with genius-quickening power into the souls of
Poe and Lanier, Dunbar and Cotter.” It is “to
them, for whom any monument in stone or
bronze were but mockery,” that Kerlin
“dedicate[s] this monument of verse, builded by
the children of their vision.”
There are eight lengthy chapters, each contain-
ing several subsections devoted to a profile of an au-
thor and his or her works. Chapters include “The
Present-Day Negro Heritage of Song,” “The Present
Renaissance of the Negro,” “The Heart of Negro
Womanhood,” “Ad Astra Pera Aspera,” “The New
Forms of Poetry,” “Dialect Verse,” “The Poetry of
Protest,” and a final chapter entitled “Conquest by
Poetry: A Miscellany.” The volume also includes a
section devoted to biographical and bibliographical
notes pertaining to each of the writers.
Kerlin’s assessment of the African-American
poetry tradition is enriched by detailed contextual
information and his efforts to consider the works of
lesser-known poets from all walks of life. He pro-
vides information on traditional and well-known
early poets such as Phillis Wheatley, George Moses
Horton, and Frances Harper but extends his con-
versations to include notes on J. Mord Allen,
Charles Reason, and Albery Whitman. In subse-
quent chapters, he incorporates the works of jour-
nalists, invalids, and felons and explores the pathos
of their verse in relation to more established works
by writers such as Paul Laurence Dunbar, WILLIAM
STANLEYBRAITHWAITE,JAMESWELDONJOHN-
SON, and WALTEREVERETTEHAWKINS. Chapter
3, devoted specifically to women writers, addresses
the works of seven individuals: EVAJESSYE, Mrs. J.
W. Hammond, ALICEDUNBAR-NELSON,GEORGIA
DOUGLAS JOHNSON,ANGELINA GRIMKÉ,ANNE
SPENCER, and JESSIEFAUSET. This chapter does
not represent the sum of Kerlin’s discussions of
women’s writing. Kerlin includes works by other
women writers such as CARRIE CLIFFORD,
CLARISSASCOTTDELANY,GWENDOLYNBENNETT,
and MARGARETWALKERin other chapters.
Negro Poets and Their Poemsalso includes an
impressive number of illustrations and portraits.
The book’s frontispiece is adorned by a reproduc-
tion of a Meta Warrick Fuller sculpture entitled
Emancipation. Other images of writers are included,
offered by bibliophile ARTHURSCHOMBURGfor in-
clusion in the book.
Bibliography
Kerlin, Robert T. Negro Poets and Their Poems.Washing-
ton, D.C.: Associated Publishers, Inc., 1923.Negro’s Contribution to American
Culture, The: The Sudden Flowering of
a Genius-Laden Artistic Movement
Walter White(1927)
A work of social and cultural history published by
WALTER WHITE, just one year after he was
awarded a GUGGENHEIMFELLOWSHIP. White would
become executive director of the NATIONALASSO-
CIATION FOR THEADVANCEMENT OF COLORED
PEOPLEin 1930.
White’s pamphlet was published as part of the
Little Blue Books series produced by E. Haldeman-
Julius and Henry Haldeman. Other works in that se-
ries by notable Harlem Renaissance figures included
THE NEGRO MOTHER AND OTHER DRAMATIC
RECITATIONS(1931) by LANGSTONHUGHES.Bibliography
Janken, Kenneth Robert. White: The Biography of Walter
White, Mr. NAACP.New York: The New Press,
2003.Negrotarians
A popular Harlem Renaissance term coined by
ZORA NEALE HURSTON. The word refers to
wealthy whites who had a strong interest in the
New Negro movement and whose philanthropic
efforts included an explicit commitment to sustain-
ing African-American artists and writers.Bibliography
Boyd, Valerie. Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora
Neale Hurston.New York: Scribner, 2003.
Hemenway, Robert. Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biog-
raphy.Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1977.Negro Voices: An Anthology of
Contemporary VerseBeatrice Campbell
Murphy(1938)
A collection of poems edited by BEATRICECAMP-
BELLMURPHY, a poet, journalist, and longtime resi-
dent of WASHINGTON, D.C. The volume includes378 Negro’s Contribution to American Culture, The