863) was a capsule of one er•a which closed on the blasts of cannon and another that opened on tl1e sound of jubilant shouts. 102 �III THE VOICES ON THE TOTEM "mean mean mean to 1, e free 11 --Robert Ha:rden Age.inst the foregoin 6 b ackground, t "'.-: e poets of Colonia.1Revolutionary-Slavcry America appear c ur ious, tearful, exciting, paradoxical, fri gh tening and puzzlin 0 • Biblical i maGery, classical allusions and t bemes, batred of slavery and ambiguous praise for slave- masters, recollectio ns of Africa, appeals and condemnatio ns, all be come enmeshed in the intricate linguistic and psych ological uehbinc; of t ½is early poetry. In 1770, at 17 y ear s of a g e, t he privileGed slave girl Phillis 1'H-1eatle:r ;) ccame t 1~e first Black "exception to tbe rule" And for d ecades students of in English and A~orican po etry. American poctr:r 1.-w.d gone a1)ont t1-:ieir recitations and research a:::; though notbinc; or no o:1e of i mporte.n ce :~np::1e r:: ed IIiss Hll eatley Fig'bt"--tbo accou nt of a ::. 71.:. 6 I nc.inn r,1assacre in :D e erfield, , ~ -- -" ·, J_ L, • ..1... .L ,:_, . .Jupiter !!anmo n' s "An :Sveni n.:_: T:.1ou_::;:::t , Salvat io n h:- C"!:~ rlst, With Pen:i.tentie..l Cri es" (1761) :i.n t l'J o lTeH Yorl-: Historical Society, t hus establishinc Tiammo n a s t ~e first ~u½l ishe e African poet in America. 1 03 �Ue r.1ent5.o:1c d earlior t h at ~.:.a ny ant}; olo 6 ies omit "Bar's Figl1t. 11 Thin i n u nd or:J t anda1~l e si nc e T1iss Terr:r (1730-1 831) never wrote, or at lea s t pr e sented, anymore literary works. America's "first rccro poet," t h en, is i n porta nt primarily for being just tl1at--firs t . Lilre Hiss 1,n10atley, Vassa and oth er N'ew England slaves, she was ld.dnapped as a child ai.1d l)rought to New Enc;land (Rh ode Island). She witnessed t b e Indlan raid reported in her 2 3-line do seercl a nd ~as a flair for storytelling . Hence despite t ll e poe m's "ohviously weak literary merit," this Black writer performed one of th e earliest ser vices of' the poet--that of a singer of' h istory-- in recording actual names and places in her narrative. Since she was 16-:~ears-old and a servant girl, writing was surely not h er primarily respon- sibility. Yet "Bar's Figh t," ach ie ves some success when seen against tbe oral tradition i n poetry: Listen my children and you sh all h ear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. or Now, children, I' m going to tell you the story ab out raw-head and bloody-bones! and There was an old woman who lived in a shoe She had so many children she didn't know what to do. Compare the fore g oing lines to Aue ust 'twas, the twenty-fifth, Seventeen hundred forty six, 104 �Tbe Indians did in ambush lay, Some very valiant men to slay, The names of wbom I'll not leave out: Samuel Allen li ke a h ero fout, and the elemental connections will readily be seen. One has only to read this poem aloud to get b otb t h e effects and Miss Terry's apparent intentions. 1foen sb e wrote 11 Bar 's Fight 11 Miss Terry worked for an Eb enezer Wells of Deerfield, t~ssachusetts, but was 1:;iven her freedom ten y ears later when she married a free Black man, Ab ijah Prince, children. wh om she had six by Prince later b ecame tbe owner of considerable land and was one of t h e founders of Sunderland, Ver mont. Hilliam Robinson (Early Black American Poets) lists Hiss Terry with the "orator" poets and righ tly so. Other details about Miss Terry and the Princes can b e obtained from George Sheldon's A History of Deerfield, Hassacbusetts, 1 695. Slave poet and intellectual, Jupiter Ha mmon (1720?-ll300?), provides yet anoth er look into the capab ilities, mind-sets and limitations of Africans in Colonial America. Hammon is generally not regarded as an "i mportant" Black writer-- but is distinguished for being the first African in America to publish his verses. This he did in 1761 ( "An Evening Th ough t, 11 composed in December of 1760); 1778 ("An Address to Hiss Ph illis Wh eatley"); 1782 ("A Poem for Ch ildren"); and in the mid-17 80•s ("An Evening's Improvement 11 ) . In his nAddress to the Negroes of the State of New York" (written in 1786 and pu1)lished in 1806) Hammon linked in with a tradition that included pamph leteers, like • 105 �Quinn, Walker, Ruggles and oth ers of t b e period. Hammonts "Address" sought freedo m .for younger Blacks, claiming that 11 for my own part I do not wish to be free." This statement appears, on the surface, to b e the ultimate in self-debasement and self-denial; but one h as to view it in t h e context of statements by de Tocqueville, Walker, and others, along with the circumstances o.f the aging and reli gious Hammon. That Hammon himself was deeply reli e ious is reflected in his poetry--as with many Black poets, e.g., Hayden today-and he obviously labored under the influence of Methodism and the Wesleyan Revival (see Early Ne gro Writing ). In the poem to Miss Wheatley, he notes t h at it 1--1as throu gh that "God's tender mercy" that she was kidnapped from A.frica and bro.u ght to America as a slave. And Hammon seemed, generally, to reflect with prevailing wh ite attitude toward the "dark" continent: one engulfed in i g norance, ~arbaris m and evil. Obviously not as well read as Hiss l:Jb ea tley, Hammon was unable to take his themes to universal and intellectually arresting levels. He was born a slave a nd b elonged to t h e inf'luential family of Lloyd's Neck on Long Island and was encouraged by his masters to write and publish poetry. There is not a great deal of in.formation available on the life of Hammon; but it is difficult to understand why an intelli gent Black man, who lived such a long life, mirrored almost complete ignorance of the horrors of slavery--despite the almost daily local newspaper and verbal accounts a.nd discussions of the 106 ' '' �11 peculiar ins ti tut ion. 11 J:arimon' s li terar:r models were primarily f' the conventional material of hymns of t h e period. So his re- • i.,; ligious fervor--at t h e time of religious revi vals in Europe and Colonial Amer1.ca--coupled with his stylistic b orrowings from hymns constitut e h i s major poetic effort. Thought, 11 "An Evening which .i irs. Porter tells us was probably during tl1e deli ver:· of a sermon, 11 11 t chanted beGins: Sal va t ion co~e s b~ Christ alo ne Tb e o nl:r Son of .God; Tiedemp tion now to every one, That lo ve h is only word. Dear J"e s us He would fly to thee, And leav0 off every Sin, Thy tender Mercy well a gree; Salvation fro m our king ; Like Miss Terry, Hammon was not primarily a poet. And hence, J unlike approaching Phillis Wheatley, one sh ould not spend too t ...I Drnch time or be too h arsh in criticizing (or complaining about) him. The basic structure of the English hymn--wh ich merged I' with the Spiritual--as Ha mmon interprets it, is an alternation of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter combined with a rather clumsy ab ab rhyme sch eme. Compared to other bymns, it is no worse and is better t h an amny. Despite the times, pressures and censures, however, one is bardpressed to accept Harnmon's assurance to the s lave tbat: In Christian faith thou hast a share, Worth all the gold of Spain. 107 .. �Hammon's works can be found critically introduced in Robinson's anthology, in Stanley Ransom's America's First Negro Poet, the Complete Works of Jupiter Hammon of Long Island (1970) (and in Barksdale's and Kinnamon's Black Writers of America, 1972); critical-biographical attention is in Vernon Loggins' The Negro Author (1931) and J. Saunders Redding's To Make A Poet Black (1939). Yet another slave, Phillis 'Wheatley (1753 ?-1784}, has to be examined. There has been substantial critical-biographical treatment of Miss 'Wheatley, so no attempt will be made here to give her full consideration. By far the most gifted and com- plex poet until Dunbar, Phillis ,fueatley was also priviledged as a young child and allowed access to the Boston library of John Wbeatlye--to whom she was sold after being brought from Senegal when she was six or seven years old--where she read voraciously. By the time of her teens she had learned to speak and write English, and acquired a New England education which put great emphasis on the Bible and the classics. ·Her poetry, like Hammon's reflects deep interest in and knowledge of religion; but it is alsb steeped in classical allusions and conventions of the neoclassical writing school. Critical attention to Miss Wheatley (who, like Dunbar, lived a short life) has been both raving and unkind. Benjamin Brawley (The Negro Genius) reports that Jefferson viewed her as beneath the dignity of criticism. Yet, other great personalities of the day generously praised and received her work. 108 George �Washington, so moved by her poetic tribute ("To His Excellency General Washine;ton"), invited the young poet to visit him at his camp at Cambridge, Massachusetts--an invitation which she later accepted arrl was treated as roy alty. Miss Wbeatley's earliest verses were penned during the · years of her adolescence. "On t h e Death of the Rev. George 1770, 11 re.fleets the elegaic theme which occupies Whitefield: much of her poetry. Manumitted and sent with other members of the Wheatley family to London in 1772, because of frailness and poor health, Miss Wheatley was received like a visiting dignitary in London's literary circles and hailed as the "Sable Muse. 11 Th e next y ear (1773), while in London, she became (at 20-years-old) the first African, a~ the second woman from America, to publish a book of poems: Poems on Various Subjects, Reli g ious and Moral, by Ph illis Wheatley, Negro Servant to ~Tr . Wheatley of Boston. The volume, the only one she ever publish ed, became an i mmediate success in both England and America and won her an everlasting place in the history of Engli sh poetry i n Amer i ca. Upon her return to America, Mis s Wheatley ' s misfortunes seemed to come in such lightning succession that one wonders how sh e withstood adversity as lon g as she did. First, t h ere was t he death of :tv".irs. Wheatley and t h en, during the l 770' s, t h e deaths of t h e remaining Wheatl e~rs. The poet t h en married a Joh Peters, who "proved to b e both a t1bitious and irresponsible," for whom she b ore thre e childr en--all of wh om died in infancy. 1 09 �Additionally, t he Peters family li ved in squalor a nd poverty, like so many New Encland Blac ks . Commenttnc on the circum- s tances surroundinc her de ath , Barksdale a nd Kannamon (Black Writer s of Americ a ) observe wi t b stoRach -curdli ng accuracy that: l t Her early death pr ovides a COQmen t ar y o n the de sperate marginality of life among Boston 's free Blac ks at tre.t time . an extre .. :.c >· To Phillis 1-n~eatley , benig n ma ::; ter-8 Gr-rr.n t relation- ship , freedom's uncertainities and insecur- ities were overwhelming . Certainly, h ad she been initially free in Boston, she would probably never have had the time, the opportunity, or the peace of mind to write poetry. For the state of freedom for the Black man in the 1780's--even in godly, liberty-loving Boston--was indeed precarious. The preceding explanation, coupled again with the observations of Walker, de Tocqueville and others, make Hammon's statement about pref'erring not "to be free" somewhat more tolerable if not plausable. We noted that Phillis Wheatley has been praised as well as condemned. Some critics denounce her for not being inventive and original enough, claiming that she simply followed the conventions and themes associated with neoclassicism: Salvation, Mercy and Goodness. 110 Truth, Some resent her so-called "pious • ! �sentimentality" and accuse her of calling on Christ when she should be calling for the abolishment of slavery. Still others, during the current period, have accused her of not being "Black enough." Considered on the landscape of the times, however, Miss Wheatley comes off as a genius--with hardly an equal among ·Back or white contemporaries. James Weldon Johnson, during a comparison of Miss Wheatley's "Imagination" to Anne Bradstreet's "Contemplation," said "We do not think the black woman suffers by comparison with the white" (Negro American Poetry). During h er l i fe ti me Miss Wh eatley published some 50 poems, almost half of them elegies, five or six political and pa~riot pieces ("General Washington" and "Liberty and Peace"), and the remainder consumed by religious and moral subjects--as she states in her title. Though she never deals with the question of slavery--and makes only tentative reference to her own predicament--her work sustains a high level of emotional, linguistic, religious and general poetic force. S-ince her greatest models were Pope, Dryden, Milton and the earlier classical writers, one must examine these sources to uncover some keys to her techniques atrl allusions. But one only has to read (aloud) the following passage from "Rev. George Whitefield" to feel impact: I l, "Take him, ye wretch ed, for y our only good, "Take h i m, ye starving sinners, for your food. ''Ye t hrifty , come to t h is life- giving stream, I, ; . 111 .... �'~e preachers, take him for your joyful theme; "Take him, my dear Americans, he said, "Be your complaints on his kind bosom laid; "Take b im, ye Africans, h e longs for you, "Impartial Savior is his title due; ''Washed in the fountain of redeeming blood, '~ou shall be sons and kings, and priests to God." More will be said of this poem in Chapter VII; but we should state that some of the previously harsh criticism of Miss Wheatley has been tempered in light of increasing :feminism and, especially, efforts by Black women writers, scholars and intellectuals to reevaluate h er. Much of her work is done in the heroic couplet which dominated the period o:f poetry-writing. These pentameter couplets (which would be popularized in the 20th Century as "unrhymed iambic pentameter" by Robert Frost) call for end-line rhymes to appear in twos, with 10 syllables per line. Roger ~n1itlow (Black American Literature) complains that Miss Wheatley "falls short . in what Pope called the 'correctness' of diction and meter, that near-perfect choice of word and measurement and weighing of syllable." One could agree, if Miss ll'Tbeatley's sole aim were simply to imitate. But there is a great evidence that she--like Black poets always seem to be doing--was trying to achieve a readable poem without losing the essence o:f the couplet. After all, as Stephen Henderson (Understanding the New Black Poetry) has suggested, many Black poets have their ears and thought rhythms attuned to the spiritual and phonological 112 �demands of the audience that loves "extempore" delivery, when the written lines are strict and tight. Also, in placing "Their colour is a diabolic dye" in ✓ "'---- quo tat ions ( "On Being Brought from Africa to America "l, Misa Wheatley suggests that others deem her color negative but that she may not. This remains a possibility despite her closing couplet: Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as C.a in, May be refined, and join the angelic train. Yet there is firm evidence that Miss "Wheatley was not insensitive, at least to her on predicament as a slave without a fundamental and geneological identity. Honourable William, Earl of Dartmough," In nTo The Right she says Should you, my lord, while you peruse my song, Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung, Whence flow these wishes for the common good, By feeling hearts alone best understood, I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate. Was snatch'd from Afric's fancy'd happy seat: What pangs excruciating must molest, What sorrows labour in my parent's breast? Steel'd was that soul and by no misery mov'd That from a father seiz'd his babe belov'd: Such, such my case. And can I then but pray Others may never feel tyrannic sway? The capital "F" in "Freedom," the phrase "cruel fate," the sorrow felt for her parents and the reinforcement of the agony • 113 ~' • I .. •' . II I �via repetition ("such, such"; see Margaret Walker's lines "How Long!"), place her alongside other Black voices that searched for answers to the pall of racial insanity that enwebbed them. hymn form. Miss Wheatley also experiments with the In "A. Farewell To America II and "An Hymn To Humanity" one bounces along her alternating lines and rhythms. We stated earlier that Miss vJheatley's critical image has somewhat shifted. Perhaps the capstone of this shift was the Jackson State College Poetry Festival, held in November of 1973 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the publiEbony magazine (March, 1974) cation of Miss Wheatley's Poems. did a five-page picture essay on the festival, organized and hosted by Margaret Walker poet-novelist and Director of Jackson State's Institute for the Study of History, Life and Culture of Black People. According to Ebony "eighteen Black women poets converged" on the Black college campus to salute Miss Wheatley, read their own poems and discuss poetry and life. Writer Luci Horton noted that recently there has been more respect for the 11 slave girl who, under unspeakable cir- cumstances, was able to write poetry or any literature at all." In addition to Dr. Alexander, the list of poets included in Naomi Long Madgett, Margaret c. Burroughs, Marion Alexander, Margaret Esse Danner, Linda Brown Bragg, Mari Evans, Carole Gregory Clemmons, Lucille Clifton, Sarah Webster Fabio, Nikki . . Giovanni, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Gloria c. Oden, Sonia Sanchez, Alice Walker, Malaika Ayo Wangara ( Joyce Whitsitt Lawrence) and Carolyn M. Rodgers. Gwendolyn Brooks' absence '· 114 �was conspicuous. The festival was also the subject of a six-page picture essay by Carole Parks in Black World (Webruary, 1974). One of the most revealing comments was made by Paule Giddings, a young editor at Howard University Press: There is something wrong with a critical tradition that makes Phillis Wheatley an historical footnote •••• Phillis Wheatley was black and . this is the difference (between her and other poets of her day) and also the contradiction: the contradiction between her blackness which she recognized and never was .free, to forget by a thousand humiliations and white mercantile England, a world that was never to be hers, but whose values she seemed to accept. She was in a slave world, but not truly of it •••• It does no good to reproach a child for yielding to attractive influences when within herself there is no strong residue of any other influence or tradition. It is easy to say she had no racial consciousness. It would be .fair to look at the choices she had and ascertaln whether or not she was capable of enduring even more intense isolation. Ms. Giddings has asserted ·what appears to be a balanced answer to the protestations o.f Redd inc , Brmm, Brawley ( "no racial 115 �value") ~ and others. It remains to be seen as to whether current and future generations of Black and white students will keep Miss Wheatley a "statute in the park" or bring her to the table and "examine her hlood and beart." Critical treatment of this first Black woman of letters already has been extensive: Juli.an Mason's The Poems of Phillis 1~eatley (1966); Barksdale's and Kinnamon's critic a l introduction; Robert C. Kuncio's "Some Unpublished Poe:m3 of Phillis Wheatle~~" I (New Entland Quarterly, XLIII, June, 1 S'7 C, 2 27-2°7); Lor:Gins' I The Negro Author (1931); Bra.wley's The Negro Genius; Redd1ng's To Make A Poet Black; Shirley Graham's The Story of Phillis Wheatley (1949); and Jerry Ward's and Charles Howell's article in the Summer, 1974, issue of Freedomways. We have already mentioned Gustavus Vassa (1745-1801), one of the most interesting of the early writers, in another context. Born the seventh and youngest son of a chieftan (in Essake, now Eastern Nigeria), Vassa (African name: Olaudah Equia.no) was first sold to a Virginia plantation owner. His journeys later took him on several Atlantic voyages and then to the Mediterranean where be served in the Seven Years War . Vassa held technical jobs on ships as a result of bis adeptness at the English language and his mastery of basic mathematics . He became a tireless worker for the abolition of slavery and worked, briefly, in behalf of efforts to colonize poor blacks of England in Sierre Leone. Vassa is chiefly known for his Narrative (1789) which was a best-seller among abo- 116 �l1tionists in England and America. Slave narratives, we have observed, were a part of a branch of Black writing which gave rise to the more sophisticated autobiographies (that stretch from Douglass through Baldwin and Cleaver) which in turn laid some of the foundation for American fiction. Vassa was not the first writer of a slave narrative, as is popularly thought. Briton Hammon (no relation to Jupiter) published in London A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings and Surprisin5 Deliverance of Briton Hammon, A Negro Man (1760) and John Marrant published (also in London) A Narrative of the Lord's Wonderful Dealings with J. Marrant, A Black ( 1785). Vassa, who we turn to briefly for his efforts in poetry, included "Miscellaneous Verses" in his Narrative. His verse is interesting because it helps to establish the portrait of a complex and many-sided man; it also provides further insight into the workings of the African mind making contact with white culture and especially Christianity. While in his prose and speech-making Vassa was firm in his attacks on slavery, he proves in the end to be a believer in some ultimate force of "deliverance." In the last line of the last stanza of his "Verses" he reminds us that "Salvation is by Christ alonel" Which is, of course, reminiscent of Hammon's opening line: Salvation come by Christ alone Nevertheless Vassa's language is less saturated in Biblical terms than Hammon•s. And the former, as verse writer, has a better control on the language. In the "Verses" he applies a • 117 �driving iambic tetrameter meter with an a ab b rhyme scheme: Those who beheld my downcast mien Could not guess at my woes unseen: They by appearance could not know The troubles I have waded through. Lust, anger, blasphemy, and pride, With legions of such ills beside, Troubled my thoughts while doubts and fears Clouded and darken'd most my years. In the first stanze quoted Vassa presages the duality and mental pressures that more skilled writers would describe in years to come. Implying that the job of the oppressed Black is to keep his head even and up, Vassa says even those who see him in his sorriest state cannot envision the sufferings he has endured. Dunbar would say the same thing in a different way in ''We Wear the Mask" more than a century later. And Countee Cullen would state it more than 130 years later in yet a different way. This apparent ability of Blacks to "keep cool" and adapt (see Johnson's The Autobiography of An Ex-Coloured Man) under the most trying circumstances has been promoted, nurtured and praised by leaders of the race. Vassa, then, is important as an early writer, not only because of his skill, but for the insight and understanding he brings to the social and religious pressures, demands and choices around him. There is a releasing therapy in Vassa 1 s work which acts as only one of numerous L 118 �conduits for Black anguish and outrage when the options were slavery or death. Vassa's Narrative is most accessible in Bontemps' Great Slave Narratives (1969). In 1967 Paul Edwards published an edition of the Narrative including a comprehensive introduction. Edwards also did a two-volume facsimile reprint of the first edition (1969). See also Africa Remembered: Narratives by West Africans from the Era of the Slave Trade, edited by Phillip D. Curtin (1967). Loggins assesses the Narrative and Robinson provides a handy biographical-critical introduction. More on Vassa can be found in Marion L. Starkey's Striving to Make It My Home: The Story of American frQm Africa (1964) and in Whitlow's Black American Literature. In the summer of 1974, Darwin Turner conducted a graduate and postgraduate seminar on Slave Narratives at Iowa State University where he directs the Center for Afro-American Culture. The early and middle years of the 19th century witnessed the maturation of Black autobiography, political journalism and abolitionist activities. George Moses Horton .was 34 years old when William Lloyd Garrison founded The Liberator (1831), the most influential and famous of the abolitionist newspapers. And by 1830 there were more than in America. SO Black antislavery societies Blacks in the United States had been stireed by slave rebellions both here and in places like Haiti, the Carribean and Trinidad. Especially inspiring during this period was the 1839 revolt of slaves aboard the Spanish schooner L'Amistad. Led by Joseph Cinque, a Mandi-speaking 119 �prince, the fifty slaves, killed the captain, set the crew adrift and demanded that ship owners steer the ship to Africa. Apprehended, the Africans were escorted by a United States brig to New Haven where the would-be slaves faced murder and other charges. Ex-President John Quincy Adams defended the Africans' right to return to their homeland and in 1842 they sailed to Sierre Leone. Ironically, neither the international press nor most Blacks knew of the connection between .Cinque of the Symbionese Liberation Front, apparently headquartered in northern California during 1973-74, and the Cinque of the L'Amistad revolt. In light of the growing consciousness among Blacks, it was to be expected that A George Moses Horton (1797-1883) would appear to inveigh against tyranny and slavery. Born a slave near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Horton is considered to be the first Black to employ protest themes in a volume of verse. His Hope of Liberty (1829) ranged over the whole area of general and personal protest. The poet was first owned by a planter named Horton who later rented him in the service of a janitor to the University of North Carolina. Horton exploited the academic environment by reading the English classics and composing poems. Often called the first professional Black writer, Horton hired his poetic skill out to students who paid him rather handsomely for composing "personal" poems. His second book of poems, Poetical Works of George M. Horton, the Colored Bard of North Carolina, was published in 1845. 120 �Horton's hopes that he would gain enough money from the sale of his books to secure bis freedom were never realized; and he was not freed until Union soldiers arrived in 1865 when his last volume, Naked Genius, was published. Horton's themes are not devoted exclusively to protest and he has been criticized, along with Phillis Wheatley, Hammon and Vassa, for writing such lines as those that appear in "On Hearing of the Intention of a Gentleman to Purchase the Poet's Freedom": When on life's ocean first I spread my sail, I then implored a mild auspicious gale; And from the slippery strand I took my flight, And sought the peaceful heaven of delight. ••• •••••••• ••••••••••• • •••••••••• ••••••••• Hard was the race to reach the distant goal, The needle oft was shaken from the pole; In such distress who could forbear to weep? Toss'd by the headlong billows of the deepl Horton goes on to say that ''Eternal Providence" saved him when he was on the "dusky verge of deep despair" and when "the last beam of hope was almost gone." Yet Horton writes bitterly of slavery as well as lightly of love and humorously of life in general. Influences on his poetry are Byron, Wesleyan Hymnal stanzas, and other sources from books that he had read. In the poem from which the stanzas above were taken he pursues a rather monotonous iambic tetrameter meter. But in a poem like "Slavery" (published in The Liberator, March 29, 1834), he can vary the hymn pattern in the ·way that Phillis Wheatley does in ' 121 �her hymn-inspired works. The effect is almost ballad-like: When first my bosom glowed with hope, I gazed as from a mountain top On some delightful plain; But ohl how transient was the scene-It fled as though it had not been And all my hopes were vain. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Is it because my skin is black, That thou sbould'st be so dull and slack, And scorn to set me free? Then l e t me h as t en to t be grave, ~1e onl~ ref us e fo r t h o s l ave , Ubo mourns for liher t:.r. Also effective and sustaining in po1ver is "The Slave's C~mplaint" when features seven thre e-line stanzas with a final indented one word refrain: "Forever n which is followed by either question mark, colon or exclamat i on ~ar k . Horton handles well some of bis love poems and in "Th e Lover's Fare1-10ll" is able to touch base with that broad and painful understanding of what it means to say goodbye: I leave my parents here behind, And all my friends--to love resigned-'Tis grief to go, but death to stay: Farewell--I'm gone with love aHay! In this and other pieces Horton makes good use of dashes--which allow him to develop suspense and render his statemepts more 122 �dramatic. Because of its various uses, the dash has arrived as an important ingredient of modern and contemporary Black poetry. Contrary to many of his learned contemporaries and predecessors, Horton apparently consciously thought of, and worked toward, his freedom. This fact is reflected both in his life's work and his poetry. His own position, coupled with his sanguine delivery of folk wit and emphasis, can be seen in the following stanza from "The Slave": Because the brood-sows left side pigs were black, Who sable tincture was by nature struck, Were you by justice bound to pull them back And leave the sandy-colored pigs to suck? For appraisals and selections of Horton's works see Robinson's anthology, Collier Cobb's An American Man of Letters--George Moses Horton (1886), comments by Barksdale and Kinnamon, Whitlow's· study, Brawley's Negro Genius, Loggins' work, Redding's study, Richard Walser 1 s The Black Poet (1967), Brown's as~essment and Jean Wagner's Black Poets of the United States (1973). Horton, of course, trails and precedes a long line of orators and poets, many of whom we know very little about today. In fact, comparatively speaking, there is a wide disparity between the readily available insignificant information on white writers of the period and the lack of vital data on Blacks. We do know that the early decades of the 19th century witnessed a developing Christian and political consciousness among Blacks 123 i �and that most northern Black writers, intellectuals and educators turned their attention to the educational, physical and educational needs of free and enslaved Blacks. Of these and other matters, Mrs. Porter provides ample proof and discussion in Early Negro Writing. Occasional verse was also somewhat of a tradition among many learned Blacks as was the practice of writing hymns, psalms and other spiritual songs. One such recorded item is "Spiritual Song" by Rev. R~chard Allen, probably "changed or sung during the delivery of a sermon." Rev. Allen employs internal rhyme by repeating similar sounds in the middle and at the end of lines. Varying his meter and using an irregular end-line rhyme scheme, he expresses the religious fervor that consumed many Blacks of the period: Our time is a-flying, our moments a-dying, We a.re led to improve them and quickly appear, For the bless'd hour when Jesus in power, In glory shall come is now drawing near, He thinks there will be shouting, and I'm not doubting, But crying and screaming for mercy in vain: 124 •' �Therefore my dear Brother, let's now pray together, That your precious soul may be fill'd with flame. Another such example is a "New Year's Anthem" written by Michael Fortune and "sung in the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas" on January 1, 1808. Fortune's anthem is tra- ditional in its use of materials from Methodist hymns . He tells the congregation to "Lift up your souls to God on high" Who, with a tender father's eye Looked down on Afric's helpless raceZ Robery Y. Sidney composed two anthems "For the National Jubilee of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, January 1st, 1809." "Anthem I" begins: DRY your tears, ye sons of Afric, God has shown his gracious power; He has stopt the horrid traffic, That your country's bosom tore. See through clouds he smiles benignant, See your nation's glory rise; Though your foes may from indignant, All their wrath you may despise. This stanza is followed by a "Chorus, " "Sole" and "Recitative." In ."Anthem II" an abbreviate form is employed and Sidney drops the solo and recitative--keeping only the chorus: Chorus. Rejoice that you were born to see, 125 �This glorious day, your jubilee. Sidney also wrote a hymn which Hrs. Porter includes along with hymns by religious leaders Peter Williams Jr., and Williams Hamilton. Both men., using the English forms, celebrate freedom., call for mutual aid among Blacks and preach the virtues of the Christian God. Williams praises the "eloquence/Of Wilberforce" after whom a predominantly Black university was named in Ohio. For detailed information on sources for these and similar writings see Hrs. Porter's Early Negro Writing: 1760-1873. The collection includes two very touching examples of writings "On Slavery" and "On Freedom" by 12-year-old boys from the New York Ai'rican Free School established in 1786. In reading into the life and works of Daniel A. Payne (1811-1893), one is immediately struck by his dedication to the task of upgrading Blacks. Educator, university president, missionary and poet, Payne was born in Charleston, South Carolina of free parents. He was orphaned at 10-years-old, apprenticed to a carpenter and then to a tailor. ,Later trained in classical education at the local Minor's Moralist Society's school, he taught free Black students for a fee and slaves free of charge at night. Payne's travels took him to various places (New Orleans, Baltimore, Canada and twice to England) where he helped expand the programs of the African Methodist Church. Trained in the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he was ordained in 1839, after preaching for several years, he was made an M.M.E. Bishop in 1852. In the political and educational spheres be helped urge Lincoln 126 �(on April 14, 1862) to sign the bill to emancipate slaves in the District of Columbia, and spearheaded the purchase of Wilberforce University--serving as its president for 16 years. Payne devoted most of his life to the cause of free and enslaved Blacks and to writing poetry and religious history. His Pleasures and Other Miscellaneous Poems was published in Baltimore in 1850. He also ,;. rrote . books on the history and mission of the A.M.E. Church. Especially valued for its social and intellectual insight into 19th century Blacks is Payne's Recollections of Seventy Years published in Nashville in 1888. As a poet Payne is erudite and imitative. Robinson correctly observes that a major problem with the poetry is "the repetition of end stopped lines, and his diction, a hybrid of classical and Biblical vocabularies, can prove distracting to many readers." Nuch of this we can forgive, however, when we understand Henry Dnrnas' remark that "a Black poet is a preacher." Certainly a preacher--in fact or as poet--knows very well the meaning of and need for repetition. convince us of bis seriousness. Yet Payne never fails to So hurt was he in wake of the 1834 South Carolina law that, effective in 1835, made Black literacy illegal, Payne wrote "The Mournful Lute of the Preceptor's Farewell.n We find bis enbossed concern for students in these lines: Ye lads, whom I have taught with sacred zeal, For your hard fate I pangs of sorrow feel; Ob, who shall now your rising talents guide, - Where virtues reig~ and sacred truths priside? 127 �Payne is a handler of the language, observing that "two revolving moons s:iall lj__s11t the shores" after tbe dread law 11 s11Ut the do ors 11 on cducat1. on for South Carolina Blacks. Engulfed in tb0 rclic;:i.oua and r1oral fervor of r,10.ny Black minist01 s of tbe period, the poet n nd orator reflects age-old 1 concerns about deceit a nc1 mistrust in sucb pieces as "The Pleasures." He complains that Men talk of LovoJ But few do ever feel . The speechless raptures uhich its joys reveal. Hen "mistake love, 11 Payne notes, For grovelling lust, that v:lle, that filthy dame, ·whose bosom ne'er ever felt the sacred flame For insight into Payne's life and works one could go to any one of his "considerable number" of writings. Among others, they include The Semi-Centenary and the Retrospection of the African Methodist ~piscopal Church (Baltimore, 1866) and The History of the A.H.E. Church (Nashville, 1866). .Josephus R. Goa.m's 1935 (Philidelphia) biography: See also Daniel Alexander Payne, Christian Educator, Robinson's comments and Brawley's Negro Genius. Unfortunately too little is known of romantic poet John Boyd, especially since his work reflects genuine gifts and talents. Boyd's poetic images are brilliant, sustained, searing and generally accurate even if they are not always 128 �connected in a way that makes them readily acessible. The only record of Boyd is made available by C.R. Nesbitt, EBq., Deputy Secretary and Registrar of the Government of the Bahamas. Nesbitt must have recognized the talent and the promise and he aided Boyd's poetry through publication in London in 1834. Boyd, it seems, was self-taught on New Profidence Island where he remained all his life. His poem "Vanity of Life" was published in the February 16, 1~33, issue of the Boston-based Liberator. His 1834 volume is entitled The Vision/ and otber/ Poems,/ in Blank Verse/ by John Boyd/ a man of Colour/. Practically unedited, the manuscript is what Robinson calls a "publishing scramble." Like most of the poets of the period Boyd's work owes debt to Milton, the Bible and classical influences. "The Vision/ a Poem in Blank Verse" is immediately reminiscent of Milton 1 s Paradise Lost. Boyd skirts a rhyme scheme but employs a f'airly regular iambic pentameter meter. All things considered, his work partially cancels the criticism by Sterltng Brown that Black poets lag in their stylistic awareness. opens brilliantly with: Me thought the Moon, pale regent of the sky, Crested, an:l filled with lucid radiance, Flung her bright gleams across my lowly couch; 129 "Vision" �And all of heaven's fair starry firmament Delightful shone in hues of glittering light, Reflecting, like to fleecy gold, the dewy air. In his "Vision" Boyd encounters characters of both the heavens and the hells. When the narrator, "dreamer" joined the train Fervent hosannas struck the astonish'd ear, As when in the midbour of calmest night, Stillness pervadeth the awakened wave, Roused by the secret power that moves the deep, It heaves its loud surge on the sounding shore; The nvision" is also peopled by "grim death and ghastly Sin" who "lay coiled, like snakes in one huge scaly fold," and consider their "inexpiable doom--." Boyd's tones are sacred and surreal and be assembles harmlessly complex subordinate clauses that help build an exciting linguistic crecendo as in "Ocean": 'When t he fiat of the most High, Thy fountains burst, a copiously 130 �Thy secret springs, with ample store, Pour'd forth tbeir waves from shore to shore Wide as the waters roll, oh, wave. Boyd's work has yet to be appraised in terms commisserate with its importance. Robinson makes brief but significant comments " on his poetry. Ann Plato, another romantic poet, is also one fpr 'Whom there exists little of the important factual data. This second Black American female to publish a book almost skirts the racial theme completely. Her Essays:/ Including/ Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces,/in/ Prose and Poetry was published in Hartford in Hl41. What little is known of her comes by ~ of an introduction to her book which was written by Rev .. J.w.c. Pennington, pastor of the Colored Congregational Church in Hartford, of whicb she was a member. Except for her "To the First of August.," written in celebration of the 1833 abolition of slavery in the British West Indies., there are ~>nly allusions to slavery. Her book also contains essays on religion, mod- eration, conduct and other conventional themes. These same themes are pretty much paralleled by the 20 poems, in her book, which deal with home life, deaths of acquaintances and moral issues. "Reflections, Written on Visiting the Grave of a Venerated Friend" begins: Deep in this grave her bones remain, She's sleeping on., bereft of pain; 131 �The language and the subject matter are stock but "Forget Me Not," each stanza of which ends with the title, is well handled and has flashes of the preachment of self-control that Vassa alluded to in his verses: When bird does wait thy ab sence long, Nor tend unto its morning song; While thou art searching stoic page, Or listening to an ancient sage, Whose spirit curbs a mournful rage, Forget Me Not. Her interest in oral literature and the storytelling tradition is apparent in "The Natives of America" where sbe asks: "Tell me a story, father, please," · And then I sat upon his knees. Again, as in her contemporaries, we f'ind the inf]uences of English writers of a preceding generation or so, the debt to Biblical learning and much imitation. For brief' critical notes on Miss Plato see Robinson's Early Black American Poets. Another abolitionist-minister and orator-poet Elymas Payson Rogers (1814?-1861) who, after teaching public schools in Rochester, New York, took up pastoring in Newark, New Jersey. One of Rogers' students as a teacher was Jerimiah w. Loguen who later become an important social-religious leader and a Bishop of the A. H.E. Church. Fugitive slave Loguen's bio- graphy (see Negro Caravan) appeared in 1859# in Syracuse, under the title, The Reverend J.W. Loguen, As a Slave and as 132 �a Freeman. Known, as were many of the orator-poets, for reciting his poems orally, Rogers' themes are unashamedly abolition, Black betterment an::l political hypocrisy. Working politically on behalf of Blacks, Rogers apparently designed The Fugitive Slave Law (Ue1-1 ark, 1855) and Repeal of Missouri Compromise Considered (Newark, 1856) to be read aloud from platform. Like, James H. Whitfield, who came later, Rogers gave up hope in America's ever giving Blacks a fair deal and sailed for Africa where he died after contacting a fever a few days after be arrived there. His incisive no-holes-barred approach to the political climate and conditions of the time is seen in "On the Fugitive Slave Law": Lawl What is Law? The wise and sage, Of every clime and every age, In this most cordially unite, That 'tis a rule for doing rigbt. And the ringing cry of the elocutionist can be beard later in the poem when, in discussing the f'ugitive bill, he asks and answers: That Bill a law? the South says so, But Northern f'reeman answer, Nol Anticipating the fiery and torrential Whitfield (and 20th century "angry voices") Rogers continues: That bill is law, doughfaces say; But black men everywhere cry "Nay: We'll never yield to its control While life shall animate one soul 133 �At times biting and over-bearingly harsh as a poet, Rogers resounds in "The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise Considered" with these words: "I want the land, 11 was Feed om' s cry; And Slavery answered, "So Do IJ By all that's sacred, I declare I'll have my just and lawful share. The Northern cheek should glow with shame To think to rob me of my claim." With built-in drama and careful cuts, Rogers assessed the state of the nation during his time. In a line like nLawZ What Law?" he purposely begs the question in order to wring the emotional and rhetorical power from the words and to evoke responses from audiences. References to Rogers can also be found in Robinson's Early Black American Poets. Mathematician, poet, educator and Black community worker, Charles L. Reason (1818-1898) was born in New York City of Haitian parents. He attended the New York A.frican 'Free School 1vhere be later returned as a member of the all-Black faculty. Seeking the ministry, Reason was, for racial reasons, forbidden full time attendance at the Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Eventually, hm-rnver, be became eligible for a professorship in Na.thematics and Belle Lettres (181~9) at the New York Central College in l:cGrawville, Courtlandt County. William G. Allen and George B. Vashon were also on the faculty there. He held various educational jobs j_ncluding a princi- palship of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia 134 �ii~"- ' and grammar shcool No. Go in New York City wbi1e H. Cordelia Ray was a teacher tbcr o.. :S.eason ·was an intellectual and a scholar but was not blind to the practical needs of AfroAmoricans . He oppos ed plans to colonize Blacks, claiming instead that the7 ne eedod to pursue v ocational careers hers in America. AGain, not primarily a poet, Reason is competent as a poet in "The Spirit Voice" which opens with: Come! rouse ye brothers, rouse! a peal now breaks From lo1-1cst island to our gallant lakes: 'Tis summoning you, who in bonds have lain, To stand up r:i.anful on tbe battle plain, and urges Blacl:s to fi.ght for freedom and opportunity. The poem {whose complete title is "The Spirit Voice or, Liberty Call to the Disfranchised") is indebted to the rhyming couplet so famous during the era and which had been used with great skill by Phillis 1fueatley. It appears in William Simmons' Men of Mark (Cleveland, 180?). Like that of other orator-poets, Reason's work is designed to be read aloud in order to stir and move poeple to action. Therefore he exhorts, reinforces, demands, warns, admonishes and issues veiled threats. His "spirit voice" (see the idea of African Spirit Force) longs for the time when freedom's mellow light 135 �Shall break, and usher in the endless day, That from Orleans to Pass'maquoddy Bay, Despots no more may earthly homage claim, No slaves exist, to soil Columbia's name. The poem was written in 1841 and shows Reason's poetic abilities etched out under the strain of racism and the countless chores demanded of an educated Black of the period. Elsewhere ( "Freedom") he gave this familiar cry: 0 FreedomJ FreedomJ Oh, how oft Thy loving children call on Theel In wailings lond and breathings shoft, Beseeching God, they face to see. How reminiscent of and "not unlike" the Spirituals this burst isl Certainly the student of this peirod of Black poetry will want to keep his rhythmic lyres attuned to the Biblical and innovative cadences of those "Black and unknown bards.° For assessments of Reason see Robinson, Brawley and Kerlin. More of Reason's work appears in A Eulogy on the Life and Character of Thomas Clarkson (1847) and in Autographs for Freedom (1854). Anticipating the Afro-American poignancy and humor in this line by Langston Hughes, America never was America to me 136 �and this one by Lance Jeffers to make me more American than America James M. 'Whitfield (1823-1878) voiced some of the most powerful and angry protest yet heard in Black American poetry when he published America and Other Poems in Buffalo in 1853. Barber, worker for Black colonization, poet and pioneer journalist, Whitfield had earlier authored various types of writings: Poems in 1846; "How Long?" (published in Julia Griffith's Autographs for Freedom in Rochester, 1853); "Self-Reliance, Delusive Hope, and Ode for the Fourth of July" ( in The Liberator, November 18, 1853); "Lines--Addressed to Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Holly, on the Death of Their Two Infant Daughters" (In Frederick Douglass' Paper, February 29, 1856); and Emancipation Oration (San Francisco, 1867). Whitfield is known chiefly for America which was received so favorably that he was . able to leave his barber shop and devote full time to making speeches for the abolitionist cause, working for colonization programs and general Black development. He had personal contact with both Dourlass and novelist :rvrartin Delaney who called the 1854 National Emigration Convention of Colored Men which Whitfield attended. respected and admired Hhitfield. Douglass apparently But the two men differed on the question of colonization and participated in a lively debate. Pursuing his own position with vigor, Whitfield established the African-American Respository, in 1858, as a pro-colonization propaganda organ. Though born in Exeter, New Hampshire Whitfield 137 �spent most of bis life in Buffalo where he barbered and conducted most of his colonization efforts. He apparently died on his way to look into the possibilities of colonizing Black Americans in Central America. Delaney had changed his mind and the emigration scheme was never realized. Like most of the orator-poets, Hhitfield is writing to be heard, listened to and read aloud. Consequently much of his poetry (though not lacking in religious fervor) r~inforces bis ideology and negative views of America. America, the Sweet land of liberty becomes for Whitfield, "America" Thou hoasted land of liberty,-and To thee I sing becomes It is to thee I raise my song, Thou land of b lood., and crime, and wrong. Like Rogers., 1-Thitfield did not believe America was , capable of redemption; and., again like bis predecessor, he died on a journed to find something better. The 1.dea of "giving"· up on America would appear thematically in the poetry of later writers like Fenton .Johnson, Lee, Baraka and some of the Muslim poets. It would also be implicit in the expatriation of writers and artists such as Paul Robeson, Wright, Baldwin, Chester Himes and Katherine Dunham. In a driving iambic pentameter meter (in couplets), whish has all the openings for spontaneous interjections and expletives, ·wbitfield in "America," accuses 138 �the United States of killing the Black sons who fought for her and of general hypocrisy. Here one can see Whitfield anticipating current slogan, which Hayden makes use of in "'Words in the Hourning Time": Killing people to save, to free them? Though more general, Whitfield continues a similar assault {stating life is hell) in "The Misanthropist" but tones down to a reverent salute "To Cinque": . ' All baill though truly noble chief, Who scorned to live a cowering slave; Thy name shall stand on bistory 's leaf, Amid the mighty an:l the brave: Whitfield praises the revolutionary Cinque who "in :freedom's might" ,,' Shall beard the robber in his den; and ••• fire anew each freeman's heart. Since Whit.field's primary goal is to get a politi9al "message" over, his poetry, as art, leaves some things to be desired. Robinson points out that Whitfield "is genuinely angry" {despite the inf'luence of Byron) and that the bitterness and force in his work is not to be mistaken for romantic ori linguistic cosmetics. Lastly, we must note that Uhitfield expressed concern .for global oppression; quite modern in this, he served, more or less, as a chronicler of world turbulence and a harbinger of the direct and emphatic assaults that today's Black poets heap upon tyranny. He viewed the "Russian Bear" {reflecting 139 �on European despotism of the mid 1800 's) in his poem ''How Long?": I see the "Rugged Russian Bear" Lead forth his slavish hordes, to war Upon the right of every State Its 01-m af'fairs to regulate; To help each despot behind the chain Upon the people's rights again, And crush beneath his ponderous paw All constitutions, rights aril law. Selections of Whitfield's poetry can be found in the Robinson anthology, in Negro Caravan (1941), and in the Barksdale and Kinnamon text. Whitlow discusses Whitfield's poetry and im- pact as does Loggins, Brown, Brawley, Wagner, and Ruthe Miller (Black American Literature, 1971). The most popular Black 19th century poet before Dunbar was Frances E.W. Harper (1825-1911), the first Black American to publish a short story ( "The Two Offers," 1859). Born free in Baltimore as Frances Ellen Watkins, she was educated in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and spent most of her adult life in the cause of antislavery and other types of social reform. She worked in turn for the abolition movement, the Underground Railroad, the A.M.E. Church and the Women's Christian Temperance league. According to Dunn (The Black Press) she contributed to news and propaganda publications. Her reform work was slackened by her marriage to Fenton Harper in Cincinnati in 1860. But after his early death in 1864 she resumed her efforts, lecturing in all but two southern states and promoting Black �sel.:r-help programs. Her fame rested primarily on her Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects published in 1854 in Philadelphia. A vecy popular volume, it went through twenty editions by 1874 (William Still 's Underground Railroad, 1872). Her literary activity was stepped up after the Civil War and included Moses, A Story of the Hile which went through three editions by 1870; a volume entitled Poems came out in 1870 followed by a second edition in 1900; and attempts at prose f'iction including Southern Sketches {1872, enlarged in 1896) and a novel, Iola LeRoy, published in 1892. has not been located. Her first work, Forest Leave~, Critics generally agree that Mrs. Harper's poetry is not original or brilliant. But she is exciting and comes through with powerf'ul flashes of imagery and statement. Her models are Hrs. Hemans, Whittier and Longfellow, and so we f'ind an overwhelming influence from the ballad. In reading her poetry in public, Hrs. Harper was · able to appeal to what J'ohnson (God's Tronbones) called a "highly developed sense of' ' . sound" in Af'ro-Americans (see, again, statements by Rev. Allen and Vassa). She apparently kne1v her limitations, for Robinson tells us that her popularity ••• was not due to the conventional notion of poetic excellence, l1rs. Harper was fully aware of' her limitutions in that kind of poetry, it was due more to the sentimental, emotionfreighted popularity what she had given the lines wi.th her disarmingly dramatic voice and gestures and sighs and tears. �----------Up until the Civil ifa.r, ::irs . Harper's favorite themes were slavor~r, its harshness, and tbe hypocrises of America. She is careful to place graphic details 1-1'!:iere tbey will get the greatest result, especially when the poet-:-is are read a.loud. An example of t!1ls is f onnd in "The Slave ?-Toth er": Ho is not hers, for cruel ha~ds The onl~~ ~-rreath of household love ~"'tat binds ber breaking .h eart. A. similar pla:r on the emo tions is se en in poer.1s like "Bury He in a Free Land, 11 "Sone;s for the People," ''Double Standard" (with its stirrings of feminis1;1 ) ahd 11 The Slave Auction." A woman is not solely responsible for her "fall," she suggests in "A Double Standard" adding that And wha.t ls wr onG i.n a woma n's life In man's cannot be right . Highly readable nnd less academic in her use of poetic techniques and vocahttlaries, }1:rs . Harper is nevertheless quite indebted to the Bible for• mu.ch of her imagery and moral message. And she is able to merge and modify tho folk and religious forms in a poem like 11 Trnth II where she opens wi tb a debt to the Spirituals: A rock, for ages, stern and high, Stood frowning 'gainst the earth and sky, And never bowed his haughty crest When angry storr:1s around him prest. Morn, springing from the arms of night, �Had often bathed his brow with light, And ld.ssed t~1e sbe.dows f1•om 'his face w·i th tender love and gentle grace. Several religious songs are suggested here; but she also loves to return to the theme of women as she does in "A Double Standard" and "The Slave Hother." In the ballad "Vasbti" she tells of the heroine who dared to disobey her dictator-husband. The strength and determination of womanhood is expressed in the last two stanzas: She heard agaln the King's command, And left her high estate; Strong in ber earnest womanhood, She calmly met her fate, And left the palace of the King Proud of her spotless name-A woman who could bend to grief But uould not bow to shame. Certainly a comprehensive biographical-critical study of Mrs. Harper is long over due. Selections of her work can be found in Kerlin's critical anthology, in Negro Caravan, in Robinson's book., in :Hiller's anthology, in the Barksdale and Kinnamon anthology and in numerous other recent anthologies. Mrs. Harper's works are critically examined by Loggins., Wagner, Whitlow, Brawley., Bro·wn and Sherman (Invisible Poets: Black Americans of the 19th Century, ·1974). Like other writers, educators and activists of his day., �George B. Vashon (1822-1378) contributed to the influential Anglo-Af'rican I-l:agazine which was published intermittently between 1859 until the encl of the Civil War. Vashon had a good solid education--in classics and history--at Oberlin College whe1"e he received bis A.B. in 1844 and M.A. in 1849. Vashon, known chiefly for his "Vince nt ogi," which Sterling Brown tells us, "is the first narrative poem of any length by a Negro poet." Vashon distinguished himself as a teacher, lawyer, lecturer and 1,: riter. He Pl"acticed law in Syracuse, taught school in Pittsburg, served on the faculties of College Faustin in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, New York Central College (where he was a colleague of Reason and Allen) and Howard University in D.C. where he was a. ]aw professor. Huch of Vashon's poetry reflects debts to his strong education and the influence of Scott and Byron. All are seen in "Vincent Oge," ' inspired by the courageous (hut foolish) . ' . efforts of Vincent Oge, a Haitian mulatto who was "entrusted with the message of enfranchisement to the people of mixed blood on the island. n The order bad come down from the Con- vention in France, of which Haiti was a colony. Internal disruption in France (due to t he Rev olution, 1789-1799) had f echoed to its colonies in t h e Caribb ean ·wh ere Oge led a short-lived armed uprising that cost him his life when be was rei'used asylum in Spanish Santo Domingo and rem.anded to the French authorities in Haiti. As punishment and a warning to others, the French had Oge' tortured on the wheel and severed his body into four parts each of which was hung up in the four 144 ·I �leading cities of the island. ' Oge's followers were either put to death or imprisoned and their properties confiscated. ' example as was Whitfield by Vashon was as moved by Oge's In the lengthy poem, "Vincent Oge," ' Vashon 1mmor- Cinque's. ' talizes Oge in an admixture of classical and Biblical language, using a pleasant iar.:i.bic tetrameter meter and an over dose of dissonance in his rhyme scheme which features an alternating a b a b/ a a bb. The style is somei-11,at reminiscent of 1'IT11tfield who breaks his rhyme scheme (see !!America TT) after each group of eight or nine lines. "Vincent ogi II and . 11A Life-Day" were both printed in Autographs for Freedom for 1853. For Vashon, the struggle is very much alive, ' And Oge stands mid this array Of matchless beauty, but his brow Is brightened not by pleasure's play; He stands unmoved--nay, saddened not, As doth the lorn and mateless bird ' and Oge, dedicated to struggle, presses on. Vashon carefully weaves the graphic details of his protagonist's execution into the narrative and anticipates the more fire-tipped pens of later Black ( lynch.:.theme) poets sucb as .Johnson, IfoKay, Hughes, Brown and Dodsen: Frowning they stand, and in their cold, Silent solemnity, unfold The strong one's triumph o'er the weak-The awful groan--the anguished shriek-The unconscious mutterings of despair-- 14.5 �The strained eyeball's idiot stare-The hopeless clencb--the quivering frame-The martyr's death--the despot's shame. The rack--the tyrant--victim,--all Are gathered in t!-:la.t ,Tudgment Hall. Draw we a veil., for 'tis a sight But fiends can gaze on with delight. Freighted with emotion and terror like much of the wo~k of Mrs. Harper, and setting the stage for such awesome poem's as Wright's "Between the lvorld and Me, " McKay's "The Lynching.," Dunbar's "The: Haunted Oak" and Dodson's "Lament," Vashon's relentless . . narrative signals a new and sustaining power in the work of ' Black poets. Compare, for example, the last two lines of the stanza above to McKay's couplet in his sonnet "The Lynching": And little lads, lynchers that were to be, Danced round the dredf'ul thing in fiendish glee. Unlike McKay., however., Vashon cheers up at the end: Thy coming fame, OgeJ is sure; Thy name with that of L ' 'Overture, And all the noble souls that stood With both of you, in times of blood, Will live to be the tyrant's fear-Compare this ending., if you will, to the ending salute to "General Washington" by Hiss Wheatley. "A Life-Day" is a ' shorter poem, in three parts, and, like "Vincent Oge, is founded 146 ' . �on a factual event: the love-arfair and eventual marriage of a young white man and a light-skinned Black. For selections of Vashon's works see Autographs for Freedom and Robinson's anthology. For critical discussions sec the works of Brown and Brawley. As we prepare to move to the next phase in the development of Black poetry, it is important that we tarry long enough to pay brief attention to some of the Creole poets. ·We select Pierre Dalcour, Armand La.nusse (1812-1867), Victor Sejour (1817- 1874), Nelson Debrosses and Nicol Riquet. Somewhat of an anomaly in Afro-American literature and poetry, these Creole poets are nevertheless important if the complete portrait of this many-sided and complex tradition is to be understood. There is nothing typically American in their poetry--not even in terms of American imitators of English forms--and they rarely display any racial consciousness or concern for slavery and general injustice. Host were fluent in speaking and ·writing French and from that influence their wor·k derives a spicy melody and an unhibited treatment of romantic love and revelry. Huch of the work is also intimate and sophisticated in its use of conventions and materials gained from French educations. The Creole poets' works appeared as "the first published anthology of Negro verse in America" in a volume called Les Cenelles (Hew Orleans, 1845 ). In addition to French, the Creole poets also wrote in Spanisb, Latin and Greek and were generally from tbe wealthy land-owner class �and owned slaves. About Dalcour lj_ttle is known except that he was born of wealt11y pa.rents who sent hin::. to France in tbe early 1800's to receive a good education. Returning to Hew Orleans af'ter his schooling, be 1-ra.s unable to accept the racial temper and again took up residency in France. Hhile in 1Tew Orleans, however, he wrote a num1:,er of poems, one of which was "Verse Written in the Alhu1:1 of Eadar,1oj_selle. relives the 11 1t The poem touchingly vanlted skies" and "gentle flas b es II whicb, to the poet, are "less lo-vol:r 11 1-:hon see n a gainst tbe lady's eyes Beneath their brown lashes. Lanusse, Le r.enelles editor, contributed to New Orleans CTreole newspapers, L'Union and La Tribune, serv ed as a conscripted Confeder a.to ~oJ.dier in tbe Civil War, spent some time as principal of tb o Catholic 8cl~ool for Indigent Orphans of Color. He also encouraged literary and other artistic expression amonz; f ellm i artists and 8olici ted work for Les Cenellen. He eulogized h is brother, Hm·,ia, in tbe poem Tttrn ' ' . Frere/Au Tombeau de Son Frere," reca.lli n 6 t :i a.t "unf e lling death has cut you dmm." :rz:sew~Jere La.nusse refers to death as "some other band shutting ~,rour eyelids." Some·what naughtier and more poignant in ":Spigram," Lanusse gives the account of a trwoma.n of evil" Hh o uants to "renounce the devil" but, asks" Before pure grace takes rne in hand, Shoulcln't I show m~r daughter how to get a man?" �f Sejour lived most of his life in France and only returned to New Orleans for hr:tef visits to his mother. Son of a wealthy i'amily, he wrote several plays, 21 of which were staged in France and three in new Orleans in the 18,Sors. S~jour's literary abilities 1-rere praised hy napoleon III and he rubbed shoulders with major French literary personalities of his day. His scope is wider than some of the other Creole poets. His "Le Retour de Napo1Jon 11 ("The Return of Napoleon") is · an elegy and a celebration all in one. ' While eulogizing Napoleon, Sejour praises both his and France's triumphs and glories. poem of flowing, g·ra.phic exaltation. It is a Opening on the scene of a "sea" that "groans under the burning sun," he narrates the growth and collapse of France as a ·world power: And on and on she swept, an unleashed tempest wild, and France moved on ahead. :No more. All is over • ••• Yet, hail, O, captainJ Hail my consul of proud bearing. Admonishing France to ''·J eep, France, weep, 11 f Sejour reminds the country that "death has lightning struck the people's giant." Little is known about the personal life of Debrosses which, according to Robinson, "seems in keeping with his Haitian gained experience in Voodoo, aspects of which be practised in New Orleans." In Debrosses' "Le Re tour .au Village aux Perles" ( "neturn to the Village of Pearls"), be seems to anticipate what Waring Cuney sees through the "dishwater" in his poem 149 �"Images." The Creole poet returns to the village to find that Her spirit dances here and there in these enchanting places and to locate --that flower-bosomed grove again, the witness of our secret passion, and too, the cherished brook to which my soul would on this day confide its happy memory. A cigar-maker by trade, Riquet lived all of his life in New Orleans where he pursued a vigrous avocation of writing light verses. His "Rondeau Tiedouble/ Aux Franc Amis" ( "Double . . Rondeau/To Candid Friends") leaves no doubt that Riquet saw himself as at least serious in his avocation. A rondeau is a French-originated lyrical poem of 13, or sometimes, 10 lines. There are two rhymes throughout the poem and the opening phrase is repeated twice as a refrain. The form is remotely reminiscent of the blues arrl Spiri tus.1 f'orms of' Afro-American poetry. Riquet says that since his "candid friends are calling for a rondeaul" he and his "}fose ••• must work a wonder." Other Creole poets included Hichel Saint-Pierre (18? - 1866), Camille Threrry (1814-1875), Joann! Questi (18? - 1869 . compiled an Almanach of Laughter) and T.A. Desdunes whom Jahn says "is reminiscent of the Senegalese poet Birago Diop." The duty of the poet is to "rhyme in an uncommon way" or he will "earn the name of poetaster--from our candid friends." 150 �The Creole poets are examined and represented by selections in E. naceo Coleman's Creole Voices (Washington, D. c., 1945) and in Robinson's anthology . See also Charles Rousseve's The Negro and Louisiana (Xavier University Press, 1937), and the critical selection by Jahn. Lanusse and Lecour also appear in Hughes' and Bontemps' The Poetry of t h e Uegro (1949, 1970). There were other poets writing a nd publish ing during this same period. Hany of them published their works in ~ingle editions, and copies of some are no longer extant. Brawley refers to a poet known as "Caesar" who allegedly wrote but whose poetry is not available. are: Other poems and their collections Haria and Harriet Falconar, Poems on Slavery (London, 1788); James Hontgomery, James Graham, E. Benger, Poems on the Abolition of the Slave Trade (London, 1809); Anonymous, The West Indies and Otber Poems (1811); John Bull, The Slave and Other Poems (London, 1824); Rev. Noah c. Cannon, The Rock of Wisdom ••• To Which Are Added Several Interesting Hymns (New York,? 1833); Anonymous, "The Commemorative 1freath: In Celebra~ion of the Extinction of Negro 3 lavery in the Bri tisb Dominions (London, 1835); Anon~rmous, Anti-Slavery 1-Ielodies (Hinghar.1, Nassachusetts, 1834); George 1,n1i tfield Clark, compiler, The Liberty Mi nstrel (New York, 1844); William. Uells Brown, Anti-Slavery Harp (Boston, 1849); "A West Indian," Charleston, South Carolina: a satiric poem showing that slavery still exists in t h e country which boasts, above all otbers, of being tbe seat of liberty. (London, 1851); Sara-----------------Darkness Brought to ligbt (Derry, 151 �New Hampshire,? 1855); George ·H. Clark, The Harp of Freedom {New York., 1856); and Abel Charles Thomas, The Gospel of Slavery ( New York, 1864) • In 1860 Blacks represented population and were by 4,1~41., 830 l4. l % of strong. the United States The sour tastes left the worst internal social in.flagra.tion until the 1960 1 s and 70's, the problems of caring for and protecting the soon-to-be-released slaves, the need to develop and ate.ff educational facilit'les for Blacks, all engulfed Afro-Americans 1·n a deluge of h orror and hope. Although it is clear that the works of many poets leap the arbitrarily-imposed chronological boundaries, the temperments, themes, dictional preferences and limitations discussed generally hold for most of the poetry of the period. Despite the surprising successes, and the flashes of brilliance intertwined with mediocrity and comedy, the Black poet would labor long to remove "the image of a :face" that, in the words of Corrothers, "Lieth, like shadow on the wild sweet flowers. 11 The following poens are included as examples to enhance and possibly cla1•ify the for ego ing discussion on the "Imitation and Agitation" of '¼frican Voices In Eclipse." 152 � 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_02 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter III. The African Voice in Eclipse: Imitation and Agitation, p. 93-152 Relation A related resource Eugene B. 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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/c7aa89703897aac52f662ddfe28d797d.pdf fcba2bfcc30757be082aaf7071d5638b PDF Text Text CHAPTER IV JUBILEES, JUJUS AND ,JUSTICES 1865 - 1910 We have fashioned laughter Out of tears and pain, But the moment after-Pain and tears again. --Charles Bertram Johnson I Overview This "transitional" period is normally viewed by critics as the gestation of pre-revolutionary Black writing. We have seen, however, that some of the most politically-conscious activists., thinkers and poets wrote before the Civil War. Frantz Fanon (1924-1961)., the Hartinique-born psychiatrist., for established three phases the/literature of oppressed peoples: (1) assimilationist, (2) pre-revolutionary and (3) Critics generally agree with Fanon. revolutionary. So., following his reasoning., the period of 1865-1910 (and the previous era) would fall under number one. Number two coincides roughly w1 th the Harlem Ren.a is- sance (1920-1930). number three. And the 1960's (Black Arts era) comes under One should exercise caution, however, in placing categories and labels on any artists--especially ones so diverse and complex as Black poets. For while it is true that there are general trends in the evolution of the poetry, little said 168 �by the so-called "armageddon" writers of the l960•s and 1970's can be anymore "revolutionary" than Walker, \!Jhitfield or Alberry Whitman who favored the murder of Black traitors ("Uncle Toms" and "Topsies") to the cause of freedom. On the other hand, as in the past, some contemporary Black writers avoid politics like the plague (see Introduction). Also the alternatives and options facing Blacks nowadays--resignation, emigration, assimilation, despair, segregation, desecration and so on--have always been there. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Black poets and activists vigorously pursued these choices, sometimes participating (1.fuitfield-Douglass) in fiery debates. A major aim of the preceding chapters was to lay a foundation for the kind of Black poetry that, only recently, has become popular and accessible. Therefore, critical comments and background materials will be less extensive from this point on. Certainly, as Robinson suggests, more careful study of the poets of the Harlem Renaissance is needed. His observation that "Afro-American 'Soul' has never received the elaborate philosophical, poetic, and even political explication that Negritude has" (Nornmo, introduction) is also well taken (although there is some attempt to access "soul" in The Militant Black Writer in Africa and the United States, Cook and He.n derson). Understandable, too is a comment by Sterling Stuckey (Ideological Origins of Black Nationalism) that "Rad a nationalist of antebellum America realized t~e enormous i mp ortance of black �culture ••• that awareness., articulated into theory, would have been as revolutionary a development as calling for a massive slave-uprising." Of course we know, looking back at the last hundred years, that Stuckey's assess me nt does not take in all the facts. Early Black Americans identified with their cul- tural roots more blatantly t h an do even some Blacks of today. But the undermining influences of lynchings and the practice of stereotyping corroded much initial race pride and self-interest. Again we note that chronological boundaries are arbitrary and that we could just as well have studied Hrs. Harper in the 1865-1910 period (since her Sketches of Southern Life was published in 1873 and her Poems ran through several editions until 1874) just as we could have placed Benjamin Clark ( ''What is A Slave?") and James Madison Bell in the last chapter. It is not always easy to determine where a poet who writes early or late in life fits in the chronology; but if pursuit of the poetry becomes a labor of love, boundarles and categories cease to exist. II Forgive thine erring people, Lord, Who lynch at home and love abroad Charles R. Dinkins Literary and Social Landscape Between 1865 and 1961 America played out a drarne of contradictions, swelling and receding expectations, continued progress and experimentation in science and the arts, and 170 �----- -~------- ---------. . . . ..... important beginnings. It 1-ms a period of painful adjustment that has continued to echo throughout the history of the country. On the white literary scene Whitman (the "American poet"), I-1.ark Twain, Hilliam Dean Howells, ..Tames Russell Lowell, Henry ..Tames, Stephen Crane, ..Tack London, Emily Dickinson, J"oel Chaldler Harris and Irwim Russel were the writers of importance. Harris gained popularity for h imself and Black folklore when he published the Uncle Remus tales in 1879. Although .roman- ticism and local color dominated the last two decades of the 19th century, both began to fade with the approach of the new century--whose early years saw experimentation, especially in verse, and the beginnings of naturalistic writings. On the political and economic fronts the efforts at solidifying gains, and retrieving losses, were stepped up among Blacks. The NAACP was founded in 1909; but major vehicles for protest and change were those used during tbe earlier years: the church, self-help societies, free schools, scholarly research and writing on the Blacks, and debates over courses and choices. Important new names in literature, art, science and politics came to the forefront. However, many of the writers, activists and educators from the previous period continued their various programs. Of the new arrivals, several should be noted: Booker T. Washington (Up From Slavery, 1900), W.E.B. DuBois (The Suppression of the African Slave Trade, 1896; The Philadelphia Negro, 1099; The Souls of Black Folk, 1903), Charles Chestnutt (1vri ter of fiction), Dunbar, ..Tames Weldon Johnson, 171 �Fenton ,Tohnson, .Tar.1eo D. Corrothers, William Grant Still (The Underground Railroad, 1072), Alcxamder Crummell (founder of American Negro Acade my), Alb e rry Wlii tma.n, Benjamin Brawley (The Negro in Literatu re and Art i n the United S tates, 1910), Kelley Hiller (::.1 ac e Adjustr,10 ~1t, 1909 ), ~-J illiam Stanley Braithwaite and Alice Dunbar-1'Te lson (Viole t s and other Tales, 1895). Black America witnessed a major step in t·h e developn ent of its stage productions (rilan~r d es i gned to de s tr c::r "st ereotypes II fostered by white minstre l s and dial e ct ~-r rit ers) 1-1itb Bob Cole's A Trip to Coont01-m , the first musical produced a nd managed by Blacks. Will :Harion Cook and Dunbar followed with Clorindy in 1898; and Cole return0d t his time u i th James 1,feldon ,Tohnson, to write and play in Red Noon. Th e ma t uration of essays, journalism and autobiography also continued. E lizabeth Keckley, friend to presidents and statesmen, 1-rrote Behind the S cenes in 1868; Douglass founded the NeH national Era (1 869-1 872) and published his Life and Times in 1881. S outher n 1 ,Jorkmen was established at Hampton Institute in 1872. T. Thomas Fortune founded The ' Rumor in 1879 and edited the Nei-r York Age in 1887. year The Washington Bee came i nto being . In the same Others included Penn's The Afro-American Press (1891), John H. Isrurphy's Baltimo1•e A.fro-American ( 1892), The Chicago Def ender ( 1900) and Monroe Trotter's Boston Guardian (1901). Important Black literary names for the period included some new as well as ones from the prev ious era: Booker T. Washington, Dunbar, DuBoi s , Ch arles Chestnutt, James Weldon Johnson, Fenton Johnson, James D. Corrothers, Alexander 172 �Crumwell, Alberry Whitman, Benjamin Bra-wley, William Stanley Braithwaite, and Alain Locke. Of the names listed above, Dunbar, Whitman, Fenton Johnson, Corrothers and Braithwaite, are the poets of interests during this period. James Weldon Johnson wrote "Lift Every Voice and Sing" in 1900 but is usually identif'ied with the Harlem Renaissance writers. And Locke, intellectual and scholar, was one of' the important chroniclers and interpreters of the era·. DuBois., sociologist and editor, is chiefly known as a poet f'or his "Song of' the Smoke" and "Litany at Atlanta," written af'ter the 1906 race riot. f'iction. Chestnutt was the first i mportant Black writer of Both he and Dunbar were endorsed by Howells, who presided as A sort of A czar over American literary criticism during the last quarter of the 19th century. Howells also helped launcd the careers of Henry James (sometimes called America's greatest novelist) and Walt 'Whitman. Generally, with the exception of Braithwaite, Fenton Johnson, Alberry Whitman and a few others, Black poets followed the, dialect tradition of the day. Robinson (Early Black American Poets) notes that The vogue was established among white southern writers (who failed to appreciate their own amusing dialects) with Irwin Russell (1853- 79) whose popular pieces were collected and published posthumously as Poems by Irwin Russell (1888) with a loving preface by Joel 173 �Chandler Harris, also popular for his Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit prose tales in Negro dialect. The major Black dialect poets are Dunhar, Daniel Webster Davis, James Edwin Campbell, Elliot B. Henderson and J. Mord Allen; although James Weldon Johnson wrote some poetry in that idiom. In the dialect mode, Dunbar surpassed all writers--Black and white, including Russell after whom he patterned his -efforts. His ability to empathize rather than simply "report" on parody., along with his "perfect" oar for Black speech, make him more authentic. Dunbar also 11rote to be remer.1bered. However (ironically), it was his dialect poetry ("a jingle in a broken tongue") that gained him notoriety. The biggest contradiction of the era was that "Reconstruction" occurr ed in name only. The growth of white hate and intimidation groups (2,500 Blacks were lynched between 1885 and 1900), the development of a neo-slavery, the paradoxical plight of the "freedman 11 ( see Wash inGton' s Up From Slavery), the general di sappo intments in social "paper" programs and the disillusionment on the parts of Blacks who fought in the Civil War--all influenced and helped direct the contemporary Black mo od. Coupled with this was the 'beginnings of the Great Migration of southern Blacl::s to northern urban centers. 1Jbi le dialect po0try emerged as the mo st popular form in poetry and pros e , ,James T·Tcld. on ,Tobns on later observed (American Negro Pootry)t~at it would not encase the manifold 174 �nature of the Black }:i;xperience; white writers had initiated it . and Blacks could only "caricature the caricatures." Caught up for a while int} o pot entials of the Emancipatfon Proclamation and 11 ::1econ:.: t rt~ction r: , 1;:any Black po ets also couched their lines in patrtotis m. and ~entir:1entalit:,r (see .Johnson's "Fifty Years"). Others sought to captur e th e ricb pace ~f Black idiom, the spice of resional color, folklore and the solidness of Black everyday whereuithal. Durine; this period, tho first of a series of Black manual arts colleges ·was es tab lishecl. Hampton Institute, Fisk Uni- versity., Ho-:-m:d Uni,rnrslty, Horehouse College and Johnson Smith College were among the early ones. c. In 1871, the year of James 1foldon Johnson's birth, the Fisk Jubilee Singers made their first concert tour with Spirituals. The tour was epoch- making for it marked the f:lrst time a Black indigenous American art form bad been given such worldwide exposure. The period was crucial, too, for all Black folk art because the burgeoning new Black Intelligent3ia, an..·,dous to remove the bitter taste of slavery, were anxious to disrobe themselves of all relics of their ante-bellum past. The Spirituals, the rich cadences of folk speech and the freedom ln de.nee, among other aspects, were given back seat in an attempt to Westernize or "civilize" newly emancipated Blacks. The Civil Wai•, Emancipation Proclamation and the stationing o:f occupation troops in the south, had also left a bitter taste on tbe tongues of southern (revenge-bent) whites. The attempt to "colonize" the south, as some saw it, was dramatized by the a 175 �arrival of "carpetbaggers"--white northerners preaching Black freedom or exploiting southern industry. The results were the elaborate and ruthless rise of white secret societies and the ridicule of Blacks in newspapers and magazines. Many Black poets unwittingly participated in this riducule through their own dialect and sentimental verse. Others went to the extreme to prove their "goodness" and "Godliness", thus becoming hyperbolical. In the shadows af all these paradoxes, Black minstrels and musicians gained prominence. "Ragtime" heralded an era ultimately to be called the Jazz Age. Meanwhile more serious debate over the fate of Blacks was taking place among men such as Douglass, Washington and DuBois. In 1895, at the International Atlanta Exposition, Washington delivered his famous "Compromise" speech which encouraged Blacks and whites to work as close as the fingers of the hand in matters needing mutual concern; but advised that, in all social respects, the fingers of the hand should be separate. , This was seen as a conciliatory and unprogressive posture by many integration-minded leaders. Washington, who founded Tuskegee Institute in 1881, played down civil concerns and integration, and urged Blacks to seek practical skills. DuBois encouraged Blacks to seek knowledge of the arts and sciences and predicted that a "Talented Tenth" would emerge to lead them. In The Souls of Black Folks, DuBois critiqued Washington's pos 5. tion. The controversy between the two men is now famous as is Dudley Randall ts poem ''Booker T. and W.E.B." in which the ideologies of both men are placed against 176 �the mood of the times. In rich use of dialogue in iambic tetrameter meter, Randall opens with: "It seems to me," said Booker T., "It shows a mighty lot of cheek To study chemistry and Greek When Mis ter Charlie needs a hand To hoe the cotton on his land, And when Niss Ann looks for a cook, ,fuy stick your nose inside a book?" DuBois replies: "I don't agr0e, 11 said W.. E.B., "If I should have the drive to seek Knowledge of chemistry or Greek, I'll do it. Charles and Hiss can look Another place for hand or cook. Some men rejoice in skill of hand, And some in cnltivating land, But there are others who maintain The rig!'lt to cultivate t h e bra.in." Obviously, an imaginary conversation, the poem ends thusly: "It seems to me ," said Booker T.-- "I don't agree," Said U.E.B. The DuBois-Washington controversy created reverberations that are still being heard around the Black world. DuBois was to rise as the towering and defiant fic;nre of the period while 177 �Washington ·Has reduced to a dignityless and sometimes obscene symbol (for more on this, see the rece ntly published Booker T!s Child by Roy L. Hill). Despite the v igorous debates a nd prose writings, however, the social coming-of-age in t he poetry (tech nically and thematically) was not t o s ee its apex until t b e second decade of the 20th century. III De Cunjah man, de Cunjah man, 0 chillen, run, de Cun j ah man! --.James Edwin Campbell The Poets and Their Toter;1 Although poets of t he previous period placed their verses and polemics in various po l i tical and nm1s organs, it was during the 1856-1910 era tha t such a practice reached new levels of importance. Poets b ad acc ess to numerous re gional and national publications, conte s ts, political platforms and educational programs through wh ich t hey could either read or publish their poems. Robert Thomas Kerlin, f or example (Negro Poets and Their Poems, 1923), collected literally dozens of poems from newspapers, church bulletins, private ly printed pamphlets and magazines--many of them no longer availab le. Some indication of the political nature of both t he pe ople and the poetry of the post-Civil ·w ar era is seen in this stanza from "The Song of the Black Republicans tr (which appeared in The Black Republican of New Orleans, April 29, 1856): 178 �I Now rally, Black R0pnhlicans, 1rJherever :rou may he, Brave soldier's on the battlefield, And sailors on the sea. Now rally, Black Republicans-Aye , rally! we are freeJ We've waited long long To sing the song-The song of liberty. Continuing i'or six stanzas., this poem is obviously aimed at a public listening and reading audience. It praises "color" which comes "from the Lord" and reminds Black voters that Abraham Lincoln ( "beneath the Flag of all") "flung us Freedom through its s to.rs. " Somewhat of a different vein is the work of Benjamin Cutler Clark (1825? - ?) of whom we know very little. A fugitive slave, he attended the 1835 Annual Convention of Free People of Color (held in Pbiladelphia) from his adopted hometown of York, Pennsylvania, where he had moved after leaving tbe slave state in which be was born. Nostly self-taught, Clark married in York and raiscc1 a. large fo.mily--writing poetry and prose in his spare moments. He was politically active and opposed colonization of Blacks, believing that it was "individuals" who emigrated and "not nations." His The Past, The Present and the Future (Toronto, 1867) includes prose reflections on the state of race relations and 179 65 poems. He is primarily �. concerned, in poetry and prose, with the issues of slavery and racial injustice, although much of his work deals with domestic life. In sentiment, language, style and influence, Clark bears resemblance to t he poets af the period just covered. And although his work was not published until 1867, he wrote poems earlier as indicated, f'or example, in his '~,f uat Is a Slave" and nRequiescat in Pace," an elegy on the 1857 death of' a woman associate. Clark is quite effective as a poet and, sometimes, even gripping in his ability to make t h e poem assume the dimen- sions of the event it relates. in detailing details of slavery. Like Virs. Harper, he is graphic And, like Frederick Douglass, (see Narrative) he is tragic-comic in suggesting that those nat home 11 (in slavery, that is) may "miss me. n Me? nno They Miss A Parody" opens each of its four-lined stanzas with Do they miss me at homo--do they miss me? and alternates an iambic pentameter and iambic tetrameter meter (with an ab c b rhyme scheme). Clark describes an unusual kind of' "home": "Do t h ey miss me at home--do they miss me? By li ght, as the horn echoes loud, And t he slaves are marched off to the corn field, I'm missed from the half-naked crowd. Using a break (or caesura) reminiscent of the blues, at the third foot (the b]ues breaks at the second), Clark dramatizes slavery and pokes fun at those men who run the "peculiar 180 ,, I �institution. 11 He makes similar use of the dash in "t·Jha t Is a Slave" where he achieves incremental power through repetition and syntactical variance: A slave is--what? A thing that's got Nothine, and that aloneJ His time--bj_s wife-- And e'en his life, He dare not call his own. Employing expletives, spontaneity and suspense, Clark shows himself to be a skilled crafts man (a.11 things considered) for his time and traininc. His rhyme scb cme is a ah cc h with an off-rhyme in the first couplet of each six-line stanza. Under the persistent question '~.J'h at Is a Slave?" we feel not only the indictment againGt slave-ouners and racist policies-but some key to the earl:r realizations of Black thinkers tbat the race ·Has beine disro~ea. ph~rsically and psychologically. As ·with Vassa, Reason ancl others, tbe hurt is bidden o.nd defies both defi nition and visunl co~tact: I pra:r do not Insi:::: t; I ca nnot kno~r, ~To :-rnrds i r,1part, Or, pai nt er 's art, 'I'bough trapped i n t he for,·,1s of :;:urop ea n model-builders, Clark shows 'hin own ingenui ty and or i;ina li t:r . 181 B:r ~:o.rying bis rhyme �schemes a nd meter, n ~d u sing dash es a nd expletiv es, he b rings e motional p ower i n t e r l ac ed wi t ri a.n i ron icall:,. d etach ed i n tc llectna.l a.sses sr,:on t of the slave's pl i gh t. powerfu l i n a pocn1 l i ko "The ~,c:):i'::: noJ. o •r ~-:rl"lGl"e He is sirailarly h e (co nti nuing a long-1 :t no of BJ.a.c k s a lutary ver se ) prais e s Oc e ola, S eminole ch ief arrl hero of Semino le wa rs i n rlor i d a in t h e early 1 9t h centur~r. In t h i s , h e a l s o a ntici pa t e s Ub i tma n 's work (Rape of' F: orida). F or sele cti ons of Clark 's u orl::s a ml brief' criti- cis m s ee Ti o'l:- ins on ' s a ntl1olo2,;r. Invisible Poets: See a lso cToa n R. Sherma n 's Afro-Americans of th e 1 9t h Century (1974). If Clark' s s tr ength la.y i n h i s a ss au lt a c ainst racial injustic e s, Jam.cs Eadis on Boll'~ (1 826-1902) lay in his "pleas" and "hop e ." "Fortunate" enough to wlt ness t 1.~e Civil War, Emancipation and Re constructio n , Bell railed a gainst injustices but primarily ex pr e s s ed ho p e in h is Black strug gle. 40 :rears of ob serving the Bell s pe nt most of h is adult life delivering eloquent o.nd He l gh ty· poet ic elocutio ns on freedo m, hope and liberty. He was b orn in Gallipolis, Ohio, wh ich he left at age 16 to pursue t h e trade of plasterer and the avocation of orator-poet. A wanderer, Bell _pla:red his part in the over- throw of slaver:r--soliciting funds and recruiting Blacks for J'ohn Brm,m' s ab orted 185 9 raid at Harper's Ferry. Before the raid, Bell had moved to Canada where h e continued his friendship with Brown and fat h ered a larg e family. He later traveled to California, bac k to Canada, to various cities in Ohio and Michigan, and, . finall:r, sp e nt ti me in Toledo. 182 During this �odyssey Bell appeared at concert halls, churches and various public gatherings to read his poetry in some political or commemorative event. He also took advantage of books and gained considerable understanding of history and literature. His major themes are devotion, inspiration, love, unity, collective strength and political change. Achieving "something of' Byronic power in the roll of his verse," (Kerlin) Bell's poems are often too long, too tedius and lacking in interest. Robinson notes that Not to mitigate his obvious technical flaws, it is helpful to remember that Bell is best appreciated as something of an actor, his poems regarded as scripts. Unashamedly chronicling his journeys, Bell included the following as a full title of Trlumph of Liberty ( 1870): A Poem,/ Entitled the/ Triumph of Liberty./ Delivered April 7, 1870,/ Detroit Opera House,/ On the Occasion of/ The Grand Celebration of the final Ratification/ of the Pifteentb Amendment to the Con-/ stitution of the United States. Consisting of 902 lines, the poem erupts through the use of all the "flourishes and vocal modulations at his experienced command. 11 According to Redding (To Make A Poet Black), Bell ''unblushingly" claimed the titles of "Bard of Maumee" and ttPoet of Hope." Typical of' Bell's style 1s his tribute to his friend John Brown (from The Triumph of Liberty): Although like Sa.ms on he was ta' en, 183 �And by the bane Philistines slain, Yet he in death accomplished more Than 6'er he had in life b efore. His nob le heart, which ne'er had failed, Proved fir m, a nd e'en in death prevailed; And many a teardrop dimmed the eye Of e'en his foes who saw him die-And none who witnessed tbat foul act Will e'er in life forget t he fact. ' Approaching something of the stature of Vashon' s "Vincent Oge" and Whitfield's "Cinque, 11 Bell's tribute has all the ring of indebtedness to Scott, Byron, Pope, Tennyson and other English popular masters witb wbom he was familiar. However imitative and derivative, though, Bell seemed never to be at a loss for exalting, exhortatory poetical flourishes. In "Song for the first of August" b e sings a song for "proud Freedom's day": Of ever:r clime, of every bue, Of every tongue, of every race, ' Neath heaven's broad ethereal blue; Ohl let thy radiant s miles embrace, Till neither slave nor one oppressed Remain through out creation's span, By thee unpitied and unh lest, Of all th e progeny of man. Ono of Bell's most amb itious works is h is ":Modern Moses, or 'Hy Policy' Man" in wh ich - - in scalli nc so.tire--he assesses the 184 �adr.1ini : : tration of pr e sh1e nt Andr cH .To1. , ns on . ,Tor. nson (1C'05- 1075), who succ0 odec1 the a~rn assinat od Li ncol n in 1 1"3 65, was horn poor and lear ned to wri t e a nd fi.c ure from his wife. His prcsidenc~r peake d in a showdown 'betwe e n a procr essive Tiepubllcan Congress and .Johns on, a r e actionary Democrat. 0~1ce in office ,Tobnson began r ever sing h i s b a r s b critic is ms of t b e S outh, giving former rebels a rather free h a nd at t h ings and vetoing several bills aimed at giving Blacks a b ett er s h are of thin gs. Upset by the who le t h ing , Bell ·wrote a b l istering satire--which often collapses a s such--in 1iliich, with couplet-fury, he observes that: And cr01-m s t h er e are, a nd not o. feu, And royal robes and sceptres, too, That h ave, in every a g e a nd land, Been at the option and c omma nd Of men as much unfi t to r u l e , A:J a p es and monkeys arc for school. Following poets like Clar k and 1TT1 itfield, and anticipating "signifying" poets of t be 1960fs and 7 0 's (such as Baraka, Crouch , Toure, Echols: '~ astern Sy ph illizatio n ," and oth ers) Bell com- pares .Johnson to all rae. nner of evils. ,Tobnson is also contrasted to "good" or liberal whites s u ch as Conc ress me n Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens and a b olitionist Wendell Phillips. ically calling .Johnson "Modern Hoses derisive 11 11 , Cyn- Bell also uses the l1ose 11 --wh :i.ch ap pe ar s to b e a "ra:r of reducing h im to the level of t h e st er e otyp e wh i t es r eserv e for Blacks (see, for example, such statement s as the one b~,r Don Lee: "styron/ �& his momma too"). One must chuckle somewhat at Bell's claim that Johnson cursed in the whi tehouse: But choose we rather to discant, On one wbose swa.ggisb hoast and rant, And vulgar jest, and pot-house slang, Has grown the pest of every gang or debauchees wherever round, From Barfin's Bay to Puget Sound. Only recently have we heard echoes of Bell rrom journalists, congressmen and old ladies astonished at whitehouse tapes showing that ex-president Richard Nixon cursed in the oval room. We have observed, then, that Bell, though a tedius and haraguing poet, is important as a continuing chronicle of the mind and creative development of the A:f'ro-American poet. Bell's works also include The Day and The ·war (1864), dedicated to the memory or Brown; The Progress of Liberty (1870), a recollection of the war, praise for Lincoln and Black troops, and a jubilant greeting of enf'ranchisement; and The Poetical Works or ..Tames :Madison Bell (1901), including a preface by his personal friend, Bishop B.W. Arnett. Even though Bishop Arnott claimed that Bell's "logic was irresistible, like a legion of cavalry led by Sheridan,tt the poet recognized his own limitations wben he said (Progress of Liberty): "The poet laments the discord of his harp, and its disuse, until answering Freedom's call he again essays it harmony." 186 �For other samples and appraisals of Bell's work see Robinson, Brawley, Kerlin, Rodding, Brown and :nays (The Megro 's God, 1938). Anticipating Helvin B. Tolson of the 20th century (who wrote a book-length ans·wer--Harlem Gallery, 1965-- to Gertrude Stein's statement t hat "Th e Negro suff ers from noth ingness), Francis A. Boyd (1844-?) penned bis only volume in partial response to Rev. He nry Ward Beecher's concern for "the injured and oppressed sons arrl daughters of Africa." Boyd's volume, published in 1870, is entitled Columb iana;/or,/The North Star,/ Complete in one Volume. Boyd explains in the preface that be was born free to Samuel and Nancy Boyd in Lexington, Kentucky, and met hardships trying to acquire an education. Colunmiana, the author notes in the preface, comes from "I, a scion of that ancient racen who takes "pleasure in dedicating the following lines" to the Rev . Be ecb er. Hade up of five cantos (major breaks in a long po e1.1 ), Columb iana is a poetic narrative on the pli gh t of t ~e Blac k man in slave-founded America. The cantos contain various structure and r hyme scb emes-:--most of which reflect Boyd 's knoi-rledge of t h e classics, ne oclassical and romantic traditions i n p oe try , a.nd t'he h istory of events leading up to t h e Civ il Har. I n t b e poem, Freedora (personified) travels, like some classical deity , on a winged chariot from Egypt, across Israel, Gr eece and America. In America, Freedom meets all sorts of ev ils , l i ke t h e protagonist in John Boyd's "vision," among t h em Se ccss ia, t h e arch -enemy of Blacks and freedom. S ccess la., S outb erners who sec eeded fro m the u nion, 187 �is assessed frora all sides durin; Bo~d's iat~t c tetrametric meter as sault. 11 In "dcflr_:;cc 11ade to Union la1-rn," tbe S outh Ignored 11 truth o.nd ri.:;btnc:Js But the sons a nd clang~~tc;rs o.f Africa, :·r1Jo ow~ a pa.rt of Secessia, Blacks lluvc tb c ir e:ro on t 11c JTc.~rtb Star (als o 1ar.1e of Doug':ass' 1 paper) sn 6 t;oct::: ·: 1 , Bcf or J J 1 n a rra.tor :i.n "To e ;)rean'-" from Canto V" and ':JO q 1.~.o nch the ballm-.red fL"c, Once 1,10re ue stri lea the s o.cred l:rre. 0tm, r:oon n.l:".cl. s-:;o.rs confonncl.ed lie, The Y'Tort'::1 8tc.r ontsh i '.1 0s a11 a.hove, Forcvei· ruling evcr:r-:-rboro . The Horth Sto.r 1:ac rer.i.a :l neu until t 1.1:i.o ver:r da:r i mportant in Black li tcratur e . I'cooe1"'-:; Ha:yden is on-:1..:,- (see "Runagatc ::1.lrr,a 0 at o 11 ) l,: ak :i.ng use of 0110 it. co ntemporary poet Confusing both his meter and bis rllyr,:o pattern witbout h ints that h e is in- tentional or exp erimenting , Boyd sometines loses the reader in his lab:trinthino deluge. But, co n:J :i.dering h is station in 188 �life and the obstacles he uorked against, his work is one more notable step i n tho devel opment of Afro-American poetry. For selections from and assess ments of Boyd, see Robinson. Henrietta Cordelia Ray (1850-1916) uas among the handfull of Black poets of t he 19t h ce ntury (t ncluding Daniel Payne and Ann Plato) ·wh o avoided racial themes. Hiss Ray, however, seems to be one of the first to try n Hide variety of forms. In sonnets such as "To 1'-'Iy Fath er," "Robert G. Sh aw," •"Milton" and others, she sh ows skill at 'Hriting t h is difficult form. And in works like "Antigone and Oedipus," "The Dawn of Love.," nNoontide" and "The lionth s II she proves her linguistic de:xteri ty and poetic virtuosity. Even t h ough Niss Ray avoided outright racial t h emes,in her poetry she i mplicitly commits herself in a poem like "Robert G. Shaw" dedicated to the white Colonel Shaw (1837-1863) of Bosto n wh o led the 54th Massachusetts volunteers (all Black) into the Civil War. Killed leading bis troops on an assault on Fort Wagner., South Carolina, Shaw is eulogized: 0 Fri end! O heroJ thou who yielded breath That other s mi ght share Freedom's priceless gains, In rev'rent love we guard thy memory. Dunbar, a younger contemporary of :Hiss Ray's, would also prai.se Shaw who, like Lincoln, became one of the important white heroes to post war Black Americans. Miss Ray , however, was not un- aware of the pligh t of her brothers and sisters of color in her everyday life. Born one of t wo daughters to the Rev. 189 �Charles B. Ray (of Falmouth, Massachusetts) distinguished minister and "tireless abolitionist," Cordelia was very early made aware of slavery and racial injustices. After a rather protected upbringing, which 1.nclnded good traditional training, she went on to New York University where she finished in Pedagogy and to Sauveuer School of Languages where she mastered Greek, Latin, French, German and the English classics. For a while she taught school, bnt, finding it boring, preferred to attend her invalid sister Florence (witb whom she maintained a life-long friendship), traveling throughout New England and giving moral support to the antislavery work of her father. Her poems deal primarily with love, scholarship, intellectual the~es/praise of great literary and political figures and seasons. She loved to do settings, descriptions, impressions and cycles in her poetry. For example there is a cycle ("Idyl") which goes through "Sunrise, 11 "Noontide," "Sunset," and 11 .i1idnight." Another cycle, "The Months," consists of 12 poems, five of them in eight-lined stanzas, five in six-lined stanzas an~ two in seven-lined stanzas. She generally varies her meter and rhyme schemes; but the ballad form predominates in "The !-1onths 11 while a two-stanza, six-lined form (rhyme scheme: a ab cc b) heralds the .four major segments of the day in nidyl. 11 Hiss Ray, as we have noted, is not an original or innovative poet. But her work does mark a new level of sophistication--despite her imitation of the models follO'wed her time. by most Black poets o.f Her published poems included Sonnets (New York, 1893), and Poems (Ne1v York, 1387). She also published Commemoration 190 �Ode or Lincoln/ 't·! ri tten for tbe occasion of tbe/ unveiling of the Freedman's monur,1ent/ in Hornory of Abraham Lincoln/ April 14, 1876. She co-authored, 1-1itI1 her sister, Sketch of the of the Rev. Charles B. Ra.:sr (He1·.r York, 1887). Life For selections of Miss Ray's work soc TI.obinson 's ~arly Black American Poets and and Kerlin' s Negro Poets and Tbeir Poer:is. critical con~ents. Robinson includes Sec also Sh0rman ' s Invisible Poets. Declarine that "I was born in hondage,--I 1ms never a slave,--" Alberry Allson ".·f uitnmn (1051-1902) thus introduced himself and h is pc otr:r to t h e 1vorld . A complex and brilliant poet (WaGner refers to him as a "brilliant" lmitator), he must have been anticipated by bis co ntemporary Cord 0lia Ray in the experiments with varlous verse forms. 1:Jbitman was born a slave in or near J\Iunfordsville, Hart County, Kentucky (in Green River country). As He noted earlier Whitman, a Hulatto, never acknow- ledged bi::; slavcr :sr situation. He was oi-•phaned at an early age and received only bits and pieces of for mal training--a glaring irony against his achiev ement, the most important until Dunbar. Though it is Hidely believed that Hhitman wrote the longest poem (over 5,000 lines) by a Black American, we now know that at least two other Black poet s wrote longer poems: the Rev. Robert E. Ford's Brown Chapel , a Story in Verse (n.d., n.p. Pre~ace dated 1903) contained at least 8,600 lines in 307 pages; Maurice Corbett's Harp of Ethiopia (Hashville, 1914) contained over 7,500 lines in 273 pages. Rev. Ford's work is broken up into cantos utilizing ten-lined stanzas while Corbett's 191 �epic is divided up into e i gh t-lined stanzas. Whitman utilized a ha l f dozen or so metrical and stanzaic forms and numerous other rhyme schemes. His forms include the ottava rima, dialect verse , th e Spe nserian stanza, blan~ verse, iambic trochaic and anape s t li.nes in t hree to five feet, (including stress unrhymed lines), and the various stanzaic and metrical fusions h e developed from i mitating such writers as Byron, Pope, 11n1it t i cr, Lo ngfellow, Hilton and Scott • . The poet developed his tech nical f acilities ·w·hile he worked, primarily as a pastor of an African Methodist Ep iscopal Church in Springfield, Ohio, and flnancial agent for Wilberforce University (where he h ad studied under Daniel Payne), to support himself and promote race progress. A fiery speaker, lecturer and reader of his poetry, Whitman was known not to bit his tongue. In declaring that h e "was never a slave" he went on to say--at 40 years of age--"The time bas come when all 'Uncle Torus' and 'Topsies' ought to die." The tiele of Whit man's first work , Not a Han and Yet a Man (1877) is important b oth literally and i mplicitly. For one only has to go a fet-1 more steps to place it alongside similar contemporary titles: Soul on Ice, Nobody Knows My Name, I Know 1·Jhy the Caged Bird Sings, :Manchild in the Promise Land, Invisible :nan, and scores of other volumes of essays, novels, poems and autobiographies. The titles are slightly different but the cry a nd t h e passion and aim are the same. Not a Man and Yet a Man, for Whitman, e nsconces the dilemma 192 �of the Black man. A mulatto slave, Rodney , saves the life of the daughter of his mast er during an Indian raid, and afterwards falls in love with her. Going agalnst bis promise to offer his daug'hter in marriage to the man who saves her, the master instead sells Rodney to a Deep South planter. In his new habitat., Rodney falls in love Hith a slave girl., Leona and., after being separated from her for a while, spends a beautiful life with her in Canada. The over-simplified theme of the "tragic mulatto" comes t hr ough in much of Whitman's work which never features the problems or lives of dark-skinned Blacks. 1·J11itman pos3essos a brilliant gift of descriptive prosaic poetry as i n these lines from n ot a Man: The tall forests swim in a crimson sea, Out of 1-rhose bright depths rising silently, Great g olde n spires shoot into the skies, Among the isles of cloudland h igh, that rise, Float, scatter, burst, drift off, and slowly fa.de, Deep 1.n the tuilight , shade succeeding shade. Somewhat re1-::i iniscc nt of the br1.lliant ancl anonymous John Boyd, Whitman is competent and rele ntless ·ween placed a gainst any other romantics of h is da3r. Echoing Poe and Lop 0fellow, else- wbere in '.Not a i:an, 1Tbitrnnn reacts to tbe tempora.r~r separation of Rodney and Leeona: A true heroine of the cypress gloom, 193 �lToH there to lie, the Creole so.H her doom-In The Rape of Fl orida (St. Louis, 1884), revised and repub- lished the folloTTing year as Twasinta's Seminoles, or Rape of Florida), 1.vhi t man onga 6 e s his reade r z i n another romantic tale. Under truce, 8eminole Ir~dians, who h a v e fougr.t bravely, are fired on, capturcc1, and taken off to Texas whore they are re-located. Hore, in a noth er anticipa t ion, we see presages of "relocation" (see Et h eridge Knight ts Bell:r Song) that will come in the works of contc:·,:p or•ar~r ·H r it er s like Baraka, 11111.iams (The Han Hho Cri ed I Ari1), Ralc.1-rin ( Nohod:r T-Cn o;•TE r:y Na.1;10), Greenlee (The s r ook 1-!h o Sat hy· t b e Door), Crou cl1 (A.in' t ?To A .~bula.ncen for 1,:, JTi ·,.P1.1 .s T on{ ·ce ), t "-1 0 Last Poets, Gi 1 Scot1 1 Heron (:i:"rce 1:-JilJ. , SmaJ..l Tall:: e.t 125t:1 Street and Lenox) and numerou::; ot}.1cr ~. of the Indio.ns ~·Il ii t u an, i:117 :::, at any r ate, J.a,~1e nts the treatment cxt cc.:c: ca. a 1>roth c r>r 0and to slaves. In a note to the 1-!ork, 'i17:iitr,1a n .icnttons Pw.t 1':i c n et relatives of one Scrninole cb:i. 0f. Atlassa, 11 Pape contains 257 Spenserian , stanzas. an emi ne nt Sem.inoJ.0 chicftan ," was "h ero-born" Fr ee o.s t l1 e air 1-r itlli n ~!is pa.lr.1y sl-ia.de, T11 0 nobler trai.ts t b at d o the man adorn, In bim uere na.tivo: Not t~1e music made I n ta1apa 's forests or t11c cverglatle Was fi.tter than in t11ls yonns Seminole r.1a.s t h e proud spirit wb ich dld life pervade, And glow and t~enili lc in his ardent soul--- 194 �Which, lit bi.s inmost-self, and spurned all raean control. Whitman's last voltui!e was An Idyl of the South, An Epic Poem in Two Parts (NeH York, 1901). Again ( 11The Octoroon" and "The Sontbland's Cbo.n1 and 7reedom's Ifagnitude"), Whitman explores the problems of mulattoes. Here, in chronology and subject matter, he parallels Charles Chestnutt, the Black fiction writer who al3o exploited the ther:ie of the mulatto and "passing. 11 Drifted Leaves. A ne·w edition of Rape (1890) also included 'Whitman's World's Fair Poem: The Freedman's Triumphant Song, along wi tl1 "The Veteran 11 (Atlanta, 1893), ·were read hy h imself and Mr s. 'Whitman respectively at the Chicago World's Fair, attended by Dunbar and the venerable Douglass. Like Dunbar, W11itman became addicted to alcohol, but he managed to maintain his popularity as a hard churchworker, freedom-fighter an:l poet. in Drifted Leaves. He also published sermons An ed.ition of °li'Thitman's complete works, long overdue, is currently being prepared. For selections of his writings see Negro Caravan, Robinson's anthology, Kerlin's book and other anthologies. Sometimes grouped with Phillis Wheatley in the "mockine;-bird school of poets, 11 Whitman is assessed by Hagner, Brm,m, Brawley, Robinson, Kerlin, J"ahn (Nee-African Literature, 1968), Loggins and Sherman. !-'.fa.king only oblique references to racial pressures, George Narion :McClellan (1860-1934) is reminiscent of Francis Boyd, and calls to mind Tolson, in his effort to prove Blacks 195 �capable of intellectual and literary competence. However, McClellan still does not deserve the abrupt dis missal given him by Sterling Brown. HcClellan writes barmlessly of flowers, trees, birds and love (things Baraka and others have, of late, claimed a Black poet shoul d not waste his time on). But be is competent and technically dexterous so as not to bore. Happily, some of the longer p5.eces are interpolated with shorter ones and this makes McClellan more readable. After his birth in Belfast, Tennessee, McClellan lived in an economically stable family and later bad a good, solid education at Fisk (B.A., 1885, and H.A., 1890) and the Hartford (Connecticut) Theological Seminary (B.D., 1886). Con- stantly on the go, like Bell, and a fund-raiser, like Whitman, for Fisk University, he spent much of his time on the eastern seaboard executing his i mportant duties. and taught in several cit:tes: McClellan pastored Normal (Alabama.), Memphis, Louisville (Kentucky) and Los Angeles, where he finally went in hopes of finding a cure for his tubercular son., His last years were devoted to soliciting funds for an anti-tubercular sani tori um for Blacks. Among :McClellan's published works are Poems (Nashville, 1895), Book of Poems and Short Stories (Nashville, 1895), Old Greenbottom Inn (1896), Songs of a Southerner (Boston, 1896) and Path of Dreams (Louisville, 1916). As a poet, McClellan is sharp, crisp a.nd musical in his use of language and i mages. 11 The Color Bane" pulls us somewhat forward to Fenton Johnso n 's 11 Th e Scarlet Woman" since the 196 �"problem" of hav:tng a beautiful h ut Black face in the theme of both. Even thougb l icCl e llan' s woma n possesses "inex- pressible grace" For a.11 h er wea.lt~1 and gifts of grace Could not a pp eas e t he s h a m Of jus tice t h at discriminates Agai nst t b e b lood of Ham. And there is more than a b. int in t h e title of his final volume, Path of Dreams; for, as many ob serv er s of Black writing have noted, the "dream" is a. central t h eme (see Hugh es, Hayden, Nat Turner, Corr others, Dunbar, a nd nm,1erous others). surface, ::'f oClella n is de l icate and un offensi v e. Yet on the He writes sonnets, sing-song quasi- b allads, formal verse reminiscent of B~rron, Scott a nd Hilt on , and for mal b allad s and h ymn-inspired praises as in "The ::_;ie et of ,Tn cl as. 11 Vn.r:r i ng :.- ; iet er, stanza and rhyme sch eme, EcClo l la n neve r the less r ef us ed to write i n dialect--the v ogu e of h is d ay . l ia k i ng it analag ous to "rag- time," h e cor.1pla inod t h a t it uas "co ns i de red qtd. t e · tbe proper dressing for Tfogro d i sti nc t :! 0 ,1 i n t he p oetic art." F or ample se lection::; of 1:c c:.cl:a n ' s writi ngs s ee Kerlin' s critical antholo 6y. , Robinson' s book a nd J o!1ns on 's American Negro Poetry. Robinson, Kerli n a nd Broun a l so g ive c r itical v 1.ows of I-IcClellan's work. See also Sherman's Invisible Poets. "Ra g- p icker , tobacc o stea mer, br ic1~rard hand, whiskey distiller, tea11:st c1· and pr ize-fi gh te r ," Joseph S e amon Cotter (1861-1949) was a ls o one of th e most g if t ed a nd prolific 197 �writers of his era. Cotter was born to a Black ri1other and ·white father in Nelson County, Kentucky. The kinds of work cited above characterized his li:f'e ·when he was forced, at an early age, to interrupt his 8chooling. Re-enterlng night school at age 24, be studied to b ecome a teacher and administrator, chores which he eventually assumed at the Colored Ward School in Louisville. Cotter also taught English lit- erature and composition and contributed poems, stories and articles to local newspapers including the Courier-Journal (one of America's outstanding newspapers). In bis life and work., Cotter looks forward to Blacks like DuBois., .James Weldon tTohnson, Nary licLeod Bethune and Langston Hughes. In his writings, he anticipates the variety and virtuosity of a Dunbar. For, in the words of one critic of the period, "he makes poems and invents and discovers stories, and bardlike, recites them to whatever audience may ca.11 for them-in schools, in churches, at firesides. 11 Brilliant, precocious and enduring, Cotter pursued the complex side of life, daring to examine the often over-simplified phenomenon of' race relations in Amer:tca. Kerlin said of h is work: "Some are tragedies and some are comedies and sorae are tragi-comedies of everyday life among the Negroes." Cotter (BroHn says he has "both point and pi th"), it must be said, was among the first Black poets to represent, without shame and minstrelsy, authentic Black folk life. He wrote in formal--a.cademic, bookish--forms; but be also wrote 198 �explicitly in dialect and standard English, of common life and common problems. He achieves "1-.ushing rhythms and ingenious rhymes II when he is at his best; and a quiet, reflective perserverence, when he writes introspectively. A disciple of Dunbar, Cotter is able to capture vividly tbe tbeme of traveling and weariness that pervades so much Black literature and song (see "The Way-Side 1foll 11 and the repetition of lines that establish the drudgery and the momentun; to carry on).. He can be satirical and admonishing in dialect as in "Tbe Don't-Care Negro": Neber min' your manbood's risin' So you babe a way to stay it. Heber min' folks' good opinion So you have In 11 a way to slay it. The :Negro Child II Cotter tells the youth to let "lessons of stern yesterdays" ••• be your food, your drink your rest, and in the same poem be strikes a. pose similar to that of Booker T. Washington's when he advises the child to Go train your bead and hands to do, Your bead and heart to dare. Cotter's verses also exalt Black and liberal white heroes ( "Frederick Douglass, 11 ''Emerson, 11 "The Race Welcomes Dr. W.E.B. DuBois as its Leader," "Oliver Wendell Holmes") and relish such experiences as reading or listening to Dunbar ("Answer to Dunbar's 'After a Visit" and "Answer to Dunbar's 'A Choice'") and Riley ( "On Rearing .James Hhi tcomb Rile~r Read ll). 199 He vigorously searches �the human heart--and tbe intangibles of lying, hating, and self-denyine--in poerns like "Contradiction" and !'The Poet. 11 "My Poverty and Ueo.lth II recalls Corrothers' "Compensation" since the richness and strength of commoness, charity and honesty triumph ov er money and a higb social station. A proli:fic writer, Cotter published several volumes including: A Rhyming (1895); Links of Friendship (1898, with a preface Courier-Journal editor Thomas 'Hatkins); Ne 0ro Tales (1902); a four-act play in blank verse, Ca.leh, t he De generate (1903); by and A 1fuite Song and A Black One (190 9). critical study of Cott er is long overdue. A good biographical- For selections and critical appraisals see Robinson and Kerlin. Se e also Countee Cullen's Caroling Dust (1927) and Sherman. Jude;ing from much of t h e critical reception of Daniel Webster Davis (1062-1913) the pre vailing feeling is that he should just disappear. Of all t he cri t ics assessing him (Wagner, Bro~n Redding, Rrm1ley, Sh er man, Johnson and others), only two, Reddi.n[.s and 2h or i;ian, seem to feel t hat Davis ba.s any 11 sinccri t::r" i_n b is efforts to portra~r Blacks 5.n dialect. Reddin;;'s position is ir oni c, i ndeed, since, in To Hake a Poet Black, h e does not discu s s tll e folk trad:ttion i n Black literaturc. Davj_s (1-1'h c O>J. e1•at od on tbe t 11eor~r t:1at the most effective ~ ·writer "fs the one tn demand") is d eri ·ni. ti ve of the white writers of dialect, as 11o re most of t h e Bl ack dia 1.ect 1-rriters, and seems only to transc end t he n t n t; w fact of b i.s b ei D6 e. Black r,1a.n and a pr cac~·10r--~ r1~ o cou ~.d C:o l i ver t b.c -i::erses Hi tb t'he v irtuoso 20 0 �i mp act impossible of Th o;iw..s 1To l s o,-, Pa c.;o , I :cHi n T:ussell and 11 s chola.r of dia1-ect 11 ·Hb o ~Jro t o f ro;,,. 11 ts mm first h and ex- pcri e nce s and Blacks . I n i ntrodu c t i ons to ~ is h ooks h e draws cor:1pari s ons and c ontJ:,as t s 1J c t1-1 0 0n B::.. nc k and ,;.rh i te s outbern speech. Rodd'lng praise:::i :Ja v is fo r t b c sarrie reas ons t h at other cri tlcs dis n iss h i :r.1--f or h i s exasc;cratod 1m.ff on i nc of Blacks and h is s ugg e stion t h at pla nt a t io n 11 da r lri os " wer e content to live out their liv e s oati ns '~ og me at," '~ adermillums" and stealing . Roddins b o l i ovos t hat Da v i s 's p oetry "represents t he bi ghest i me.gi na.t l v c p ower of t h e p l a n ts.ti on Hegro, the prodigal richness of h is i mager:r, o. nd h i s ½np p7 po·Her to resolve all difficultio 8 and r.1ysterie s with the reasoning of a child." Tiedding' s c omme nt, n ot so h a.rs!1 as it mi ght seem, is neverthele s s only partinlly--if t h at 1;:;.ucl:: --tru e . For how does one account for t b e ingenuity of t !': 0 u ork songs, the Spirituals, the dittie s and jingles a nc1 the ea.rl:r b lues? Did not the same "child II CI'c o.tc tr. e r.1 a.ls o? BroHn, on tbe other 11a nd, refers t o Da v is as t h e "Negro Thomas Nelson Pa.g e 11 --quite a nasty "put-d own", to u se contemp orary parlance. An cl Davi s does s e em t o b e maki ng fun of Blacks in giving h is poems s uch titles as: Down Souf," 11 Bakin an' Greens., and "De Bigges 1 Piec e ub Pie .. " 11 "Hog Tieat., 11 "'Web "Is Dar Wa.dermi lluns on High?" But h e is bent on meeting the needs of people ·who uant to be "i nstruc t ed and entertained. 11 .' ; And it will be observed that in some parts of the S outh, the dipthong th is dropped from its ending position in favor off 201 �and one certainly find cvicle ;1ce of Blacks speakinG like the characters in Hebstcr 's poctr:r. But another a nswer might he in a comparison hotHeen Flip Hilson (Tiev. LeRoy) and Rev. Daniel Webster Davis who achieved great popularity when he turned his pulpit :tnto a st age from Hhich to unload his own brand of "saving souls" and making tbc "word" come a.live. As Rev. Davis, t h e dialect p oet was not unlike such men as John ~To.sper (very popular), Black Billy Sunday, Brother Easter, and "other Negro preachers II of bis dn:r ·wh o "were so well known. 11 Davis's ~,o collections, primarily in dialect, are Idle Moments (1895) and 'Heb Dm-m Souf (139? ). lished prose. He also left much unpub- i:i:ost of his work deals with joviality., gluttony, flamboyant sermons, happiness, the "contented II slave and mischieviousness--tbe stereotypical behavior which white minstrelsy has fostered on tho Black personality. Davis is derivative, as we noticed, to the point of copyi n 6 wl-.ole lines and phrases as in "Hog Heat" s;.:bcro be talrns tbe words 11 1,n1en the frost is on the Punkin" fror,1 James l·! l1itcomb IUle~r and changes them thusly: Tfuen de fros' is on de pun' kin an' de sno'-flakes in de a'r, ••• The poem also closely resembles Dunbar's "Wben De Co'n Pone's Hot. 11 (Al thougb Hag ner and o t.ber critics c la.im that Davis did not borrow from Dnnbar hut worked 11 directl:r from the models provided by the minstrel s and the southern poets.") Davis had had first-hand experience of the Black folk predicament, 202 �first as a chlld in North Carolina and, after the Civi.l Har, in Richmond, Virginia, where he attended s·ch ool. Finishing high school with good marks, he began to teach in the Black schools of Richmond. His popularity wa.s wide among "the less literate of his own race," according t o .Ta.mes Heldon Johnson, which ma.y be a partto.l r eason for Do.vis's continual production of his particular brand of "poetry. 11 Known for reading his .. verses with "comical unctuousness before convulsed audiences," his work, when placed beside Dunb ar's, is unfinished. In style and workmanship, however, it s110uld be noted that Davis is not unlike some of the bombastic Black poets of ta.day. For when the complete story is told, many "popular" contemporary poets--speaking and writing a "dialect" and titillating "convulsed" audiences--may very well meet the fate reserved for Davis. (Instead of becoming a "prelude> to a kiss n they may end up a footnote to a joke.) In his few standard English pieces, Davis also preache s a co nciliatory att itude, as in "Emancipation" wh ere he claims t he African "roamed the savage wild 11 Untamed his pasaions; h alf a man and h alf a. savage child, until God "sa"t-7 fit II to teac'h tb e Black man of "Hirn and .Jesus Christ." It could he t h at t h er e i s more to Davis than bas met the eye; at any rate, a complete s tudy of b is life and works await some serious student of Black poetry. For assess- ments of' and selections fro m Davis's writings see Brown, Sherman, Wagner, Robinson, Rodding and ~ohnson. 203 �.,. Our stnd2r makes no clai m that every poet hriefly considered is any sort of giant. In fact, except ~-Jben such a title or label is ohviousl:r :·mrrantod, there is an effort to steer clear of such qualitativ e ova!uattons . stated goal: This is true in view of our to place i nto tho hands of students and lay per- sons a handy refere nce to a nd overview of Black poetry. 11 J'ean Haener' 3 c lair that So i t would have required a great deal of indulgence to welcome II the poetry of ,Tohn Wesley Holloway (1865-1935) into "the literary domain" can not find credence or reinforcement i n thi.s 'hook . }agner also includes Cotter, 1 .Tames David Carrothers and William Stanlye Braithwaite in his list of p oe t s n on cr~ta. Holloway, lil:e h i s c ontemporaries Davis and Corrothers, was a "prcachcr --Doet. 11 His p oetry 5- s in hoth st andard English form and dia le c t , ':-~rich , acc ordi.ng t o tTohnson, is his "hest Hork. 11 I n The 1rc ;ro ' s God, Benjami n r•a~rs classes Holloway with tb e ·writ e rs and thinkers Hho take a c o n ci li atory and c ompen- aatory arrro ach to the d~1ty- -dcsp it e oppression, slavery or whatever. In one roem , Holl01-ray is ''1:faitins 0:1 t he Lord"; and even Thou gh ho3ts of sin ma.y bed[;e me round, Ana thunders sh ake the so!.id ground, he will neverthclc r;s wait 11 pat:tently" for help from God. .Tames Baldwin, and other Black urite rs of the 20th century (getting a first start from :)unbar), call such advice "dishonest." Baldwin, a child-preacher, saw a contradiction in the preacher's 20L~ �resignation and the rat-infested tenement buildings against wbose owners the preach0rs refused to lead a rent strike. Yet, as a preach0r, Holloway exhibits a classic devotion and tbe ability (see Preface to Johnson's God's Trombones) to aid in the welding of the disparate Black mas~rns--which has never been an easy task. A disciple of Dunbar, Holloway was born in Merriweather County, Georgia.. Hi.s father, one of the first Black teachers in the state, bad learned to read and write as a slave and sent his son to Clark (Atlanta) and Fisk Universities. For a period, young Holloway was a member of the famous Fisk .Jubilee singers. As a poet of dialect, Hollowa;r is both musi- cal and humorous as in "l'iiss r'l:erlerlee" who has Sof' brown cheek, an' smilin' face and Perly teef, an' sbinin' hair An' silky arm so plump an' ha.rel Reflecting a gro-wlng practice of the transitional poets, Holloway makes an honest effort to portray deep Black emotions and feelings. His descriptions of Black women (especially) and men signal a new and vibrant aspect of Black poetry--the merger of the sexual/sensual levels with the racial flavor of post-bellum 'Black America. Linguistically, Holloway approaches the sounds and idioms of the Gullah which will be seen more definitively in James Edwin Campbell. Since the Gullah dialect is spoken in the areas off the shores of Georgia and the Carolinas, it is possible that Holloway picked up accents and expressions as 205 �---------- - - - - - ----- a child. (1919). His books include Bandannas (n.d.) and From the Desert Especially humorous is his "Calling tbe Doctor" which is an important cataloging of folk medicinal remedies including Blue-mass, laud-nnm, liver pills, "Sixty-st.x, fo' fever an' chills, Ready Relief, an' A. B. 11 c. , An' half a bottle of X. Y. z. Holloway (dialect poetry) joined Dunbar, Corrotbers, . J. Mord Allen and Ray Dandridge, in being published for the first time (during the first two decades of the 20th century) in previously "off-limits" white periodicals. For selections from and criticism of Holloway's work see Johnson's American Negro Poetry and Mays' The Negro's God. See also, fo1., criticism, Brown's Negro Poetry and Drama. Yet another dialect writer, Elliot Baine Henderson, on whom we have little information, was anotber disciple of Dunbar. A "prolific writer, all in dialect. 11 he published some eight volumes of' verse, In much of his writings, as with .Holloway and Campbell, he utilizes the phonetics and idioms of' the Gullah--akin to the West I ndian brand of folk English. Henderson is sometimes concerned with folk beliefs and the supernatural and Black religious tbemes and songs ("Git on Board, Chillen~'). His dialect is inconsistent, a problem with most dialect writers (including Dunbar), and wbile he trtes to achieve a phonetic transcription of what he hears, he spells (in the same title) "Board" in a standard Enslish way and attempts to place words 206 �like "Git" and "Chillun" in dialect. His volumes include Plantation Echoes (Colnmbu 8, Ohio, 1904), Darlz:r Hed:ttations (Springfield, Ohi.o, 1910), Hned<J:jrkatcd Folks (Autbor, 1911) and Darky Ditties (Columbus, 1<)1,5). James Edwin Campbell (1867-1805), unlike hls contemporary Dunber, "oi:•1 es almos t nothing to the plantati.on poets." Campbell seems to have listened careful~y to and applied tbe Black folk speech around btn T,rhcrea ::, Dunbar t ook 1, is initial cues from the plantation school, c 1, ief pr opone nt of which was !ruin Russell. Born in Por,wro:sr , Ohio, Car,1p'l:oll graduated from the Pomeroy Acadcm7 and for a while taught sch ool ne ar Gallipolis. He gained more teacb 'inc e.ncJ. adr,i:tnistrativ-e experience at the Langston School in Virginia and th e ~est Virginia Colored Ins ti tu.to (now 1:fost Virginia State Col L:::ge ) "f,rlrn r e oppos ltion to his adeiini strat t vc :;'OJ.ici l~S :forced }~i rn to leave for C':1icago . Herald for t be r -:; nt. of 'J ic :.if0. Cotter anC:', Dtmr ar ( o.nd () ..I ..L 'l,.,.,- .,(:1 , V ~. . \ _ _j_ 1.:) ) , Lil~•) 1:is c(n-::t01:1p ora.ries, Cacpt-cll's car~:y ver ses ~rcre of and Else1here. :Cc!1008 fro1,1 the Cabin A ;_; :L,1pl8 c ora:x3.rln6 of titles of dialect volumes of tbc perlod ': rcnld prove i ~1 strnct1,,,;e . Car.P)b0ll is quite c ompete nt in 1Jotb standard English and dialect; and '>r,,1110 so;110 of b1.3 senthii ents are well-handled in the standard Encli s~ po crm, it is i n the dialect pieces that 207 �ho sbows ~1is rower, complcxit:r a nd orti:;j_ nal_:tt:r. Among his important themes are j_nt crrncia l love ( one of ti: e first Black wri tcrs--s oo '1:'TT-li tn:an and otl1ers--to deal with th:ls "touch~r" subject), the mulatto, satire (s e e, cspocia'll:,, 11 01' Doc' Hyar") Black pride ( thongb r,mffled), and realtst ic pres entations of Black "social realities, religious formalism, and folk values." It is i mportant to mention his brand of dialect, although a more in-dept'!--! study is still to be clone. Unlike Dunbar, who seemed to strive for a universal anglicized phonetic, Campbell (tr a ces are also in Hollm-ray and Henderson) recorded tho spe och patterns closely related to Gullah--somewhat akin to West Indian folk speech. Such usage is seen in em- ploying the subjective a.rd objective pronouns in the nominative position (''He sec, ~ n "Him ha1,, '' etc). 11 as in ''Uncle Eph's Banjo Song": the er (as in 11 ba.wnjer") for .the There is use of the broad 1Ja1;rnjer" and .£• 11 dawnce 11 and The verbal copula to be is usually omitted (assurr:cd ?) and there is a normal lengthing of an e or i sound ln Hords like 11 Reeg", 11 jeeg", "Laigs. The -r.r often becomes band t sometimes becomes k. of course, other great differences. 11 There are, For more on such lin- guistic aspects see works hy Lorenzo Dow Turner, Herman Blake, Robert D. Twiggs am others. Campbell has a more autbentic ring than Dunbar and one gets the impression that he is seriously involved in feeling as well as representing what Hughes called "the pulse of the , people." But Campbell and Dunbar are also similar in many ways. 208 �Ih "Negro Serenade" (compare to Dunbar's "A Negro Love Song") Campbell captures a sharp hum.an-social need. In "De Cnnjah Man" he achieves a strong r.msical ring (witb t11e help of a ring-a-round-th~-circle sort of chant) and dabbles in tbe supernatural--suggosting, us Chestnutt idd, that perhaps the Black folk tradition holds keys to the "nltlmate mysteries of the universe. 11 The recurring refrain of De Cunja.b man, de Cunjah man , 0 chillcn run, de Cunja'!-1 manJ will be ramified and made more dexterous by Hughes, Toomer and Hayden, as they experiment with these exciting oral folk forms. Campbell attempted to capture the cade nces and gestural complexities of a contemporary de.nee, the "buck", in his poem "Mobile Buck." He stated that he sought the "shuffling, jerky rhythm of the famous Hegre dance" w11ich he had seen performed by Black longshorer:1en on the Obio or the Hissi ssippi. This type of 1vord-movement marriage (see Chapter VII) ls not unusual in Black poetry. today. Numerous examples of sncb pairings abound Lastly, we 3hould note that Car.1.pbcll's near-Gullah dialect would later be revived (in the thirties and forties) hy writers like Ambrose Gonzales and Julia Peterkin. HcKay , we have said, employed a similar dlalect in his Jamaican poems. Actor-singer Belafonte, son of Hest Indians, ·would popularize this same dialect in the 195'0's and 6ors (''Dayligbt come and me want to go home"). Tlore salient contemp orary examples of this idiom (and its cadences) can ho found in t he lyrics of West Indian1mp.orted music known as the "Reggae)--an island version of 209 �Afro-American rrsoul" music. One of the first Black poets to wrj_te in dialect, Campbell deserves much 11iore attention than he has thus far received. At this writing, tbe most ex~austive studies of him appear in Wagner's Black Po ets and Shcrr.1an' s Invisible Poets. Though he was a close friend of Dunbar's, bis major works in dialect preceded Dunbar's books. In additio n to h1s poetry he was also a member of a group that edited the Four O'Clock Haga.zine which was published for several years in Cbicago. 0~1<:l one occasion, Campbell is knoHn to have spent time talking to BJlack men, pleading with t hem to spend their time more wisely tban in drinking and gamhling. For selections of bis work see Johnson, Robinson and Negro Caravan. For critical evaluations see Brown, Johnson, Redding ( "Car1:_:ihell 's e ar a.lone dictated his language.") and Carter G. ·wo ods on rs rrJ .E. Campbell: Letter, 11 A Forgotten nan of Wegro I-Iistor~r Bul:etin, l'T ovem1,er, 1938, p. 11. In 1937, St0:r1.inc; Dro·wn 8aid t1:sloquent and militant" were the tr.words most descrj_ptive" of the poetry of 1-Vi.11,iam Edward Burghardt DuBois ( 186C-1S63). Broun, il10 also termed DuBois "the leading intcll0ctual lnflnence of bis generation," was only t1ro years ahe ad of a s 1.mi lar accolade fror:1 J. Saunders Redding: !!They (poems) represent the e;;reatness of Dr. DuBois as an inspirationa 1. force." In the history of Black poetry, however, DuBols docs not deserve as larGo a portion of the limelight as is norua.lJ;:r accorded his Hork as historian, social critic, journalist, novelist, Africanist, organizer of important 210 �Pan-African Congresses in tl-:c J.920's, editor of the Crisis, pathfindcr-schola1" of tbc Black Experie nce, precurser of militancy and tl1e "lTc~-r :Tcgro." In 1923, Robert T. Kerlin (Negro Poets) sa5.d Du.Bois nar.: "celebrated 5.n tbe Five Continents and the Seven Seas. 11 As a poet, houevcr, DuBois is i m!)ortant for his work in the prose-poem ( s or.:c say "pro em") forms and f'or asserting a militance, a defiance and an exclaiming, a hatred of racism and oppression that had not been beard since ,To.mes Whitfield. Like molten lava, the dis gust o.nd nager spill from DuBois's pen as in "Hymn of Hate": I hate them, Ohl I hate them well, I bate them, ChristJ As I bate hellJ Ironicall~r, though, in his hatred DuBo1s always managed to re-establish his faith and trust in some bigher ordor--in God. Most of his poems had been published in various periodicals ( the Independent, Atlant1c Honthly and Crisis) before several of them were inte1•spcrsed among the essays in Da.rkwater (1919). DuBois bad, by that time, already gained recognition for bis individualized use of poetic prose--whicb fused Biblical language and tma.gery with his classical education and the expressions from the Souls of Black Folks (1903). But in !TA Litany of Atlanta," written after the racial bolacaust that took several Black lives, he assails all fundamentals--including the existence of God. But if God does ex:i.st, in f'ace of such violence and savagery, 211 �Surely Thou too art not white, O Lord, a pale, bloodless, heartless thing? DuBois also takes the occasion to cite his arch-enemy (Booker T. Washington): Tbey told him: Hork and P.i..se. A seeker ai'ter universal suf'frage and 'brotherhood, DuBois employed ::nu.ch of his poetry in the service of tbe political ideologies that be expouscd. Thus in "A Hymn to the.Peoples" he unites socialise and the Christian God urder one banner, viewing "the primal meet1 ng of t h e Sons of Han II as ForeshadoHing tbe union of the worldJ Other poems in Darkwater include nThe Riddle of the Sphinx" and "The Prayers of God." His "S orig of the Smoke" (written in 1899) makes the American Black the "Smoke King." Listing achievements and misuses of Blacks (a favorite habit of Black poets), DuBois at one point asks for acceptance of the Black man on equal terms ·with the uh:i. te: Souls unto me o.re as mists 1n the night, I 1-rhite n my blackmen, I 1)eckon my wbite, Hhat 's the hue of a hide to a man in his mightl But, DuBois does not silence his pen without some appeal to God: Sweet Christ, pity toiling landsl Hail to the smoke king, Hail to the blackJ For selections from and comment on Dubois's poetry see Kerlin, 212 �Brown, Redding, Frecdomways (Hinter, 1965), Johnson (American Negro Poetry). :ror assessments se Jahn, Barksdale and Kannamon, Wagner, Hays and Cba.pman (Black Voices, 1968) who rightly calls DuBois "the . intellectual father of modern Negro scholarship, modern Uegro militancy and self-consc:i.ousness, and modern lTegro cultural development ." DuB ois Selected Poems h ave just been published (1973) by Ghana Universities Press and is available in the United States from Panther House, Ltd. James David Corrotbcrs (1869-1919 ) acknowledged his debts to Shelley, Keats ( "Drea m and the Song") o.nd Dunbar ( "Paul Laurence Dunbar") after wh om mucb of hls dialect poetry is modeled. But Corrothers, a minister , disple.:7s neither the range (in subject matter) nor the skill of Dunbar. His mother died at his birth in Cass Count:r, rii chigan, and his :father apparently gave him little care. In IIi chigan, be worked o.s a youth in the sa.1-nnills and lnmher camps , o.s a sailor on the Grcat Lakes , and later ceked out a 11.ving as janitor, coachman and bootblack i.n a ba.rbersbop. ~n cournged hy associates to continu0 b is education, he studied for tl:e minstr:r and remained in t h at profession (pastoring in Methodist , Baptist and Presbyterian churches) a.11 his life. His flrst puhlisbing oppor- tunity car,1e through Century mo.Go.zine; this landed him a wide reading au.c1ienc c 'because of tho resorn½lcnce of bis 1-rork to that of Dunbar's. Corrot:10rs' f:i.rst vo lume (Selected Poems) was published in 1907 a nC: 1-..,is nocond collection (Th e Dream and the Song) ca.me out i:1 1914. He 1-ras i n C11 ica eso clnrlng the same 213 �period that Car.1pboll li ve d th e re a nd b o also worked for various daily neuspap ei-•s. Dunbar. Ifa r;-:t0 t a n d so cial i.z c d ui t 1~ Ca mpbe ll a nd F1 on r..e1-1spapcr articles a n d nnpuh li shed poe1;1s b e put 1 of Hand ic ar , ~ es pub li s ~ ~d i n 1916. has bo on mis-road by a nm:b or of c 1,:ttics (Jorr.s on i ncluded ) as advising resi gnati on and c onc5- l i at l o~~ . Corrotbers was a 1,iinist cr , sbou ld s b c d and i mp lica~io ns. r:101·0 1lnt , lrn oulod 6 e t h at li£;l~t on b is usac os E ach oco of t~o rour s t a ~zas (except for the fourth ·wh ic'!.-1 ends •.: ~a rol:r a Ne c.;r d- -i :-1 a d a.:r liko thisJ ") begins and ends :.·!l t h : I • To b e a lTe~r·o l n a day l i l::e this. As a sermon on t he; sDrfac o , t bo po oL a ppear s to tell Blacks to have "patience 11 and 11 fo rgiv0 ness," and so on. But a closer reading will reveal a s tro :.1.g a d 5c c ti vc :.oa d l r.:.c 1 nto almost every virtue. So t he c;ron p i ng.s l ook li ke t b is: "rare patience, 11 "strange loyal t:r" and "utt e r clarkno ss 11 - -all of wh ich s uggest that, in the cocle of t h e prcac!1er, it just mi gbt b e too "rare" or "strange II or "utter¥ " Duri nc t bc deli very of a. sermon, or similar verbal eloque n ce, Ble.cks arc accustou ed to searching i'or mea.ning--shifts and leve ls based on to n al variety and other vocal modulations. So, wo seo y e t one mor e oxau~le of a possible "encoding" of 1~os3ages (s co Chapter II) in w~at 11 s eems" to be., at best, harmless deliveries arrl, at ·w orst, co nciliatory. "Paul Laurence Dunbar" anticipates t b e Harlem Renaissance 214 �and tho "Now Negr o II in b aving t he ''Dark melodist" venture to . . the citadels of Western culture--using "Ap ollo's Fire" and visit "Helicon", t h e h m;1e of the muses. Even more blatant, however, is Corr ot h er s' brllliant so nnet "The Negro Singer," in which h e carries out a major theme of the Harlem Renaissance-reclamation of Black cultural values and the Black pa.st. The "Singer, 11 tired and frust r ated f r om try ing to write (and a.ct) white, finally decides that But I shall dig me deeper to the gold; and Fetch water dripping, over desert miles, so that at least some of his original virtue and ancestr~l strength can be exploited in the Western world. Such a course is the only way for the Black poet, Carrothers says, tbe only way for "men II to: • • • know, and remember long , Nor m:.r dark face dishonor any song. The sar,1e theme .( sligl1tly altered) is picked up in ''The Road to the Bow" where the singer again knows tbat I hold my head as proudly bi gh As any man. Tension develops between the Black and white men "In the Matter of' Two Hen" and "An Indignation Dinner" features a dialect presentation of the popular plantation/minstrelsy theme about Blacks stealing ch:tckesn and turkeys. A social lesson occurs in the poem, however, for "old Pappy Simmons ris" and explained 215 �to those facing a food-less Cbristma.s t h at nothing but "wintry wind 11 (bot ah"') is "a.-n ighing th' ough/de street." He tells the persons at tho meeting that he has seen plenty food on a "certain gemmun's/fahrn" and tbat "All He nee<l is a corr.mi ttce fob to tote the goodies here." Earlier in tbe pocru, Blacks protest tbelr treatment at the hands of' whites; and in a 17-part series called "Sweete n 'Tatahs," one annoyed Black complains that 11 Evah tha.ing is 'dulterated By cle white folks, nowadays-- Even cblme ½ones , when :you buys 'em De ain't wo'f de cash you pays. In one poem, Blacks comp lain of small Hages; in another they protest high prices--familinr stories in the Afro-American communities. They dispel ignorant statements (like Wagner's) that Carrothers is "lacking in personality " and that his works do not belong in "the literary domain. 11 And, thoy ·cancel in part, Brown's allegation that Corrothers follo1-1s a "typical dialect pattern." For selections of Corr othe1•s ' works see Johnson, Hughes and Bontemps, and Ro"rinson. For critical appraisals see Brown, Johnson and Brawley. James Weldon Johnson (1871-193 8 ), important in bis own right as a poet and h is i mmens e "service to other Negro poets," is looked at in passing hero. He will be seen a gain in Chapter Vin connection uith tbe Harlem Rena.issa.nce--wh ere be is normally placed even though he 1-:as in l1is f if tios ·when the leading lights 216 �of the Renaissancc--Cullen, Hughes, ~foKay, Toomer and others-first start!')d to pub lish t b eir ~,rnrks. Jo'hnson, considered here as a writer of dialect poetr:r, was horn in Jacksonville, Florida, to middle-class ~lack parents, and attended Stanton Central Grammar !'cl1ool (all Black) w11ere bis ri10th er taught. He entered a preparatory program at Atlanta University, later graduating and returning to assume principalship of Stanton where-during an oight year period--he ti.p&,--raded the school to secondary status. Considered a "n.enai.ssance" man (in the European sense, this tir,1e), Johnson founded a. local newspaper (The Daily American, 1894), studied for the Florida. bar (was admitted in 1B97), wrote dialect poems (modeled after Dunbar's), and .finally made his ·Hay to Broadwa-:;r in New York where he collaho1.., ated 1.Ji t h his brother, cor,1pos0r J. Rosamond, and Bob Cole in light operas. Sterling Brown said Job nson recognized the "triteness" of his earl:.r d:!.alect poems ( many puhlish ed in Fifty Years and Ot ber Poems, 1917), b ut several of them--put to music by 11i s ,_11..,ot~1er and Cole--hecamc popular ;('avorites. Tho Century accerted "S e :-ice :rou Hent Awa:y" for pu'b lj_cation. And tbc brothP✓ rs c ot.:poscd "Lift Evo,.: :" Voice a.ml S ing" (lyrics by James) for the ~<'cbr no.:..":r 12, 1900, a nniversary of Lincoln's birth. 'T.his poem is gcnerall~r regarded as tbc "National Anthem" of Black America. Hardly an Afro-American bas not board or snng tl-i is sonc. Johnson's dialect poems, listed in his hook under "Jingles and Croons, " leave nuc:-1 to be des ired in t h o area of originality. 217 �Perhaps his mm experir.1onts in that forri1 are idhat led him to state so c1,;.:11~aticall:· tba.t dialect has 'hnt "two stops"--"humor and pathos." Johnson Has n ot tota:.l~r right, as we shall see la tor (Broun tal{es ur this issue in The :!'Togro in Poetry and Dre.ma). However, Kerlln (1-rhom Hagner sa:rs sbol,rs a "deficiency in critic al sense") called Jo11nson's i:-rnrk 11 so1,1e of t~e best dialect writing in the uhole range of 1Tegro litero.turc. cellence is here. 11 Every quality of ex- Technically, Jobnson was quite capahle in handling dialect (as he is in o.11 matters). But his dialect brings nothing new to Black poetry (unlike Sterling Brown's) and his tl1cr,1es have been prett~r much played out by tbe time he reaches print. 11 l:y Lady's Lips Am Like de Honey" recalls Dunbar's "A 1'Tegro Love Song," Carrothers' "Negro Serenade," and other such pieces. of Dunbar's "Song." Johnson poem carries none of the power And bis subtitle ("Negro Love Songn) shows that be is working in the stock trade for the period. The lover finall~r gets to t h 0 point where be Pelt ber k:i.ndo:.." squeeze mah han', 'Huff to make r;1e undcrstan'. 11 Sence ~rou Went A1:1ay 11 is one of the real touching statements in 11 J'inGles and Croons II and 3hows Johnson 'hridginc; between the blues and Spiritual styles. It h as an authentic (though quietly turbulent) ring in its sin plicity--ffioving and lingering in its spell wrought by seeing t h e loss of a lover as a cause for disorder in the cosr.1os. Glimp8cs of bnmor come through in a few of the poems but generally the di.alect is used for ridicule--albei t 218 �um1i ttingly--and deals with tbe "easy" life of the plantation, the stealing of turl;:eys and • • • entin' watermelon, an' a layin' in de sbade. We will meet Johnson agaln, a critic, different poet, user of a different ndialect." The towering figure of Black American literature until the Renaissance of the 1920's, Paul Laurence ])unbar (1872-1906) lived a complex, tragic, ar.1biguous and s1'10rt life. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to former slaves, Dunbar corilpleted his f'ormal training at that city's onl:r high schoo1--graduating with good marks and as the onl:r Black student in his class. He was sickly at an early age but became the man of the house,af'ter his father ts death, when he nas 12 years old. Completing high school, but being financially uno.ble to pursue his interests in law and journalism, Dunhar began 1-rni-•k as an elevator boy, maintaining bis voracious rec.ding habits. He was fond of Tennyson, Shelley (whom be took as o. model for his , poems in standard Englis!1), James Bussell Lowell ( whose work, along with Rile:r, Eugene Field a.nd Ella Hheeler 1-.Jilcox, he found in The Century), and others. Huch of Dunbar rs poetry bears striking resemblence to the 1-1orks of poets he admired, especially Shelley, Tennyson and Riley 1-1bose "devices" Dunbar "industriously" set out to "dismantle" and master . His volumes of verse include Oak and Ivy (1893), privately printed; Eajors and Hinors (1895), also privately printed, with 219 �the aid of patrons; Lyrics of Lowly Life (1896, witb a preface · by 'Hilliarn Dean Hm·J ells) wh ich , representing a major break- through for a Black auth or, was puh lish ed b y Dod, Mead and Company. This t h i r d v olune included t h e best poems from the two prev ious v olur;1e s a nd s ome t h at h a d not b ee n published before. Dunbar, now almost i nstantly famous, continued to write and pub lish b oth v e rse and fiction. His later books of' poems included Lyrics of t h e Hearth sidc (1899), Lyrics of Love a.nd Laughter ( 1903) o..nd Lyrics of Sunsh ine and Shadow (1905), the year b efore h i s d ea th . in 1913. Compl ete Poems was pub lished Intersp er s e d a mo ng t he s e bo ok s of poetry were volumes of short st orie s a nd four nov els. 'Hovels wer Th e Uncal led (1898), The Love of Landry (1900)., Th e Fina.tics (1901) and The Sport of t h e Gods ( 1902). His sh or t s tori e s included Folks fro n Dixie (1 898 ), Tb e Str ength of Gideon (1900)., In Old Plantation Days (~_903) a nd The He a rt of Hnpp:,r Ho llow (19 04). Dunb ar wa s pro l ifi c a lmost r i gh t up unt i ::. th e t i me of h is deatb-w'hich be k new u a s 12.ppr oacl: i ng .. E e h ad i~:arri e cl Al1,ce Ruth HoDe., a pr 01:1isi ng autl::ior f rou 1::"ew Orlo a ns , '.i.n 1e98 ; a.n d his last ~ears wor e a n o:fort to he a l h ot'h fai l i n; he a lt~ a nd a failing marriage. As a p oet, Dun½ o.r 's 110.rk fall s i nto tu o d i visio ns : lect and standard ( so,,10 : rn.:r 11 dia- 11.tor ar:r " or "cla.ss:1.c") E ng lish . He att 0r,1pt b ore t o pre sent some of h is po etic c oncerns, ach ieveme nt s a nd tber,108 . Dun1") 0.1° r s 1 5.f o a nd Hor ks a.re too far- r each ing and cor,1 plex t o ,,_,c as se s sed c or.1pletel:r i_n this typ e of s ur vey .' 220 .. ' ' �a rna.n or as an D~mb a.r wa.s ~... _ lQo 61 _.., ,: "Howells Har1 per-b aps t ho 8:1-1:r literature 11'10 >as :-1 t o ra:.,., ~r hc o 1~ cr i t lc i::-:i th e l1is tory of Ameri.can a'JJ. c to c re a te r•oputa.t l ons ½:r n. sincle re v i01 :r " (Brool:s , The Confident Years, 1;;2). Bnt, as Barksdale and Einnamon no t e, :9:owc:i..:o' rcvicu ·t-ras uore of a social commen- tary (liberal, tbat !s) th an li t ora.r:r cr'i.t lcin r.i . s ingled out t!1c clial oct poc~::s for spe ci..o. l pro.5.so . said, Howells Dun11 ar, he 11 1,ms the on:.:r ma n of p 1,.r e Afr:tcan ½looC::. and of American civilization to .focl negro brricall ,r. .., . ::tro a.0ct:1oticall:r a.i.1Cl express it 11 Du~, ar, lat er rcaliz1 nc Ho~ells' praise TTas n curse in disguise, strucsled for t'l-}c rest of ' ~ls l ife to remove the dialect stigr,ia. Ho complained t o ,Ta~·.1cs 1foldon Joh nson t h at t he public on:y wanted to read ~ is dialect pieces. the pressure to be an intelligent n~ a tG.bo , 11 And feeling be elsewhere com- plained of having to p lay t l1e part of a "hlack 1"11.1 i te ma n." Dunbar's resentment of t 1.1e "label" of dialect poet when h e felt he had rr..orc prof01.,.na. a nd co1;1p lex tbi n0 s to say is capsuled in 221 �this often-quoted stanza. fro ::u "Tho Poet 11 : He sa.ng of love when eart11 i:-ra.s ~roung, And love, itself, was in hi s lays. But ah, the -;-1 0rld, it tnrned to praise A jingle inn broken to nc;ue . Earlier in the poer,1 preferred to sing. Haunted Oak, 11 Dunbar refers to a ndeeper note" which he But while poems like "The Debt, 11 11 Sympatby, 11 "The and "Ere Sleep Comes Down to Soothe the Weary Eyes,n do have deep a.nd complicated meanings, one searches in vain for Dunbar the man in them. pieces, Dunbar 1,ms In the dialect ab le to capture the rhythms, phonetics and idioms of Black speech. But it ls generally agreed that, es- pecially since be used ridicule-directed white models, he s·aw the Black man as a subject for either humor or pity • . The South's revenge for the Civil Har h ad come in part through its philosophers and writers who reflected nostalgically about the npeace and tranquility" of plantation life. This was political chicanery at its worst, but several BlaQk poets, Dunbar included, followed the white originators of the minstrel and plantatlon school of poets. (Whites did not origi- nate minstrelsy--hu t they did corrupt it; see Loften Mitchell's Black Drama.) As a result, Dunbar's treatment of Blacks in his dialect poems is stock in trade for the era: singing, grinning, obsequious, head-scratchinc, master-loving, watermellon-eating, dancing, banjo-picking, darkies. Certainly Dunbar comes t hrough realist1.cally as in "A Negro Love Song" 222 �(a written accou nt of a song sung by Black be h ad worked with), "Litt le Brm-m Bah~r, 11 11 theme), "The Par ty , 11 1 rn1en De Co' n Pone's Hot," ( the g ood-eating '1-Iou Lucy Bae ks lid, 11 11 Tbe Rivals II and others. He also acbievc:::i subtlety and irony in others. 1 t-vn'l en Malindy sings" is by all accounts h:i.s importo.nt llnguisti c-cultural contribution. Yet Dunbar seemed to reserve the "serious" sub- jects for standard ~nglish--for wh:i.c1'1 Black critics will not forgive him--a.nd even :tn this seriousness be speaks of people biding bebi nd lonely. 11 tiiasks 11 or being ''caged II or "drca1;1i ng II or being In these standard pie ces, Dunbar treats loneliness, unrequited love and goes on loft:" f li g11t s as a. knight or wanderer or theologian; or be is resigned as i n 11 Rcsignation" where he invites God to "crush me for Thy use" if need he. Yet accusations that Dunbar HRS completely tor::1 from the real world of Blackness are not true. I n "T:1e :Haunted Oak," for example, he indicts the judge, t h e rai ni ster and t he doctor, for the lyncbine of a Black man. He a l so h~e ooded ov er his dark skin, feeli :1.c tbo.t , duri ns a t:tmo of preference for light-skin a nd the ;1al,i t of "passing ," h is color he ld him back. Bnt some of l1is po0tr:r a nticipates Garve:r's call for "ethnic purity." He prai3es t b c hr01m sl:in of :::and:" Lou in "J)re a :n:i.n' Town" and be loves "Dcl:' 11 for ~e:t ng 1 • • • brm·m c z 1r own ca n be . . .. .. .-. - . .. She ai n 't no mullnter; She pure cullnd ,--don 't you see 223 �Da.tts de why I love hub so, D' ain't no mix ahout huh . A similar theme pervades "S ong ," ("African me.id") '"Dinah Kneading Dough 11 ( ''Brown arms b uried elb01-r-deep ") and "A Plantation Por- trait!' ("Browner den de Frusb's Hing "). In bis dialect poems, Dunbar reveals a love for spiri. t and revelry and good times. But nowhere is t h ere an indicat :i. on of t be enormous suffering and violence inh e r ited 1 ) :T p os t -war Af ro-Americans. The lynchings, tbe patt~r-roller s s1-1oop ing dm-rn on defe nseless ex-slaves, the night-rides of t b e Ku Kl ux I:lan and 1-n1i te Citizens orga nizations, the harsh and deb :i.litati ng economic s ituation of Blacks in general--none of tbe s e t h ings find t h e i r way i nto Dunb ar's poetry. All thi s , of coure e , is i ro n:i. c a gainst Du nb ar's great admiration for such men as Preo.eric k Douglass, Alexander Crummell, Booker T. Hasb i Ll.zton "Blac k ~a.m,so n of Brand:n-l i ne 11 --all of whom he immortalized i n p o-e try . I nstead, i n b is "deeper note" Dunb ar (notwith standi ng the examp les of 1-Jh itfi.eld, 1·TT1ib;1s. n , DuBois, and others) s p oke of 'hear t b reak , pr obed b is own pessim1.s m and religious doubt a ncl s ee[1ed l i tera'::..l:r to p :J. ne a~-rn.~r. ( I n one dia- lect poer.i, h owever , h e a dvi sed Blo.c ks t o "Kee p P'2.u ggint Along ~-") Tiucb of t b is e n i gma. of Du nb ar s eems to b e explained in bis poem "A Ch oice 11 ( Ge ncra.1 -::y over looked h y cri.tics wb o r.1 onotonously quote fror.1 "Th e Poot 11 ) i n wb ich h e cor.1plai ns of h eing tired of problet'.'j,S and sh• os s e s: But i n a p oem l e t me sup , Not s i r.~ l es b r ewad to cur e or ease �.,,L].. 118, On more t~an one occasion, Dunhar inti mated to associates tHat l1 c 1:ras all "ot1t fec1 tlp -i-ri tl 1 raci.a l a s i tatton--a.pparcntl2r feeling tl"Jat Black-wh1.te r clat ior.s ucro 1-:i eyonc: ropah 1 T'vd.s could be • There are poets, he re in tl,e ml ddle of the 20th centnry, who feel the sace wa:r. :·fo,:e rt' ; eless Dnnb ar' s request was answered 'A Choice,'" said That pootc d i ould 'h o sui:ft de c rees An~ we~ stern facts to so~er song. Dunbar ei t}:er did not becd/~ear or wns not aware of t11:ts "answer 11 ; but if 1J e bad tal::en Cotter's ad v ice perhaps t1.rn world 1vould knm-1 a d5.fferent poet. A'!-)ove e.11, Dunbar was a skillful reader of h is poetry--often hr i nc i nz eudiences to their feet for stand inc ovat lo rs nncl ~)J.co.s for e :, coros. in the use JTi::i dexterousness "h,-.r - several "'GDe - b rations of Black colle ce poets and lc.;r wrlters irJ}:-:,o Lni tated }1 1m. In a.b1ost c~rer:· stf 1::::tantial Black co numni t:r there is some public faci li t:r named. after Dui'} 1~ar. JTo lJroto ln aL10st ever:, prevailing sty1-e--t11e ~rontost exploi tor of Eni.31:i.sh poetic techniques between Fhit man and Cn1le n . Sonnet, :r,.adrical, couplet, ballad, Spiritual, pre-h1-ues, soncs (includine use 225 �of musical notntio~ in some instances), 7ou name it and Dunhar seems to ;1ave tried it. Dunbar ' s po0t~1s can ' :e fonnd i_n Complete Poems, the text used for t~rn discussion l: er0. Por critical- 1~io_;rap11ical ·w riting o n Dun1,ar see 1foz_;ner 1 s Black Poets of t 1 ~e Unltod States (tbe most ambitious study to elate) , Bro..Hloy ' s Pnul Laurence Dunhar: Poet of Hln People, wor'.rn l1:r Brm-:n, ~=teddi.n.::;, TTictor Lawson ' s Dunbar Cri ti c al1~r Exa.,dne d, 7ir2:inia c1,_nn in;::;:.: a ri1 1 s Panl Lanrence Dun'!:.::ar and IT:i_s Son:::; , and Jenn Gould 1 s T1-"}a t Dnn:Jar Bo:r: Ameri c a ' s Fa1:1ous i;ecro Poet . The Stor:r of Ot'.~ers w'.· o 1.1ave written on Dunbar inc lt~de Houston Bs.'.:er, Dar~1.·.11 Turner, Benjamin r:a:rs, James Helclon ,Tobnnon , Hicl.: Aaron Ford a nd AdcJ_::rn n Ga:<"c.e, ,Tr . , v.11:o recently pub lished a Dunbar ' , :tograp'·:,:r. Junius IIordccai Allen ( l J?~-?), a. 1, out w', o.n ·we know ver:r l:tttle, is an :i.t;1portant f'iG'J.re in this tra;1si_t:to:"lal pl: ase of Black poetr:r . T°!"is pbasc , 1 1-r 11c:, w:i.t:1ess ed t 11e passinc; of the plantation tradition in poetr:- and t:!o wiltin=: of Wasblncton ' s influenc e on Blac k tb5-nkors and nct:i. v :tsts, co::ne :::i to a close about the middle of tho second decade of t he 20t ~ century . Allen , Dunbar , DnBois, Car.1p 11 oll and Corrotb ers are D.monc:; the many t rans i ti oni::-i ts . AlJ.en was 1.)orn i 11 lfont;::;or.ier:", Ala:"l ama , and moi.red witl1 l, is fa r.1i 2..:r to Topeka, TCa.nsa, years old . i 1en r. e was seven Ex c ept for n t 1lroe - ~rea.r period, dnri nc: w11i c;1 ;1e Hrote for• and trn'.·cl0d .-rit 1.., a t 1, entrical r;roup, 1.1e spe !.1 t most of bis life as n '. ~- oi2.erma!cer for w:,:i.c:.1 ll e l1 ad apprenti c ed. His onl:-r volume is m-1:rr:-~e:.::, Tales ancl. :Rh-:rrned TnJ.es 226 (Topeka, 1906). �!1ostly in dialect, ItJ:rmes co nt ai ns "c;reat felid.t:-- of c:.1a.rac- terization, surpris it1c turns of wit 11 ai:d "quai ;Tt. p'I-Jilosophy. 11 The book appeared t1"J e :renr of Dtrn~)ar' s deat 1"' and Kerlin places Allen on par witb Dunbar --some1,J1·: 2t of Allen is deep anc7. pr of ounC: ::i. n aD exaseration. Howe v er, , otb ,, 5 s standard. En.:;l ish pieces 1 (b e 1.ncludes two in tt:e 1· >00'.;:) a nd dialect. "Countlns Out II is a ratber l :tebt rccol'2.ccti_on of ch5.lc11-, ood :::;ames such as 11 Countins : curri nc; : 110 II gives clnes to tbe po:;c 1-olo,c).ca:, l::i.n _:;~1tsti c a :1d c;e stural development of ?~.e. c l: :,.oun.:;~tc::>s (ubic Allon also knows tho co nso qucn c c,s of 1 ' 11 is c h ar:i1incl:r suff:lcient). 0 ct tin c can 01, t II out at ni gb t or ln alien torrttor:,. amonc3 vi ciou s, 'ha te-~11on 6 eri ng and Aro ,~o·H trit'· co nse que n ces fra t' c;1°·t; 227 �5.s t 1-:0 f 5.rst to To win one stride from sh eer defeat; To die--but cain an inch. His pen remained silent afte1• his first book. And one wonders if .Johnson, like so many Black artists, renounced his artistic inclination ( in view of the ti mes) and simpl:~r c;ave up. His dialect poems ce.rry, on t h e surface, t h e spirit of the "dialect tradition." But Allen is a biting satirist of middle-class Blacks (Wagner attributes this to an "inferiority complex") and pokes fun at whites. who tries to "resist" in On, Mr. Suny, 11 Temptation over ... takes the preacher 11 The Devil and Sis Viney" but in "Shine and "The Squak of the Fiddle II show his close ob- servation of(and take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward) whites. His satire of the Black middle-class is reminiscent of the impatience suggested in statements by Whitman and anticipates the works, especially, of Frank Marshall Davis and Melvin Tolson. Allen is also important as e. stylistic innovator. In "A Victim of Microbes," he again casts aspersions on whites and spoofs stereotypes of Blacks as field workers and laborers. But he couches his narrative in an exciting new literary form which allows for an alternation between a loosely rhymed eight-lined stanzas and four-lined stanzas of blank verse in 228 �which repetition of the sort found in the blues of Spirituals occurs: I done hyeahed de doctor say it--de doctor hisse'f said it-- •••• Brown was right when he said Allen's work was "unpretentious 11 and contained "pleasant humor." For selections of Allen's poetry see Kerlin's work; see, for criticism, Brown and Wagner. Primarily important as a writer of prose, journalist and an inspiration to other writers, Alice Nelson-Dunbar (1875-1935) was born and received _her public education in New Orleans, Louisiana, and married Paul Laurence Dunbar in 1898. She did further study at Cornell and Columbia Universities and the University of Penn~ylvania. She authored volumes of prose (Violets and Other Tales, 1894; The Goodness of St. Tocque, 1890) and edited Masterpieces of Ne ero EloquenEe, 1913, and The Dunbar Speaker, 1920, in which appears some of her poetry. :Mrs. Dunbar-Nelson was noted :for her abilities as a journalist and lecturer; for a while she served as managing .edotor of The Advocate and she contributed to numerous magazines. Her poetry, as yet uncollected, bas little racial flavor; but she does protest World War I and her often-anthologized sonnet represents her technical abilities in that form. In "I Sit and Sew" she laments that, as a woman, she can do little else to hasten the end to war. "The Lights At Carney's Point" contains "fine symmetry, highly poetic diction and great allusive meaning." An easy-flowing poem in four-lined stanzas of iambic tetrameter meter, "Light" allows the poet (as with many romantic writers) • 229 �to stream associations from a central theme--the lights. But something is lost when the lights go "gray in tbe ash of day" And the sun laughed high in the infinite sky, And the lights were forgot in the sweet, sane calm. Studies of Mrs. Dunbar-Nelson's poetry are underway. collected poems have yet to be published. Her "The Sonnet" is printed in several anthologies and three of her poems. appear in Kerlin's book. Kerlin also advances brief criticism. A critical study of Mrs. Dunbar-Nelson is currently. Although Sterling Brown says that Joshua Henry Jones (1876-?) "gives little besides banal jingling " we mention him briefly as part of our effort to survey most of the poetic output of the period. ~or more listings of lesser-known poets see the end of the chapter. Jones was born in Orangesburg, South, Carolina, and, after completing high school, attended Ohio State University, Yale and Brown. He served on the editorial staffs of several newspapers, was secretary to th~ mayor of Boston for four years, and published two books of poems (The Heart of the World and Other Poems, Boston, . 1919, and Poems of the Four Seas, Boston, 1921) and a novel (By Sanction of_Law, Boston, 1924). Jones' poetry treats nature, nostalgia, race struggle ( as in ''Brothers u) and sentimental love ( "A Southern Love Song") themes which Kerlin has compared to Johnson's "Love Song." Though grim, 11 To A Skull," does show some origi- nality. 230 �Noted more for walking all the way from his home in the South to Harvard University, where he camped overnight and was arrested on a charge of vagrancy, Edward Smyth Jones (18?-?) published The Sylvan Cabi~ in 1911. nalled "pompously literary" by Brown who adds that his verses are less interesting than his "biography, tt Jones wrote "Harvard Square" wjile he was in jail. The poem brought him immediate attention and helped speed up his release. The poem is a hodge-podge of imitations of various European models used by Jones. He recites the names of Dante, Byron, Keats, Shelley, Burns, and so on down the line, in a bombast of stanzas. "A song of Thanks, sensitivity and deeper feeling. 11 however, shows more While it leaves a·. lot to be desired, one can certainly feel the power growing through the repetition (in several dozen lines) of "For the" sun, flowers, rippling streams, and other faces of nature. Alex Rogers (1876-1930) is one of the several dozen or so "minor" writers of dialect during this period. As we stated earlier, poets published pamphlets themselves, s .e cured places for their work in newspapers and macazines, and traveled on a regular reading circuit executin 0 their poems and ditties, o:rten to the accompaniment of bands or single musical instruments. This practice would continue up until this very day when many of the poets, if not heard live, loose their signi:ficance and dramatic flavor. Such was the case with Rogers who ''wrote lyrics for most of tbe songs in the musical comedies in which Williams and Walker appeared. 231 11 Rogers was born in �Nashville., Tennessee., educated in tbe schools of that city., and finally worked bis way north where be wrote some of the most popular songs of bis day; be ma.de a number of performers famous., including white entertainers looking for "Negro stuff." work is satire, humor and some slap-stick. some clue to bis intentions: His His titles give '~Thy Adam Sinned," 11 Tbe Rain Song" (a Flip Wilson-type conversation between "Bro. Wilson" and ''Bro. Simmons"), "Tbe Jonah Man, Drop." 11 and "Bon Bon Buddy, the Chocolate Rogers' significance, however, lies in his work in the _ theater and his ground- breaking e.fforts to cha.nee the popular (ministrel-inspired) image of Blacks. Dunbar had co-authored lyrics for Clorindy--Ori gin of the f!ake Walk (1 098 ) and In De.homey (1903). This was part of a groundswell that occured when, according to Loften Mitchell (Black Drama): In the latter part of the nineteenth century a group o.f Negro theatrical pioneers sat down and plotted the deliberate destruction of the minstrel pattern. These men were Sam T. Jack, Bert Williams, George Walker, Jesse Shipp, Alex Rogers, S.H. Dudley, Bob Cole, J. Rosamond Joh nson and John w. Isham. And in destroying the minstrel pattern, these men were to help pave the way for the million-dollar musical pattern which today dominates the American theatre. Mitchell's observation sheds great li gbt on the importance of many Black "poets" who, however dismally they may fa.re on paper, 232 �are of major importance to the aggreGate ritual and musical sense/life of on-going Black society. Today we see a similar pattern, with radical variations, of course--growing from the work of James Weldon Johnson and others--in Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, the poets who are writing for the ritual theater, and in the efforts of dramatists like Melvin Van Peebles (Ain't Supposed to Die A Natural,) Paul Carter Harrison (Tbe Great 1-IcDaddy ), Imamu Amiri Baraka (Slave Ship), the work of Barbara Teer, Clay Goss (Andrew and Home-Cookine), Eugene B. Redmond (The Face of the Deep, 9 Poets with the Blues, and The Night John Henry Was Born) and the experimental productions of Michael Gates (The Black 0offin, There's a Wiretap in My Sou~: or Quit Bum~ing Me and Will I Still Be Here Tomorrow). Th is pattern, practically perfected by Langston Hughes, can also be seen in outstanding performing-cultural centers conducted by Katherine Dunham in East St. Louis, Val G-ray Ward in Chicago, and at Alma Lewis's Center for Afro-American Cultural and Performing Arts in Boston. Sterling Brown lumps Rogers in a class with other "minor writers of dialect" and includes Sterling Means (The Deserted Cabin and Other Poems), S. Tutt 'Whitney, Waverly Turner Carmichael, and just about anybody else who wrote dialect at the time. Means also wrote in conventional English forms. For evaluations of Rogers and other similar writers see Mitchell's Black Drama, Johnson's American Negro Poetry ~nd Black Manhattans) and Brown. 233 �As part of a stream of Black "immigrants" that has not been abated to this very day, George Rec;inald Margetson (1877-?), was born in St. Kitts (British West Indies) and came to the United States when he was 20-years-old. Mare;etson, e. wholly original poet, got a good solid grounding in literature in his childhood and produced f'our volumes of' poetry: England in the West Indies (1906), Ethiopia.ts -Plt ght (1907), ~ongs of Life (1910) and Th e Flcd cling Bard and_tbc Poetry _Society (1916). His acbievement can he seen in the last hook which consists of one 100-page poem. A s~tire, owing debt to Byron and other English inf'luences, the poem represents one of the most important technical undertakinc; by a Black poet since 1foitma.n's Rape of Florida. Marcetson uses mostly seveh-lined stanzas of five-f'oot meter with the seventh line lengthening to an Alexandrina. His rhyme scheme is ab ab . b cc and he exhibits a wacky, uproarous use of both rhyme and humor. The basic stanzaic pattern is interspersed with shifting meters and schemes which appear as four-lined stanzas in an ab ab movement or an a a ab context. The poem begins in a search for the Poetry Society (reminiscent of several European poets) and Margetson essays an old theme: that of poetry being mechan- ical and your success depending on school or dress as opposed to bow talented. During this nquest" Margetson "digresses" to discuss and explore practically every major current theme in society: social conditions, World War I, politics, religion, literature, the Black problem, and he even pokes fun at President �Woodrow lJ'ilson: Come, Woody, quit your honeymooning! In this important poem, Hargetson is scathing , sustained and brilliant. He views the ma.ny currents runnine; through the Black community and satirically sums up all the conf'usion: Some look to Booker vlashincton to lead them, Some yell for Trotter, some for Kelly Miller, Some want DuBois with fat ideas to feed them, Some want Jack Johnson, the bic white hope killer. Perhaps some want carranza, some want villa, I guess they want social equality, To marry and to mix in white society. Other, later, satirists whom Margetson's work calls to mind are Tolson (and his incomparable Harlem Gallery ), Frank Marshall Davis, Dudley Randall, George S. Schuyler (Black Ho Mor~), William Melvin Kelley and Ishmael Reed. In bis other poetry, Margetson is strone and competent--he reflects bis immense reading background, 11 Spenser to Byron"--but none of his earlier work matches up to Fledgeling Bar~. For samples and criticism of Margetson's writing see Johnson and Kerlin. Sterling Brown also makes a brief critical observation. In many ways the poetry of William Stanley Braithwaite (1878-1962) has suffered the fate of that by Phillis Wheatley, Dunbar and others somehow deemed "not Black enough" for inclusion in some Afro-American poetic-cultural circles. 235 The Frenchman �Jean Wagner said that a study of Braithwaite does not belong among those of other '1Bla.ck poets." A mulatto, Braithwaite was born in Boston to West Indian parents and was mainly self-educated. He is considered a major influence on "the new poetry revival" in America and counted among his friends such white literary figures as Vachel Lindsay, Carl Sandburg, Edgar Lee Masters, Arrry T,owell and Edwin Arline:ton Robinson. His career as a poet began with the 1904 publication of Lyrics of Life and Love and his second volume (House of the Falling Leaves) was published in 1908. His Selected Poems was published in 1948 by Coward-Mccann, Inc. Best known for his Anthologies of Magazine Verse, published from 1913 until 1929, Braithwaite was for many years a literary critic with the Boston Transcript. His other anthologies include The Book of Elizabethan Verse_ (19061 Tl]e Book of Georgian Verse_ (1908) and The Book of Restoration Verse (1909). For 11is efforts Braithwaite received the NAACP's coveted Springarn medal in 1918 for high achievement by an Afro-American. The same year he received honorary degrees from two Black universities and later became professor of creative literature at Atlanta University, a position he held until he retired in 1945. Graithwaite's poetry, Sterling Brown said: The result is the usual one: the lines are graceful; at their best, exquisite, and not at their best, secondhand; but the substance is thin. Even the fugitive poetry of some 236 Of �of Braithwaite's masters had ereater human sympathies. Brown is implying, of course, that some of the white "models" that Braithwaite used could "get down" (to use a current phrase) even if the Black poet could not. Brown is essentially correct; I have tested the t h esis in classrooms and t he best students appear dumbfounded upon confronting Braithwaite after leaving other Black poets. And Braithwaite's problem is not · the same sort of "problem" presented by a, say, Tolson--wh ose work is dif.ficult and complex but not unweildy on repeated readings {plus Tolson's work is essentially Black-based). Braithwaite seems to be reach ing for a h i gher science in h is words; but he does not chart bis path so we can follow. Brown said bis writing resembled npoetry of the twilight"--just as you think you have his meaning , it slips away. This is especially true of poems like "Turn Me to My Yellow Leaves" (about a death-wish?), nnel Cascar," "Ironic: LL.D" (about the waste-land, c.f., T.S. Eliot, and history?), "Scintilla," and "Sic Vita. t' "Rhapsody" is one of Braithwaite's most attainable poems, but the message is nebulous. He expresses thanks to t he supreme being for "the gift of song " and is replenished in the knowled ge that "world-end things" that dangle on the "edge of tomorrow" can be obliterated by dreams. In his critical introduction to Braithwaite, Johnson (American Negro Poetry) apologizes for the poet's lack of sensitivity to either mistreatment of Blacks and explains his 237 �failure to dip into the Black folk-base: This has not been a matter of intention on bis part; it is simply that race bas not impinged upon him as it has upon other Negro poets. In fact, his work is so detached from race that for many years he had been a figure in the American literary world before it was known generally that he is a man of color. Certainly Johnson meant no harm in usine the word "color" but it tempts one to punning. Braithwaite, as Brown and others have noted, rejected having his work indiscriminately called "Negro" poetry. This issue continues to raise its head with, first, Cullen and, later, Hayden {including many other lesser-known poets in between). And there are other poets of the 20th century who have written {or write) Braithwaite's type of poetry. Some, of course, are experimenting and searching for new forms. See for example some of the work of Cullen, Hayden, Randall {Hore to Remember) Russell Atkins, Bob Kaufman, Tolson, Gwendolyn Brooks, Michael S. Harper {especially History as Apple Tree), and others. The debate over how much of {or when) a poet•s work is or should be nracial" is a continuing one and is not likely-given the diversity of the poets--to be settled in the very near future. For example, with the exception of Claude McKay, no other poet has as many {or more) poems as Braithwaite in Johnson's 1922 (1931) anthology. Whether Johnson did this out of debt or respect is not knowu. Braithwaite, we know, had praised Johnson 238 �(Fti'ty Yee.rs) :for bring ing "th e first intellectual substance to the content" of A.fro-American poetry . But J'. Saunders Redding called Braithwaite "the most outstanding example o:f perverted ener~J 11 t h at was produced in a. 14-y ea.r period of Black poetry. At ~tlanta University , Braithwaite rubbed shoulders with DuBois, Mercer Cook, Rayford Logan and others, which apparently helped h i m doff some of h is Bostonian snobbishness. His poetry in e eneral reflects t he influe nce o:f Keats arrl the pre-romantic British poets. He loves to speak of dreams, trances, impendi ng doom, silence and t h e prospect of touching other worlds. For selections of his wor k see most anth ologies of Afro-American literature. Brown, Redding and Brawley. He is critically assessed by Oth er evaluations a.re primarily concerned with Braithwaite's work as anth ologist and critic. Barksdale and Kinnamon give a good overall assessment of the man. Braithwaite did include some Blad{ poets in h is magazine anthologies and he stands a.tan important t hreshh old of the A.fro-American entry into t he era of modern poetry . · Records show t hat literally hundred s of poets, insp! fed by the brilliant example of Dunbar and company , took part of this exciting pre-Renaissance of Blac k American cul ture and arts. For more on t h ese poets, stude nts s h ould eo to such publications as The Century , t h e Inde pendent, The Ch ica ~o Defender, and the numerous other art-and-poetry -conscious publications of th e day . Yet it is i n some wa:rs appropriate t h at we approach our cl os e to th is ch o. pter wi t h Lucien B. Watkins 239 �(1 D79-1921), first teach er a rx:1 t ~'.' en soldter, t-.rb o was ce.11.ed 11 t h e poet laureate of t 1~e New He s ro. 11 \.f 2-t ki ns pubJ. isb ed one volume of poetry in 190 7 (Voj_c es of 3o-:1.J- tucle_) hi s seco nd hook (l·n 1isperi nc; Winds , n . d . ) was bronglJt out b y frie nds sb ortly after bis untime ly death . Watkins i s ch iefly noted for his mili tanc:,r of ton0 as typified in h is sonnet "Th e Hew Ne,sro 11 which opens wi t l1 tbe words He t h inks in black and goes on to describe a God with Africa n features. Watkins also wrote bis own eulo z:r a fet-1 weeks before he died. In the hymn-inspired form he is grippingly aware of his approaching death as shown in these lines: :rv:ry summer bloomed for winter's frost: Alas, I've lived a nd loved and lost! nA Hes sage to t h e Moder n Pha.roe.hs" is inspired (introduced) by a passage from Joh n 11.44 in t h e Dible. The interations "Loose him!" and nLet him go!' frame each of the six four-lined stanzas. Taking the militant stand chnracteristic of bis work, Watkins tells the Pharoahs to let the Black man go b ecause he 11 bas bis part tc;, play" In Life's Great Drama, day by day,-adding that freeing the A.f'ro-American will "be the saving" of whites' nsoul. 11 In many ways a precurser of the Harlem Renaissance, Watkins conducted experiments in verse ("A Prayer of the Race that God Hade Black") and expressed pride in bis African heritage ("Star of Ethiopia"). He was born in Chesterfield, Virginia, �educated at Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute, and was active as a teacher before he served overseas in World War I which "wrecked his health." Perhaps Watkins' feelings are best expressed in these lines (reminiscent of Margetsonts: "The white man's heaven is the black me.n's hell.!!): God! save us in Thy Heaven, where all is ·well! We come slow-struggling up the Hills of . Hell! For additional comment on Watkins see Brawley' s Negro Genius, Kerlin's study (which includes more selections) and Johnson's American Negro Poetry (selections also). During t h is ver~r i mportant perio d of transition, across all levels of Black America, there were other poets writing. We ought to site T. Thomas Fortune (1856-1928 ) wrote journalism and important political studies of Blacks. And although Brawley calls him one of "the most intelligent and versatile Ne groes of the era," bis collection of poems, Dreams of Life: Mis- cellaneous Poems (1905), shows no marked distinction in that category (though he implies a desire to return to Africa in "The Clime of My Birth 11 ) . A preacher-poet, Geor ge C. Rowe (1853-1903), published Thoughts in Verse (1887) and Our Heroes (1890). The first book contains sermons in verse and the second is aimed at "the elevation of the race." Rowe, a pastor of the Plymouth Congregational Church of Charleston, South Carolina, also published "A Noble Life, 11 a poem in memory of Joseph C. Price, first president of Livingston College. Known for her �now famous Journal, Charlotte L. Forten Grimki (1 837-1914) is considered to have npossessed sensitivity and creative skills beyond the ordinary" in t h e few poems s h e wrote. Uncollected, they are scattered throughout her notes and various periodicals published between the 1850's and the turn of t h e century. Islay Walden (1847?-1884) published Miscellaneous Poems in Washington, D.C., in 1873. There is an immaturity in Walden's style, owing, according to Jahn, to the fact t hat h is enrollment at Howard University 11 de~troyed his natural talent." Th e Nation's Loss: A Poem on the Life and Death of the Hon. Abra.ham Lincoln, by Jacob Rhodes (1 835?-?), was published in 1866. Summer, John Willis Menard (1 838-1893), the In Lays of first ✓elected Black congressmen in the United States, makes women his central theme--calling t h em by name as h e praises their "hairrr and "lips." For racial reasons, h e was denied his "earned" term in the House of Representatives. Ja mes Ephriam McGist (1874-1930) brought out Avengine; the Haine (Ralei gh , North Carolina, 1899), Some Simple Songs and A Few More Ambitious Attempts (Philadelphia, 1901 ) and For YOt::r 3-weot 8a1:e (Pl 1 ilnc1clp1 , ia, 1?06). Charles Douglas Clem publ ished Rhyme s of n Rhymster (Edmond; Oklah oma, •\ »• l A. :- . _f: ' .:~ ::. "::1 :.-:-, - - - -- - • �reflected the t h ouc;hts of William J. Candyne. Prose was in- cluded b~r Frank Barbour Coffin (1870?-1951) in Coffin's Poems with Ajax' Ordeals (Little Rock, 1892). James Thomas Franklin published one volume of poetry (Jasamine Poems, Memphis, 1900) and one of prose and poetry (Mid-Day Geanings, A Book for Home and Holiday Reading (Memph is, 1 893). not ext a nt . Je_~samine apparently is Poems of To-Day or Some Fror.i t h e Everglades ( Quinc:r, F lor i c1a , 1 ~')3 ) ua:::: pt1.', 1ts11ec. ·--:• Cupid Al eyns 1-.r .,i tfield. Joshua Mccarter Simpson (1 820?-1 876) released The Emancipation Car (Zanesville, Ohio,) in 1 874. Simpson included a prose satire called "A Consistent Slaveh older's Sermon." The Open Door (1895) was published in Winfield, Kansas, by F.S. Alwell. Aaron Belf'ord Thompson {1883-1929) was a member of a family that consisted of a trio of poets. Thompson and his sisters, Pricilla and Clara, brought out seven volumes of poetry between 1899 and 1926--the middle of the Harlem Renaissance. Priscilla Thompson published Ethiope Lays (1900) and Gleanings of Q.uiet Hours (1907). Clara Thompson released ~one;s from t h e Way side (190 8 ) ahd A Garland of Poems (Boston, 1926). Aaro n Thompson publish ed Morning Son~s {1899), Echoes of Spring (1901)--both dictated to his sisters and brother--and Harvest of Though ts (1907). F.choes, in its second edition of 1907, bore a h andwritten complementary introduction by James Wh itcomb Riley . Th eir subjects are the conventional ones of t he 19th century . Charles Henry Shoeman published A Dream and Other Poems in An Arbor in 1 899. Magnolia Leave s was publish ed by Mary Weston Fordh a m in Charleston, �South Carolina, in 1897. Straddling similar fields of expression, as did Alex Rogers, James Weldon Johnson, Nathaniel Dett and others, George Hannibal Temple (a musician) brought out The Epic of Columbus' Bell and Other Poems in 1900. Benjamin Wheeler :followed him in 1907 with Culling from 7.ion's Poets {Mobile, Alabama). Several dozen other Afro-Americans wrote poetry during the later part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Among them were Robert Benjamin (Poetic Gems, 1883), Lorenzo Dow Blackson, Walter Henderson Brooks, John Edward Bruce, Alexander numan Delaney, Josephine Delphine Heard, Joseph Cephas Holly, A.J. Jackson (A Vision of Life, 1869), Henry Allen Laine (Footprints), Mary Eliza Lambert, Lewis Howard Latimer, Grace Mapps, Journalist William I-I.A. Moore, Gertrude Mossell, James Robert Walker (Poetical Diets). Other occasional poets who were ·q uite popular among their contemporaries included Solomon G. B11own, William Wells Brown, Katie n. Chapman, W.H. Crogman, Frederick Douglass, Leland I1. Fisher, Nathaniel Dett, and Virgie Whitsett. Some notable turn-of-the-century poets, a :few of which will be heard from later were, Benjamin Brawley (critic and social historian), Charles Roundtree Dinkins, David Bryant Fulton, Gilmore F. Grant, N.N. Rayson, Elliott Blaine Henderson, H.T. Johnson, Jefferson King, J.W. Palsey, Otis M. Shackelford, Walter E. Todd, Richard E.S. Toomey, Irvine W. Underhill, Julius C. Wright and others. 'F'or more on these poets, including delightful pictures of some, see �Brawley's The Negro Genius (and otber works), Sherman's Invisible Poets and Kerlin's Ne gro Poets and Their Poems. Kelly Miller's Race Adjustment appeared in 1909 as a partial answer to sori1e of the evils and ills plaguing Blacks. But against the balocaustal "panorama of vio1ence n a nd 'bloodsljed, the title of Hiller's book seemed a.l r.i.ost h ollow. was born in 1909 and a year later DuBois WRS The N"AACP put at the belm of its publicity de~ artme nt and made ed itor of Crisis. Echoes :rrom t he 1906 Atlante. riots, in whi cb JO Bla.c ks were ''butchered", could still be heard r evorberati n: in speech es and fear-seized Black h eRrts. (For more on t h is senseless and sadistic murder of Blacks see John Hope Franklin's !ro~ Slaver~ to Freedom and Ralph Ginzherg' s 100 Years of L~rnchin3: . ) On t h e lecture-circuit rampage, DuBois hentedl:r criticized President Theodore Roosevelt who had declared t h at 11 Ha.pe is t h e sreatest cause of lynching. The nation was tryine; to turn back the clock, as evidenced by the nostalgic minstrelsy, a nd was conductinc a good "sabotage" or the Reconstruct1.on. And Blacks were feverously mobilizing to keep from beinc sold "back into n new form of slavery." 245 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. 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_04 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter IV. Jubilees, Jujus, and Justices, p. 168-245 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/d5462ee88da269a24a71e1b65dd3d1e2.pdf 351fed69aa89941320442c915cd1527a PDF Text Text 9ENtTAHI N CLARK WHAT I S A SLA 'JE ? A slave is- - vrha t ? Nothing , anc that alone ! Hi s ti me--his wif e -- And e ' en his life , . O't·Jn. He dare not call ,ti lS A sla ve is - -what ? Ah ! dead.ful lot I s his that ' s d oomed to toil Hi th out rec;ard , Or just re1:ard , U~on n~othcr ' s soil . A slave is - -wl-rnt ? Ah ! cr~ol t~ OUJ~ t, In con ~tnn t strife , A s lave is--w~at ? .A pe r f0ct nau:;1,t, Shor n of bL: lecal r t c;bt; And the~ co~pelled To work, h0 1 a held The, rciwant of h i.s 1 :i.fe . �HF.AT IS A 8L'\ 1 7F? (c on t'd) Or stolen f rom ~i mself, B:r Chr i s ti ans , rho T1,ls trad e rursne For s ordid , raltr~ pe lf. A s lave i s- -Hh at ? Throuc;h out tl i;; Hide doma i.n; 1 Tbrou gh '1,o rr a nd c len, For lucre-- cPrs ec. c;a ln! A slave is--w½at? I pra:' do no t I nsist; I cannot know, Or, paint er ' s art , Describe a slave -- ah , no ! A slave is--uhat? Tell I can not,-The ta 3k I wou ld not cr ave~ If you would know, 247 �BENJAMI N CLARK 1 ,THAT IS A SLA1JI:? ... (cont ' d) And he your se lf a slave! ,JOSEPH SEAHAN COTT:CR ANSWE R TO DWTBAR I S "A:7':r':J:::!1 A VIS IT 11 S o , yon be ' n t o o 1 e Ke n tu c k:r , An ' you want to g o ag ' in? Well, Kentucky ' ll doff her kerchief An ' politcl! ask you i n . An ' she 1 ll loosen fro m her g irdle Key s that fit t~e othe r c uph oar~s Of her hospitality. Not th at she ' s incllned tD t old ba ck With th e good , and g i ve the worst; But, you know, in all fair dealin 1 'W hat ' s first must he tbe first. So , when s1':i c t akes ke~r the se co nd An ' gives it a twist or two , Ofa~rl)e I ousht not say it) It ' l l 1,1ost ni gh startle :rou. �JOSE PH SEAHAN COTTr,R ANSW.JR .. TO DTHIBAJ. 11 S 11 APTF.n A VIS I T II ( cont I cJ) An ' tlrnn ke:rs t1,e tl1ird a :1d fourth , sir , (Hot to spea. 1-: of a l l tl-Je rest ) Wouldn ' t stop at crncJ.dri' , ntto ns , 1 And your happiness wou ld find , sir, A momentum then and t~ere , 'T.11,at rnt1.lc1 c o.rr:r 1 j t a-sueer,in ' Througb tlrn stro;11}1olc1 cf despair . Now, the gripp i n ' o ' t he ~and, sir , . .'\.n 1 the 1.1 el c o111e that :,.ou say Wa s so f irm and tru e an ' all that En s a ~: i.nd o ' curious ua:r . At the f i r c t it ' s s orter slow like , Ti 11 :i. t f orrn.s a leagne wi t11 :rot1 , Then i. t rnalrns a kind of circuit Tbat But jest thr:i.11s :,ron tl,.,ro ' and thro 1 • 7a~1 8 I had bettor Not d i s c uss this a f ter ma th , For it mig½t stir up your fe e l i ngs To th e ri c;h teous point of wratl1 , As you 1)rood o ' er wbat :rou lost , sir, �,JCSEPH SEAI'1AN COTTER ANStn::::R TO DUNBAR 1 S "AFTER A VISIT" (co nt ' d ) B:r not s tayin I wi tl1 ns longer . Ah, we ll, come to see us often, Ole Ken t ucky 1 11 make you str onger. So, :rou be 1 n to ole Kentucl¼.r , An t you want to go ac 1 i n ? Nell , Kentucky 's □ tandin ' wa iti n 1 ,Test to take yon 1-1h oll:r i_n , An 1 s1- 1 0 1 11 loosen her vast ; lrclle So that you can fully see All the roots, frults, leaves an 1 br anches JAHES EDWIN CANPB:2:LL DE CUNJAB ?IAN 0 cl.., i llcn ru n , de Cunjah n:an, Hi m nio uf ez 1,eec; o z fr:ri :1 ' pnn , P.ha :rur s a r.1 s mall , 11 i. L1 eye s a n1 rai d , Hi m 11a:) 110 toof een 11im ol ' ha id, H:i.m 11a'I-) ,~i r-1 roots , 'r\ L n 1:n ' k b lm trick, TTi 8 roll hin eye, him Llok yon si c k-- Do Cun:an man , de Cun,jah man , O c'!.1:i"2..le n ru n , de Cnn .~a11 r::,an ! �D"C CUN.TAT-I ~T.l'-;. }T (cont'd) Him hid it un ' de kitc~en sta 'r Mam ,Jude huh !)2,rs urlon g dat way, An ' now hu1.1 hah nr sna i k , de s ay. Hi rn -wrop ur roun ' '!,uh riudd:r t i gh t, Fu11 e:res p op out , ur orful s i g~ t-- De Cunjal-, r.1an , de C1 :ija1" Him r~ut nr root tir. ' "L i j2_lo f s ::an, 1 ~aicl, An ' Him stamp him foot urpon de groun'; De snaiks come cra:wlin', one by one, Me h y uh um hiss, me break an' run. �JAMES EDWIN CAMPBELL DE CUNJAH MA.N (cont'd) De Cunjah man, de Cunjah man, O chillen run, de Cunjah man! W.E.B. DU BOIS THE SONG OF THE SMOKE I am the smoke king, I am black. I am swinging in the sky. I am ringing worlds on high: I am the thought of the throbbing mills, I am the soul toil kills, I am the ripple of trading rills, Up I'm curling from the sod, I am whirling home to God. I am the smoke king, I am black. I am the smoke king, I am black. I am wreathing broken hearts, I am sheathing devils' darts; Dark inspiration of iron times, 252 �• .E.D. DU BOIS THE SONG OF THE SMOKE Wedding the toil of toiling climes Shedding tre blood of bloodless crimes. Down I lower in the blue, Up I tower toward the true, I am the smoke king, I am black. I am the smoke king, I am black. I am darkening with song, I am hearkening to wrong; I will be black as blackness can, The blacker the mantle the mightier the man, My purpl' ing midnights no day dawn may ban. I am carving God in night, I am painting hell in white. I am the smoke king, I am black. I am the smoke king, I am black. I am cursing ruddy morn, 253 �'11 .E.B. DU BOIS THE SONG OF THE SMOKE (cont'd) I am nursing hearts unborn; Souls, unto me are as mists in the night, I whiten my blackmen, I beckon my white, What's the hue of a hide to a man in his ~1ght1 Sweet Christ, pity toiling lands! Hail to the smoke k_ing , Hail to the black! PAUL LAWRENCE DUNBAR SYMPATHY I know what the caged bird feels, alas! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springi~g grass, And the rivers flows like a stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opens. And the faint perfume from its chalice stealsI know what the caged bird feels! I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; For he must fly back to his perch and cling When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; 254 �PAUL LAWRENCE DUNBAR SYMPATHY (cont'd} And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener stingI know why he beats his wing! I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flingsI know why the caged bird sings! A NEGRO LOVE SONG Seen my lady home las' night, Jump back, honey, jump back. Hel' huh ban' an' sque'z it ti ght, Jump back, honey, jump back. Hyeahd huh sigh a little sigh. Seen a light gleam f 'om huh eye, An' a smile go flittin' byJump back, honey, jump back. 255 �PAUL LAWRENCE DUNBAR A NEGRO LOVE SONG (cont'd) Heyabd de win' blow thoo de pine, Jump back, honey, jump back. Mockin'-bird was singin' fine, Jump back, honey, jump back. An' my hea't was beatin' so, When I reached my lady's do', Dat I couldn't ba' to goJump back, honey, jump back. Put my ahm aroun• huh wais', Jump back, honey, jump back. Raised huh lips an' took a tase, Jump back, honey, jump back. Love, honey, love true? Love me well ez I love you? An' she a.nswe 'd, "cos e I do"Jump back, honey, jump back. 256 �mIAPTER V A LONG WAYS FROM HOME Sometimes I feel like a motberless cbild, A long ways from bome; A long ways from home. --Afro-American Spiritual I OVERVIEW Tbo di 3rnpt i on of ch r o ncl o~r Hi.11 1--,c :no:,·,e. e vide n t chapter than in preceding ones. l n tr is This is so because poets of the same age do not always achieve recognition at the same time. We have looked at James Weldon Johnson, for example, but we mention him again in this chapter. In fact--for reasons to be shown--Johnson overshadows almost the whole of Black poetry. Melvin B. Tolson, born before Hughes and Cullen, will be viewed after them in the so-called post-renaissance period. Since the primary aim of this study is to "cite" the most significant names and events in the development of Black poetry, our approach to this ch~pter will follow the others in that criticism will remain minimal. From this point on, Black poets--and Black artists of all sorts-- begin being viewed alongside all other writers of the world. Appraisals of Black poetry, then, become a bit more dii'ficult since up until the second decade of the 20th 257 �!- ' century, the Black poet was seen as somewhat of a novelty. He was a subject for "curious" whites or of a few dedicated Black historians and critics. The Black writers, until the 1960's, had very little armament with which to fight critical or literary "lynchings." Their models were essentially white (some con- temporary Black poets continue this practice) and so were their critics. In the 1920's they became one of many "exotic" escape routes used by bored and thrill-seeking whites who w~nted to "engage their new Freudian awareness and forget the horrors of the war." In the post-Renaissance their skills were often directed towards integration and various other social programs. Their approaches were often scientific and fact-finding. The most incisive and continual blow to the Black poet is a disrespect and rejection that parallel the general treatment of Blacks. Criticism of Black poetry is invariably political and racial in concern--just as most of the poetry is forced to be. Some poets lament this because it implies that protest and anger are reserved for them. It also says that the whole • range of human behavior is somehow placed off-limits to the Afro-American poet, criticized by whites for not being "universaln and by some Blacks for not being "Blackn enough. Needless to say, it is a dilemma of some magnitude and no amount of words or lamentations will answer or solve it here. We do comment on these matters, though, because they begin to appear as serious--unavoidable--plagues to the Black poet from this period on in our study. 258 �In this chapter we will go up to 1960. Many poets (Mari Evans, Lance Jeffers, James Emanuel, Ray Durem, Dudley Randall, Zack Gilbert, Bob Kaufman, Russell Atkins, Frank Horne, and others) were publishing in periodicals before poets who had been publishing books during the years before 1960 (Hayden, Gwendolyn Brooks, Conrad Kent Rivers, Hughes, and others) brought out new works sometimes reflecting different themes and attitudes. Poets who had been publishing substantially in periodicals or anthologiei before 1960 will be noted in pa.sing. There will be no attempt to give individual attention to the scores of Black poets writing and publishing in the 1960•s and '70's. II Literary and Social Landscape Night is a curious child, wandering •••• --Frank J\18.rshall Davis A. To 1930: In 1910 the population of 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, 259 �and lynchings would continue to be among the most fearful prospects for Black men. Booker T. Washington had chronicled the hardships and bitter disappointments of Blacks in his Up From Slavery. The new "freedom" was short lived and illusive, Washington observed, because the ex-slave had no skill, no land and no place to go. "Emancipated II Blacks were not faring 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. Durinc; the second and third decades of the 20th century, Black scholars, activists and writers continued to record tbe Black Experience with telling accuracy and drama. Addi tiona.lly, a number of chane;es and de~relopments in Black cor1muni ties Sf,t off a chn.in reaction of cross-examinations, intense debates, calls for c":an c;es and V1e ch arting of r.iew directions. Accordingly, the student ~ust understand the mod of the times in terms of: L The decline of Dunbar's influence amonc poets. 2. Failing support of Booker T. Washington's "accomadationist" philosopb:,r. 3. The continued disillusiomIBnt of survivors and heirs of tbe 4. 11 Reconstruction. 11 The development of white bate and intimidation groups (Ku Klux Klan, etc.) 260 �5. The continued presentation of "stereotypes" of Blacks in the mass media and creative literature of the period. 6. The "Jim Crow" laws of the south; job discrimination and general segre gation in the north. 7. The splits and confusion in the Black community due to the "new" middle-class; the appearance of West Indians in America and class alienment 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. 8. Race riots in various parts of the country between 1905 and 1917. On the general American scene, science and industry were developing rapidly. Indications of this were the radio, wireless, technological warfare and the automobile. The "new Psychology" was taking bold and tbe realism 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 Faul:kner. Interest in local color and dialect, which had dominated the later portion of the 19th century, was also dying and the Black American was "re-discovered" by white writers as a subject f'or r .e alistic fiction, drama and poetry. White writers who published popular accounts of Black life included DeBose Hayward, Sherwood 261 �Anderson and Carl Van Vechten. characterized American society. Revolts in interests and manners Black critic James A. Emanuel points out (Nesro Dlg0st/Black World, Aug., 1969) that during the 20's, many whites went to Harlem to 11 .forget the war and engage their new Freudian awareness by escaping into exotic black cabaret li.fe." l Hughes records this exotic indulgence in his autobiography, The Big Sea (1940). Numerous other Black writers recorded these white "diversions": McKay in A Lop_g Way .from Home and Johnson in Along This Way (autobiographies). Johnson also notes it in his novel The Autobioeraphy of An F..x-Coloured Man. Drame of the period was dominated by Eugene O'neill who won Pulitzer and Nobel prizes. Two of O'neill's plays (The Emperor Jones and The Hairy Ape} symbolically dealt with the psychological involvement of Blacks and whites and suggested a transracial mixture of fear, hatred and admiration. The Emperor Jones and All God's Chillun Got Wings .featured major Black characters. Before O'neill, America had not pro- duced a first-rate dramatist. Ironically, _though, ,one of the vehicles .for O'neill's theones was a Black actor, Charles Gilpin, who starred in The Emperor Jones. Th e reviews and general interests in Gilpin' s per.formances ( "naked body ••• dark lyric of the flesh") atain typi.fied preoccupation with the exotic savage--a trend that had continued from Jack London (The Call of the Wild, The Sea-Wol.f) and the white writers of local color: Page, Harris, Cable and others. However, many of the writers, like O'neill and Dreiser, had begun to shake 262 �off the mystique of tbe American Dream and deal instead with "illusion." Such was Dreiser's theme in bis novel, An American Tragedy ( 1925). The founding of Poetry: A Mae;azine of Verse, 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 factions which wanted to dispense with traditional forms. Ima.gism was in- fluenced by Ezra 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 poetry in America and England. Poet Vachael Lindsay, an advocate of using rhythm and the reading aloud of poetry, is credited with baving "discovered" Langston Hughes. Black poets who participated in this "revival" of American poetry were the innovator Fenton Johnson and the anthologist 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 "renaissance" (critics differ over whether it should be called such) was the 263 �migration of' soutbern Blacks to northern urban centers. With the working-class Blacks also came (and grew) the Black 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. Hence, it is necessary that we sketch out the important political and artistic developments which led up to (or happened during ) the Renaissance. A partial listing of' these developments must include: 1. Founding of' the Boston Guardian by Monroe Trotter (1901). 2. Founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1909) and establishment of The Crisis. 3. Founding of the Urban League (1911). 4. Founding of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History 5. by Carter G. Woodson (1915). Establishment of The .Journal of Ne gro History by Woodson ( 1916) • 6. Black troops involvement in World War I. 7. Great Migration of Blacks to northern urban centers (1916-1919; but the trend continued through the middle of the century). 8. The recording of Black achievements in all areas; Black scholarship is brilliant and sustained 264 �throughout the entire period. 9. The writings, especially, of W.E.B. DuBois, Charles s. Johnson, Alain Locke and James Weldon Johnson. 10. 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 1925 for mail fraud.) 11. Founding of Opportunity, A Journal of Negro Life (1923; Opportunity and The Crisis published much of the new work of the Renaissance poets and prose writers and offered annual prizes). 12. The flourishing of Black Music and musical dramas (Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake do Shuffle Along, I •i .,. 1921; Louis Armstrong, with his own band, opens I at the Sunset Club, Ch icago, 1927; Duke Ellington opens at the Cotton Club, Harlem, the same year). 13. The post-war Pan-African Congresses (Paris, 1919; London, 1921, 1923; New York, 1927; DuBois wa,13 primary organizer.) James Weldon Johnson edited the first ..., anthology of Black poetry, The Book of American Negro Poetry 1rf ,. , 1922. Johnson's work was followed in quick succession by five other poetry anthologies: Negro Poets and Their Poems (Robert Thomas Kerlin, 1923) 265 �..., An Anthology of American Ne gro Verse (Newman Ivey White and Walter Clinton Jackson, 1924) An Anthology (Clement Wood, 1924) Negro Songs: Caroling Dusk (Countee Cullen, 1927) Four Negro Poets (Alaine Locke, 1927) Of' note also was F.F. Calverton's An Anthology of American Negro Literature (1929) which contained 60 pages of poetry. Cn l l e n J.110 L oc ke u crG t wo of t 1-rn ;,: a5or f:! ~·ur e s of t 'he Farl e m Jean Toomer. Locke edited the anthology which heralded and chronicled the new Black mood and achievements: The New Negro: An Interpretation (1925), :-:l1 5. c 1 ' r emains a classic today. He also wrote the equally important A Decade or Ne gro Self Expression (1928). A Rhodes Scholar from Pennsylvania, Locke received a Ph.D. in 1918 from 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 instantly reco gnized as one of the b est young poe~s in America. Like Claude Nclfo~r, Cullen urote in t h e n ore formal tra.di tion of English poetry. Considered t h e be s t "formal" writer of the Renaissance period, Cullen was meticulous and careful in his poetic workmansh ip. 20 's who went to 11 IIe was a mons t h os e Black writers of tbe S:'he De.rk Tower'' to 1Trood over be in c; called "Negron !:)oets. In addition to Cul l en, other key poets of t h e Harle~Awakening also published i mportant v olu~e s or antholoGies and 266 �added to the creative and critical flutter. Joh nson and his brother, J. Rosamond, edited The Book of American Negro Spirituals (1925) and The Second Book of American Negro Spirituals ( 1926). America. JlticKa~r published poetry in England and Johnson said lfoKa.y belonged "to the post-war group and was its most powerful voice. poet of rebellion. n He was pre-eminently the Hughes and Cullen won national (and poetry awards) at about the same time. the comparison ends. There, however, Hughes was one of the widest traveled of all the renaissance writers. He was also the most prodig1oua and multi-talented, writint; successfully in all genres. Hughes. who when he died in 1967 was the widest translated American author, is known as the international poet laureate o.f Black people. Johnson recorded much of this creative outpouring in various ways. As a scholar, he is known for his anthologies and his seminal interpretations of Black cul ture--music and the Spirituals in particular. Of great importnnc~ was his 1922 anthology- wherein an illuminating Preface, he cited the four major Black artistic contributions to America: l. The Uncle Remus stories, collected by Joel Chandler Harris. 2. The Spirituals ("to which the Fisk Jubilee Singers made the public and the musicians of both the United States and Euroep listen 11 ) . 3. The Cakewalk (a dance which Paris called the "poetry of motion"). �4. The Ragtime ( 11 American music II 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 employement of Black idioms and psycholog,J in his poetry and discussions. "Lift Every Voice and Sing, 11 called the Black national anthem, was written by him in 1900. One of the most unique voices of the Harlem Repaissa.nce, however, was Jean Toomer, who along with HU[shes, Cullen and McKay make up Lock's Four Negro Poets. A complex of person- alities, talents and racial mixtures, Toomer was a constant enigma to critics and fellow writers. Although he admitted that he was of seven racial strands, he acknowledged that 11 my growing need for artistic expression has pulled me deeper and deeper into the Negro group. was published. 11 In 1924, Toomer's Cane Set primarily in the deep south--in Georgia-- it also deals with the urban impact on migratine; Blacks. Love, racial conflict, sex, violence, relie;ion, nature ~nd agrarian themes are all explored directly and allegorically. Race pride, the lower side of Black life, and a romantic engagement with Africa were the main thrusts of the renaissance literature. activists. So too with the painters, musicians, scholars and Garvey had set up a reeal court reminiscent of ancient Af'rican Kine;doms and had infused his followers with visions of returning to the 11 homeland. 11 His "court" was resplendent with hierarchical titles and lavish regalia for 268 �I for parades. ships. Black Star Line was t h e name of l1is fleet of The prevailing spirit of the day was one of Black indulgence and many whites sought for, and · got their share of, it. The Black Awakening was not t h e exclusive property of Harlem. For as Kerlin points out ( Preface, Negro Poe_!;a a Their Poems), the mood of change spread to other sections ot the country. Some of the re g ional or community anthologies published were: The Q.uil~ in Boston, Black Opals in · Phila- delphia and The Stylus in Washington, D.C. Important, too, were the collections and studies of folk songs. "Noteworthy. collections for tre period included: Negro Folk Rhymes (Thomas W. Talley, 1922) Tbe Ne gro and His S onc;s (Howard W. Odum, 1 925) Ne gro Workaday Song s (Howard W. Odum, 1926) Rainbow Round My Sh oulder (Howard w. Odum, 1928) Wings on Hy Feet (Howard W. Odum, 1929) American Ne gro Folk Songs (Newman Ivey Wh ite, 1929) Other brilliant and exciting poets and writers shared the Renaissance scene--though they are normally over-shadowed by Hughes, Toomer, McKay , Joh nson and Cullen. Some of these writers--most of wh om did not publish volumes until the later period--were: Arna Bontemps, Geor g ia Doug las Johnson, Waring Cuney, Robert Hay den, Gwendolyn Bennett, Sterling Brown, Owen Dodson and Melvin Tolson. Prose writers of the period included Eric Walrond and Rudolph Fisher as well as Hu gh es and Toomer. Bontemps, antholog ist, critic, lib rarian, poet and novelist, 269 , �published in leading magazines of t he period and won numerous awards for poetry . Brown pursued tbe fold tradition wh ile cultivating an ear and technique that rivaled some of the best · modern poetry. His debt to fol k idioms and characters is ob- vious in such po ems as 11 ody s s ey of Bib Bo~r, n "Memphis Blues," and "Long Gone." 11 S outh ern Road," Brown contributed to peri- odicals of the period, wrote a re gulnr column for Opportunity, and later pub lish ed i mportant critical studies. Dodson wrote verse plays and collab orated with Cullen on at least one writing project. and poetry. He too won numerous awards for h is plays Hayden and Tolson, b oth s i e nificant modern poets, were to be heard from in succeeding dec ades as critics and outstanding teach ers. B. 1930 - 1960 1:l ben t h e stoc k mar ket era.sh ed in 1929, white patronization of Blac k artists ended. Blac k creativity and scholarship, · however, bad grown up during the frist t hree decades of the r.t '4 l ,;,. century, and i mportant writing and mus i cal de velopment continued. , i'<;J; • Migration of Blac ks to north ern urb an centers was stepped up before and after World War II--wi t h many Blacks being attracted by shipbuilding and oth er war manufacturing industries. Afro- Americans have participated in every U.S. military conflict 1. t \. The wri tj_ nc of :"" oetr~~ c o·1t :t nued but pub lishing slowed down • .James o. was Young, in Blac k Writers of t h e Thirties (1973), notes t h at "Black writers produced less t h an one 270 �since Colonial days. During World War II and Korea, however, they were used almost exclusively a.s f'ighting troops (between 1943-45 Jim Crow as abolished in the Armed Forces). Nevertheless, Black soldiers, returning home fro m European and Pacific war theaters, still faced unemployment and lynching; and in some southern cities were f'orbidden to appear on the streets in military uniforms. Baldwin is one of many perceptive American writers to note that Black men, seeking the f'ruits aqd the realization of the American Dream, tried throughout history to adjust a.nd "fit" into American society. So, in face of official American contempt for his humanity and his welfare, the Black soldier marched also with an "equality" of' death into the Korean War. 2 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, bot'!:1 in 1934). Some volume of poetry per year hetween 1929 and 1942." 2. This turned out to be not so true in the Viet Nam war of the sixties when a dead Black veteran was refused burial in a white cemetary near his home in Georgia. 271 �o:f the writers were subsidized by WPA grants wbile others managed to obtain jobs as teachers and journalists. like the common folk, walked the soup lines. Others, It was during the period of 1930-60 that white schools o:f 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. Baseball continued as tbe 11 national pasttime" {for Blacks, it was the era of Jackie Robinson). Jack Johnson had already {in tbe previous era) dazzled America with his pugilistic skills. {the But it was the prize fighter Joe Louis 11 Brown Bomber"), however, who captured sports-minded America with one of the greatest records in the boxing history. Louis's defeat of German Hax Schmeling (193 8 ) came at a crucial time in U.S. history--when America's rising might among the world of nations wo.s being challenr-;e d on the battlefield by Hitler. Two yes.rs earlier, a racist Hitler had refused to acknowledge the feats of America's Black Olympic track star Jessee Owens. In prose and drama, white American writers continued to straddle a thematic pathbetween realism and the American Dream. A distinctl~r 11 post-wa.r II sroup of writers emerged. Domina.ting the period were Dreiser, Sberwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis, Willa Cath er, Thomas Wolfe, 0'ncill, William Faulkner, Ernest Hc nin gway, Tennessee Williams, Jo11n Dos Po.ssos, Katherine Anne Porter, Erskine Caldwell and Co.rson HcCullers. 272 Using �syniliolism and alle gory to attack war, de cadence and the atomic bomh, A.merican wr5_t or s o.ftc n took as n:od. e ls such Russ inn writers as Chekov , Dostoevski and Tolstoi, r:tr e ::-,:;1 ;__,f Me ny employed t h e co n::::c: -..J P ;--·c :-:::i t e cbnique --a st:;"!. e i n.fluenced 1):r t be "new psycholo s··y 11 a nd Irj_sh writer James Jo:rce--wh ich al lowed for uninterrupted explorations on t h e t li on 0b ts of characters who "streamed II their referG nces. A si rnila.r r.:iood pre vailed in the poetry--much of wh icb dealt witll s ocial dect\dence, war a.nd the mechanization of uan. E .E. Cumminc;s, known for h is typo- graphical trickery and general linguistic a.nd s y ntactical experiments, was one of t h e most relentless critics of bureaucracy and war. Such t h emes h ad nlso concerned T.S. Eliot, considered one of the greatest modern poets, in such poems as "The Love Song of J. Alfred Pro.frock II a.nd Th e Waste Land. The Ima.gist poets persued t h eir development via such voices as "H.D., 11 Ezra Pound and Harianne Moore. Oth er modern poets were Conrad Aiken, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, .A rchibald HcLeish, Hart Crane, Joh n Crowe Ransom, Allan Tate, Richard Eberhart, Randall Jarrell, Rob ert Frost and Carl Sandburg. Crane, Eliot, Pound, W. H. Auden and Stevens h ave been called the amjor voices of t he modern American Poetry . Historically, Black Music had been marked by white imitation and exploitation. 11 Th ere always exists the need to create a wbite" musical face t hat can be di gested by Americans at large. From the minstrelsy of plantation day s to t h e sophisticated operettas and musicals of th e twenties, t h is pattern ran un- 273 �i broken. During the modern period, Be Bop became the musical heir to Ragtime, early Jazz and Tin Pan Alley. ·w11ile tbe big band and Black composers--Basie, Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, w.c. Handy, Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, etc.--continued their important work, different kinds of experiments were going on among other musicians. From these new for mations and probings came some of' the giants of modern Black Music: Miles Davis, Charlie ''Yard Bird II Parker, Lester "Prez'.' Young , Sonny Rollins, Gene Ammons, Art Blakey (wh o studied drums in Africa), Ornette Coleman {see Four Lives in t h e Be Bob Business), Chane Pozo {Af'ro-Cuban), Dizzy Gillespie and Bab s Gonzales (Bop poet and singer: I Paid My Dues, 1967). From t h e musicians and their supporters emerged an underc;round 11 h ip" language. This tradition, of' talking in metaph ors and encoded cultural neologisms, had be gun during t he renais s ance. vocalists were featured with t h e musicians. Often, too, Black Some of these song stylists were Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaugh n, Billie Holliday and Bessie Smitb --wh o died in 1937. The migration to cities also sa~ the continued rise of urban or bi g city Blues. By 1960, h owever, t h e Blues h ad gone t hrou gh several important periods of de velopment. Some names associated with the modern period were Louis Armstrong , Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Bill Broonzy, Pops Foster, Eddie "Son" House, Robert Johnson, Johnny Temple, Roosevelt Sykes, Elmo James, B.B. King, Leadbelly, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Josh Wh ite, Sonny Boy Williams, Howlin' Wolf, Joh n Lee Hooker, Li gthnin' Hopkins and Big Joe Turner. These men inh erited t h e flames be gun by 274 �Leroy Carr, Blind Lemon Jefferson and W.C. Handy. Several notable Black literary explosions occured during the period between 1930-60. Important were: the publication of Native Son (Richard Wri ght, 191tO); the publication of For My People (Margaret Walker, 1942); the appearance of Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison, 1952) and the winning of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry (Gwendolyn Brooks, 1950 for Annie Allen}. Nati ve Son , a novel, featured a Black protagonist named Bigger Thomas who symoblized (and in many ways contained) the anger, ra ge ind pressures felt b y urban Blacks. Th e b ook was the first by a Black author to make t h e best seller list and was also a book of the month club choice. DurinG t h e 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 autob iography Wri ght is si gnificant for many reasons, fore most among them being t hat he was the first Black writer to deal, ' accurately and on par with the be s t fiction writers of the ~ day, with the philosophical and psy ch ological complexity of the Black urbanite. In doing t h is, h e opened a new ran ge of possibilities and ehlped free Blac k fiction in many ways. There were other excellent fiction writers durin g this period: Rudolph Fisher, 7ora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Hu ghes, Arna Bontemps, Ann Petry, DuBois, Frank Yerby , Eric Walrond, Chester Himes and Sterling Brown. Wri gb t, h o·wever, was the first to for ge and sustain a major Black art piece out of mythical and racial materials in a. wsy that no other writer bad. 275 �Baldwin, whose reigh succeeded Wright's, made his entry in 1953 with the publication of Go Tell It On the Mountain. His other brilliant work includes Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Giovanni's Room (1956). Miss Walker, a Mississippi housewife who teaches literature at Jackson State College, was 22 years old when she wrote "For My People"--one of the most famous Black poems. Her book by the same name won the Yale Series of Younger Poets- award in 1942. Rich in cultural folk references, Black phonology and social history, the slim book brilliantly traces the hope, humor, pathos, rage, stamina and iron dignity of the race. The winning of the Pulitzer Prize by Gwendolyn Brooks (and Ellison's accolades) told the world that Black writers bad 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 bastions, despite their proven abilities. The citation of Miss Brooks (who published A Street in Bronzeville, 1945) was a citation of the Black 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 276 �much poetry. Ellison, who bas not published a novel since Invisible Man (1952) remains one of t h e 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 t hat it was a "dirt throwing" ritual for Ellison--who comb ines naturalism and complex symbolism in the book. Black novelist John Oli ver Killens also gave it a ne gative re v iew. Generally , h owever, t he work is considered, by Blac k and wh ite critics, to b e a great novel-perhaps the greatest American novel. It won t h e National Book Award in 1952 and in a subsequent poll of 200 journalists and critics, it was judged the most distin guis h ed single work of fiction since World War II. Enflamed by t he sp i rit and example of t h e Harlem Renaissance, Black poets of the pre- and post-war y ears continued exciting experiments. Miss Brooks r e calls t b at a brief encouragement from the "great 11 James Weldon Joh nso n wh en s h e was · a ch ild spurred her on her way . Some of t he poets of t h e renaissance, however, quit writing alto i:;eth er or be gan writing in anoth er genres. J ollns on reported in 1931 t ha t Fenton Johnson h ad been 11 silent 11 for ten years. Poet Bontemps also wrote novels--the most famous of them being Black Thunder (1939), an adaptation of the 1 831 Nat Turner-led slave re v olt. He edited and wrote, and sometimes collab orated wit h oth ers on anth ologies and biographies for youn g readers. 277 With IIue;h es, he edited The �Poetry of The Negro: 1.764-1-949, c nn ~d-t:.e red a break through in modern Black literary activity. One of the handful of Renais- sance Black writers to survive into the Seventies, Bontemps died in 1973. Sone have called the period 1-')etween 1930-54 the age of Lanr,s ton Hughes 5-n Black letters. Indeed, Huc;bes remained prominent and productive t!u•o u 0h out tl1e t!1ree periods-Renaissance, 19J 0-5L~, o:na. the Contempora.ry era. Dur inc; the pre- and post-ws.r periods, Huc;hes continued to turn out everything fro m newspaper fictio n columns (Jesse B. Simple) to juvenilia to plays. Hughes in poetry, like Wri e;ht, Ellison and Baldwin in ½rose, faithfully recorded the Black mood. Like the others, h e also predicted t h e social violence of the sixties. Poets and other volurr..es of the period include: Sterling Brown, Southe~n Road (1932); Cullen, The Medea and Some Poems (1935); Hayden, Heart-Shape in the Dust (1940}; Naomi Long l'-18.dgett, Songs to a Pha1,tom Nightingale (1941}; H. Bings Diamond, We 1rJho Would Die ( 1943); Tolson, Rendezvous With America (1944); Dodson, Powerful Long La.E§e~ , (1946); Cullen, On Tbese I Stand (posthumously, 1947); Hayden, with Myrom 0' Higgins, The Lion and the Archer (1948); Tolson, Libretto for the Republic of Liberia (1953); Selected Poems of Claude McKay (posthumously, 1953); Ariel W. Holloway, Shape Them into Dreams (1955); John C. Morris, Cleopatra and Other Poems (1955); Alfred Q. Jarette, Black Man Speaks (1956}; Beatrice Wright, Color Scheme (1957); 1-fary Miller, Into the Clearing (1959); Percy E. Johnston, Concerto for Girl and 278 �Convertible (1960); Oliver Pitcher, Dust of Silence (1960), Gwendol"'rn Brooks, T:1e Bean Eater (1960 ); and Dodson, Th e --------- ~ Conf es::: ion Stone (1 960 ). -- Also writing and/or translating during this period were Dudley Randall, Samuel Allen (Paul Vesey), Margaret Danner, Richard Wrigbt (who also wrote poetry), and many others. Black and white poets exchanged ideas and socialized, as Black and white intellectuals had done throughout mos·t 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 6o•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. Stephen Vincent BenJt wrote tbe forward to ·Miss Walker's For My People, Allen Tate to Tolson's Lihretto For the Republic of Liberia and Hayden won Hopwood Awards twice and accolades for Poetry: A Magazine of Verse--regarded as the white American olympus of poetry. One of the most important anthologies of the post-renaissance period was The Negro Caravan, (1941) edited by Brown, Arthur P. Davis and Ulysses Lee. Tbe best inclusive anthology of Black literature, it remains today one of the outstanding textbooks. 279 �Brown also published two important wor ks of criticism, The Negro in American Fiction and Ne gro Poetry and Drama, b oth in 1937. And J. Saunders Reddin g published his critical work, To Make a Poet Black, in 1939. Anotr er item of i mportance was the establishment in 1940 of Phy lon with the venerable W.E.B. DuBois as editor. In 1954, as American soldiers prepared to return from Korea and television glared to consume the world, the Supreme Court decision of May 15 closed the book on one era of Black American history and opened up Pandora's box on another. Wright's Black Power (1954), a commentary on his experiences in Africa's Gold Coast, may have b een more than just a hint at the wh at was to come. Wright would witness some, but not all, of the ingredients of Pandora's box, as b is death would occur in 1960. But when a Black woman in Montgomery refused to c ive her seat on a public but to a white man, a new era of Black struggle was born. A successful boycott of buses was led by Martin Luther King , Jr., founder (in 1957) of the Southern ' Christian Leadership Conference. Like flesh-fla mes, hordes of young Blacks (and some wh ites) be gan sit-ins and various other "in's" as the Freedom cry reached a new pitch . This was the ges- tation period for t he Congress of Racial Equality and the Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. White youth took to television and swayed to the rhythms of Chubby Checker, the Chantells and the Five Satins. But as America "twisted the night away" another and different mood, expressed through a 2 80 � 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_05 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Chapter V. A Long Ways from Home, p. 246-280 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/3291346c8a525ff5222ea19940bc3363.pdf 8a75d024e0b246b5df1aaa5ddc4931b4 PDF Text Text D. THE EXTENDED RENAISSANCE: JO's, '.i O's, SO's Some critics say the Harlerr. ~enal ssance was simply the peak of nearly a century-long Afro-American push in ar c , belles lettres and consciousness-raising. And, as observed earlier, there is a ls o diver gent opinion over whether an actual "Renaissance" occurred. But, ar gume n ts aside, the stock market crash of 1929 is generally viewed as the official end of the designated Renaissance--since white patronage ended and the writers had n o t developed followings among the Black grass roots. Important here also are positions : a ken by two important critics 11 of the era: Sterling Brown and J. S,i unders Reddin g . Both feel the Harlem move- ment was primarily a fad; Brown referred to Harlem as a "show-window" and Redding claimed the writers mistook Harlem f e r real Black life: First of all, Ne gro writerE, both poets and novelists, centered their attentions so exclusjvely upon life in the great urban centers that the city, especially tBrl en, became an obsession with them. Now Harlem life is far fron1 typ~cal of Negro life; indeed, life there is lived on a theatrtcal rlane that is as far from true of He g ro life elsewhere as life in the Latin Quarter is from the truth of life in Picarcly. 1'he Negro writers' mistake lay in the assumption that what th saw was Negro life, when in reality it was just Harlem life . purposes anyway, Harlem be1:ame or ganism . Very shortly, f o r literary ,1 sort of disease in the American (To Ma ke /\ Poet ~ ) ny way of parallel, it is ins t r11 c tiv 1• to note that a leading contemporary Black 7 c ritic, Addison Cayle, Jr., a cc 11ses 1: la ck writers of t h ~ o f being similarly remiss . In th e Sept~nber, 1974, issue of Black World, Gayle discusses /1 �i "The Black Aesthetic: 10 Yea rs Lat e r' 1 and attempts to lay out a blue-print for "Reclaiming th e South e rn Experi e n ~e." Gayle ' s claim that hardly any of the new Black literature is rooted in th e South shows him to be less familiar with recent !Hack writing than he should b ~. (See , for example, the works of Dumas, Alice Walker, Pinki e Lane, J\rth e nia BJt e s , Alvin Aubert, and others.) But , generally, hi s thesis, J e rived fro m J :J hn Oliver Kil l e ns's statement, ·"we are a Southern people," is solid and \\ell- t ak en. The works o f !Hack po e ts in th e three decades followin g the 1920s represented a combination of Re na iss .:i nce- .:i nJ American-inspired technical and thematic ,I interests. The Gr eat De pressi c n waf:1 f elt world-wid e , among Blacks, whites, poor and rich. The drou ghts , r e f e rred t o i n Cuney's "Hard Time Blues," the ravages of th e Boll ~Je e vil, t he plight ~ f th o sha recroppers, the drive of all workers toward unioniza tion, anJ the att racnon of th e Communist Party (with its cl40 of racial unity anJ e qu a l i ty), ;: 11 i ns pired and informed Afro-American poetry of the thirti e s, forties and fifties , So did lynching, unemployment, Black history and cultur a l recl a mat i or1 and protest; but the tendency, in general, was > to seek the deliveranc e o f "all men. •t McKay, Hughes and ·others (in the twenties a nd thirties) t e asing ly ex pl or ed th e pot e nt i alities of Communism. ) Desperately seeking to ~ uf ( er th e Jehumaniz .ng ti roe~ of r a ci s m in artists, int e l le ctua l s a nd wriL1 :r s h~<l no t only become Communists, but int e gr a ti onist s , Pa n-A f r ica nist:. or c edi ca ted s ee kers o f the Ame rican Dream as civil s c rv ,rnt s or mode l c iti ,:e n;;. F1 w of th e writers, however, followed the example of Richard \fri ght o r W.l i . B. J1uilols w\ joined the Party. 7 But whatever the stances, th e y G a s t agai nst 1: he p,, nor ama o fj the Depres s ion in the thirties , WWII in th e fortie s , and Ko r e a ,1nc.l M1 .Carthyi s m in th e fifties. Comp a red to th e f ir s t thrc1! dec 11 Jes of the century, relatively little Black ( J) �poetry was publishcJ in book fo~m bc1 ween 1930 and 1960. In a 1935 article in Opportunity Alain Locke lamented the low quality and quantity of post-Renaissance poetry. With the exception of llughe 1, and Cullen, most of the pens were silent durin g the thirties. Severi.11 y1JUn gej' poets, however, made their debuts. Harchall Davis (1905-- ) and Ster inc A. Brown (1901-- and then were not heard from nf : er t\1e decade. Frank ) made major splashes ) Robert Hayden (1913-- Melvin B. Tolson (1900-1%6) an.J Mnq ,nret Walker (1915-- , ) also made first appearances in the thirti es but they sustained lengthy and productive careers. Fiction writer Richard Wri ght (L908- .960) was an occasional poet who joined the thirties 1.;roup. A second wave df ro 1:ts, some oc ca sional and all "transitional," appeared in the forties, f.iftie, anc..1 early sixties: Dudley Randall (1914- (1915-- (1915- ) , Gw~ndol :rn Brooks (1917-- ), Pauli Murray (191J-- O' Higgins (1918-- Long Madgett (1923-Lance Jeffers (1919-- ), Myron ), Hruce McM. Wright (191 8-- ) , Ray Durem ), Gloria C. Oden (1923-- ), Naomi ), May :1ille·, llelen Johnson Collins (1918-) , Russell ,1tkins (1926-- ) , James C . Morriss (192 0,-- Sarah E. Wrl1;ht (1929-- ) to nam · !H>mc. ), ), Margaret Danner ), Samuel Allep (also Paul Vesey, 1917-- ) , M. Carl llolman (1919- (1929-- Owen Dodson (1914-- ) , ), Raymond Patterson ), Oliver Pitcher (1923-- ), and Most of thls transitional group did not get a real hearin g until tlw six: ies; they will be looked at as a group in Chapter Vl. Dozens others published or wrote occasionally, Of the poets writing in the thirties, Brown separates then into "new realists" and "romantics." The word "romantic" seems t o be anala~;ou; to "library;" and both are used to speak somewhat disparagingly of poets thus cate~orized. The "realists" and writers of protest included Well>orn Victor J~nkins (Trumpet in the New Moon, 1934), Frank Marshall IJav iH and \-Jri i.; ht. Those co ,ccrne<l with "romantic escapes" were "Z ...,J �Alpheus Butler (Make Way for llappin c ~~ • 1932), J. llarvey L. Baxter (That Which Concerneth Me, 1934; Sonnets for th e Ethiopians and Other Poems, 1936), Eve Lynn (No Alabaster Box), Marion Cuth~ e rt (April Grasses, 1936) and Mae Cowdery (Lift Our Voices). The romantics wr q te about nature, delicacy, love, quaintness and their work reflects a more "bookish" learning than anything else. Brown said that Jenkins' work de s erve, , "an o ri g inal place in Negro poetry" .but Trumpet in The New Moon is out of print; a n~ Jenkins' poetry is absent from every anthology I of Afro-American poetry. llis pc.,etic sketches of the Black life encompass prac- tically every important fa c et. Thou gh owing much to Whitman and Sandburg, Jenkins' work is still important enough (o he Ireissued as well as anthologized. Wright, often called the fc.th e r of the modern Black novel, was a poet in his own right. No other Americ;an writer's personal oddyssey has been so bleak and difficult as Wright's. Fror11 pov Qrty, orphanhood, educational deprivation and racism, he emerged as one oi tl1e most influential and dominant forces in American literature. Not only c,id a so-called "Wright School" of Black writers result from his efforts, but co~1ntl eq s white writers also imitated Wright. His most discussed novel, Na t i v ~l (19 110), was a Book-of-the-Month selection. It summed up the emotional anJ psy~,holo ~ical history of Black urban America over the preceding 20 years. His autobio n rapl1ical lilack Boy (1945), published five years later in 1945, reveals hi ~. (an ~ the race's) miRration to the northern United Stat e s and chronicles tli(, hop us (a nd later disillus i onments) of Blacks "Northboun'" to seek th e Promisrd La11 d. Wright also publi.she<l numerous other collections of short stori e s, m,,vel s , and journalistic writings. As a po e t, however, Wri ght 1de se tves more than a passing interest. the Communist Party in the tltirt ie s c1 nd remained a member until 1944. lle joined His poetry, containing protest coupled with call ~ for unity among Blacks and wl1ites, was �published in va rious journals ant newq organs of the period: Literature, New Masses, A~v il, Mj_dLrntl, and Left. International Much of his poetry is quoted in Dan McCall's 'l'he Example of R~char1 Wright (1969) and his poems appear in The Norton Anthology of Modern Pc ,etry (Ellman and O'Clair), The Negro Caravan, The Poetry of Black Anwr le a , Ame1~ 1':egro Poetry and other anthologies . Wright was born near Natchez, Mississip11i, ard experienced an erratic educational and home-life pattern. By the time he ra1 away from home at 15, he had lived in nearly a doz e n different cities. Fln,lly moving to Chicago, he worked for the Federal Writers' Project during 1: he D1 ,pression (becoming a friend to Davis, Margaret Walker and others). Possessing 11n un1 .uenchable thirst for both reading and writing, Wright continued a mental <1nc.l pli:1sica world. journey which carried him all over the lie tllc-tl in 1960 in l'arls wl1erp hf' had settled (at the suggestion of Gertrude Stein) and Joined the Edsteptlalist group of writers led by Jean-Paul Sartre antl Simone de Beauvoir. !is p1>e try is in free verse and the Japanese haiku form--which he discovered ~ate ~n his life. tical statements, as haiku s are suppo,ec.1 to be. are rarely racial in flavor. His haikus are harmless ellipAnd the ones in anthologies But his protest poetry of the thirties showSJ im to be a poet of unmist akable talent and 3ensitivity. "I Have Seen Black Hands" owes debts to the American school of poetry developed by Whitman, Fenton Johnson, Masters, Sandburg, Hughes unc.1 others. and corresponding disservices recelv I am bla ck anc.l 1 h 9 ve In it Wright catalogs the services rendered u by Blacks. lie announces that oen black hands, millions anc.l million Ll of th em~anc.l that thes e "hands" have reath cd ra ively, creatively, harmlessly, softly and with strength, out to each other and to c.lo the white man's bidding. Despite their stamina, vil)ilance and dependnt il ity, these same hands are the last put to �1/ work and the first i<lle<l. They held the "dreaded lay-off slip." They suffered from "unemployment and starvation." And they grew nervous a1d sweaty, and opened and shut in ang uish and loubt and hesitation~ an<l irresolution ... Wrigl1t continues, as in his prose works, to develop a psychological portrait of the abuse<l an<l dehu1nanized Blacks. There is a <lrive and an incremental swell, reminiscent of Margaret \falker' s "Fo ~ My People," as he recalls having seen "black hands" grip prison bars, knotted and claw-like un<ler the lynch rope, or "beat fearfully at tall flames." l3ut Blac k han<ls and white hands will someday merge as "fists of revolt" and create a ne,.., "horizon." Here, of course, is Wright's blatant call for Blacks an<l whites to become Communists. "Between the World and Me," however, sustains a differQrit angle of the theme begun in "I llave Seen Black Hands." A Black man has been lured into a wooded area and seduced by a white prostitute; the narrator becorres the lynched body whose remains are .•• dry bones .•. and~ stony skull starinR in yellow su1·prisc at the sun . . . . Making use of awesome, horrorf)·ing ~mages and clashing, brilliant colors and sounds, the poem recounts the n1osL ~nsignificant details of the events and setting of the lyncl1ing: And the sooty det,iils cf the scent rose, thrusting themselves het\1cen the world and me. . •. There was a design of .bite bones slumbering forgottenly upon a cushion of ashes. There was a charrtid st\ mp of sapling pointing a blunt finger ac:cusi1.gly at the sky. �I I There were torn tr ~e l~1bs, tiny veins of burnt leaves, and scorched coil of greasy hemp; And upon the trampled g ·ass were buttons, dead match e s, butt-eads o ' cigars and cigarettes, peanut shells, a dra ~ned gin-flask, and a whore's lipstic k ; Scattered traces of tar, restless arrays of feathers, and the lin gering sm~ ll of gasoline. The poem continues, as the narrator, who "stumbled suddenly upon the thing," becomes one with the victim. technique. It is 1 fascinatin g and highly appropriate poetic Owing much to the psycho logical school of writing, but indicting the cosmos (as Dunbar does in "The llaunt ~d Oak"), "Be tween the World and Me" states that the lynch victim is c.:.vc.:.ry Black. i\ntl the world (through the recitation of usually passive components of the natural landscape) shares in the guilt, the revulsion and the horror of the act. Before God and the world, the victim ... clutched childlike, clutched to the hot sides of death. In 13lack on \1hite (1966) David Littlejohn calls Wright's poem and Robert Hayden's "Middle Passage" "the two fine~ t pot:ras by Negroes." Sterling Brown's poetry also f ~lls into the category of realism though not in the political sen s e with with wit~ c h it is applied to other writers of the era. Like Cuney, Wright, !Javis, llu gLes arJ others, Brown in Southern Road (1932) depicts the harshness and starLness of !Hack misery but his poetry is "chiefly an attempt at folk portraitur e of s c urt'hrl1 characters." A highly respected critic and scholar of Black folk literatun, 8rown approached his "portraits" as a student of the linguistic and thematic mate1ials with whicl1 he worked. He was born and 1 �reared in Washinf_~ton, D.C. /\t \/illi,, ms College, he was elected to Phi ileta Kappa in 1921 and in 1923 rccei\'et.l a, H.A. from llarvart.1. Since that time llrown, the son of educator-parents, ha~: had a lon g and distinguished career as writer, editor, teacher, and professor c,,f En!:j lish at Howard University. He has also taught at New York University, \assar College and Atlanta University. From 1926- 1939 he was Editor on Necro Aff~irs fJr the Federal Writers' Project, and in 1939 he was a staff member of the fa111ou :; Cunegie-Myrdal Study of the Negro. The recipient of numerous awards, Brown 1, the author of The Negro in American Fiction (1937) and Negro Poetry and Dram! (1937). of The Negro Caravan (with Arthur P. In 1941, he served as senior editor )a vis and Ulysses P. Lee), probably the most influential ant.I definitive anthology ,>f Afro-American literature ever published. In the twenties Brown be ga n an uabrok 1!n tradition of publishing articles, reviews ant.I criticism in various journal :i, ne11spapers and periodicals. Perceptive, relentless and ,,eerniug ly always in focus, Brown performed important surgery on Black folk culture an1l its manifestations in the poetry, music and language. llis findings were pub .Lisltel in Negro Poetry and Drama, where he also concluded that the New Negro Mov1:rnent (1914-1936) produced the following five _> " maJ• or concerns II among t h c poets ~0 (1) a lR rediscovery of Afric,1 as ~ source for race pride ~ (2) ~ A use of Negro heroes qnd hc. roic episodes from American history j (3) f-'l'ropaga nda of protest) (4) (.1.,1.. treatment of the Ner, t ·o matt s es (frequently of the folk, less often 0f the workers) \\ 1itlt n1o re understanding and less apology , I (5) tv~nd franker and deeper self revelation ,. Brown's own poetry rev i ved intere s t in Black dialect from a vigorously different angle than before. Cullen (~a rolJ.~ rnk) and Johnson (The Book of American Negro 1 �1 II Poetry) had forecas L the doom 1lf di, lect poetry. and Johnson reduced it to two s 1: op s : Cullen said its day was over humor and pathos. (Interestingly, Arthur P. Davis, in From the Dark TowgJ~, r e 1eats Johnson's position.) However, Brown took the position that dialect has 11mitless possibilities if poets and writers only have the courage and t he ing e nu j ty to work with it. Of the debate and con- flict over dialect poetry, he said: Dialect, or tlie speech of 1:he p( ople, is capable of expressing whatever the people ure. ,~nd tl .c folk Ne g ro is a great deal more than a buffoon or a p .Laint : ve minstrel. Poets more intent 11 upon learning th e ways of 1:he f <,lk, their speech, and their character, that is to say 1>ette r poets, could have smashed the mold. llut first they would lwv1 : had to believe in what were doing. And this was Jiffi1: ull .n a period of conciliation and middle class striving for :f ecog1tition and respectability. Brown himself used his knowledg1! of 1· 01k culture to interpret the people through poetry. And h e cons i dered thi ,, app ;·oach "one of the important tasks of Negro ? Oetry . " Some observors see a ,:ontro <lic tion in llrown' s dazzling academic achieve- ments and his poetic work in th .! foll : materials. poets could learn mu c h fr om Bro,,.rn' 1c. 1i x ...1111 plc. l.lut current young scholars and Too many contemporary poets are writing "at" or "about" t lie fol.~ e x p 1· ri e nce i n s tea<l of from or with it. Wa gne r (lllnck l' o~ t s o_~ ~ ~ ~ t e s) points to the irony and humor in 13rown asking Johnson to write t11c in roduction to SouLhcrn Road. For, in doing so, John ·on wus lilerally forc e d to 1 Lak e back much of his own criticism of dialect I poetry. Tnd e ed John s on had t o ad 111 it to Brown's formidable achievement with the f oJk forms. Be fore So utli l' rn !lo;icl, l. 1 Th e Book of Am e ricnn Negro Poetry, the elder poet and critic ackn owl e d r, cd t 1a t Brown was "one of the outstanding poets �II of the younger group"; for the "best work" 13rown "dug his raw material from the great mine of Negro folk poctry 1 11 Lln. s expressing the folk idiom with "artistry and magnified power." Kerlin (!~Poets and Their Poems) ranked Southern Road as a first volume with Cullen's Colo1 _ and Hughes' The Weary Blues. Even from as far away as Senegal, Africa , ha11 com c praise for Brown in the form of Leopold Scnghor's ;:issertion that Hughes and lrown are "the most Negro" of Black American poets. There is always the temptati c n to compare the two poets but, as Wagner suggests, llrown is the "antithe:;is ot Langston Hu g hes" since Hughes is the poet of the city and Drown the bard of th ( soil. In his closeness to the soil and I his serious studies o f Black fo .k c u l ture, Brown has been compared to Johnson and Zora Neale Hurston (sec J o n , ~ ourd Vine and Mules and Men). The folk idiom, coupled wi1;h clr, ma and word-portraits, provides the meat of Brown's work; though it must be mcnt : oned that he also writes in conventional English--with marked success . 1!is p< ,etic universe is generally drab--with occasional f Lashes of wry humor , 1111 ; ls the poetry of hard times and suffering. lie expresses skepticism in f.'.lce of r1 •ligion and God; and ironically there is no reference to Africa as is Lhe c ,1se ( o lmost thematically) with most poets of the period. Brown seems to be sayi1r, thu fight is here, not in an Africa of mind or fact, and that the !Hack man is p . tted against forces of nature which alternately work for and a g ainst him. Wr . tine during the depression years, Brown was concerned with th e de.-:idly c ,10ler 11, the boll weevil, the ravages of the flooding Mitrnouri river, th e pligl1t of Llic :.-;h.i recropper and tenant farmer, and white racism. It is clear that, for Brown, th e..: lwp in his own stamina, l1is O\m ~ (if it is there) for the I.Hack man lies bi s tori c ll endurance and strengths. Consequently, the poet infuses thi s hi s Lorical str !ngth and defiance with folk rhythms--especially the dramatic narrativ e and the contr 1puntal pattern which incorporates italics �for emphasis and the various soJnJs ,,f men at work, play, prayer, dance or battle. "Strong Men" is pcrhap; th e best example of Brown's style. Using a line from Sandburc-- "The s tron ', me n keep coming on"--he actually borrows exact phrasin!:s, aphorisms, bits of p irabl 1·s and parts of secular and religious songs from the folk cultur e . The for:nal Ep ~ lish narrative is set in dramatic and I musical relief through the use Jf th 1i technique described above. Steeped in a tradition that spans \Jhiuuan, F~nton Johnson, Masters anJ Eliot, Brown catalogs the numerous injustic e s Bl acks liav e ;uffered; he interjects "The strong men keep u-comin I on" or "keep a-inch in' alon ~" or 11 \-lalk togedder chillen." Even though Blacks ,.,,ere "drag ged" fro 111 their n.:1t Lve land and <legraded in every possible way, they kept "Cit tin' s trong e V\ This ls the sam t• mes ~: age in " S t ra nr; e Legaci e s," "After 'inter," "Southern Road" (a near-paraphrase o f a 1,1ork s >ni~), "Ma ltainey," an<l the six-part sequence "When De Saints Go Ma' ching llon1e." ls what Brov111 gives his cliaracterH. to "i;tagg cr" but nonL: to halt I ../hat DuCols called the "dogged strength" As Maq~aret Walker sug)jests, there is room lt e111l 11 iscent of "The Weary Blues," "When De Saints" depicts the "Trouble, Trouble" de e p Jown in the "soul" of a JHack singer. But that troubh! , like tl1e "weariness" o f llughcs, is a collective trouble--the weight, the fati g ue, the burden of the folk. We hear it everywhere in Black expression, from 13essle S111ith to Mur i nn An~erso ri , from Paul Laurence Dunbar to Paul Robeson, from Fenton John s on Lo l t1rvin ( ayL· ( !'rouble Man), from the "sad" and "sorrow" songs of tl1e slaves to th e bluts si Og ers of the river towns and Depression years. After the sincer in Brown's poL 111 hn (j pl.:1yed his various sad and sin songs, he always p laycd one in which he st 'Pl, c~J out of the role of "entertainer." would then 1·,lvc fort Ii h.is ''cllartt o f s aints." lie Anticipating his arrival in heaven and others who would be tllc.;rc, he c , refully describes what each of the entrants I/ �will be wearing. It is a gala qffair--initiation into heaven--and most of the arrivals come in the clothes they wor :! in life on earth . are not allowed in heaven. The sinners, of course, They incl1de Sportin' Legs, lucky Sam, Smitty, Hambone, Hardrock Gene and others. llrown also wrote in the ballad f)rm ("Ile was a Han"), conventional verse ("Effie" and "Salutamus"--a sonnet) a nJ the blues form popularized by Hughes in The Weary lllues. His Black men are o n the run (from a mob or police), in trouble with whites as a result of an arro ~an~ act or response, getting killed, trying to figure out how to feed the hous e hold, or being assaulted by natural disasters. In a large number of tl1ese poems ther b is sorrow, devastation, catastrophe, violence, death, tragedy, socia] disrµption, chaos, ruin, need, pain, skepticism and the paranoia inherent in Bl qck life. "lie was a Han" depicts how a Black man beat a white man (who drew first) to the draw but was lynched in the tradition of handling !.\lacks . Despite the fact that "strong men" keep coming, "Strong Hen" is a poem replete with negatives. " Sister Lou" is a longin8 for heaven as a respite from the hardships and racial ir.justices suffered here on earth. "After Winter" is the portrait of a Black man 'ra gg ed" as "an old scarecrow" whose "swift thoughts" are about the food, d~·ink cJ nd space he must obtain for his family. "Ma Rainer" (" Mother of the Blues") is t\- e rapuetic in her words and her delivery. But she is, a gain, like Fenton ,fohnsc n's "monarch" who presides over sacks of merchandise. The people come t<1 Ma F ainey to "keep us strong. 11 and feel sad when she sings . But they cry Aud on p,oes the Southern Road with the exception of the Slim Creer story-poems and th e lever-man themes which nevertheless feature men who must either love qui cl~ and n n or those reminiscing about their loves while they swing the hammer on the c hain g, ng . predicaments. Slim Greer finds himself in various Most memor a ble are hi :, visits to heaven and hell ("Slim in Hell"), �his absurd effort to p;:iss for w1ite I hou gh he is dark "as midnight" ("Slim Greer") and his bout with the Atlanta l,1w th i. t requires Blacks to laugh only in a "telefoam booth" ("Slim in Atla 1ta") Brown's really great achievement, however, is seen in the brillinnt " :!emphls 13111es. 11 Here the poet asks what difference is it to 13lacks whether Memphis is dest r oyed by "Flood or Flame." Memphis, Babylon and Nineveh arc all the sa me: De win' sini sperri.chalu Through deir dus'. Forecasts of doom can be seen i ·1 mucl1 American literature--but Black writers have carved out a special place for : hem s 1:lves. This allows them to place their racial predicament in relief against Cj1rist :.anity or Christianization. that this concern runs like a SjJine 1:hrough Black poetry: Cullen, McKay, Hur,hcs an <l cert 11inly Brown. and white. We have observed Dunbar, Fenton Johnson, For Brown, God is alternately Black And here, of course, is 1.he contradiction. Because the God of the whites ( the oppressor) cannot b,:! trui; ted; and the Black God seems somewhat helpless against a white power stru,:ture of which Brown says: They don't come by ones They don't co111e by twos But they come by t~ns. !laving published only one book ~hich , at this writing, is just being reissued > I (1974, with new Introduction by Ster ~ing Stuckey), places Brown ln a rather difficult and s01netimcsl nacces;,ible position. nut there ~ t e e n good, if few, appraisals of his work. Jean W~gner takes a long look at Brown (Black Poets of the United States); Brown takes a s~>rt, but helpful, look at himself in Negro Poetry. So does Saunders Ke<lJin g in To ~~ke a Poet 13lack. Also helpful is Stephen Henderson's "A Strong Man Ca~led Sterling Brown," Black World, XIX /3 �II (September 1970), 5-12. Benjiman Br,1wley (The Ner,ro Genius) assesses Brown as poet and critic as does Bl yden Jacks,in in Black Poetry in America. Charles Rowell, a youn g critic-teaclier 3t S0 1thern University, Baton Rouge, has prepared a yet unpublished criticism of 11rown ' s poetry. (BarJsdale anJ Kinna1non). See also Black Writers of America Brown's w>rk appears in most anthologies of Black literature and poetry. One characteristic of Black po e; ry of tl1e thirties was a cry for unionization of Blacks and whites. Brown's "When De Saints Go Ma'chinz Jlome" allows room in heaven for a handful of whites who b ;! fricnJed Blacks. According to the Marxist/ I Communist-influenced thinking of th e time s, downtrodden peoples--of whatever color--were in the same boat. Their strugg les were all the same. One finds this feelinr, in Frank Marshall Davi~'s " Sriapshots of the Cotton South" which paint a rather pathetic and dcpressinr, pictL1re of voteless Blacks who "lack the guts" and "po'" whites who "have not the brairis" to fight the rich plantation owners and the police. The poems also re~k wi~h irony and satire--a Davis trademark. Even though racial "intermingling" ~s "u rit hinkable," syphillis is passed from the "shiftless son" of a plantatior. own c::r (a lynch-mob leader) to a washerwoman who gives it to the chi ef of polic~, who gave it to a youni; mulatto cook who gave it to th e m.::iyor of "Hob town" who 1:ave 1 t to his wife. Currently livin ~; in Hawai i. whe~ he is a salesman, Davis was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, nttendcd l ac. 1 public schools and studied journalism at Kansas Stat e College where he ~,as tl c first recipient of the Sigma Delta Chi Perpetual Sc holarship. lie lat1:r lc:i t school for Chicago to clo newspaper work. In 1931 Davis went to Atlanta 1: 0 he : p establish the Atlanta Daily lforlcl. turning to Chica go , he wor ked ,~ith 1940s when he moved to Hawaii. I Re- he Associated Negro Press until the late In :. 937 he received a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship �I 11 to write poetry. lie has publish ::! d fo1 1r volumes of poetry: Black Man's Verse (1935), I Am the Ameri c an Negro (1937 , , Through Sepia Eyes (1938), and 47th Street (1948). Davis established himself ea r ly as a socially-minded poet who combined his journalistic training with a lyrics. 1 inn(1vative free-verse form to create interesting (Gwendolyn Brooks later deve : .oped a form known as verse-journalism.) Stephen Henderson (Und e rst a nding ~ l e w Black Poetry) notes the similarities between Davis's poetry and that ,:urreptly being written by Chicago-area poets. The influence of Masters and San,lburg can be seen in much of Davis's work; but his poetry is highly flavored wi;h Blpck themes and (sometimes) idioms. Like I Hughes he is the poet of the cit:,. B11t he renders believable pictures of Black "society" and the hard times of .,outh1!rn living. In "Snapshots" he warns whites that death, the boll weevil loes not pibble at only 'nigger cotton. 11 Ironically placing the "Democracy" of death and patural disasters alongside a hollow tunerican "Democracy, 11 Davis is a )le t 1> turn the poem into a piercing sword of social criticism. Ironies also ;;pine poems like "Robert Whitmore," "Arthur Ridgewood, M.D.," and "Giles Joh[lson, Ph.D. 11 --bourgeois Blacks destroyed by status-climbing. Hhitmore, havirig re,1ched the peak of social and business success, dies when he is mistaken for a w~iter , Dr. Ridgewood, forced to choose between the life of a poet and a doctor, dle s from a nerve disruption caused by worry over rejection slips and money probl ~ps. do labor; he dies of starva tion. Dr. Johnson will not teach and cannot The great tragedy, in this stream of poetic ideas, the story of the poet is ''Roos ~velt Smith." Smith could be Davis himself or possibly Countee Cullen or Melvin ·rolson--or any number of Black poets who wrote as they were directed only to e1u up having "contributed" nothing to "his nation's literature." Smith's first Sandburg, Masters and Lindsay. 100k is attacked by white critics for imitating llis S ! cond book, written after he had <lone first-hand �stucly in the South, is criticizcid by Blacks for being too sordid. Critics dis- missed his third book, an expe r j.ment a l effort, as not being consistent with the depth and breadth of the philosophica l material treated by Stein and Eliot. A Black man has no business imitating the "classic" works of Keats, Browning and Shakespeare, they said of his fciurth book. background. He ought to use his rich African Of hi s fifth book , critjcs were suspicious: since it ccintained no traces of anything clone prev ~.ousl) by a white poet, then it must be "just a new kind of prose." The poet th en became a mail carrier where he had time to read in the papers that lHacL wri e rs had contributed so "little" to American literature. Davis also wrote free-vers1! uti liz ing themes of love, night, and the stark life of Blacks in Southside Chicago. sculpted. Brown. His poems about love are quiet and well- They are placed in the ca1egory of "mystic excapist" by Sterling In his first volume, Dalfi s SI rikes vivid pictures, however, in pieces like "Chicago's Congo," "J az z 13,md," "Mojo Mike's Beer Garden," "Cabaret," "Lynched," and "Georgia's Atlan:a." Davis is "panoramic" and can capture Black speech as well as the rhyLhms of Bla1 :k social lif e . In "Jazz Band" he anti- cipates th e \vork of literally <linens of poets of th e sixties (Neal, Crouch, Cortez, Lee, Baraka, Harper, th~ Lds . Poets, Carolyn Rodgers). And certainly one recalls llu11hes' s "Jazzonia" ancl 1'Jazz Band in a Parisian Cabaret" when one hears a line like Play thaL thing yo..1 jaz i mad fools ! and the steady hamme r i nr, of Plink plank plunk n plu1k . Everybody an<l every place has th e blJes since 13lacks brought the sound to town: Chopin, Wagner, London, Moscow, Pari,, llonr,kong, Cairo, Dios, Jehovah, Gott, �Allah, Buddha, and so on. Eve ryon e cin partake of the happy-sad sound being played liy th e "black boy." cat . " Duke Elli1gton would later call himself an "ecumenical And Davis seems to hnv e unders t ood the concept well. close study of his wor k ha s yet to be done. for his work: Unfortunately, a But Davis had many thin gs in mind one poem is desl c n d tJ lie read aloud by eight voices. There is a liricf, but good, assessment of l1im in Wa gner's book; Sterling Brown sets forth crisp and meaty criticism. Benj iuw n Hrawl e y discusses Davis's poetry (Negro Genius); but he app ears all too infr oque ntly in anthologies. > For a current look at Davis see Dudley Randall's interview with him in Black World, XXIV (January ,I 1974). llulierL llay<le11 has on e of tl;t· lo11 i.;es t poetry writing (and publishing) records of any living American poel. 111s po o,ns have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, periodicals, books ~nd pQmphlets since 1940. Horn in Detroit, Michigan, Hayden attended loca l schools ar,d Waype State University, and in 1936 "graduated to the Federal Writers' Project' ' heaq ing research into local Afro-American history and folklore. lie r e sumed his tr a ini ng in 1938 when he enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he r eceiv e d E t eaq l1ing assistantship, and did advanced work in play procJuction, cre at i ve wr~tin g a nd Enr,lish. taught Enel lsh at Michigan for two yc.a rs . poetry in 19]8 a nd 19 42 and during tl'Js Hayden received an M.A. and Il e received the Hopwoo d award for time he had an opportunity to study with \.J.11. Auden, who se poetry his owr. som(; times r eflec ts. poetry, ll ea rt- Sha.J25:_ in th e Uust_1 was published. ln 19110 his first book of Ile joined the faculty of Fisk University in 19116 and remained th c r< until 1968; during the sixties he became i nvolved in a series of "meanin £, fuJ encou nters with proponents of a black literary ~s thetic" (Earksdale and Kinnamc, n) wl lch resulted in his leaving Fisk and joining the faculty of the Univer sit y or M1 cl igan (1969). Hayden has received Rosenwald It �and Ford r,rants and in 1965 his Balli d of Remembrance (1962, Paul Bremen, England) was awarded the CrancJ Prize in the English poetry category at the First World Festival of Negro Arts in Daka1 , Senegal. In presenting Hayden with the award, the festival committee c l teJ l im as a remarkabJ e cr;i.ftsman, a, I outstanding singer of words, a striking thinker, a p o e t , ~ sang . lie gives glory ancJ dig- nity to America throu gh de1!p at! achment to the past, present and future of his race. A:: rica is in his soul, the world at large in his mincJ and hear ; . In 1948 Hayden collaborated witj1 Myrlin O'Higgins in publication of The Lion anc.l the Archer. llis Fieure of Time; published in 1966. Po1!ms appeared in 1955 and Selected Poems was \fords in tli 1~ ·ning Time, with its portraits of violence and <lestructlon, came out ln 1970, ape.I was nominated for a National llook Award (1972). And ~-NJ1•~1__~-ll10011!..1.E.t, Cl'rn)!.::!._ , sliowini~ llaycJcn as a reflective lover of nature and a deeply relir,ious p Jet, 1,as publishec.l in 1972 by Paul llremen. He has also written and produced plays : co Down Moses) and during the forties he was drama ancJ music critic for the t!_ Lchigan Chronicle. Hayden's work appears in practically every anthology of /\f ~o-~nerican literature or poetry published since r!.1!:_J~~~r.E_ Car.31__v_:~ :• llis editor , hip of anthologies includes Kaleidoscope: Poems by /\11_1yrican lle1 ~ro J> r,ets (1967), Afro-A111erican Literature: (1971, with Burrougli! , and Lapid •c), with Hiller and O'Hcal). An Introduction 111d The Unllccl ~jtates 111 Literature (1973, The latter work contains many of llay<len's seminal ideas as well as brilliant crystalizations of Black and ~eneral poetry movements in the Unitec.l States . Ills individual poems have appeared ln Opportunity, Poetry and ,...Atlantic Montlil_y . Order. Currently, !· e is poetry editor of the Baha'i magazine, World �I Althour,h, as a poet, llayden has jla intained a steady balance between racial concerns and the modern poetic tradit Lon , he is what Sterling Brown would call a library poet. Classical allusions, obscurantism, surrealism, and complicated syntax go hand in hand with experimen : al blues poetry and muted anger. Arna Bontemps said that the term "Negro po ! t" was particularly "displeasing" to Countee Cullen; and llayden (a Cullen 1dmirer), in Kaleidoscope, rejected being judged "by standards different from t 1ose applied to the work of other poets." The Black poet should not be lin1ited : o a racial utterance, Hayden believes. Ironically, a poll of Black poets todJy might easily show that a great many of them feel the same way--even thougl1 ~~ch is not suggested by the popular image of the contemporary Black poet. Speaking of his influences in ..!.!:Jterviews with Black \friters, Hayden notes that: When I was in college I loved Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Elinor Wylie, Edna St. Vincent Mi llay, Sara Teasdale, Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Han Crarie. I read all the poetry I could get a hold of, and I read ~ithout discrimination. became a favorite. his style. Cullen 1 felt an affinity and wanted to write in I re1;1ember tha( l wrote a longish poem about Africa, imitating his "lleritage." All throu~h my undergraduate years I As l di scovered poets new to me, I was pretty imitative. ::;tudied their work and tri( id to write as they did. youni~ poets do tliis. I suppose all It's c·crt.inly one method of )earning somethini__: about poetry . I re ad e d the point, inevitably, where I didn't want to be influeuce<l ly anyone else. my own voice, my own -.,,ay o i: set!. ng . I tried to find I studied with W.H. Auden �in graduate school, a str·atep,ic t!Xperience in my life. I think he showed me my strengths and wepknesses as a poet in ways no one else before had done. Hayden thus establishes himself as a ioet of the book as opposed to the raw experience--vis a vis Sterllnr, Brown, Langston Ilughes, Frank Marshall Davis, Margaret \folker, and numl!rous othe rs, althoui.;h such a division must many variables. consider And, according to Ar : hur P. Davis, in From the Dark Tower, llaydl!n !urn rl!pu<liated l1is L'ar ly poet r ,--the few poellls of blatant protes} ~ obviously folk-influenced. Most of t1e early poetry shows Hayden as imitator of I the older llarlem Renaissance poets anl under the influence of the CommunistSocialist thou Ght of the 1930s an<l 19~0s. In "Prophecy" he depicts destruction and the people returninG to the "ruin :!d city" to rebuild a new society. is about the famous Gabriel Pro~ser-1 :?d slave revolt. "Gabriel" "Black Gabriel" was hanged for leaJinG slaves From forp,otten graves, .... lnterpolatJ11 i: ltnlicl ze d wurdB ,uHI At rrnz,w with co]loquJalisms (like Sterling Brown), llayden recreates the terrur un<l dr.:11na of Gauriel'a last minutes. Black an<l eolden in the air, Gauriel c.:a n ;•, l os from a noose above Black men who Never, ne ver rest "Speech" is just that --a n h,trani u e c<-jl lln~ !Hack and white "brothers" to fight the co11u11on oppressor, prcii:;11111nhly tot ql it ;i riani s m, fa sc ism and greedy over-seers. "Obituary" is a sensllive ,rnd p;. in ,J re flection of a " fa ther" who lived l'reparc<l for \.Ji ngs 1 /1.Juong thes e e,1rly pieces ([ouncl in C~r avan anti Ha yden's first volumes), "Bacchanal" is especially interesLin i.;--for .. t col lee ts the statement Sterlin[\ l.lr own pcrfec1:ed. ne\,J <llal ec t into the kind of social There is irony in using "bacchanal" to �describe a Black factory worker gettl1 g lligh's a Geor g ia pine to forget that the factory close<l "th .s mawnin." The Black man who, in "Gabriel" can never rest, is seekin g real "joy" on earth. But, minus money and woman, his "bacchanal" becomes a weighty blues s :atement--not the revelry of ancient Greek or Roman party life. One finds none of these poems in Selected Poems. Instead there is the polished llayden of "The Diver," "A Ballad of Remembrance," "Sub Specie Aeternitatis," "Middle Passar,e" and "Runa gate f{una ga ;e ." Neither docs one find such in Words I In the Mournin1• Time. llayden has obvLously elevated his protest themes. there docs remain a fascination with religion, nature and love. Hayden does make his social conur ent, :i s does Cullen. Yet To be sure, ilut his "Zeus Over Redeye" (Mourning) is a far cry from llu nhes " Dream Deferred" or "Ask Your Momma." "Runagate" and "Hiddle Passage" ac.ldra ss with subtlty and allusion the concerns of Owen Doclsen ("Lament"), Marg.: .ret ha lker ("Since 1619"), and Frank Marshall Davis ("Snapshots of the Cotton South"). Hayden brings a fine and intense in- tellect to hls poctry--re gardlct ,s of subject matter. llis output has been relatively small, considering hi :; long can·er, tut Words in the Nournlng Time proves that his intensity has not lessened. And he must be admired for sticking to his aesthetic convlctlons and Illa u11sweq lng dcvotlon tu pocLlc craftsrnanuhip. lland in hand with these concerns has been his enduring interest in history, racial and general. !!is manuscript of poem: dealing with slavery and the Civil War, The Black Spear, won him the s e cond llopw(,od award. The idea for a book-length I series of narrative po ems on Blick h .story--"from the black man's point of view"-I came to llay<len after he read St.!phen Vincent Benet's long narrative poem, John J~rown' s Body (1927). The inack Spca.~ never emer ged as a book, but remnants of �it can be found in section five of -S,!lected Poems. , In working with Black history, Hayden champions such persons as Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Cinquez, Martin Luth e r Kin g and Halc 1ilm X. shared the burden of the Black stru g,:le: He also includes whites who have William Lloyd Garrison, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thore a u, John B·own, John and ~obert Kennedy, and others. llayden's history poems, ho~ev e r . reflect the complexity and disturbances inherent in man's continuing struggl,; . In a non-racial poem like "The Diver" there can be floating, plunging, pi e ~c ing , blurring , disillusionment, wreckage, drunken tilting, "numbing /kisses, 11 a 11d other suggestions of dramatic tension 11 between the real and assumed, b e tw ee11 the shadow and the substance. But the r same II feeling" comes throu ~h in poems of racial flavor. "Middle Passage" certainly I bears this out, as Bl yden Jackson no :es in "From One 'New Negro' to Another" (Black Poetry in America, Jacks::rn an,! Rubin, 1974). Situated, as it were, "in the rockin g loom of history," " ~1id<ll ! Passage" is at once Hayden's and Black Amer i ca' achievement. Calculat ed by opening with the names of slave ships-- ' Estrella, Esperanza, ~ ~ - - t,1e poem criss-crosses the vast geographical, Jesus, chronological and spiritual web of r 11cial horror since slavery. The names of at I least two of the ships--J c sus arid ~ ::.£Y_--carry immediate contradictions and are simultaneously remini s cent of t l1e ex >letive "Jesus, have mercy, 11 and the attendant variations heard da il y in Blac k comm1n iti e s. But this Jesus will have no Mercy-- and in fact will stand throu Bhout ti~! r emainder of Christianity as the albatross around the neck of Chri s tian slav e r s. Any middle passa ge is excitin~ 11s we ll as dan gerous--since it represents the peak and the unfinished quest. le nc c the middle passage suggests both the horrible and brutali zi ng e xp e ri enc e ,Jf slaves aboard ships crossing the Atlantic Oc.ean a nd the incompleted "adventur e ' of Blacks in America. The poem also �satisfies much of th e demands o f mod1 :rnists poetry: the tradition established by T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Wal l .ice Si .evens, Hart Crane and others. ) "Middle Passag~" in fact follows styli ,tic a .ly from such poems as Eliot's The Wasteland, Pound's Cantos, Crane's The Br i1!H,e apu William Corlos Williams' Patterson. Especially is it akin to The \fa ,;telapd in its use of allusion, fragments of obscure information (old docwuents, let:ers, conversation, etc.), typographi~al variation, and the ur genc y and impoctancp of its "statement." "Middle Passage " after its sharl, and arresting opening, weaves together objective narration, notes from a slave s1ip's log, sections from a ship officer's diary, 11 testimony a t a court of inquiry (int p a slave revolt aboard the Cuban slaver Amistad in 1839), the tale of an old sa llor 11ho ceaseu sailing on slaveships because "fever melted" his bones, paraphrasing; of 1l Shakesperean text and familiar expressions from the Christian Bible anu 1~,e re ,. i gio us services. imaginable disaster and conflic ~: The poem depicts every s :arms, rebellions, suicides, a plague that causes blindness ("opthalmalia"), th,! lusty crew members sexual exploitation of female slaves, the "ni~ger kings" wh 1> sold the Africans into slavery, descriptions of the smell and sounds of dying, and tj1e hatred/respect the slave ships surviving spokesman has for rebellion-lea 11er C Lnquez. Almost 100 years before "Middle Passage," James M. Whitfield hal h on,ired this same revolutionary in "To Cinque." The idea of the remade man, a "life," recurs in Hayden's poem: 11 ·,o ya ge" which takes one "through death" into he ~e , again, the sense of one meandering through a "wasteland" in search of the right society, the sane environment. Indeed in much Black American writin g , mirrori1g sometimes the literature of larger America, there is the assertion that the new na n arrives only after paying the dues of being brutalized and oppressed. Ev 1 in everyday life, Blacks are often intolerant of others who have not " gone through' the fire and brimstone of depravity and .J.3 �alienation. Thus , for Hayden, 1:he 11 11 iddle passage" is both spiritually and physically a "voyage " throu 3h d1~ath ~ n order to achieve life. In the middle passar;e the slaves are half way betwQen their African homeland and America. They will not be returning to Africa and )et they know nothing of the life "upon these shores." Too, the middle passage synboli zes the initiation of everyman into the awesome awareness and responsib :. lity of adulthood--and his own mortality. The middle passage is where we all t:rium1h or perish, just as in the wasteland one must create a new world or drif1 . witl the debris. However, the caretakers of slaveships crossin3 the middle passa e are as acutely aware of their mission as 9 are the reflective slaves (and 1>oets). death. They are a lso bring ing life through They bear black gold, black :.vary I bl.:1ck seed. I All this occurs against the pervasiv ~ irony of the ship names Jesus and Mercy and the doubl e irony of slaver':; spo1esman who renounces Cinquez for rebelling against the crew: ..• true Christian:; all 1 •••• While the "Middl e Passage" plaq s Blacks somewhere in the middle of things, "Runagate Runagate" continues the in ny of moving through death to life. There is little to be envied in the ":Life" of the runaway slave depicted in this poem. The hound dogs, th e slave-crack1!rs, the auction blocks, the "wanted" signs, the brandings on the cheel(s, the drlver'1 lash--all re-live the terror, the nightmarish nature of Black "life" after th ,; mid< le passage. For Blacks, then, the initiation continues beyond the first deatb ( th1 , enslavement) . The anxiety and "never, never rest" life of the slave is dram,1 ti ca ..ly captured by Hayden who employs a rich tapestry of language, synt a x, c1)lor, imagery, narration, and religion, alongside the symbolism and "sweep " akin :o mo d ern poetry; added to this is the dramatic �use of italics. The poem celebrates tl1e courage and endurance of escaping slaves and honors illnck and white ab, >liLionist leaders. Hayden allows the reader to re-live the experience of the run1way slave and tl1e accompanying tension-filled hide-and-seek drama. We hear and se! the runaway in the opening line. By avioding the use of punc tu a tlonal br ~a ks, llay<len achieves a "rush" of language very similar to the relentless " drlv! " of Black oral expression and to the "never, never rest" feeling he est.:iblished i1 "C.:ibriel." The runaway Runs falls rlses stu111bl :! s on from <larkness lnto darkness I• an<l the hunt ls on, as the escopce r : fl ec ts on the "many thousands" already channeled through the und ergroun d ra llroad. and fear of the slnve who VO'v/S thJt ,1e We see an<l hear the 111ixe<l j ubi lance \dll never return to the auction block an<l Lhe <lrlver'u LH,h . And before 1'11 be a sl ve I ' ll be buried ln my r, rave Keeping with the trend of modern po Qt ry, Hayden introduces incidental notices and data: an announcement descrlbln~ runaways (inclu<ling age, dress, brandings, and a susplc ion thn t they c:rn turn t hem:;elvcs into quicksand, whirlpools or ocorplons), wanLe<l pcn;teru, anc., n.i 1nls of prominent aLolitionlsts of the <lay. Typographically and s yntactically, lh pol!m ls designed to be read, without slgnlfjcanl pauseH, so that the· non~s top hurtle of the s]u ve toward freedom actually occurs in the tc.:xt; it llly<len Jackson su~!'CSts (thought of "Middle l:;, Passage") "as if it repeats hi! ;tory," of llarril!t Tubm;rn, tl1e g rent cs l: of I "!Jead or .td lvc" an<l wlto was known tc Especially notable is Hayden's treatment nderground railroad leaders, who was wantc<l level a pistol .:it a doubtinr, runaway: �II Dead folks can't jaybi ·d-talk, she says; You keep on going now pr die, she says . . . . "Middle Passage" and "Runagate 1:unar,ate" are only two of Hayden's magnificent poems. Other poems in the historica . vein are "Frederick Douglass" (an ex- perimental sonnet without rhyme), "Tlte Ballad of Nat Turner" ("The fearful splendor of that warring."), "O Daetl ,tlus, Fly Away llome" ("Night is juba, night is conjo. "), and "A Ballad of Rememb ·,:mce" (a surrealistic, complex and erudite poem). llayden poems (prior to .,ford s ) capture supernaturalism ("Witch D·o ctor"), folk life ("llomage to the Empress o f the I3lues," "The Burly Fading One," "Incense > II of the Lucky Virgin," and "Mourning :•oem for the Queen of Sunday .Jtnd ,'1 folk reminiscences ("Summertime and the L .ving ••. ," "The Whipping," "Those Winter Days"). WorJs in the Houcninf\ Time, whi1:h we will return to briefly in Chapter VI, reflects Hayden's general and srecif .c concerns as a poet. Again, he judiciously handles the spectrum of themes, subj 1?cts and styles that assures him a place in the worltl of western as well as 11. ·ro-~nerican poetry. Poems like '''Mystery Boy' Looks for Kin in Nashville," "S1)ledatl," "Aunt Jemima of the Ocean Waves," and "El-llajj Malik El-Shabazz," mark Hayden in touch with the times and willing to share his poetic visio n witli revo •utionaries, pacifists, cultural nationalists and Black pride advocates. On the o .her hand he is at home with poems such as "Locus," "Zeus Over Redey e ," and "Le,1r is Gay"--which mirror his reading, travels, broad concerns and personal friendsh ~ps. llayden can still sensitively and deli- cately discuss great art and flowers, as in Words antl Night-Blooming Cereus; but his control of metaphorical accu~acy and poetic poignancy on a broad range of topics is also clearly there. in the 1960s jolted l1im. ll a1 den aJmits that the battle over aesthetics And while Lt is clear that the fight took place more �outside of poetry than in (s ee : hapt c r VI), Ilayden has not recanted in his position that the Bl ack poet not be , imited to racial utterance. course, has his righl to his owi opit .ion. Hayden, of But, like John Ciardi, Richard Wilbur, and Robert Lowell, and )ther poets of the academy, his trek has not been easy or Jevoid of controversy. side of his poetry, poems like And despite statements llayden makes out- '!1idd e Passage" and "Runagate Runagate" stamp him as a r,ifted handler of !Hae~ th e11e s and materials. For it is not likely that he will be known, as a poet, fo · work that lies drastically outside the passage, pace or pligl1t of Illacl Ame ·leans . 11 Much n eeded critical atte ntio n .s just beginning to come to Hayden. He is treated in Davis's From the ~ ·ower , Donald Gibson's Modern !Hack Poets ("Robert Hayden's Use of Jlistory ," C wrles T. Davis), Jackson anJ Rubin's Black Poetry ln Ameri c a, O'Brien ' s l1tervicw with Black Writers, Barksdale and Kinna111on'1:1 lll ,1ck \/ritl!n.1 of' Arn·r1c.i, and llow I Writc/1 (featuring llay<len, Judson Phillips and Law6on Carter: /~ cw Yor t , 1972). See also Rasey l'ool's "Robert llaydcn, l'oct Laurcalc," ~:.t._~~:;t (_BL1ck Worl<l), XV (June, 1966), 39-43; D. Caller's "Three Ru:l!nt Volumes," review of Words in the Mourning,_'.!:_~ 1971, J>:4. Dudley Randall displa ys Aesthetic in the Thirties, Fortic ~i , 'oc try, CX (1967), 268, and Julius Lester's in The New York Times Book Review, January 24, ,,oo<l insiehts into llayden in ''The Black md Fifties" (Modern Black Poets). And there is a Sl! nsitive trc!,1tmcnt of t l1 e po e t in James O. Young's Black Writers of the Thirties. llavini: helpcd 111nkc thl! 11.irl(•m Henaissance, Lani~s ton llur,hes continued his vaAt and i111;1;•, i11 a tiv l! p<>C.'Llc 011tput lnto the thirties, forLlcs, fiftlcs and Hll:ltlcH. 11 • publblt< ·d fc,ur buckH of pot·Lry ln the 19'301:l, three in the 1940s, an<l two in tile 1950s, and two jn 19(0s, in addition to dozens of short stories, �essays, novels, plays and autobiogra1•hical writinr,s. These things he accomplished along with his travels and his dedic p ted work on behalf of Blacks. But it would be "much too casual," notes Ilui;hcs's friend Arna Bontemps, simply to dismiss him as "prolific." For Hughes was a "mipstrel and a troubador in the classic sense." (Langston llughes, Dona ld C. Dickin s op, 1972) Hughes worked rapidly, turning out prodigious amounts of writing ; a f a c 1. , Blyden Jackson reminds us which caused some to deny him a place alongside "1,e rious" Ulack writers like Ellison, Wright and Baldwin. Hughes always involv cJ himself ,n "contemporary affairs"--even during the 11 Renaissance when Cull e n, ncKay nnd o :here roamed the Elysian fields of Africa or pined away in the "dark" tower. lut Saunders Redding (To Make A Poet Black) had complaincJ that Hughes employed ~hythms in his early poetry but little intellect. Consequently, the thirties and forties--with their steo pu in leftist and radical activities--placed Hu ghe , in the position of having to forge new protest weapons from his "weary blue,." noted: About lluehes's poetry James 0. Young ''His poetry was popular beca1se it could be read easily by people of all ages and uackgrounds." new Black poets: In the sixti?s, similar comments would be made of the llaki R. Madhubuti (Don L. Lee), Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, David Nelson, Arthur Pfister, and o t 1c rs. In th e early thirties, hm,evcr, llup,hes's poetry was considered "decadent" and "unacceptable" to Communist critLcs who wanted him to move from strictly racial themes to champion the fights of proletarians everywhere. Hughes made the switch-over and Scottsboro LL1~ ~cl (1932) shows the impact of Communist thought on him. The pamphlet v,as Jelicated to Black youths on trial for allegedly raping two white prostitutes in Scottsboro, Alabama. Hughes places the boys alongside such revolutiona ry sciints :i s John Brown, Lenin and Nat Turner. The �effect--resembling aborteJ cffo~ts o( some martyr-makinr, poets of the 1960s-was to make the boys, "ir,norant pawn•" thou ih they were, "militant proletarian heroes." The poem-play "Scotts·)OrO l.imiteJ" shows "Red Voices" convincing Black youths that the Communists arc on tlw side of Not just l:,lack--but hli ,c k anJ white. Hughes pul.Jlishcd wide Ly durin g ~he tl1irties in Party presses. In Good Morning Revolution (197], forw;:irJ by Sam.ter p ReJJing), Fnith Berry has compiled his "uncollecteJ writin!',S o( social prot1:st." They g ive many clues to Hughes' social I concerns Juring the three de cad ~s f o low in~ tltc Harlem l{enaissance. He calls for a union of "workers" in Germany, Cliipa , Africa, Poland, Italy, and America-through th e pages of New ttasses , Th e Ne r; ro Worker, The Crisis, Opportunity, International Literature, Conte1npo, ~1 Frica South, The Workers Monthly, New -- Theatre, a nd American Spectator, ~ ._,..... In "Cood Morning, Revolution," Hughes tells ' personified revolution that We gonna pill arou r1d Lo ;e l lier from now on. Secllon Lill•:, of r.uod Mori1Lnr. l{t·vol 1Lio11 oltuw llu 1~li e o to be acutely attuned to the problems and needs of oppresseJ Jeoplcs --lon g be(ore Franz Fanon, Stokely Carmichael and Eldridge CJ ec.1 ver-- .111d in sympathy with Third World struBgle: Section I, !{e volution; Section 2, ~110 lo tlon-l✓ hite Peoples; Sectlon J, The Rich and Tlw Poor; St·ction 4, ~£1..1:.__0_Q I Peace: Section 5, Coodbye Christ; Section 6, The Sailor and ThC" StcwurJ: Se tirn 7, The Meanin g of Sco ttsboro; Section 8, Cowards fru111 the Co.l lt.:!.:.ig u(•s ; S0c Lion 9, Portrait Aguinst fl.:.ickground; Section 10, and Seclio11 J 'J , fZ 1~Lr c,:;p t: c L_iv(• (incJ11 ll 1q: "~ ly Advc:nture !, as a Social l'oet"). I conoc la :, tit· .i11J 1::;acr JI J1:uuu , llu1;l1 -~; l11('urrl:d l11!.! v✓ r:1 tit of 111a11y Ul uck lcadcrf:i �with his poem "Good-by e Christ' 1932. publ .shed in the Baltimore Afro-American in Addressin g Christ, Hughos not 1!d that You Jlcl al r i g lit ln you · Jay, I reckon-But that day's g one no\f . And "Christ Jesus Lord Cod Jehovah" ·. s told to "make way" for a new deity, who has no religion, and whose n a me is Marx CommunLst Le1i11 P1!asant Stalin, \forker, HE-Relir,ious leaders especially co 1de111n1 ·d llughes ' s "blatant atheism." But Melvin Toltrnn, c.:omlng to llu gl1es ' s aid , said that the younr~ poet was simply showing that the Chrlstian offering of a better 11orJ.<l 1 after death had little meaninL; for the world's suffering millions. llup,hes was never a member of till Communlst Party, but he was sympathetic to it as were many other !llack 11rite1 s: Tolson , \✓ rlght, Davis, Margaret \folk.er, EJlison 1 and dozens of others. Hayden, Frank Marshall While his poetry and other writings of communist-oriented 11oclal protest were appearing in radical publications, Ilughes continued with i:terlJng JJrown developin)j and experimenting with illack folk materials. lie pa inst :aldn f 1y pointed up the contradictions in the promises .:rnd realitie ::; of J\111eric:an D~mocracy, assailed social inequality, lamented !Hack and white poverly, railed agai~ st double standards, attacked racial segregation, satirized the Black bourge o sie, and ltnrnortalized the beauty of everyday Blacks. So much of llughes's fight is caur,ht up jn "Let America ne America Ap,ain," first published in 1936 in J·~1~!s..£., arid lnc J uded in J\ New Song (1938). It iti immediately reminiscent of v/alt \n1lt man --in i.ts . wcep--and recites, in the manner of Hayden's I "Speech" and Tolson's "RenJezvoL.s with America," the multiple ills and ingredients of America. / Throughout th e poe111 , as he catelop,s the various ethnic stocks and . contributions, he interpolates the lt.:1unt#IJ · 1-I!" r, America never was A rner1.ca to me. 111/i. ,P fb �By now hughes' s interest Ln 1nac k mu !i ic and folk materials was being worked more artfully into his work. lie cart ied l i.s interest in Blues to his work in jazz (recording his poetry with Char]ie M:ingus and others) and the Be-llop era is strongly reflected in his poetq and 'his writin~s (see the Simple stories). Especially is 1nusic evi.denl i.n _t .onu~e of a Dream Deferred (1951) where, according to Jean \.Ja g ner, "jazz has stronr ly Lr [l uenced the tone and structure ·of these poems." It was from this volumL, to e:, that Lorraine Hansberry would get the title for Iler prize-wi nnin;~ pla): the volume is "llarlem, 11 in whicl deferred." R,i lsin in the S un. The most famous poem in the Black American is likened to a "dream Five precise simile• hc~1, lluv,hes Jraw explicit comparisons between raisins, sores, rotten meal, syrupy ~wee ts, heavy loads, and the all present "dream." Perhaps, llug hes notes at tie end, the dream will "explode." llur,hes wns not "perfect," l .lyder J;1ckson points out, but he was constantly on top of "contempor;n-y issues" and r 'mai netl an expcrimentor throu2hout his writing career. Ask Your Mama-~Twcl, e Moods for Jazz (1961) was published after 40 years of experimentation in \'ers e forms. synthesis we referred to c3 rlj e 1: and themes. It is indeed the attempt at the LI ut of jazz, blues un<l relateJ folk idioms Contcmpornry white poet ~, E.E. Cummint,s and Kenneth Rexroth, had chosen to place all lc•tters in ]m1Pr c;1sc and llughcs did .iust the opposite, cap1 talizin ;; ev •rythlnp,. Dedi. ·t tl!d to Louis Armstroni:--"the greatest horm blower of them all"--the vul1rn1t! is an ext 'IE ion of ideas <.1ttempte<l in The Weary Blues, Shakespeare in llarlL·111, and !~'.?_I_~~L.~~ a Dr eam Deferred. The driving soci<.11 protest is there, but the lnd ig naLion if ; 1n uu, d as in his earlier work. A recession in laq \e r A r n e r ~ iS CO!.(JJ{lrn FOL!~S ' DEl'IU S!i IO!l. The work b punctuated Ly the 1..ne r; Till: <1UAl{Tl.::R OF TllE NEGROES anJ llu~hes continues �the Illa ck poet's conn·rn wi th hist or f : honoring Black he roes and race leaders, displaying the beauty of JHackness a HI recallin1_; the ri ghts of passage. Politician, or~,rnizer of sharecroppers, poet, dramatist, teacher and raconteur, Me lvin Beaunorus Tolson ,..,1s born in Hoberly, Missouri , to the Reverend Hr. and Hrs . Alonzo Tolson. Tolson lived his young life iu various Missouri towns, publishin i; bis first poem at the age of 12 in the "Poet's Corner" or tli e Oskaloosa newspaper . lie r, raduated from Kansas City's Lincoln High School (1911.3) wh ere he lwd be~11 c lass poet, director and actor in Greek Club's Little Theater and captain of the football team. Throughout his adult life, Tol so n maintain ed an active interest in sports , dramatics and debate clubs. !le attended fisk and Lincoln Univer si ties-- g raduating from Lincoln with honors and winnin~ awards in spe ech , debat e, dramatics and Classical literatures. He also captained the football team. In 1924 Tolson, continuln~ a ri ~b and varied career, began teaching English and speech at 1.Jiley Collei:e , in Mars 1all, Texas. There he wrote prose and poetry, and directed drama and debut ~ groups which established a 10-year winning streak. To] son int er rupted his wor k at Wiley to pursue ~~ -4;¢]..<l master's degree in English and Comparative Li te rature at Columbia University. where he J met V.F. Calverton, ed itor of _t!o<lern Qu;.irterly. Later, in 1935 at Wiley, Tolson's career as a debate coach peaked when his team defeate*._~ional champions, University of Southern California, before 1100 people . And in 1947, the same year Tolson was appointe<l poet laureate or Liberia by President V.S. Tubman, he became English an<l drama professor at Langston University, Lancston, Oklahoma where he also served as mayor for four terms. AL Langston he direc ted the Dust llowl Players and dra1natlzcd no vc ]Ll by WalLcr \.Jliite ;.ind C:eorge Sch uyler. A revered and .. eared teacher and or /;i..l nizer, Tolson bec;.ime a J e~:end in his own time. j Hardly �a student at a deep-south Black colle ~e had not heard of Tolson's work as poet, dramatist, debate coach and eJucator. His column, "Cagga bes and Caviar," was a regular in the Washington Trib~ <lJring the thirties. Tolson published three volumes o( poetry: Rendezvous with America (1944), Libretto for the Republic of Liberia (1953), and llarlem Callery, Book I: Curator (1965) . His Ho rk also appear2d in The Hodern Quarterly, Atlantic Monthly, Common Ground, Poetry, and other periJ<licals . / The He won numerous awards and citations, ,fr.t among them first place (1939) i ~ National Poetry Contest sponsored by the American Negro Exposition in Chicago (for "Dark Symphony"); the Omega Psi Phi Award for ,I Creative Literature (1945 ); ~E.Y. ma ~azine' s Ress Ilokim Award for long psycho- ( q f ~J logical poem, "E. & O.E." (1947); honorary Doctor of Letters, Lincoln Universit : ~a~ permanent llrcacl Loaf Fellow in poetry and drama (1954 ; ) i ~ f / ) z_.._~ (fl(&~)i Columbia Citatfon and Award for Cult14ral Achievement in Fine Arts)¢ra«.l.-first appointee to the Avalon Cha ir in llum 9 nities at Tuskegee Institute (1965); and annual poetry award of the American Aca demy of Arts and Letters including a grant of $2 ,500 (1966), the same yeal he died following three operations for abdominal cancer. As a Black poet a nd intellectual in the mid-twentieth century, Tolson wore the many-pronged mant\J\ of his Eighteen th and nineteenth century predecessors (Prince Hall, Benjamin Banneker, Jam Es Whitfield, Alexander Crummell, Frances E. E. Harper anJ others) who ser,ed a. te ac hers, abolitionists, revolutionists, defenders of wltat th ey beli_eved to bt decent in the promise of America, and character models for Block conm1l .niti( s . Tolson' s predecessors fought for the right to be called humans; he [c,ugl1t the battle of integration. As Tolson lay dying, other, youn ge r poets were ! fi gl ting the battle of self-determination-a lbeit usin g the same tool s emp:.oyed by poets and intellectuals of the past two centuries. So, it is indeed ironic 1a nd sad!) when a young writer like Haki R . • 7 �Madhubuti (Don L. Lee) complains that Tolson is not accessible to the everyday reader--see review of l~ale icl osco~: 51-52, 90-94. ~egro Di3est, A'VII, 3, (January, 1968), But Joy Flasch points >ut in Melvin B. Tolson (1972) that Tolson was aware that he was not writin ~ [or tlte "average" reader but for the "vertical" audience. In "Omega" of Ha rlem ~ 2 • Tolson asks if a serious writer should "skim the milk of culture" and g ive t 10se demanding immediacy and relevancy a popular latex brand? Tolson did not live, a s did llayd ~n, Sterling Brown, Saunders Redding, and others, to make Dod ge City contact wi : h proponents of the "Black Aesthetic" of II the 1960s. But some opponents h ~ve c> ntinued to rake him over the coals of responsibility. Black poet Sarah Web3ter Fabio (Negro Digest, XVI, 2--December, 1966--54-58), challenged Karl Shapiro's statement (Introduction ot Harlem Gallery) that Tolson "writes in Negro." His p)etic language is "most certainly not 'Negro,'" she avered, noting tha t it is "a biz a r re, pseudo-literary diction" taken from stilted "American mainstream" poetry / 'where it rightfully and wrongmindedly belonged." Hhite critics and writers joining in the assault on Tolson included Laurence Lieberman and Englishman Paul Bremen (of the Heritage Serie). Lieberman takes exception to Shapiro' s staternen ~, saying that he teaches Black students from all over the world, who are st ee, ed in Black language, but who do not understand Tolson (review of Harlem Galler t'_ in "Poetry Chronicle," The Hudson Review, Autumn, 1965, 455-60). Yet Tolson's ?ublishers had high hopes that he might get the Pulitzer Prize for Libretto. Re-writing and r e-thinking !1is p Jetry over a period of decades, Tolson became more difficult as he made adju s tm e nts to fit modernist trends in poetry. The sta~of Eng lish poetry were Eliot, Pound, Yeats, Crane, and Stevens, and Tolson admired and pattern ed his work after tl1em. Yet throughout his poetic life, �I/ he maintained an "enormous lo v e for rcople" which was reflected in his everyday work as well as in hi s poetry . ltendt zvous with America as a title indicates Tolson's commitment to love anJ do b, ttle with America. America has cancer and promise and Tol!ion perform e d op1 !rati c ns while he feasted on his nation's delights. His titl e poem, "Rend e z vou s with Ameilca," reflects the Whitman influence and Tolson' s awesome word skills, t1!clmi< :11 virtuosity and musical ear. the races and types of people who alio must rendezvous with America. · lie enumerates He sees how Time unltingcd the g;1Lei , to allow the be g innin g of J\meri,:a, ll(ltin r. such landmarks as Plymouth Rock, I Jamestown, and Ellis fsland, wh Leh lw juxtnposes with ancien t sites like Sodom, Gomorrah, Cathay, Cip a ngo and EL Dor n do . The "searchers" came to America which is the Blnck tlan's co1mtry , The l{ecl ~!an ' s , th ,~ Ye] .ow Man 's, The Brown Mnn 's, ~he WJlite Man 's. America flows, Tolson believes ,is An international river with a legion of tributaries! J\ magnj ficenl cosnor.1111,1 with myriad patters of colors! J\ giant fon:st wJ th lo ln-roots in a hundred lands! A corimopo] ft an or clwHL r a witl1 a thounand lnstr11ments playing A,n •rica ! Ilia manipulation of tr.'.ldilional form, coupled with what he called the three S's-"biolo~y , psychology ... s ociolog y ," or the synchronizinr~ of sieht and sound and - sense in a poern--yieJ ded much poetic fruit in his long ye,.irs of writing and r e-writin g his poetr y . l{(•n d czvous with America is not a great first book but it marked him a s an abl l' han d ler of un i:1ue verse forms . Ills major themes (history, �Black presence in th e wo rld , reli g io ) ha tr ed for class structures, and the plight of the underd og ) are handled in u var .e ty of forms: sonnets, rhymed quatrains, ballads, free verse forms, and s pec i a l two-syllable lines. Known as the iconocalst, Tolson used his poetry to do-sto :i l po 11posity and those who manipulated everyman' s sufferings from behind a c]oak of l1i g 1 office. Music and art infor111 1:1uch of his po~try--another reason why his allusory writing has been criticiz ed --as in " ~ .:ndezvous" and "Dark Symphony," the most popular po ell\ in his first book . In " :Zendezvous," in addition to his musical structures, he lists J\.me ri ca 's me l od~js by associating factories, express trains, power dams, river boats, c oal mines, und lumber camps with musical terminology: "allegro," "blues rhap s ody," "b.'.lss crescendo," "diatonic picks," and "belting harmonics." "Dark Symphony," i rrmediqte ly musical and racial in its title, is separated into parts a long musical ljnes and terminology: Part I: Allegro Hoderato; Part II, Lento Grave; Part III, Andante Sostenuto; Part IV, Tempo Primo; and Part V, Larghetto. "R endez\ious" and "Dark Symphony" are patterned after the ode form (which Tolson would exr.,and c n in Libre to and Harlem Gallery). "Dark Symphony" carries the same theme : as 'Rendezvous"--people pitted against their injustices--but the l a tter poem iu mere racial in flavor and subject matter. Located, temporally and spiritu,,lly, be tween the concerns of Whitman ( the "sweep") and John Steinbeck (Crapes of Wrath) 1 "Dark Symphony" opens by reminding Americans that "Black Crispus Attucks" di(!d fo1 th em (Boston Co111mons) Before white Patr..ck 111 :nry' s bu g le breath asked for liberty over denth. ,~ st r 1ingly masculine poem (as is so much of Tolson's work), it moves robustly to rec :Lte t \1c deeds of "Men black and strong. 11 Part II tells of the "slaves s inging " in th e "torture tombs" of ships in the middle passage, the swamps, the "cabin:; of 11eath," and "canebrakes. 11 In the remaining �parts, the Black American, spealdn g I hr?gh the collective "we," vows not to "forget" that "Co lgo tha" has b c . , ~ i}Jor that "The ll ill of Rights is burned." The New Negro wears "sevcn-lea1311e" bpots and springs from a tradition that produced Nat Turner, Joseph Cinque :~ ("R .ack Moses of the Amis tad Mutiny"), Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Harrie : Tubman ("Saint Bernard of the Underground Railroad"). Grapes of Wrath anil Nat ~ve Son are invoked as indices to the suffering and the breeding of slums. And, fin ,1lly, the historical concerns of the Black poet: Out of abys se s of Illi :eracy, Through labyrintl13 of . ies, 11 Across wast e lands of )isease h'e advance! Brilliant, esoteric , complex, i1novative, and able to span the world of Black Folk idiom and academic intellectualism, Tolson always punctuat~s his undaunted lyricism with ribald humor and thi i._; h-slapping uproarousness. However, Paul Bremen desparagingly referred to Tolson c1s posturing "for a white audience with an ill-conceived irin and a wic Ked sense of humor ... an entertaining darky using almost comically bi g words as the best wasp tradition demands of its edu5V 1 j L-> fcated house-nigr,ers." (M..1ybe, one 1~ i ght ~ Tolson was "even" too deep for the Yf\ Enclishman Bremen,) Neverthcl ss, the roets of the academy apparently loved Tolson and more than one of them tr1 e d to get him deserved recognition before he > tJi /{ 1A-fw\~ died, h'illiam Carlos;1saluted 1olso r; in his fourth book of Patterson; Allen Tate wrote a now famous introduct ior, to launchin)j Tolson int o th e s ame 1 ibretto; ~ us Shapiro introduced Harlem Callery, f ame that llowclls broui ht to Dunbar M years before; Robert Frost, St .: nl c y f.d p,c1 r llyman, Selden Rodman, John Ciardi, and Theodore Roethke, all tri e d to ''brir g Tolson to the c eneral literary consciousness, but with little succ e ss" (Sl1ap i. ro). A( setJti.. �Tolson's severest critics usuall , have in mind Libretto or Harlem Gallery. Rendezvous has been out of print for ;everal years and many of the younger Black poets and scholars have not read it--1s is the case with Sterling Brown's Southern Road (1932) which has j ust been repr i1te<l . Bu~any casual look at Tolson's work will confirm reports that h3 is 1o t digestible in a single reading. la rle□ before the erudition of Libretto and to the allusion. Even Callery, Tolson accustomed himself Indeed, his stronge,t weapon is the literary or historical reference--the mark of the library po ~t, the learned person. In "An Ex-Judge at ~ the Bar" Tolson is at his fi nest as h :: combines humor, allusion,;1 ironyl with the II justaposing of philosophy and social :ommentary. bar. This ex-judge is at a "drinking" And rich in oral power, like mo,t of Tolson's poetry, the poem surveys the history of a whit e man who, after serving in the war and returning home to become a judge , is guilt-ridden in a tavern where he discusses his life with the bartender. The opening couplet: Bartender, make it straight and make it two-- 7 ~,t<L One for the you in me and~ the me in you. reflects the Black American's dextera-1s ness with oral language anJ Tolson's rich background as storyteller anJ debate coach. The couplet contains the kind of musical, seemingly non-sensical st atqne nt that Black men love to exchange <luring fierce verbal sparrin~ matches--even though the judge is presumably white. Drunk, the judge r e -lives his war experiences and, in a vision, sees the "Goddess Justice" 7 whom someone "blindfo ld s" t_s the lawy e rs lie and railroad defendents before him. ) llut Justice "unbanda ged " her eyes anq accused the judge of lynching a Black man to "gain the judge's sea t," even thot1 gh, ironically, he fought in the last war to "make the world safe for Demcc rac y. " The judge, seeking consolation and implying that no one is ~~rfect, is finally m~veJ to self-evaluation, repents and orders �! \i Ii another round of drink s : Bartender, make it stra .. ght and make it three-One for the Neg ro ... O1te for you and me. "An Ex-Jud ge at the Bar"--wlth i 1 s ironies and double entenJres in the very title--is a poem that slips away from the reader. never sure, that one lias the meanin~ tinde r control . > One tl1inks, though one is The poem refers to Ceasar, Pontius Pilate, the Koran, the S.thara/ "September Morn" (a painting by Paul Chabos), the French language words, Fland,~rs f ~eld, and Macduff in Shakespeare's Macbeth. ~ Certainly these a re no: th e ideal ingredients for a poem directed to I· the "people." On the other hand , for the reader ready to Jo battle with history and world knowlecl e; e, Tolson prov,~s qu Lte rewarding. Dudley Randall ("The !Hack. Aesthetic in Thirties , Forties, ,rnJ FL f ties"--Modern Black Poets) states, with a strained air of seriousnes s , tha c : ''[f the reader has a well-stored mind, or is willing to use dictionaries, enc~lopelias, atlases, and other reference books,'' Tolson's work "should present no grc::i : difficulty." Randall hnd in mind, specificallr, Libretto, a section of which appeared in Poetry along with tl1 e book's preface. In this long poem--constructed loosely around the ode forn1--Tolson celebrate~ Liberia's cent e nnial. "Tolson used all th e devices dear to t he New Criticism: According to Randall, recondite allusions, scraps of f orei r,n lan r,unge s , African proverbs, symbolism, objective correlatives. Hany parts of the poem are obscure, nJ t through some private symbolism of the author, but because of the unusual words, forei gn phrases, and learned allusions." Randall goes on to point out th::it rea.ling Libretto is like reading other "learned poets, such as Milton and T .S. Eliot ." llowever, rea ding Tolson is not ~ xactly like reading other learned poets, for he places Black information in fron t of the r eader . Ile bends the ode into a �I/ musical structure and cel eb ratei; t i1e Black past. Continuing a pattern set in poems like "RenJezvou s with America" a nJ "Dark Symphony," Tolson separates Libretto alon g lines of th e west.ern 11 usical scale: Do. Do, Re, Hi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Specifically, Lihrett o a c ktLowl e<g es the 100th birthday of Liberia, founded in 1847 by the Americ a n Colonizati o n So ciety for free men of color. in the Lib e rian menta l ity a s fa c: t an, range of African hi s t o ry: "Rooted symbol, II Libretto traverses the kaleidoscopic the r. ta 2, n i l icent ancient and Medieval kingdoms, European exploitation, various th eo ri e s ,1s t o t he re a son for the question-mark-shape of Africa, the ori g ins o [ Blac k st1:re ot ~p es, Africa's contributions to the world, the impact of Christi a nit y , IsLnn a n 1. other reli g ions. All this Tolson does with what Allen Tate c alls "a great i;l ft of langua g e, a profound historical sense, a first-rate intelligence." Ta1 :e ali;o pondered, as did Emanuel and Gross (Dark Symphony, 1968), "what influenc1! thi1 ; work will have upon Negro poetry in the United States." More than slightly r ecalling Howells, in his endorsement of Dunbar, Tate says "For the firs 1; tim1 •, it seems to me, a Negro poet has assimilated completely the full poetic lang page pf his time and, by implication, the language of the An g lo-American tradition , " Relentl e ssly posin p, the on 1e-wor il question "Liberia?" and reinforcing the nation's existence in "fa c t and symb1> l," Tolson opens Libretto with lofty erudition and color. The fifth stanza of Do, 1 1fter the initial "Liberia?" and accompanying recitation of what the nation i, not, adJress e s its citizens thusly: Y,)u ar Black La zaru s ris ~n f r ! )In the \·/bite Han's grave, Without n r o 1d to Downing Street, Without a h em iJernisemil uaver in an Oxford Stave! Later in the same section, Tols :m e x ~erpts a chant from "The Good Gray Bard of �Timbuktu": "Wanawak e wanaz aa ovyo! Kazi Yenu Wanzun gu!" Robert Hayden has been cal l ed or.e of t l1e most skilled craftsmen since Countee Cullen; but Tolson without a dot.ht hJs sustained the most powerful poetry which adheres ri gorously to the t c nete or t he modernists. His Libretto is the drama of "The Desert Fox" and th e C.ern1an " poosestep" across Africa (Mi); of the snake, "eyeless, y e t with e ye s" ( Fa ); c,f 11 \~l i te Pilgrims" and "Black Pilgrims" who sing "O Christ" that the worsf will ' 1pass ! 11 (Sol); of "Leopard, elephant, ape" and "A white man spine<l wi th J r eams' 1 ( La) _; of a "Calendar of the Country" to "red-letter I the Republic's birth!" (Ti ); and o f ' a professor of metaphysicotheologicocosmonigology" who is also a tooth pull e r a p.:itapl ysicist in a clo.:ica of error a belly's welf a i;kull Is tabernacle a f/13 with stars a muses' <lar 1inr,, busie bee de sac et de corde a nei gh bor's be<l-i d1aker a walking hospital on the walk) The symbols, the synt ax , t he c n 1mma r a nd the langua ge tumble on placine Quai d'Or sa y, White llousc, Kreml in, Downin g Str ee t. in the catalo gue while Ae ain bla c k Ae thi ::ip r e 1chc s at th e sun, 0 Creek. (Ti) The history o [ world wars, t he sossl) in high circles ("11 Duce's Whore"), the concoction of en ume ra bl e l.:in~ua g ~s a nd boo k-buri e d erudition, reveal Tolson as a compl ex and di ff icul t mod e rn· po! t. The tra gedy, Randall and others l1ave �II pointed out, is that as Tolson wrote J.ibretto and Harlem Gallery, white scions of the modern verse were turning thei · backs on erudition for a more common, everyday lan~ua ge in poetry. Tr1ppcd in the middle (he held on to Harlem Gallery for more than 30 years), Tolson ::anti lUed to labor in the best tradition of the modern poetry to the disbelief of con :emporaries--who, like Cummings, Rexroth, and Hughes, were influenced by Be-Dop and a freer langua ge structure. · Tolson's sustained scholarship and comp lex all1sions are reinforced by the addition of scores of footnotes which cite the works of such as Dryden, Shakespeare, Emerson, Tennyson, Lorenzo Dow Turn er (Africa nisms in the Gullah Dialects), J.A. Rogers -~ (Sex and Race), V. Firdousi, Gunnar ~ltrdal, Aeschylus, Boccacio, Baudelaire, and hundreds of others. The worl~ ends (.12:?.) in a use of mystical and technological symbols which examine "Futurafrique" and "tomorrow ... 0 ... Tomorrow." Tolson's career is a terrifying examp le of the confusion that can occur in the Black literary artist. > mien h e fir st sent the manuscript of Libretto to Tate (who was across town at VanJerbjlt with the "Fugitive" poets while Tolson was at Fisk), he rejected it saying he w;is not interested in "propanganda from a Negro poet "<- (Flasch and Randa] l) ~ T lson then dilligently re-wrote the manuscript to subscribe to the hish intellc,ctua~, technical, and scholarly demands of the modern poets (Tate, John Crowe r.anso11 , Eliot, Pound, Robert Penn Warren, Donald Davidson, and others). it. Ile sent the n.:.r nuscript back to Tate who agreed to endorse In 1920, Tolson had stumblc~<l up< n a copy of Sandburg's "Chicago" but was warned by a professor to "leave that stuff alone" (Flasch). His maturation as a poet, then, was stunted--caus .• ng h : m to spend 30 years searching for his own voice. Harlem Gallery (the f irst nf a planned five-volume epic) provides another example of the chaos in Tolson' ,:; poe 1: ic life. In 1932, he completed a 340-page manuscript called "A Gullery of llarl 1!m Portraits" which was qirned down by �publishers. When the Je rivativ e ode, llarlem Gallery was finally brought out in 1966, Tolson hue.! published two newer ·11a nuscripts: Rern.lezvous and Libretto. llarlem Gallery had been placed in ToJ ,o n' s "trunk" for 20 years--a period during which he switched from the Romantics ind Victorians (and Masters after whose Spoon River J\ntholo1~Y "P o rtraits" \.J.1S year per loci Tolson saj d he "r ead and 111odelled) to the Moderns. During the 20 1L>so rbe<l the techniques of Eliot·, Pound, Yeats, Baudelaire, Pastcrnuk and, b.:!licvc, all the grea t moderns. God only knows how many "litll e magazines" st udied, and how much textual analysis (sic) of the New Critics." /\ sta[:r.,ering poe111 , llarlcm Cal.ll!r l'._ "ls a work of art, a sociological commentary, an intellectual tripl e somersault." (Flasch) It meets the vigorous intellectual, scholarly, and stylisLic whims of 111ocjern poetry, but at the same time is "impossible to describe." Yet it ls Tolson's crqwning achievement in more ways than one. First it continues !iii, fascination wlth Black and general history. Second, it pursues Tolson's intense intere~t in both the psycho-dynamics of the Afro-American character ..in<l the.• artlst; he is partj c ularly concerned with the plight of the twentieth century lll:1 c k artist lhcn ·c Book I, The Curator). Third, it provides one of the 1;1ost powerful :1ml aut h C' nt I c links between the llarlem l{enaissance and the Black Arts Movcm011t of tl1e ~ 9(,0B .:i nd J 970s. The very title of Harlem Gallery gives i.t a Black sctl lnf;; and tlic• f;_ic t of it's being conceived and initially drafted duri,1)'. thl! HL·11.1jssnn c c ndic- ; t •~; tliilt Tolson labored over the years (from the stand point of 111c·111ory, LvrhniqtH' a nd trnhject matLC'r) in the after-glow of the 11 terary [ lowering wa Lere<l by M1:Kay, Cullen, Toomer, Hughes, Fisher, Johnson, and Locke. l~i.,iaJly , the cl 1ar :ictL'. rs in ~,r l em Callery are Black: the Curator, Doctor Nkomo (I3antu expatriate anJ Afri_cani 1:L ), Mr . Cuy Delaporte (president of ilola Bola Enterprises), Black Orchid (blu,~s-si11 :;er anc.1 mistress to Oelaporte), the �half-blind Harlem artist John Lc:i u;•,art, l.lli.lck Diamond ( ghet to-promoter of the Lenox policy racket), and llidehc Ik L~, .1ts ( the li g ht-skinned poet of Lenox Avenue). The Curator of the Harlem Callery is an admixture (continuing concern begun in Rendezvous) of rac es (" Afro irishj o,vish"), an octoroon who passes for Black in New York and white in Mississippi. He is a digestion of the humor and pathos Blacks see in thos e of their r ace \/hQ a ttempt to "p ass ." Tolson noted that since thou sands of li1•, ht-ski11neq IlL,cks passed over, th e re is a standing joke among illacks which asks 11 \·Jhat Vil ite nan is white?" Harlem Callery, then, is desi gned to parade th e Bl ack "ti pes" (ultir.1ately everyman types) through the I gallery of life as it is shaped by tl c' vi ew of th e literary ge nius: Tolson. ~ Specifically, the boo!: is a ltu gl) i.lnsi, e r to Cert rude Stein's charge that the "Negro suffers from nothin i:: ness ." illack history. All of hJ s poetic life, Tolson worked to reconstruct Now, i n ~ r y , he was coming with speed and poetic pre- cision from his corner of the syntactical and semantical ring to do battle with Stein's char ge . In the Introduction to Harlem Gallery, Shapiro explains in part the reason why Gertru de St e in wc,uld 1 e rsclf be so ignorant. Whites do not get a chance to read about Bla c k acliiev 11,e nt since "Poetry as we know it remains the 1,ibre! !:£ may have pulled "the rug out from under most lily-whit e of th e arts." 1 the poetry of th e Aca de my" but ears." 11 ll arl1 ·m Callery pulls the house down around their J\ssni ling Elio t anJ otlwrs f<,r "µurifyin g the language," Shapiro praised Tolson for "complicating it , gl1ri n i; t the gif t of ton gues ." Tolson certainly g ave Harl1:m Cn .1.£!:y the "gift of tongues. 11 He uses tidbits from the range of wor ld L111 r, ua ~1!Ll ; b11t h Ls work is more sustained and coherent than in Libr e tto. Dot h story-l ~n e a11J l an g ua ge are more accessible in Gallery-- with its interpolatio n of rich ,S lack spee ch and musical terminology into stilted academic lan g ua ge and form. Se: up 11usically , with eac h section bearing the �II )$v}-lh ) name of a~Creek ,:l!J.phabet, Galle~ slwws Tolson again displaying his amazing technical virtuosity a nd his merger ,>f th e ode form with related Black orally-derived structures: / blues, jazz, Spirituals, folk epics and oral narratives (see "Satchmo" in Lrimbda} or " The Birth o ' John Henry" in XI). The verse pattern in Callery owes some debt to Do in Libr~tto with its tapered typography and irregular line organization wh ich either force, th e reader to speed up or slow· down to catch the rhyme. Alpha opens descri)ing the spice of llarlem as "an Afric pepper bird" before the Cur c1to r tells us thJt I travel, from oasis tJ oasis, man's Saharic ,1 up-.:ind-down. The grand sweep and intellect ual storage of Tolson are ga thered fr-om line to line, between lines, in th ~ margins, arou17d and throu p,hout th e poem. Recalling the verbal jousting in "An Ex-Judg~ at the Bar," the Curator assesses his "I-ness, 11 his 11 humannes s" and his " Negroress" a nd this recipe mixes with the pEppcr bird's reveille in my brain where the plain js twjlled and twilled in plain. The a cad emic stilts are shortcr.ed fer the sake of understanding (Beta): th e comma giv es (.he e)e , not th e head of the h,wk swo llen with rye. Like Hayden's "Middl e Passa ge, " _0:11 ·~ / vi ews the physical and spiritual pre- dicament of th e Black man: wh.it hap he go ne throu gh, how much more can/will he take, how long? Th,~ ans11e r is th a t man may have to endure suffering Aow long ? forever--but if he is doomed t ,) suf 'e r, he is likewise 11 doomed 11 to survive. The �Curator is told that others have su(fcre<l and surviveJ . the artist create in th e ir suffering . The Afro-American and So the "Afroirishjewish Grandpa" of the Curator tells him that: Bet\/een the <lead sc!a hitherto ancl the pro1 nisecl :_ aml I c nc e looms t he wi LJcrn< !SS Ne 1, : althou g h his co11ficlt.!r Ce is often a boar b;lilcd up on a rid g e, som,~ho1,, the Attic salt in wan s11rvives the blow of Attila, Croe;us, Jscariot , and th e witch es Sa)batli in the Catacombs of l3osio . Certainly this survival theme is clos ,! to the heart of the Afro-American and the artist. Artis ts are oft en among the ' i rs t to p l e f or clemency, for free expression, for truth. The Spirituals and tie va,t body of Black folk expression reaffinn the Afro-American's faith in man and the 1uest for survival. Acknowledging this aspect of Black expression and stren~th, Tol wn (and Hayden: "Mean mean mean to be free.") incorporates the rich blast of Black fo lk materials. In heaven (Lambda), Gabriel announces that 'I'd be lhe ~~ reatcst tru '1peter in the Universe, if old Sa tchmo had never been born! ' And the birth of John Henry is an epic birth--akin to that of Jesus, Buddah, Mohammed, and others. The ni ght John Henr~ born an ax of lig htning ~plit ~ the sky, ,::rnd a ha r.un er of thLn<l e r pounds the earth , �I I/ an J the ea 0 L!s am panthers cry! Reciting a soul-fooJ menu at bi .:th , . ohn Henry 'I want some ham hocks ribs, and ;owls, a pot of cabba31! ,rnJ e,reen; some hoecakes, ja1~l butter milk, a platter of po .~k and beans!' Tolson remdins at home in synch .:oni z .n.g, 4:he Afro-American and Western heritages. 7 In Gallery his forte is still tie li :erary allusion juxtaposed with history or religion (as in Libretto); but 1e lore s to ascenlth II mountain of academia '- and then suddenly drop into the mid s : of ghetto6fury as going ( Zeta ) from thoughts that tilt like "long '.fapalese eyes" :o a "catacomb Harlem flat" ( grote s quely vivisecteJ like microscoped maggo ts) .... To the " Elite Chitterling Shop" (Eu.1) which contains the "variegated dinoceras of a jukebox" (singing the ··;.1111Livalence of :::1.ass.i.c:di i.•iues'') . l'\ ...._ ,.....,. ..__ v v .... t,,,.>J..,_ I"'\\....: ...,,_,._ Nkomo, "the alter ego" of the gallery, speaks I Across ar. alp of chitt e rlings, pungent as epigrams, The Doctor returns to the theme o[ survival and free expression : ' The lie of the 9 rtist is the only lie for which a mortal or a god should die.' 'J.'olson' s ever-present rieeJ to ~ynlh Esize (and yet separate) the three ingredients of man (biology, sociolo gy and psycl o lo gy--extending into the three S's--sight, sou:.1d an<l sense ) recur in the J. oem ! T: ta) as the artists paint the seven r ~mels of 111< n ' s tridcmensional ity in var~_for rn! anJ varicolors-since virtut: lw.s no Kelvin scale s :.nce , , mot:her breeds 111 , twins alike , ... �_____ ........, I f l ,;/ ...; '- .... "le I J) j j ~ ...-! < ( . ' r ...,, , _.,, ! / , �1. an<l since no ma n who i.s .i u<lged by hi:; bioi ocia l identity in to r o can b(! a Kiefekil or n'('rtufe, an Isc .:ir iot or an Iar,o ." Hence Tolson extends, sometimes in crnno u f l ou p,e , his ideas about man's similarities and differences. different: To be sure, lw 12 1:.:iying that Black men and white men are but that the <liffer1inces .:i re not si gnificant enou g h to keep them from workin g to ge ther for the m11 tu nl good. This particular stan<l, which laces the work of llnyden, To lson, llur;hes a 1tcl early Gwendolyn Brooks, is not one that will remain popular a1,1ong poets who ,;ubscribe to the !Hack Aesthetic of the 1960s. Nevertheless Tolson <lu g un<lerne,1th t ' 1e hysteria and the ideological neatness to probe the time-honor ed qu es tion, abo1t na n. Psi (a much-anthologized section of Callery) finds Tolson doinr; bat~le wLth a nthropolo g ists, the D.A.R., the F.F.V. (First Families of Vir g in ia ), U1cle 'l'om, the Jim Crow Sign, the Great White Horld, an<l K:rnt, in an attt2mpt to an , Her th e question "Who is a Negro?" ancl "Who is a \Jhite?" satire. Tolson ' s wor k con : ains r; r eat satire; a nd g reat wisdom in the To b e misled by his in :::r ,Jj , le ancl J az:ding wori_ pL:iy is to miss the essential Tolso n who wa n wJ the corni.1 g gene ration that, although Uncle Tom was "dea<l, 11 the y should bew.:ire of hi s so1-- "Dr. Thomas." Sus picious of fame and wealth and desiring to see no man placed ov ~r another (in privile/ge), Tolson remarked after John 1.augart' s murcl <=r , tlw t at~Jnl_'., tho se thinf,S r ema ining was ... infamy, th e siamese t win of fac1c . �Are we privil edced , here , to see a s 1eak (JO-year-before) preview of Watergate? We do not know what HoulJ :rnve ' icen Tolson' s fate as a poet had he come to his own comfortable style ;:is a youn g man in the Harlem Renaissance. nearly fifty when he sent Tate the m,1n uscript for Libretto. He was Fifty, of course, is quite an age for a poet to b! sci 1 at odds with his craft--or to have his work over-s ee n by a cr iti c . Ne·,erth, ~Jess Tolson, not admitted (as Shapiro noted of Black poets), to the " polite comp,tny of the anthology," had to get his voice "together" without th e ai d a vail able to the "Fu gitives" or those in molding centers for modern voctry. ~?f/lM·.~ Few Blac] : poets at th e time were attempting Tolson's I feat--poetry among Bl a cks had, ~n fa, : t, declined in interest during the forties and fifties--and th e r e is much ,~vid pee that Tolson ge nerally intimidated other Black scholars and intellectual ;, witlt his vast knowledge and great talents. Like poets of other ge nerations, he 11as a part-time poet, expending much of his energies on students a nd school··rcla 1. ed work. Randall has pointed out that unless Black poets imitate Tolson--and thus keep him apparent and interesting--he will not exert a major inf l uence on 11.fro-nme rican poetry. But, as Barksdale and Kinnamon note, a poet of Tolson ' s rap ze and power can not go unnoticed for long. Criticism of Tolson is sparse. Joy Flasch's Melvin IL Tolson, in the Tw~{ United States Authors Ser .Les , 11ffers g ood insights into Tolson's techniques. narksdale and Kinnamon give briiif cr :. ticism in Black lvriters of America. Randall appraises him in the article on Blacl . poets of three decades following the Renaissance in his "Po rtr ai t of the l'oet as Ranconteur, '' Negro Digest, XV, 3 (January, 1966) 54-57. See als o "A l'oet' s Odyssey," an interview with Tolson I (conducted by M. W. King) in i\np,(ir, a11d fleyond (1966). For several reasons, Hargare t h'plk.e r's poetry and life provide a rich and rewarding jolt in the writing a c:tiv Lt y o f this period: her For Hy People (1942) � 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_14 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, D. The Extended Renaissance: 30s, 40s, 50s, p. 1-49, typed manuscript with handwritten edits Description An account of the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, D. The Extended Renaissance: 30s, 40s, 50s, p. 1-49, typed manuscript with handwritten edits. Draft includes a "see change" handwritten note on the back of p. 47. 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/ff815af925a4980926682118f11cbd3f.pdf 8096a82c91569c8b3d1a1bceca3c7e23 PDF Text Text ( ) • �, , ') 1 �V LL " j .6 �• �II �, ��( �����' I I • • t ; I • •• ' ) I �, l ---of'.t my , I .. ef id ., 1 27 � 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_01_02 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, Folk Spiritauls (cont'd), p. 14-27 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/640128d83a9ffe849e65ed667ad4d770.pdf 2489e5e28fae4c6674e571282da04cd8 PDF Text Text III Spi r ituo.ls: 11 Try i n I to c;et b ot,1 e 11 For ma ny rea~:;ons, tb c use of tbe word de s cribe Blacl: reli c io s ity is a 1.1isnor,ier. 11 s piri tual II to Curr ent i nter- pretations, outline d by new information and e:-;1pirical research into h istory and t lrnuch t convinces us t h at tbe entire Black world is 11 s pirituul 11 : i.e., informed by and responsible to a "hi ghe r orde r"--th e order of God or the "c;ods." The 0x- G\1ber a nce, t he spo ntaneity, the ecstasy, the trances, t he talkin c; in tongues , tbe racial flavor and flair in dress (at church and ni c;htclub ), all point up the interdependence and the into c;ration of various modes and points of view in the Black communit y . Professor Hork descri b es it as "th is difference and this oneness." The contemporary Black poet Hayde n und erstand s this intoc;ration w1len, in a poem to Malcolm X, h e e.xcl a iJ.w tl ic 11 blazin13 oneness II of Allah. Further proof of t h i::i fu s ion is s e en in the emotional a.ba.ndonrnent of church folk during s ecular picnics, socials ~nd other events of merriment. One has only to listen to Aretha Franklin alter- nate between Gospel and blues to see tl1is unity of expression c:' operating today. / 5. And certainly it is clear in the works of Let us observe that the most brilliant and inrluential Black poets have intimately understood this aspect of Black culture . Almost 11ithout exception (and Kerlin, Brown and 37 �the Staples Singers , the Edwin Hawkins Singers and in a more vulgarized manne r in Flip Wilson (Rev. Leroy). 11 of one brother, In the words tl-i e preacher and tbe pimp style out heavy. 11 Still, it is i mp ortant that we offer the traditional portrait and break-down of Black folk expression--so as not to coni'use or invade the 11 sacrec1 11 bastions of history. The Spirituals have been the source of continuing de bate among scholars: Are t h ey completely African in ori Gin? Are they primarily Ene;lish (Nethodist, Hesleya.n, etc.) in orii:;in? Or do they represent the co-joining of African/European tbemes and reliciosity? Persons desiring to concentrate on t h is area of Black poetry should trace the history of these ar guments and debates and reach conclusions of their own. Johnson (and his brother, J. Rosamond) put together the best known collection of these sonc;s in Tl1e Book of American Nec;ro Spirituals (1925), and The Second Book of American Negro_Splrituals (1926). The Spirituals usually deal with physical or fi gurative contact between the singer (or congre gat ion) and God. (Early Afro-Americans often used the words God, Jesus, Savior, and Lord interchangeably. For a more thorough discussion of this see Benjamin May::i' The Negro's God.) The sonc;s also doal with others Harn young Black writers to follow example) Black poets sinc e the Civ il War have availed t hemselves of inte c;ral folk rudiments--even when they did not use them in poetry. / It is still a fact that Black culture (despite the racist and techno- JG �a longing for rest and the overcoming of for midable ob stacles or adversaries. Professor Work's 1915 study was se minal and remains a landmark in the study of African and Black American songs. His work provides many answers to questions and issues that had been (and co ntinue to be) muddied by the waters of insensitivity and careless research. His efforts, "undertaken for the love of our fat h ers' songs," gives clear connections be;tween the African and Afro-American folk son g . His main co ncern is for t he reli e;ious songs--altllouc;h his comments on form and style are of g eneral value: In America we h e ar it (the song ) and see it acted in the b arn dance, on the stac;e, in the streets a mong t be ch ildre n ; in fact, many an occasion is e nli vened by th is s pecies of music, the interest in wh ich ls inten::iified by tbe rhyt11mical patting of ha nd s and feet. This rhythm is most strikingl y a nd o.ccurately brought out in their work sonc;s. Citing the emotionalis m and song ified intensity of the Black American, Professor Work says "He worships not so much because he ouc;bt, as because be loves to worsbip. II Th is "worsh ip, of course, is the kind we referred to earlier: II t h e inte gration logical barrages of the West) still remains m~re consciously "integrated '" than other cultural unit in America. 39 �of sensuality and ecstasy into the sweeping ritual of live and i1:1mediate dram'l. Sucb musi cal activity is "as natural to tl1e American Necro as bis breath 11 : Indeed, it is a portrayal of his soul, and is as ch aract eristi c as are his physical features. Hear him sing in his church, hear bin preach, moan , and gl ve ' gravery ' in l1is sermon, hear t h e was berwoman sine;inc; over her tub , hear the lab orer singinc; his accompaninent to his toil, 11ear the child babbl i ng an extemporaneous tune .•.• Even those ITegr oes who have been educated and who have been influenced by lone; study, find it difficult to express their musical selves in any other i-rny. Black ::;onr;, as is readily obsorvablc, possesses b oth pure song (the verse and chorus plan) and chant (use of interjections and exple tives) qualities: Poor mun Laz 1 rus, poor as I, Don't you see? Poor man Laz•rus, poor as I, Don't you □ co? 1foen be died be found a home on high , Ile had a home in dat rock, Don't you see? Alluding to t he deeper, more psychological, meaning of these songs , Professor Hork says "there are closer relations between �·7 'bra,-i , the soul and musical expressions tl1an have.A satisfactorily explained. These relat ions can be felt, but any accurate descri ption se ems bey ond the grasp of man 1 s mind. 11 Never- theless this i mp ortant study goes on to classify and numb er these songs of: Joy , S orrow, Sorrow with Note of Joy, Faith, Hope, Love, Determination , Adoration, Patience, Courage and Humility. Like most scholars of the Spirituals, this one points out tl1at th e re is no h ate, resentment or vindictiveness in them. How eve r, Dr. Thurman, theolo gian and philosopb er, has excavated underpinnings of turbulence. In Tbe Negro Spiritual, Dr. Thur man tells us death was i mmediate and ever-present for t he slave . In such an atmosphere of anxiety and fear, the slave developed a rather stoic attitude in which he saw death as inescapable arrl as, possibly, the only remaining ve11 icle for mediation wi t11 the plantation lords. The s lave could take his own life, if he wanted to--ns he did many ti mes in prefer ence to slavery or separation fro r:1 family and/or loved ones. Dr. Thurman's brilliant analysis must be read by any serious student of Blac k thought and culture. Johnson (who also classified the songs) 6 said 11 hierarchy of poets for the Spirituals included the song- maker (writer) and th e song'"leader. 6. The leader had to rememb er leadin g lines, Johnson, Brown, Kerlin and Dr. Thurman also g ive con- sideration to t11e 11 poetic 11 co ntent of the Spirituals. Jobnson and Professor Horlc discuss the preservation a nd promotion of 4.1 �pitch tunes true and possess a powerful voice. Johnson, who (like Professor Vork) believes the earliest Black American songs were built on the common African form, sa.ys the Spirituals were written by individuals and set to tre moods of groups. Like the blues, their secular and structural cousins, the Spirituals incorporated antiphony or call-and-response which allowed for audience (congregation) participation (eitber by alternating, or intermingling, with the leader): Leader: Oh, de Ribber of Jordan is deep and wide, Congregation: One mo' ribber to cross. Leader: I don't know how to get on de otber side, Congregation: One mo 1 ribber to cross. Heavily influenced by Cbr:l.stian imagery and mythology, the creators of the S pirituals often chose the most militant of biblical personalities as their heroes. 11 This aspect of these poems 11 opens up an entire area of questions and research for the student seeking to compare/contrast biblical themes and characters to the Spirituals. Certainly tbere is need to ex- amine the English Hymns and Psalms in the framework of such a study. The Spirituals should also be compared/contrasted to the Black literary verse of the period during whicb they these songs through archival holdine;s, cboir concert tours and the attention paid to them by composers. 42 � 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_13 Title A name given to the resource Copy of Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History, III. Spirituals, p. 14-36, typed manuscript with handwritten edits Relation A related resource Eugene B. Redmond Digital Collection Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource For digital rights and permissions, see <a href="https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml">https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml</a> or contact <a href="mailto:library@siue.edu">library@siue.edu</a> for direct inquiries. In copyright. <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Redmond, Eugene B.