Vincent, Theodore, ed. Voices of a Black Nation: Political
Journalism in the Harlem Renaissance.Trenton, N.J.:
Africa World Press, 1990.
Poston, Theodore (Ted) Roosevelt
(1906–1974)
Born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Poston, a jour-
nalist who distinguished himself as a reporter
while working in NEWYORKCITY during and
after the Harlem Renaissance, was the youngest
son born to Ephraim and Mary Cox Poston. His
older brothers, Ulysses and Robert, also were
journalists of note. Poston’s brother Frederick was
a veteran. After graduating from Tennessee State
Agricultural and Industrial College in 1928, Pos-
ton relocated to New York and joined the staff of
the New York Contender.In 1929 he began work-
ing at the PITTSBURGHCOURIER,and in 1930 he
returned to New York City as a reporter for the
AMSTERDAM NEWS. He held that post for six
years before becoming a feature writer, investiga-
tive reporter, and “rewrite man” for the New York
Post.After a five-year stint at the National De-
fense Advisory Commission during World War II,
Poston returned to the Postand resumed his ex-
tremely successful career. In 1949 Long Island
University recognized his work with the George
Polk Memorial plaque for best national reporting.
One year later, in 1950, he was awarded the
American Newspaper Guild’s Heywood Broun
award for outstanding reporting.
Highlights of Poston’s career included his cov-
erage of Father Divine (GEORGEBAKER) and vio-
lence directed toward the spiritual leader and
mission founder. Poston, a member of the NA-
TIONALASSOCIATION FOR THEADVANCEMENT OF
COLOREDPEOPLEand the fraternity Omega Psi Phi,
also provided invaluable coverage of the Scottsboro
case and, decades after the Harlem Renaissance, the
historic March on WASHINGTON, D.C.
Bibliography
Detweiler, Frederick. The Negro Press in the United States.
College Park, Md.: McGrath Publishing Company,
1968.
Vincent, Theodore, ed. Voices of a Black Nation: Political
Journalism in the Harlem Renaissance.Trenton, N.J.:
Africa World Press, 1990.
Wolseley, Roland. The Black Press, U.S.A.Ames, Iowa:
State University Press, 1972.Pot Maker, The (A Play to Be Read)
Marita Bonner(1927)
A one-act play by MARITABONNERthat is remi-
niscent of the biblical parable of the talents. The
Jackson family comprises Elias, a minister, his erst-
while wife Lucinda, and his parents, Nettie and
Luke.
The play, like much of Bonner’s work, ex-
plores themes of betrayal and treachery. Lucinda,
described vividly as “a woman who must have sat
down in the mud” has eyes that “are dirty. [The
mud] has filtered through... her speech is
smudged. Every inch of her body, from the twitch
of an eyebrow to the twitch of muscles lower
down in her body, is soiled.” Lucinda has no pa-
tience for her husband or his earnest sermons.
She also is filled with contempt for her in-laws
and thinks nothing of delving into Nettie’s
wardrobe without asking permission. Bored with
her marriage, she takes a lover, Lew Fox, a man
who occupies the set but says nothing. Fox, ac-
cording to the pointed stage directions, “must be
an over-fat, over-facetious, over-friar, over-bear-
ing, over-pleasant, over-confident creature.” Over
the course of the play, Elias rehearses his sermon
for the upcoming Sunday meeting. The subject of
his address is a pot maker who lived during the
time of Jesus. As Elias tells it, the pot maker in-
dulges his pots, which when cracked, refuse to be
filled until the pot maker gently repairs them
without wondering how they become damaged.
After a night in which some of the pots obey his
orders and others do not, the pot maker decides
which of his creations will be gold, silver, brass, or
tin. Elias draws a persuasive parallel between the
pot maker and God, the ultimate Creator who
“won’t ask you how you got cracked” but will
“heal you.”
The play reaches a climax when Lucinda at-
tempts to reunite with her lover, Lew, even while
her husband Elias is with her at home. When Lew
stumbles into a well by accident, the overwrought
Elias bids his wife to try and save her lover. Unable
to resist helping her, he finally runs out into the
dark night. Bonner closes the play in melodramaticPot Maker, The (A Play to Be Read) 431