By Nava Atlas | On November 9, 2018 | Updated February 7, 2025 | Comments (3)
Gwendolyn B. Bennett (1902 – 1981) was a multitalented American poet, artist, columnist, educator, and arts administrator associated with the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1920s. Following is a selection of poems by Gwendolyn B. Bennett, a true Renaissance woman.
Equally dedicated to visual and literary arts, her first published poem, “Heritage,” was published in the NAACP’s journal, The Crisis, in 1923.
Bennett’s most productive period as a poet was from 1926 and 1927, producing poems that explored themes of racial pride and reflected African motifs. “Fantasy” spoke to the aspirations of African-American women. “Dark Girl” bestowed the nobility African queens upon Black females. Some poems were splendidly romantic, others a celebration of self.
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By Nava Atlas | On November 8, 2018 | Updated May 22, 2024 | Comments (2)
Gwendolyn B. Bennett (July 8, 1902 – May 30, 1981) was an American poet, writer, artist, columnist, and arts administrator associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Giddings, Texas, she spent her early childhood on a Paiute Indian Reservation in Nevada, where her parents were teachers.
When she was four, her parents moved to Washington, D.C. so that her father could study law at Howard University, while her mother trained as a beautician.
But all wasn’t well with this upwardly mobile couple; when Gwendolyn was seven, her parents divorced. After her mother gained custody, she was kidnapped by her father, who, along with his new wife, moved her around the northeast for several years.
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By Nava Atlas | On October 18, 2018 | Updated February 10, 2025 | Comments (5)
Here are more than a dozen women poets of the Harlem Renaissance, some of whom have been somewhat or largely forgotten, but whose words and lives deserve to be rediscovered and read.
The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was a fertile decade for Black creators of all kinds — writers, musicians, playwrights, and artists. Like many creative movements, it was male-dominated, but many women rose to prominence.
More women writers who made a lasting impact can be found in Renaissance Women: 13 Female Writers of the Harlem Renaissance, some of whom will also appear in the following list. 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→
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