African American Poetry (1870-1926): A Digital AnthologyMain MenuFull Text Collection: Books Published by African American Poets, 1870-1926Author Profiles: Bios and Full Text CollectionsThe Beginnings of the Harlem Renaissance: Overview and Timeline of Key EventsBlack Poetry Before the Harlem Renaissance: Overview and TimelineAfrican American Poetry: A Story Of MagazinesAfrican American Poetry: Anthologies of the 1920sAreas of Interest: Topics and ThemesFurther Reading / Works CitedAmardeep Singhc185e79df2fca428277052b90841c4aba30044e1
Helene Johnson: a Selection of Poems
12022-07-20T07:18:36-04:00Amardeep Singhc185e79df2fca428277052b90841c4aba30044e12131plain2022-07-20T07:18:36-04:00Amardeep Singhc185e79df2fca428277052b90841c4aba30044e1Helene Johnson (1905-19995) was born and raised in Boston, and later lived in Brookline Massachusetts. She and her cousin Dorothy West lived in Harlem in the 1920s, where Johnson briefly attended Columbia University (roughly as a contemporary of Langston Hughes, who also attended Columbia but did not graduate). Helene Johnson emerged on the scene of Harlem Renaissance poetry when she won an Honorable Mention in the Opportunity Magazine poetry contest in 1926. Johnson continued to publish poetry throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, with poems appearing in magazines like Saturday Evening Quill, Palms, Opportunity, and Harlem. Surprisingly, Johnson stopped publishing poetry entirely after 1933.