The Harlem Renaissance was a 1920's black urban movement. There was an explosion of culture with many different forms of music and poetry, all of which have a connection to the people's love for harlem.
Questions To Consider:
1. Who were the poets of the Harlem Renaissance
2. What were some of their poems about?
"Harlem Renaissance Poets"
There were many Harlem Renaissance poets, each unique in his own way. Many of them wrote about a love for Harlem, race, memories from their past, culture, heritage, and various other themes. Such poets were Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude Mckay, Arna Bontemps and more. All of these poets and more have contributed an enormous amount of work to the Harlem Renaissance, and made it the exciting time period that it was for those lucky enough to experience it.
Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, in 1902. Hughes was raised by his grandmother until he was about 12 years old, which was when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois to live with his mother and stepfather. During his high school years Hughes began writing poetry. In 1924, Hughes moved to Harlem, New York. In 1926 he published his first book of poetry called "The Weary Blues." Hughes's says that as he was growing up, he admired Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman. Hughes poetry includes "Dream Variations", "Life is Fine", "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", "Let America be America Again, and many others". Countee Cullen was another poet who made great contributions to the Harlem Renaissance (http://www.poets. org). "Juke Box Love Song" is one poem which clearly illustrates Hughes's love for Harlem. The poem reads,
I could take the Harlem night
and wrap around you,
Take the neon lights and make a crown,
Take the Lenox Avenue buses,
Taxis, subways,
And for your love song tone their rumble down.
Take Harlem's heartbeat,
Make it a drumbeat,
Put it on a record, let it whirl,
And while we listen to it play,
Dance with you till day-
Dance with you, my sweet brown Harlem girl.
It is clear how Hughes feels towards Harlem. He loves everything about it- the people, the lights, even the noise. A love for the city is a major theme present in many of Hughes's poetry.
Countee Cullen was born in 1903 in New York City. He attended De Witt Clinton High school and started writing poetry at the age of fourteen. Some of his poems were published in "The Crisis," a magazine of the National Urban League. Cullen won several awards for one poem in particular, entitled, "Ballad of the Brown Girl." He graduated from New York University in 1923, and was then accepted into Harvard University. Cullen's first volume of poetry entitled,"Color" brought about controversy after the publishing of his second volume, "Copper Sun." The black community was upset because they felt Cullen did not give the subject of race the same attention he gave it in his first volume. Cullen grew up in a predominately white community and therefore lacked the background to comment from personal experience on the lives of other African Americans. His poems did not consist of the many black themes that were found in poems written by Langston Hughes and other (Ibid). But Cullen did have a strong connection to his heritage. This is present in his poem "Heritage" which reads,
What is Africa to me:
Copper sun or scarlet sea,
Jungle star or jungle track,
Strong bronzed men, or regal black
Women from whose loins I sprang
When the birds of Eden sang?
One three centuries removed
From the scenes his fathers loved,
Spicy grove, cinnamon tree,
What is Africa to me?
So I lie, who all day long
Want no sound except the song
Sung by wild barbaric birds
Goading massive jungle herds,
Juggernauts of flesh that pass
Trampling tall defiant grass
Where young forest lovers lie,
Plighting troth beneath the sky.
So I lie, who always hear,
Though I cram against my ear
Both my thumbs, and keep them there,
Great drums throbbing through the air.
So I lie, whose fount of pride,
Dear distress,and joy allied,
Is my somber flesh and skin,
With the dark blood drammed within
Like great pulsing tides of wine
That, I fear,must burst the fine
Channels of the chafing net
Where they surge and foam and fret...
This section of Cullen's poem "Heritage" definitely shows how connected he feels to his culture and family. The pride he feels for his country is evident through his diction all throughout this poem.
James Weldon Johnson was another famous poet from the Harlem Renaissance. He was born in 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Atlanta University with the intention that the education he received there would be used to further the interests of the black people. In 1900, he wrote a song "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" which became known as the "Negro National Anthem." Johnson moved to New York in 1901 to work with his brother Rosamond who was a songwriter for Broadway. Some of his major works were "The Creation," "Go Down, Down," "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and many others (Ibid). "Sence you Went Away," another poem written by Johnson, is a sincere love poem which describes how lonely the speaker is feeling. The poem reads,
Seems lak to me de stars don't shine so bright,
Seems lak to me de sun done loss his light,
Seems lak to me der's nothin' goin' right,
Sence you went away.
Seems lak to me de sky ain't half so blue,
Seems lak to me dat ev'ything wants you,
Seems lak to me I don't know what to do,
Sence you went away.
Seems lak to me dat ev'ything is wrong,
Seems lak to me de day's jes twice as long,
Seems lak to me de bird's forgot his song,
Sence you went away.
Seems lak to me I jes can't he'p but sigh,
Seems lak to me ma th'oat keeps gittin' dry,
Seems lak to me a tear stays in my eye,
Sence you went away.
This poem demonstrates how since Johnson was. The speaker in this poem is speaking of all the things that have gone wrong on his life since that person left him on his own. He says that since that person left, the sky is not half as blue, everything is going wrong, he can't help but sigh, etc. Johnson put many personal feelings into each of his poems, making them all unique in their own way.
Zora Neale Hurston was an American author who wrote stories, novels, folklore, and autobiographies. She was a unique artist and scientist who produced a large amount of work including "Jonah's Gourd Vine," "Mules and Men," "Tell my Horse," "Spunk," and many others. Older African American writers criticized Hurston due to frequent "crudeness and bawdiness of the tales she told"(http://aalbc.com/authors/
zoraneal.htm). The younger generation also criticized how she "sugar-coated" the injustices her people faced. Hurston did not let this stop her, rather she continued on with her work and was proud of what she accomplished.
Claude Mckay was another well known poet. He was one of the most prominent figures in the Harlem Renaissance. His political ideas were exemplified early on in his writing career by the presence of language and island culture in his poetry. In 1937 Mckay published his autobiography, "A Long Way from Home." Other works include "The Tropics in New York," "After the Winter," "Heritage," "Spring in New
Hampshire," "America," and various others (www.unc.edu/
courses/eng81br1/claude2.html). Mckay's poem, "The tropics in New York" illustrates Mckay's sense of pride in where he came from. The poem reads,
Bananas ripe and green, and ginger-root,
Cocoa in pods and alligator pears,
And tangerines and mangoes and grapefruit,
Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs,
Set in the window, bringing memories
Of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills,
And dewy Dawns, and mystical blue skies
In benediction over nun-like hills.
My eyes grew dim and I could no more gaze;
A wave of longing through my body swept,
And, hungry for the old, familiar ways,
I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.
This poem shows how deeply Mckay loves his culture and heritage. In the poem,the speaker is living in a New York apartment decorated with a wide variety of fruits, which remind him of his old home.
Arna Bontemps was born in 1902 and became a well respected writer and educator. He wrote a number of books for children and poems as well. Some of Bontemps poems are, "A Black Man Talks of Reaping," "God Give to Men," "Nocturne of the Wharves," and "Reconnaissance." Many of Bontemps poems incorporate themes of Africa and ethnicity.
All of these poets and more, combine to make the Harlem Renaissane an inspiring and exciting time. Each poet incorporates many themes into their poems which add to make each poem unique in its own way. Themes of race,culture, heritage, jazz, entertainment, memories, family, Africa, Harlem, religion, are present in my poems from the Harlem Renaissance. These themes provide an inner look at the poet himself, showing a personal side to the author, something not always shown through writing. Poets from the Harlem Renaissance give today's world a nice look into what the Renaissance was really all about. Being in Harlem during that time was something that those poets will never forget, a time that they will cherish and always remember.
Quiz:
1. Which poet wrote the poem, "Heritage?"
A. Countee Cullen
B. Langston Hughes
C. Jean Toomer
D. Claude Mckay
2. Which poet worked his political ideas into his poetry?
A. Langston Hughes
B. Claude Mckay
C. Zora-Neal Hurston
D. Countee Cullen
3. What are some of the major themes in Harlem Renaissance
poetry?
A. Love for the city
B. Memories
C. Race
D. All of the above
4. Which poet began writing poetry at the age of fourteen?
A. Langston Hughes
B. James Weldon Johnson
C. Countee Cullen
D. None of the above
5. The Harlem Renaissance was a _____ black urban movement.
A. 1920's
B. 1930's
C. 1950's
D. 1960's
6. Which of the following people wrote "Reconnaissance?"
A. Zora Neale Hurston
B. Claude Mckay
C. Arna Bontemps
D. None of the above
7. Which poet was criticized by other black writers for
"sugar-coating" the injustices other African Americans
dealt with?
A. Conrad Kent Rivers
B. Langston Hughes
C. Zora- Neale Hurston
D. Countee Cullen
8. What is an essential part of Harlem Renaissance Poetry?
A. Language
B. Setting
C. Theme
D. Stories
9. Why was Harlem such a "special" city?
A. It's excitement
B. Lights & Noise
C. People
D. All of the above
10. Which famous poet was admitted into Harvard?
A. Countee Cullen
B. Gwendolyn B. Bennett
C. Nella Larsen
D. Jean Toomer
11. Who wrote "The Tropics in New York?"
A. Zora-Neale Hurston
B. Claude Mckay
C. James Weldon Johnson
D. Gwedolyn B. Bennett
12. Who's poem reads "Sence you went away..."
A. Arna Bontemps
B. James Weldon Johnson
C. Langston Hughes
D. Countee Cullen
13. Countee Cullen won several awards for his poem,
__________.
A. "Ballad of the Brown Girl"
B. "Heritage"
C. "Memories"
D. "The Tropics in New York"
14. Countee Cullen wrote two volumes of poetry entitled
"Color" and __________.
A. Harlem City
B. The Blues
C. "Copper Sun"
D. New York's poems
15. The first book of poetry published by Langston Hughes
was ___________.
A. "The Weary Blues"
B. "A Jazz Age"
C. "True Colors"
D. " Harlem Renaissace Era"
15. Which poet worked with his brother, Raymond, on Broadway?
A. James Weldon Johnson
B. Countee Cullen
C. Jean Toomer
D. Arna Bontemps
17. __________ was one of the most prominent figures of the
Harlem Renaissance.
A. Gwendolyn B. Bennet
B. Langston Hughes
C. Claude Mckay
D. Zora Neale Hurston
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