Harlem Renaissance- Literature and Art
The Harlem or Negro Renaissance marked the 20s and 30s as a period where the spirituality and potential of the African-American community was expressed in the most explosive way possible. Black art had been relatively unknown to the American public until then, at least to the urban communities. Centered in the Southern states and with a freedom of expression generally trampled with, black art expression was simply censored or manifested itself in its raw forms. The migration to the Northern metropolis after the First World War was similar and implied the development, in all its forms, of Black culture. This included literature (poetry and prose), music (jazz played in the notorious Cotton Club and elsewhere), visual arts (painting) and acting in musicals.
Langston Hughes, one of the most representative creators of the Harlem Renaissance, best resumed this period as being a period when "Negro was in vogue." This brief statement meant not only that the Harlem Renaissance was a period of awakening for the African-American community, but also the fact that the white population enjoyed Black forms of creation. The rebel period after the First World War, with the Jazz Age and the prohibition, involved openness from the American towards the exotic and what they saw as unusual. In this sense, the African-American culture was, for them, something different, as many of the White communities in Northern states had but minor contacts with it in history. They were interested in its forms of manifestation and the numerous patronages of black artists during this time created ripe premises for Black culture to develop and evolve.
Perhaps the manifesto of the Harlem Renaissance can be considered The New Negro, edited by Alain Locke, which appeared in 1925. The book featured literary works by several rising black intellectuals that were to make a name in the following decade. The book contained fiction by Jean Toomer or Zela Neale Hurston, poetry by Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes, as well as a play by Willis Richardson.
I have named this collection a manifesto and it was so from more than one point-of-view. First of all, it was the first collection of works by African-Americans in history. However, even more important, it was a way of gaining the world's attention towards what Black culture is all about and promoting it to the public. It may be considered a manifesto because it presented something new, new ideas, new ways of presenting them. Finally, the book also contained a series of essays, defining for what the Harlem Renaissance culture was all about. These were the theoretical foundation of the movement, explaining the premises: "a new interest in sociology (particularly concerning the Migration), an increased interest in the Negro past, and, most especially, intense affirmation and discovery of the validity of Afro-American folk culture."
The movement continued the subsequent year with the Fire magazine, the first magazine containing the works produced by the African-American community. The idea came from Langston Hughes, who had written previously that year an essay entitled "The Negro Artist and the Racial…
Harlem Renaissance was a noteworthy era in human history that was triggered immediately after the upheaval of World War 1. It is largely characterized as a period in which African-Americans searched for greater self-actualization, and struggled for racial equality in an America drowned in ethnic bias. The Black community deemed it absolutely necessary to realize their dreams of a world with no prejudice and equitable opportunities in all walks of
Langston, in his commentary, sought to point out that the Negro condition was crucial to their development as artists. "We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame." (Hughes). In this declaration, one does not detect racial pride or bitterness, but rather, a tender plea for the right to create art without being judged by society as vulgar or threatening. Hughes viewed
Harlem Renaissance There were many influential people that changed the shape of American culture during the Harlem Renaissance. Among them included Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. These two individuals were responsible for much of the ideology of the Harlem Renaissance. Another key person responsible for the Harlem Renaissance this paper will review was Hubert Harrison, who was often referred to as the "Father of Harlem Radicalism." He found the
Harlem Renaissance is also known as the period of renaissance and development of Black art and writing in the United States. Literature was used as a means of promoting and projecting the realities of social oppression that African-Americans felt at the time. Literature was also one of the modes of expression that was used to articulate the complex emotions that many African-Americans felt in an oppressive society. On a related
Harlem Renaissance. Two Poet Writers from Harlem Renaissance Many people familiar with Langston Hughes' works refer to him as the literature Nobel laureate of Harlem because of the way he accurately captured Harlem's passions, moods and events. However, his works were never provincial. By telling the story of Harlem through his poems, he shed light on truths that were important to people from all backgrounds. Langston Hughes was without a doubt one
African-American culture flourished during the Harlem Renaissance. Although often characterized by and punctuated with the “double consciousness” of being both black and an American, the work of Harlem Renaissance writers and poets was variable and diverse. Countee Cullen is unique among Harlem Renaissance poets. Many of his works reflect the English poetic traditions, even more so than American or African-American ones. “Cullen considered the Anglo-American poetic heritage to belong as
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now