My favorite of the Cotter selection was "Memories," possibly because I'm a sucker for rhyme, but the last line in that poem hit perfectly. It is great when rhyme can be used purposefully: in this case, the addition of "-- and you." created rhyme in a line that otherwise wouldn't have had it, hence "you" kind of brought everything together -- a heartful message between the lines!
My favorite is The Mulatto to His Critics. The way he loves himself and welcomes all the streams of his heritage but especially that he loves his blackness: "the kindly race"
Aw cheers Harley - hehe, yeah, love those bugs! Agreed, Cotter died far too young. If he had lived, I have no doubt he'd be a well-known poet of the era, in the league of Langston Hughes.
Agreed LeeAnn - his style is so fresh and contemporary. Yeah, I was thinking that when I was re-reading that poem too. My heart goes out to y’all. 🖤 It seems unfathomable, but also entirely echoes the truly fucked up state of things as they are right now. Hard roads ahead.
Same - his poetry blows me away. Yeah, so true - I think he probably would have been one of the big names of the era had he lived. Cheers for the kind words regarding my poem too. Really appreciate it.
Such a big fan of Caroling Dusk - what an amazing anthology! Awesome :-) I have done some posts on the women poets as well, if you're looking for more of their work, including Gwendolyn B. Bennett (I have published a collection of her complete 1920s works as well), Angela Weld Grimke, Anne Spencer, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Helene Johnson - all of them blow me away! Such great poetry. So glad to meet another fan.
Wonderful :-) Yeah, I came across Cowdery's work in The Crisis, Opportunity, and Ebony & Topaz, and she's on my list to do as a post, but hadn't read some of these. Excellent! Thank you so much for the reference. Will file these poems away with the rest!
The way he channeled his grief into such strong beauty--his poetry! 💛💛💛
As an ICU nurse I only ever saw one patient with full-blown TB. It was heart-wrenching. Like trying to save a drowning man from the sea inside his own body.
Loved your poem on this one, Dick. Haunting...
My favorite of the Cotter selection was "Memories," possibly because I'm a sucker for rhyme, but the last line in that poem hit perfectly. It is great when rhyme can be used purposefully: in this case, the addition of "-- and you." created rhyme in a line that otherwise wouldn't have had it, hence "you" kind of brought everything together -- a heartful message between the lines!
My favorite is The Mulatto to His Critics. The way he loves himself and welcomes all the streams of his heritage but especially that he loves his blackness: "the kindly race"
" But love the blood of the kindly race
That swarthes my skin, crinkles my hair,
And puts sweet music into my soul."
"swarthes" made into a verb is delightful.
Yeah - agreed, that poem was the one that first grabbed me. Such powerful words! Yeah, the use of "swarthes" as a verb is inspired. What a poet. :-)
My favorite line in your poem: “dead bugs crawling “. Cotter died too young.
Aw cheers Harley - hehe, yeah, love those bugs! Agreed, Cotter died far too young. If he had lived, I have no doubt he'd be a well-known poet of the era, in the league of Langston Hughes.
So, Dick, where did your interest in forgotten poets come from?
These are so powerful and true. The first one could have been written recently. I couldn't help but think of our new president, truly a monster.
Agreed LeeAnn - his style is so fresh and contemporary. Yeah, I was thinking that when I was re-reading that poem too. My heart goes out to y’all. 🖤 It seems unfathomable, but also entirely echoes the truly fucked up state of things as they are right now. Hard roads ahead.
I was deeply moved by Cotter's poetry, and yours at the end. What might he have written had he lived longer. Such a loss.
Same - his poetry blows me away. Yeah, so true - I think he probably would have been one of the big names of the era had he lived. Cheers for the kind words regarding my poem too. Really appreciate it.
Thank you for sharing this; Caroling Dusk is such an iconic collection; I've been studying the women poets in it.
Such a big fan of Caroling Dusk - what an amazing anthology! Awesome :-) I have done some posts on the women poets as well, if you're looking for more of their work, including Gwendolyn B. Bennett (I have published a collection of her complete 1920s works as well), Angela Weld Grimke, Anne Spencer, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Helene Johnson - all of them blow me away! Such great poetry. So glad to meet another fan.
Yes, I'm well acquainted with all of them and love their work. I recently discovered the poetry of Mae V. Cowdery. She published a collection in 1936 which isn't yet in the public domain; here are some of her poems that are, from the 1920s. Do you know of her? Sadly she came to an untimely end. Feel free to use this as a resource: https://www.literaryladiesguide.com/classic-women-authors-poetry/mae-v-cowdery-a-harlem-renaissance-poet-to-rediscover/
Wonderful :-) Yeah, I came across Cowdery's work in The Crisis, Opportunity, and Ebony & Topaz, and she's on my list to do as a post, but hadn't read some of these. Excellent! Thank you so much for the reference. Will file these poems away with the rest!
The way he channeled his grief into such strong beauty--his poetry! 💛💛💛
As an ICU nurse I only ever saw one patient with full-blown TB. It was heart-wrenching. Like trying to save a drowning man from the sea inside his own body.