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Lewis Alexander (1900-1945), Author Page

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Lewis Grandison Alexander published poetry in a number of African American periodicals in the 1920s, including Fire!!, The Messenger, Opportunity, and The Crisis. He also had a poem included in the influential anthology, The New Negro (1925). Several of these poems are distinctive because of their engagement with the Haiku (or Hokku) form. 

Alexander was born and raised in Washington, DC, and attended Howard University, where he was a member of the Howard Players theater group. Through the 1920s, Alexander was closely involved with theatrical groups in Washington, DC, including the Ira Aldridge Players and the Ehtiopian Art Theatre. Alexander is said to have been part of traveling acting ensembles, and appeared in performances of Salome and The Comedy of Errors on Broadway in 1922-1923. 

At some point in the 1920s, Alexander is said to have studied at the University of Pennsylvania. At least two of his poems reflect engagement with life in Philadelphia, including, "Little Cinderella" (which mention "Broad Street") and "South Street" (which mentions the then-African American neighborhood around South Street). 

Not much is known about Alexander's life in the 1930s and 40s; our research indicates he appears to have stopped publishing his work after around 1929. 

From the author's bio in Caroling Dusk: 

"LEWIS ALEXANDER was born July 4, 1900, at Washington, D. C. He was educated in the public schools of Washington and at Howard University where he was a member of the Howard Players. He has also studied at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Ethiopian Art Theatre for the season 1922-1923 playing in Salome and The Comedy of Errors on Broadway. As the result of a recent tour of North and South Carolina he edited in May 1927 the Negro Number of the Carolina Magasine. He has been writing poetry since 1917, specializing in Japanese forms. Two Little Theatre groups in Washington, The Ira Aldridge Players of the Grover Cleveland School and the Randall Community Center Players have been under his direction."

Contents of this path:

  1. "Enchantment" by Lewis Alexander (in "The New Negro" [1925])
  2. Lewis Alexander, "Africa" (1924)
  3. Lewis Alexander, "Little Cinderella" (1926)
  4. Lewis Alexander, "Streets" (1926)
  5. Lewis Alexander, "Day and Night" (1927)
  6. Lewis Alexander, "Japanese Hokku" (1927)
  7. Lewis Alexander, "Japanese Hokku Poems" (1927)
  8. Lewis Alexander, "Negro Woman" (1927)
  9. Lewis Alexander, "Tanka I-VIII" (1927)
  10. Lewis Alexander, "The Dark Brother" (1927)
  11. Lewis Alexander, "Transformation" (1927)
  12. Lewis Alexander, "Quatrains" (1927)
  13. Lewis Alexander, "Effigy" (1927)
  14. Lewis Alexander, "South Street" (1927)
  15. Lewis Alexander, "The Tobacco Factory Girl" (1927)
  16. Lewis Alexander, "The Black Pageant" (1927)
  17. Lewis Alexander, "Escape" (1928)
  18. Lewis Alexander, "Cinquains" (1928)
  19. Lewis Alexander, "A Tree" (1928)
  20. Lewis Alexander, "Barefoot Blues" (1928)
  21. Lewis Alexander, "Bought Sense" (1928)
  22. Lewis Alexander, "Quest" (1928)
  23. Lewis Alexander, "Tree Meditation" (1928)
  24. Lewis Alexander, "Memory" (1928)
  25. Lewis Alexander, "My Body" (1929)
  26. Lewis Alexander, "My Epitaph" (1929)
  27. Lewis Alexander, "Sweet Mama Do Right" (1929)
  28. Lewis Alexander, "Sympathy" (1929)
  29. Lewis Alexander, "Nocturne Varial" (1929)
  30. Lewis Alexander, "The Alternative" (1929)
  31. Lewis Alexander, "Wishes" (1929)
  32. Lewis Alexander, "Atonement" (1929)
  33. Lewis Alexander, "Plays of Negro Life: A Survey" (1929)
  34. Lewis Alexander, "Japanese Hokku Poems" (1929)

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