By Nava Atlas | On February 2, 2018 | Updated February 1, 2025 | Comments (0)
Here are six classic African American women authors, from the Harlem Renaissance era through midcentury (and a bit beyond) worth getting to know — and reading.
Historically, it was challenge enough for women to become published authors, and until the 1960s or so, this was especially true for Black women authors facing the dual struggles of race and gender bias. A short-lived turning point came during the Harlem Renaissance era of the 1920s, when talented Black women writers found a more supportive and nurturing community. Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On January 20, 2018 | Updated August 14, 2026 | Comments (0)
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge (1865) is the classic tale of Hans and his sister Gretel (not to be confused with Hansel and Gretel). It takes place in Holland, and though the author created a lovely picture of Dutch life in the early 19th century, she never visited the country until well after the book’s publication.
In the 1946 edition, the Brinker children’s parents are described as a “gallant mother and strange, silent father.” The father’s condition, as it turns out, is due to a head injury.
The family is relatable and timeless because they “are very real people with ambitions, hopes and problems that the young reader shares as he or she reads their story. The Brinkers are very poor, but during one eventful winter many wonderful things happen to them.” Read More→
By Marta McDowell | On January 13, 2018 | Updated September 30, 2025 | Comments (3)
Twenty-something Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943) was conflicted. She had two consuming interests at the time: art and the study of fungi.
With the exception of letter writing and a journal which she started in 1881—in elaborate code, by the way—becoming a woman of letters was nowhere in sight. What happened to set and redirect the course of her life’s work?
Helen Beatrix Potter was born to wealth, so she didn’t need to earn a living. Her ambitions were more personal, bubbling up from some inner pool. Born in London to a posh South Kensington address, she and her younger brother, Bertram, were raised in the usual way for children of that social class—by a series of minders starting with nurses, then nannies, and finally governesses. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On January 7, 2018 | Updated March 25, 2026 | Comments (17)
The Harlem Renaissance movement in 1920s New York City ushered in an era of immense cultural and creative achievement. Highlight here are fourteen Black women writers of the Harlem Renaissance movement.
Black women in the creative arts who had long faced the dual struggle of race and gender found a more welcoming oasis for their talents than ever before in this creative movement.
A substantial number of Black women made a name for themselves as writers, playwrights, poets, editors, artists, and journalists. Using their talent to create and perform, they also worked as educators, editors, librarians, musicians, and more. Read More→
By Diane Denton | On December 31, 2017 | Updated August 20, 2020 | Comments (2)
The following is an excerpt from Without the Veil Between: Anne Brontë: A Fine and Subtle Spirit — a novel by DM Denton:
When I set out, well over two years ago, to write a fiction about Anne Brontë, youngest sister of Charlotte and Emily, I doubted I would find enough material to produce something longer than a novella. Before the first part was finished, I was convinced there was more than enough for a novel.
My objective didn’t change as pages filled and multiplied. I wanted to present Anne as a vital person and writer in her own right, as crucial to the Brontë story and literary legacy as her more famous and — in her brother Branwell’s case — infamous siblings were. Read More→
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