Tag: Helene Johnson

  • Aiming vs. wandering

    Aiming vs. wandering

    Oppressive weather, oppressive politics. Sometimes it’s hard to see a way forward, with billionaires controlling the show and the current government chipping away at the integrity of a voting system that was flawed to start with. My spouse remains an energetic activist anyway. In addition to writing for local and regional newspapers, he’s been making…

  • Rustle like old women’s laughter

    Rustle like old women’s laughter

    This week, in my “Modern Poetry’s Media” course, I told my undergrads about poet Helene Johnson‘s success during the Harlem Renaissance, subsequent disappearance from the literary scene, and rediscovery late in the 20th century. “Rediscovery” is a funny term, of course–she knew where she was the whole time, although other poets and the critics weren’t…