The Harlem Renaissance
(Extended information and history, and further reading
library!)
The “radical voice” came out of hard times and political
instability of the Great Depression. The Harlem Renaissance lasted from the
1920’s into the 30’s, which saw an end to the traditional Jazz Age of
Fitzgerald’s.
Poem by Jean Toomer “Cane” (1923)
A
book on prose and poetry of the “experiences” of African Americans. “"I am a reaper whose muscles set at
sundown." (from “Cane” ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_(novel)
The writers of the Harlem Renaissance seemed to bond in
the thoughts of Jewish-American writers and their problem’s with living
conditions, “alienation,” and
uncertainty. Writers such as Bellow and Roth, became a cornerstone for
Harlem Renaissance writers, Richard Wright and his book “Native Son” in 1940. (
A protest novel on racial prejudice)
The hard living conditions that African Americans lived
in and the racial profiling that gave a negative and often demeaning stereotype
led them to write pieces that combated the general public view of them. They
were literate and creative. These harsh living conditions and impoverished view is very similar to earlier
writings of impoverished London as well as American Immigrants in:
Jack
London’s “People of the Abyss”
William Dean Howell’s “East-Side Ramble
For interesting information and further study on
literature and authors of the Harlem Renaissance Please visit:
2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZWZTLK70Oo&feature=related (Short Video!!!! : ) )
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