Encyclopedia of the Harlem Literary Renaissance

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tackled in her drama. In 1926 BLUEBLOOD,her
play about interracial relationships, secured honor-
able mention in the Opportunitycontest. In 1927
PLUMESfocused on the emotional turmoil brought
on by dire poverty and the ways in which ordinary,
hardworking people grappled with tragedy and
loss. Her moving portrait of tragic family life won
first prize in the magazine’s drama category. Be-
tween 1935 and 1939 she submitted five plays to
the Federal Theatre Project for consideration. As
critic Winona Fletcher notes, three of the works
addressed issues of rape and LYNCHING, and the
other two addressed issues of African-American
enslavement in the South (Fletcher, 159). In-
cluded in the set were Blue-Eyed Black Boy,about
the terrors of lynching, and her gripping family and
antilynching drama entitled A SUNDAYMORNING
IN THESOUTH.
She published numerous short stories and, as
she did while working as a journalist, wrote under
pseudonyms. Of the many works she wrote, only
three stories and one book review appear to be ex-
tant. The short stories “Free,” “Gesture,” and
“Tramp Love” all appeared in CHALLENGEunder
Johnson’s pseudonym of PAULTREMAINE, and a
review of a James Curley biography was published
in the New Republicin 1957. Gloria Hull notes that
Johnson sent the pieces to Harold Jackman for
consideration and suggested that the stories were
by a protégé who could benefit from direct criti-
cism and advice. She later confessed the ruse, say-
ing, “You see, Paul Tremaine is one of my
pseudonyms. I used it on the stories. I rewrote
them, you know, and feel a kind of pride in their
reception” (Hull, CSP, 197). She also used the
pseudonyms of JOHNTEMPLEand MARYSTRONG.
The latter was the name that she used for some 35
years while maintaining an extremely successful
letter club that provided pen pals to those who
joined the organization. Johnson also authored a
syndicated weekly column that appeared in several
leading African-American newspapers. Her fea-
ture, “Homely Philosophy,” an encouraging com-
mentary about home life and issues, was syndicated
widely and published in papers such as the New
York News, CHICAGODEFENDER, Boston Guardian,
and Philadelphia Tribune.
Johnson referred to her Washington, D.C.,
home on S Street as a “Halfway House.” In the


years after her husband’s death, she freely accom-
modated, nurtured, and encouraged numerous
writers including HAROLDJACKMAN,LANGSTON
HUGHES, and ZORANEALEHURSTON. Johnson’s
literary salons served as vital a purpose as those
held in NEW YORK CITY, PHILADELPHIA, and
BOSTON. They provided informal opportunities for
writers and scholars to mingle, to debate, and to
encourage each other’s projects. Hurston, who
studied at Howard University and made her liter-
ary debut while in Washington, D.C., was one of
Johnson’s most enthusiastic participants. “Please
let me be a friend of yours always. I need you,” she
wrote earnestly in a July 1925 note to Johnson. In
response to Johnson’s own note to her, Hurston
seized the opportunity to praise her colleague’s tal-
ents. “This is my chance to say to you what a won-
derful poet I think you are,” she gushed before
continuing in breathless fashion, “No, what a soul-
ful poet I KNOW you are” (Kaplan, 61). ALICE
DUNBAR-NELSON shared Hurston’s enthusiasm.
Dunbar-Nelson’s journal entries include scintillat-
ing and lively details about the Johnsons and about
her own interactions with Georgia Johnson. In
1921, during a visit when Henry Johnson was re-
covering from one of his first strokes, Dunbar-Nel-
son noted that “Georgia has done the big thing in
letting [Alain] Locke, [W. E. B.] DuBois, and
Braithwaite weed out her verses until only the per-
fect ones remain. What she has left are little gems,
characterized by a finish of workmanship that is
seldom seen in our people” (Hull, 88).
Unlike many of the writers with whom she as-
sociated, however, Johnson did not win prestigious
fellowships that would have provided her with re-
newed professional credentials and, more impor-
tantly, time and funds to facilitate her writing.
Scholars suggest that her tireless efforts to apply for
awards such as the GUGGENHEIMFELLOWSHIPand
JULIUSROSENWALDFELLOWSHIPmay have been
thwarted by the tepid letters of support from her
references. Referees such as JAMESWELDONJOHN-
SONand JEANTOOMER, who socialized and corre-
sponded often with her, tended to suggest that her
work lacked poetical or political sophistication.
Gloria Hull notes that Johnson was persistent even
in the face of repeated rejection. In the years after
the Harlem Renaissance, Johnson returned to
music, her first love. She began composing songs

Johnson, Georgia Douglas 285
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