Harlem Renaissance Literature

Revelyn Bumacas SED-LIT 7 April 18, 2023
Sylvia Danis BSED-Eng III

Harlem Renaissance Literature (1920’s – 1930’s in New York city)
I. Introduction
Was an incredibly important African American cultural movement. it was known as the
New Negro Movement, at the time occurred in the wake of the struggle for the civil rights in the
United States.
Encompasses the poetry, fiction, and non-fiction written by Black American writers
during the early twentieth century. During the Harlem Renaissance movement, Black writers
created work that celebrated Black culture and folklore. Harlem Renaissance writers also openly
explored the hardships endured by Black people during slavery as well as during Jim Crow-era
segregation in the United States.
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual, cultural, and artistic movement that
centered around the Black American experience and spanned from the 1910s to the 1930s. While
it was rooted in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, Black American writers,
musicians, and artists contributed from across the country.
Harlem was one of the prime destinations for many black Americans, and there, a distinct
way of life developed. 'The New Negro Movement,' as it was called during its time, the Harlem
Renaissance was essentially the flowering of a unique African-American culture. African-
American writers, poets, artists, musicians and intellectuals found new ways to express pride in
their race and culture.
Harlem = an important destination for black Americans migrating out of the Jim Cross South
and seeking new opportunities and more equal rights in the north.
Christianity = one of the major features of the movement, authors discussed the religion and its
impact on their lives in a variety of articles, novels, and poems.
II. Brief History of Harlem Renaissance Literature:

The Great Migration: During World War I, Black Americans began moving out of the
Southern United States and relocating to the West, Midwest, and Northeast. By 1920, hundreds
of thousands of Black people had moved from the South to new areas, including neighborhoods
like Harlem in New York City.
New publishing opportunities: In 1917, Marcus Garvey, an immigrant from Jamaica, founded
the first chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Harlem. Garvey contributed
to the organization’s weekly newspaper, The Negro World, which promoted racial pride and
celebrated Black American culture. More organizations like the National Urban League and the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) formed print magazines
and publications, creating new opportunities for writers to share their work.
Writers in Harlem: By the late 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance was in full swing, with Black
American artists creating a vast range of work. Black poets, authors, and essayists wrote
thousands of pieces that helped lay the framework for the civil rights movement to follow
decades later.
III. Notable Harlem Renaissance Writers and Poets
 Claude McKay (1889–1948)
 moved to Harlem in 1914 and became a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance
movement. One of Claude McKay’s first novels,
Famous Works:
 Home to Harlem (1928)-novel
 If We Must Die (1919)-poem
 Langston Hughes (1901–1967)

Revelyn Bumacas SED-LIT 7 April 18, 2023
Sylvia Danis BSED-Eng III
 One of the most prolific poets of the Harlem Renaissance movement.
Famous works:
 The Weary Blues, in 1926-first book of poetry
 The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain (1926)-essays
 Madam and the ministers -Poem
 Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882–1961):

 Jessie Redmon Fauset began her career writing for the NAACP’s (national association for
the advancement of colored people) magazine. After a few years, she became the
magazine’s literary editor. Her first novel, is Confusion (1924), received widespread
acclaim.
 James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938):

 James Weldon Johnson was a writer and activist best known for his poem, “Lift Every
Voice and Sing,” (black national anthem) which was set to music by his brother and
adopted as the official song of the NAACP in 1919.
 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960): Writer and anthropologist.

 She was a revolutionary in helping to protect the rights of African Americans. She was
known during the Harlem Renaissance for her wit, irreverence, and folk writing style
Famous works:
 Fire (magazine)- edited by Wallace Thurman
 Their eye was watching God (1937)-novel
Themes: race and gender roles
 Alain Locke (1885–1954)
 Writer, philosopher, and educator, he became the first Black Rhodes scholar in 1907.
Best known as the creator of the philosophical concept New Negro which would initiate
the Harlem Renaissance (1925–1939). Nearly two decades later, he compiled a highly
influential anthology called The New Negro (1925).
 Jean Toomer (1894-1967): Author, essayist, and psychologist.

 She recognized as one of the most influential, and certainly one of the most enigmatic,
writers of the Harlem Renaissance. The experience of returning to his family’s Southern
roots inspired his novel Cane (1923), an experimental hybrid of fiction prose, dramatic
dialogue and poetry that was hailed as an important example of literary modernism.
 Nella Larsen (1891-1964): American novelist, nurse and librarian.

 She recognized as one of the most influential, and certainly one of the most enigmatic,
writers of the Harlem Renaissance.
 She became the first Black woman to win a Guggenheim fellowship in 1930.
Famous works:
 Quicksand (1928, an autobiographical novel)
 Passing (1929)
IV. THEMES:
The major themes were the fight for equality, the expression of the Black experience, oppression,
and the expression of humanity. Poets were often influenced by their everyday experiences and
how they related to the experiences of other Black men and women.

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Revelyn Bumacas SED-LIT 7 April 18, 2023

Sylvia Danis BSED-Eng III

II. Brief History of Harlem Renaissance Literature:

 Langston Hughes (1901–1967)

 Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882–1961):

 James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938):

 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960): Writer and anthropologist.

 Jean Toomer (1894-1967): Author, essayist, and psychologist.

 Nella Larsen (1891-1964): American novelist, nurse and librarian.

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