Showing results by author "James Weldon Johnson" in All Categories

The first fictional memoir ever written by an African-American, The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man influenced a generation of writers during the Harlem Renaissance and served as eloquent inspiration for Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, and Richard Wright. In the 1920s and since, it has also given white readers a startling new perspective on their own culture, revealing to many the double standard of racial identity imposed on black Americans. Told by a bi-racial man whose light skin allows him to "pass" for white, the novel describes a pilgrimage through America's color lines....

This anthology features a wide array of thought-provoking, genre-defining works from the 1900s, showcasing the range of modern storytelling—from existential musings to dark humour and intricate social commentary. These are the stories that have shaped modern literature, offering timeless insights into human nature and society. This collection brings together the finest modernist narratives, political reflections, and social commentaries that have shaped literature as we know it.

Dive into the provocative world of James Weldon Johnsons only novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Originally published anonymously in 1912, this unique fictional narrative masquerades as a memoir, recounting the life of an unnamed biracial protagonist during the tumultuous Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction periods in the South. Experience the eye-opening revelations of a young boy who grew up assuming he was white, only to have his perception of race and identity upended in an instant. Discover how this pivotal moment shaped his view of himself and his world through the lens of...

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives.

The Ultimate Modern Classics Collection: Volume 2 is the second instalment of our Modern Classics Collections, delving into a world of 20th-century literary brilliance. This anthology features a wide array of thought-provoking, genre-defining works from the 1900s, showcasing the range of modern storytelling—from existential musings to dark humour and intricate social commentary. These are the stories that have shaped modern literature, offering timeless insights into human nature and society.

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives.

Leviathans stride the poetic stage, known to us all and revered by many. Their verse is at once familiar and yet constantly reveals new layers and depths, new ways of thinking and assembling words to reveal new truths, new feelings and above all new poetry.

Originally published anonymously in 1912, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man revealed as never before the color line dividing America, and the price it exacted on those souls who could traverse the two worlds. The book presents the fictional account of "an ex-colored man" - an African-American who could pass for white - as he attempts to choose which side of the line will better suit his life, and his psyche.

In this fictional confession, an unnamed narrator reveals the “great secret” of his life: he was born mixed race - and his ability to pass as white has provided him a unique perspective on America’s profound racial prejudice. As he recounts his experiences in the American South, the suburbs of the Northeast, New York City jazz clubs, and various European capitals, he also grapples with the emotional fallout of a life lived in constant fear of discovery - a life lived, in other words, in a culture unaccountably preoccupied with the shade of a person’s skin.

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, a 1912 novel by James Weldon Johnson, is a fictional autobiography which was originally published anonymously. It chronicles the intricacies of racial identity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the life of its biracial narrator. The book portrays his journey through America's color lines, from his attendance of a black college in Florida to an elite New York nightclub, from the rural South to the suburbs of the Northeast, and a visit to Europe. The author employs places, character, and incidents from his own life....

Introduced by Maya Angelou, the inspiring sermon-poems of James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson was a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and one of the most revered African Americans of all time, whose life demonstrated the full spectrum of struggle and success. In God's Trombones...

James Weldon Johnson's emotionally gripping novel is a landmark in black literary history and, more than eighty years after its original anonymous publication, a classic of American fiction. The first fictional memoir ever written by a black, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man influenced a generation of writers during the Harlem Renaissance and served as eloquent inspiration for Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, and Richard Wright.

James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on 17th June 1871. His mother, Helen, a musician and a public school teacher, initially home-schooled him, giving him a love of both English literature and European music. At 16, his education moved to Atlanta University, and he graduated with a degree in 1894. In 1904 Johnson helped in Theodore Roosevelt's presidential bid. On winning, Roosevelt appointed him as US consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, in 1906 and then Nicaragua from 1909.

It is in this environment that The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is written. In this novel, the narrator describes his life as a Black child and young adult, working his way through the various social classes. He becomes a musician and travels the world as a free Black man for much of his life, but eventually makes the decision to live as a White man after witnessing a horrific lynching. The rest of his life is spent keeping a piece of himself hidden from everyone in an attempt at safety.

In this volume we collect together poets who, by the difference in the colour of their skin, were treated with such disdain and racism that it is difficult to believe that poetry of such tenderness, beauty and authority could exist.

First published anonymously in 1912, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man became one of James Weldon Johnson’s most famous works, and remains a testament to the lives and experiences of both Johnson and his peers. Although primarily a work of fiction, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man offers many parallels with the life of Johnson himself. Set shortly after the Civil War, this powerful fictional memoir recounts the life of a biracial man, grappling with questions around identity, race and justice.

In this volume of classic poetry our wordsmiths are our companions on journeys near and far. They describe and create worlds that we can explore with them, word by word and line by line. In the company of Keats, Wordsworth, Bronte, Whitman, Kipling and a wealth of others these journeys in verse will be like no other.