The Harlem Renaissance (African-American Achievers) - Softcover

Chambers, Veronica; Wilker, Josh

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791025985 ISBN 13: 9780791025987

Publisher: Chelsea House Pub, 1997

Synopsis

Recounts the vibrant personalities and remarkable cultural movements that flourished in America's leading Black community during the 1920s and 1930s

About this title

From Booklist:

Gr. 7^-12. Part of the African-American Achievers series, like De Angelis' Black Cowboys on p.1002, this sophisticated, in-depth history discusses how Harlem became the center of a great 1920s black cultural revolution that enriched the nation. Chambers weaves together accounts of the leading artists, writers, musicians, and intellectuals--Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, W. E. B. Du Bois, James van der Zee, and many more--with an overview of the social and political forces of the time. Her approach is celebratory, but she also analyzes the bitter conflicts within the African American artistic community, as well as the influence, good and bad, of the whites who helped make Harlem popular. The writing style is sometimes flat, but Chambers is at her best in talking about individual works of art from a social and an aesthetic point of view. There are interesting black-and-white photos throughout as well as a small central insert with full-color art and fascinating commentary. Quotes are carefully attributed, and there's a bibliography but no footnotes. Hazel Rochman

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-9?A concise overview of a unique and important era. Brief chapters address the rise of Harlem as an enclave of African-American culture; the lives and talents of the various artists who lived and created there; patrons of the Harlem Renaissance; the special role women played in it; the differing social, artistic, and political philosophies of the artists; and the eventual demise of the movement. The text is generously interspersed with interesting and informative black-and-white photographs; a full-color, eight-page centerfold of period artwork adds appeal. Source notes are not included. Although well written and appealing, the book does not measure up to James Haskins's The Harlem Renaissance (Millbrook, 1996), which is outstanding because of its generous use of quotes from primary sources and its lavish presentation.?Marilyn Heath, Greenwood High School, SC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chelsea House Pub
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0791025985
• ISBN 13: 9780791025987
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144