Wirth, Thomas. Gay Rebel of the Harlem Renaissance: Se-
lections from the Work of Richard Bruce Nugent.
Durham: Duke University Press, 2002.
———. “Richard Bruce Nugent.” Black American Litera-
ture Forum9 (spring 1985): 16–17.
Nuggets of GoldCarrie Law Morgan Figgs
(1921)
A collection of poems by CARRIELAWMORGAN
FIGGS,Nuggets of Goldincluded 19 works that re-
flected Morgan’s deep love of family and interest
in African-American folk and religion. The vol-
ume included poems that praised African-American
women and promoted uplifting images of family
life. In “The Black Queen,” Figgs applauded the
strength of women of color, individuals upon
whom men of the race could depend for unquali-
fied and reliable support. She also wrote
forthright poems, such as “The Negro’s Upward
Flight,” that exhorted African-American men in
their daily life. Figgs encouraged her readers to
claim their rightful and due equality, realizing
that they were “the equal of any man / Found
anywhere.”
Morgan’s title poem, “Nuggets of Gold,” was
dedicated to her children and expressed Figgs’s
pleasure in motherhood. Cast in simple rhymes,
she noted that she, the woman who “own[ed]
three golden nuggets,” was the “happiest woman in
the world.”
Figgs financed the publication of Nuggets of
Gold. The CHICAGO firm, Jaxon Printing Com-
pany, produced the modest collection.398 Nuggets of Gold