The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920-1930 (Circles of the Twentieth Century Series , No 1)
by Steven Watson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Steven WatsonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1996-08-13
ISBN: 0679758895
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Pantheon
Book Reviews of The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920-1930 (Circles of the Twentieth Century Series , No 1)
Book Review: A competent primer on the era, but more is needed
Summary: 3 Stars
The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920-1930, by Steve Watson, part of the "Circles of the Twentieth Century" series, presents an easy-to-follow crash-course to the neighborhoods and decade. Watson allows readers to glimpse the lively streets of Harlem, where people of various colors and sexual orientation mingled in wild dance clubs or sat together at extravagant performances (although some of the more chic places still catered to a white only or partially segregated clientele). White New Yorkers would venture "Uptown" to sample black culture in Harlem in a relatively accepting environment, enjoying the shows of some of the best jazz musicians and performers of the time. Of course, racism and exploitation still played a role in many of these relations. Nevertheless, it was an improvement from previous eras when the black community was mostly resented and ignored.
The movement is best told through the works of its literary elite, and it is on these figures that Watson concentrates his efforts. These young writers, most notably Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Countee Cullen, were nurtured and guided by the previous generation's intellectuals and various rich, influential Harlemites. Among these was W.E.B. Du Bois, who through his magazine, The Crisis, hoped to guide the next generation, showcasing young talents' select work in the way of propaganda in order to advance blacks in society. Other "Forefathers", as Watson calls them, included blacks and whites, heterosexuals and homosexuals. Among these were Carl Van Vechten, Jessie Fauset, Alain Locke, James Weldon Johnson, and later, Charlotte van der Veer Quick Mason. Each of these mentors/patrons wished to direct the movement in their own way; however, most of their prot?g?s would break away and find their own paths, defining for themselves the Harlem Renaissance.
Watson never does dive too deep in any single aspect of the Renaissance, instead preferring broad glances at the various aspects of the movement. However, most of his attention is guided by the lives of three of the decades leading writers, mentioned above. Their stories reveal that this was far from a cohesive movement, as each saw their role and obligations differently. Though they all began by embracing their color and culture, they soon diverted from each other. Langston and Hurston embraced vulgarity and broke from the safe propaganda of Du Bois, instead reveling in works of vice and racial pride. Their works refused to conform to white tradition, and even seemed to dare their white audience to read them (Hughes's Fire!!, for example). Cullen, on the other hand, maintained formal verse forms and tried to rise above the identification of a "Negro writer." Regardless of their differences, they represented the first and most influential black artistic movements in the nation's history, up to that time. Their works were enjoyed not only by black readers, but read widely by white audiences as well. Additionally, the Renaissance seems to not only have been a time of exposure for blacks, but also for homosexuals, as most involved in the literary movement seem to have been. These include many high profile figures, such as Carl Van Vechten and Countee Cullen, whose openness in an earlier (and also later) time would have been unheard of. This seems another testament to the tolerance of Renaissance Harlem, punctuated with such gay hangouts as the Clam House that proved popular.
One of the most interesting figures dealt with was Zora Neale Hurston. Most compelling was her anthropological adventure throughout the rural South. Watson allows us to see Hurston weed through her roots and find a black identity that she did not know intimately. We learn of her taking on aliases to become accepted in various black communities to record their rituals and folklore, even lying "facedown, nude, for sixty-nine hours, without food or water, her navel touching a rattle-snake skin" (Watson 149). In essence it is an account of a woman seeking her roots, trying to come to terms with a culture she hasn't fully accepted or understood. This seems to be also the essence of the Harlem Renaissance, artists trying to find their way in a world that has not allowed them into the fold or even showed them truthfully their past. It is a longing most Americans, in a nation of displaced immigrants, can relate to.
With Watson's broad stroke one gets an idea of the Harlem Renaissance, and certainly a decent amount of knowledge about the writers, but it is difficult to really get a feel for what it would have been like for a typical Harlemite to live through it. By concentrating on the writers, he is putting our focus upon those who were exceptional, whose differences made them stand out and be recognized. By their merit, they were not typical of others of their time. For instance, much attention is given to Claude McKay, who wasn't even in Harlem, let alone the country, at the time. Granted, the reader is offered descriptions of rent parties and a few popular venues, yet it is not clear how much the average resident was aware of this literary and artistic movement, went to the venues, or mingled regularly with whites. Just how widespread was the Renaissance? Were there many other writers struggling to be recognized at the time that might not have made it? Or was it limited to a select few who wrote about the energy seen all around during the `Roaring Twenties'? Furthermore, can it be truly called a renaissance, which suggests rebirth, when there was no black American literary tradition to be reborn? This all suggests that Watson views the Harlem Renaissance as mainly involving a small literary circle with a strong black identity, and all else seems something of a coincidence. While the subjects are inherently interesting, the book unfortunately lacks in explaining these other important elements and issues.
Summary of The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920-1930 (Circles of the Twentieth Century Series , No 1)
It was W.E.B. DuBois who paved the way with his essays and his magazine The Crisis, but the Harlem Renaissance was mostly a literary and intellectual movement whose best known figures include Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and Jean Toomer. Their work ranged from sonnets to modernist verse to jazz aesthetics and folklore, and their mission was race propaganda and pure art. Adding to their visibility were famous jazz musicians, producers of all-black revues, and bootleggers.Now available in paperback, this richly-illustrated book contains more than 70 black-and-white photographs and drawings. Steven Watson clearly traces the rise and flowering of this movement, evoking its main figures as well as setting the scene--describing Harlem from the Cotton Club to its literary salons, from its white patrons like Carl van Vechten to its most famous entertainers such as Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker, Ethel Waters, Alberta Hunter, Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong among many others. He depicts the social life of working-class speakeasies, rent parties, gay and lesbian nightlife, as well as the celebrated parties at the twin limestone houses owned by hostess A'Lelia Walker. This is an important history of one of America's most influential cultural phenomenons.
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