The Book of American Negro Poetry Part 24

DESPIDA A MI MADRE

_(En La Capilla)_

Si la suerte fatal que me ha cabido, Y el triste fin de mi sangrienta historia, Al salir de esta vida transitoria Deja tu corazon de muerte herido; Baste de Ilanto: el animo afligido Recobre su quietud; moro en la gloria, Y mi placida lira a tu memoria Lanza en la tumba su postrer sonido.

Sonido dulce, melodioso y santo, Glorioso, espiritual, puro y divino, Inocente, espontaneo como el llanto Que vertiera al nacer: ya el cuello inclino!

Ya de la religion me cubre el manto!

Adios, mi madre! adios--El Peligrino.

FAREWELL TO MY MOTHER

_(In the Chapel)_

The appointed lot has come upon me, mother, The mournful ending of my years of strife, This changing world I leave, and to another In blood and terror goes my spirit's life.

But thou, grief-smitten, cease thy mortal weeping And let thy soul her wonted peace regain; I fall for right, and thoughts of thee are sweeping Across my lyre to wake its dying strains.

A strain of joy and gladness, free, unfailing All glorious and holy, pure, divine, And innocent, unconscious as the wailing I uttered on my birth; and I resign Even now, my life, even now descending slowly, Faith's mantle folds me to my slumbers holy.

Mother, farewell! G.o.d keep thee--and forever!

_Translated by William Cullen Bryant._

PLaCIDO'S FAREWELL TO HIS MOTHER

(_Written in the Chapel of the Hospital de Santa Cristina on the Night Before His Execution_)

If the unfortunate fate engulfing me, The ending of my history of grief, The closing of my span of years so brief, Mother, should wake a single pang in thee, Weep not. No saddening thought to me devote; I calmly go to a death that is glory-filled, My lyre before it is forever stilled Breathes out to thee its last and dying note.

A note scarce more than a burden-easing sigh, Tender and sacred, innocent, sincere-- Spontaneous and instinctive as the cry I gave at birth--And now the hour is here-- O G.o.d, thy mantle of mercy o'er my sins!

Mother, farewell! The pilgrimage begins.

_Translated by James Weldon Johnson_.

BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF AUTHORS

BOHANAN, OTTO LELAND. Born in Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C. Educated in the public schools in Was.h.i.+ngton. He is a graduate of Howard University, School of Liberal Arts, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., and did special work in English at the Catholic University in that city. At present he is engaged in the musical profession in New York.

BRAITHWAITE, WILLIAM STANLEY. Born in Boston, 1878. Mainly self-educated.

A critic of poetry and the friend of poets. Author of _Lyrics-of Life, The House of Falling Leaves, The Poetic Year, The Story of the Great War,_ etc. Editor and compiler of _The Book of Elizabethan Verse, The Book of Georgian Verse, The Book of Restoration Verse_ and a series of yearly anthologies of magazine verse. One of the literary editors of the Boston _Transcript_.

BRAWLEY, BENJAMIN. Born at Columbia, S.C., 1882. Educated at the Atlanta Baptist College, the University of Chicago and Harvard University. For two years he was professor of English at Howard University, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

Later he became dean of Morehouse College, Atlanta, Ga. Author of _A Short History of the American Negro, The Negro in Literature and Art, A Short History of the English Drama, A Social History of the American Negro_, etc. Now living in Boston and engaged in research and writing.

CAMPBELL, JAMES EDWIN. Was born at Pomeroy, Ohio, in the early sixties.

His early life was somewhat shrouded in mystery; he never referred to it even to his closest a.s.sociates. He was educated in the public schools of his native city. Later he spent a while at Miami College. In the late eighties and early nineties he was engaged in newspaper work in Chicago.

He wrote regularly on the various dailies of that city. He was also one of a group that issued the _Four O'Clock Magazine_, a literary publication which flourished for several years. He died, perhaps, twenty years ago. He was the author of _Echoes from The Cabin and Elsewhere_, a volume of poems.

CARMICHAEL, WAVERLEY TURNER. A young man who had never been out of his native state of Alabama until several years ago when he entered one of the summer courses at Harvard University. His education to that time had been very limited and he had endured poverty and hard work. His verses came to the attention of one of the Harvard professors. He has since published a volume, _From the Heart of a Folk_. He served with the 367th Regiment, "The Buffaloes," during the World War and saw active service in France. At present he is employed as a postal clerk in Boston, Ma.s.s.

CORROTHERS, JAMES D., 1869-1919. Born in Ca.s.s County, Michigan. Student in Northwestern University, minister and poet. Many of his poems appeared in _The Century Magazine_.

COTTER, JOSEPH S., JR., 1895-1919. Born at Louisville, Kentucky, in the room in which Paul Laurence Dunbar first read his dialect poems in the South. He was precocious as a child, having read a number of books before he was six years old. All through his boyhood he had the advantage and inspiration of the full library of poetic books belonging to his father, himself a poet of considerable talent. Young Cotter attended Fisk University but left in his second year because he had developed tuberculosis. A volume of verse, _The Band of Gideon_, and a number of unpublished poems were written during the six years in which he was an invalid.

DANDRIDGE, RAY G. Born at Cincinnati, Ohio, 1882. Educated in the grammar and high school of his native city. In 1912, as the result of illness, he lost the use of both legs and his right arm. He does most of his writing lying flat in bed and using his left hand. He is the author of _The Poet and Other Poems_.

DAVIS, DANIEL WEBSTER. Born in Virginia, near Richmond. For a number of years he was a minister and princ.i.p.al of the largest public school in Richmond. He died in that city some years ago. He was the author of _'Weh Down Souf_, a volume of verse. He was very popular as an orator and a reader of his own poems.

DETT, R. NATHANIEL. Born at Drummondville, Canada, 1882. Graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He is a composer, most of his compositions being based on themes from the old "slave songs." His "Listen to de Lambs"

is widely used by choral societies. He is director of music at Hampton Inst.i.tute. He is also the author of _The Alb.u.m of a Heart_, a volume of verse.

DU BOIS, W. E. BURGHARDT. Born at Great Barrington, Ma.s.s., 1868. Educated at Fisk University, Harvard University and the University of Berlin. For a number of years professor of economics and history at Atlanta University.

Author of the _Suppression of the Slave Trade, The Philadelphia Negro, The Souls of Black Folk, John Brown, Darkwater_, etc. He is the editor of _The Crisis_.

DUNBAR, PAUL LAURENCE. Born at Dayton, Ohio, 1872; died 1906. Dunbar was educated in the public schools. He wrote his early poems while working as an elevator boy. His first volume of poems, _Oak and Ivy_, was published in 1893 and sold largely through his own efforts. This was followed by _Majors and Minors, Lyrics of Lowly Life, Lyrics of the Hearthside, Lyrics of Love and Laughter, Lyrics of Suns.h.i.+ne and Shadow_ and _Howdy, Honey, Howdy_. _Lyrics of Lowly Life_, published in New York in 1896 with an introduction written by William Dean Howells, gained national recognition for Dunbar. In addition to poetical works, Dunbar was the author of four novels, _The Uncalled, The Love of Landry, The Sport of the G.o.ds_, and _The Fanatics_. He also published several volumes of short stories. Partly because of his magnificent voice and refined manners, he was a very successful reader of his own poems and was able to add greatly to their popularity.

FAUSET, JESSIE REDMON. Born at Snow Hill, New Jersey. She was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia, at Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania. For a while she was teacher of French in the Dunbar High School, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C. Author of a number of uncollected poems and several short stories. She is literary editor of _The Crisis_.

HILL, LESLIE PINCKNEY. Born at Lynchburg, Va., 1880. He was educated in the public schools at Lynchburg and at Harvard University. On graduation he became a teacher of English and methods at Tuskegee. Author of the _Wings of Oppression_, a volume of verse. He is princ.i.p.al of the Cheyney Training School for Teachers at Cheyney, Pa.

HOLLOWAY, JOHN WESLEY. Born in Merriweather County, Ga, 1865. His father, who learned to read and write in slavery, became one of the first colored teachers in Georgia after the Civil War. Mr. Holloway was educated at Clark University, Atlanta, Ga., and at Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.

He was for a while a member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Has been a teacher and is now a preacher. He is the author of _From the Desert_, a volume of verse.

JAMISON, ROSCOE C. Born at Winchester, Tenn., 1888; died 1918. He was a graduate of Fisk University.

JOHNSON, CHARLES BERTRAM. Born at Callao, Mo., 1880. He was educated in the public schools of his home town and at Western College, Lincoln Inst.i.tute and at Chicago University. He was a teacher for a number of years and is now a pastor of a church at Moberly, Mo. He is the author of _Songs of My People_.

JOHNSON, FENTON. Born at Chicago, 1888. He was educated in the public schools and at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. The author of _A Little Dreaming, Songs of the Soil_ and _Visions of the Dusk_. He has devoted much time to journalism and the editing of a magazine.

JOHNSON, GEORGIA DOUGLAS. Born in Atlanta, Ga., 1886. She was educated in the public schools of that city and at Atlanta University. She is the author of a volume of verse, _The Heart of a Woman_ and other poems.

JOHNSON, JAMES WELDON. Born at Jacksonville, Fla., 1871. He was educated in the public schools of Jacksonville, at Atlanta University and at Columbia University. He taught school in his native town for several years. Later he came to New York with his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, and began writing for the musical comedy stage. He served seven years as U. S. Consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua. Author of _The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man, Fifty Years and Other Poems_, and the English libretto to _Goyescas_, the Spanish grand opera, produced at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1915.

JONES, EDWARD SMYTH. Attracted national attention about ten years ago by walking some hunderds of miles from his home in the South to Harvard University. Arriving there, he was arrested on a charge of vagrancy. While in jail, he wrote a poem, "Harvard Square." The poem created a sentiment that led to his quick release. He is the author of _The Sylvan Cabin_.

JONES, JOSHUA HENRY, JR. He is engaged in newspaper work in Boston and is the author of a volume of poems, _The Heart of the World_.

MARGETSON, GEORGE REGINALD. Was born at St. Kitts, British West Indies, in 1877. He was educated at the Moravian school in his district. He came to the United States in 1897. Mr. Margetson has found it necessary to work hard to support a large family and his poems have been written in his spare moments. He is the author of two volumes of verses, _Songs of Life_ and _The Fledgling Bard and the Poetry Society_ and, in addition, a large number of uncollected poems. Mr. Margetson lives in Boston.

McCLELLAN, GEORGE MARION. Born at Belfast, Tenn., 1860. Graduate of Fisk University and Hartford Theological Seminary, teacher, princ.i.p.al and author. He is the author of _The Path of Dreams_.

McKAY, CLAUDE. Born in Jamaica, West Indies, 1889. Such education as he gained in boyhood he received from his brother. He served for a while as a member of the Kingston Constabulary. In 1912 he came to the United States.

For two years he was a student of agriculture at the Kansas State College.

Since leaving school Mr. McKay has turned his hand to any kind of work to earn a living. He has worked in hotels and on the Pullman cars. He is to-day a.s.sociate editor of _The Liberator_. He is the author of two volumes of poems, _Songs of Jamaica_ and _Spring in New Hamps.h.i.+re_, the former published in Jamaica and the latter in London.

MOORE; WILLIAM H. A. Was born in New York City and received his education in the public schools and at the City College. He also did some special work at Columbia University. He has had a long career as a newspaper man, working on both white and colored publications. He now lives in Chicago.