The Poetry of Tolson (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Melvin B. Tolson
- First Published: 1944
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: African Americans, Culture, History, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Africa or Africans, Slavery or slaves, Music or musicians, New York City, Art or artists, Lower classes, Working class, Heroes or heroism
Melvin Beaunorus Tolson never contrived to be a secret passion for the students and writers who idealized him. His ambitions were singularly public. Indeed, he cast himself in the mold of his own idols, the slightly older icons of the Harlem Renaissance. Publishing just past the Harlem heyday, he became a poet lauded but seldom anthologized by a largely segregated literary establishment that Karl Shapiro called a “closed corporation.”
Harlem was the subject of Tolson’s most prolific poetic output. Harlem was the site of his poetic mythos, his religion, his Metropolis and...
[The entire page is 2842 words long]
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