of the BOSTONpublication SATURDAYEVENING
QUILL.
Neighbors and a community that take no
pleasure in seeing the transformative power of love
or in seeing the uplift of African-American people
undo Phil Howard and the young Miss Carlen.
Miss Carlen is a motivated young woman who is
determined to fulfill her dream of becoming a
nurse. She does not want to settle for an approxi-
mation of that role but craves to one day be “a
nurse in a spotless white dress and cap.” The vi-
sions that she has of herself are “overwhelming,”
and she revels in them as she “[r]ock[s] back and
forth with her little hands clasped tightly in her lap
to keep them from fluttering.”
Phil Howard cannot believe his luck when
he finds out that Miss Carlen likes him. He re-
gards her as a lady whose high station demands
that he prove himself worthy. His growing affec-
tion for her prompts him to think grandly and to
develop “well-laid plans for her happiness.”
These daydreams “gave him strength.” Unfortu-
nately, Miss Carlen’s neighbor, Carrie Morris,
cannot bring herself to contribute to the obvious
romance. She fails to pass along Miss Carlen’s
messages to Phil, and thus she prevents them
from meeting for a long-awaited outing. In addi-
tion, Carrie torments Phil, telling him that she
has spoken to Miss Carlen and revealed the truth
about him. Devastated that he cannot reach her
and that she may have turned against him, Phil
stumbles into a local pool hall to regain his com-
posure. There, he is taunted by “Half Pint,” a
man who is “dwarfed, black as a hole, [and]
shrewd as a diplomat.” The crowd is totally sur-
prised when Phil responds to Half-Pint’s insults
and hits him to the floor “with the coolness and
disdain of a victorious gladiator.” Phil’s compo-
sure signals that his love affair with Miss Carlen
has had a wonderful effect, and it is the only
fleeting sign that the two may find each other
again.
Blood on the ForgeWilliam Attaway(1941)
A novel by WILLIAM ATTAWAY, author of the
Harlem Renaissance–era novel Let Me Breathe
Thunder(1939). This work, like the 1940s works
by RICHARDWRIGHT, represented the intensified
turn toward social realism and sociological dramas
during the post–Harlem Renaissance period.“Blue Aloes”Ottie Beatrice Graham(1924)
A CRISISshort story by OTTIEBEATRICEGRAHAM
that appeared in the July 1924 issue alongside
works by ARNABONTEMPS,JESSIEFAUSET, and
LANGSTONHUGHES.
The story, set in an unidentified Southern
town, features Joseph, a 20-year-old man, re-
cently returned from the North, whose reckless-
ness and disrespect endangers Melrose, the love
of his life, and alienates her from her maternal
kin. “Who can account for an impulse?” asks the
narrator as the story opens and Joseph appears
and readies himself for a quick dip in the Little
River. After immersing himself in the waters that
flow by Aloe House, he calls out to Melrose, a
beautiful young woman who lives with Granna,
her forbidding grandmother who is known for
her cultivation of aloes. Granna, not Melrose,
appears by the banks of the river and chides
Joseph for courting her charge. The conflict esca-
lates dramatically. Joseph yells, taunts the grand-
mother, calls her “old Ashface,” and threatens to
“take [Melrose] from the South and supersti-
tion!” Perhaps his worst action is to tip over a set
of tubs filled with the drippings from a precious
set of blue aloes that Granna obtained from the
islands. As the interchange between the two
grows more heated, the grandmother character-
izes Joseph as an “[u]ngrateful yaller devil,” rips
off a string of aloes that she wears around her
neck, and sprays him with the liquid of blue
aloes. She also alludes to the threat of another
woman and insists that neither one of them
come back to her when the interloper intrudes
on their romance.
In the moments following Granna’s attack on
Joseph, Melrose comes to the aid of her hot-
headed suitor who, “[f]or a moment... thought
he was blinded.” She takes him to the river,
where they “bathed the bruised eyes. Then they
started off to the future, empty handed, looking
not behind them.” The two marry and establish a
home for themselves in the house that Joe has in-
herited from his father. They plan to stay there
until Melrose is healed of a nagging cough and“Blue Aloes” 49