BOHANAN, OTTO LELAND. Born in Washington, D.C. Educated in the public
schools in Washington. He is a graduate of Howard University, School of
Liberal Arts, Washington, D.C., and did special work in English at the
Catholic University in that city. At present he is engaged in the musical
profession in New York.
BRAITHWAITE, WILLIAM STANLEY. Born in Boston, 1878. Mainly self-educated.
A critic of poetry and the friend of poets. Author of _Lyrics-of Life,
The House of Falling Leaves, The Poetic Year, The Story of the Great
War,_ etc. Editor and compiler of _The Book of Elizabethan Verse, The
Book of Georgian Verse, The Book of Restoration Verse_ and a series of
yearly anthologies of magazine verse. One of the literary editors of the
Boston _Transcript_.
BRAWLEY, BENJAMIN. Born at Columbia, S.C., 1882. Educated at the Atlanta
Baptist College, the University of Chicago and Harvard University. For two
years he was professor of English at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Later he became dean of Morehouse College, Atlanta, Ga. Author of _A
Short History of the American Negro, The Negro in Literature and Art, A
Short History of the English Drama, A Social History of the American
Negro_, etc. Now living in Boston and engaged in research and writing.
CAMPBELL, JAMES EDWIN. Was born at Pomeroy, Ohio, in the early sixties.
His early life was somewhat shrouded in mystery; he never referred to it
even to his closest associates. He was educated in the public schools of
his native city. Later he spent a while at Miami College. In the late
eighties and early nineties he was engaged in newspaper work in Chicago.
He wrote regularly on the various dailies of that city. He was also one of
a group that issued the _Four O'Clock Magazine_, a literary
publication which flourished for several years. He died, perhaps, twenty
years ago. He was the author of _Echoes from The Cabin and
Elsewhere_, a volume of poems.
CARMICHAEL, WAVERLEY TURNER. A young man who had never been out of his
native state of Alabama until several years ago when he entered one of the
summer courses at Harvard University. His education to that time had been
very limited and he had endured poverty and hard work. His verses came to
the attention of one of the Harvard professors. He has since published a
volume, _From the Heart of a Folk_. He served with the 367th
Regiment, "The Buffaloes," during the World War and saw active service in
France. At present he is employed as a postal clerk in Boston, Mass.
CORROTHERS, JAMES D., 1869-1919. Born in Cass County, Michigan. Student in
Northwestern University, minister and poet. Many of his poems appeared in
_The Century Magazine_.
COTTER, JOSEPH S., JR., 1895-1919. Born at Louisville, Kentucky, in the
room in which Paul Laurence Dunbar first read his dialect poems in the
South. He was precocious as a child, having read a number of books before
he was six years old. All through his boyhood he had the advantage and
inspiration of the full library of poetic books belonging to his father,
himself a poet of considerable talent. Young Cotter attended Fisk
University but left in his second year because he had developed
tuberculosis. A volume of verse, _The Band of Gideon_, and a number
of unpublished poems were written during the six years in which he was an
invalid.
DANDRIDGE, RAY G. Born at Cincinnati, Ohio, 1882. Educated in the grammar
and high school of his native city. In 1912, as the result of illness, he
lost the use of both legs and his right arm. He does most of his writing
lying flat in bed and using his left hand. He is the author of _The Poet
and Other Poems_.
DAVIS, DANIEL WEBSTER. Born in Virginia, near Richmond. For a number of
years he was a minister and principal of the largest public school in
Richmond. He died in that city some years ago. He was the author of
_'Weh Down Souf_, a volume of verse. He was very popular as an orator
and a reader of his own poems.
DETT, R. NATHANIEL. Born at Drummondville, Canada, 1882. Graduate of the
Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He is a composer, most of his compositions
being based on themes from the old "slave songs." His "Listen to de Lambs"
is widely used by choral societies. He is director of music at Hampton
Institute. He is also the author of _The Album of a Heart_, a volume
of verse.
DU BOIS, W. E. BURGHARDT. Born at Great Barrington, Mass., 1868. Educated
at Fisk University, Harvard University and the University of Berlin. For a
number of years professor of economics and history at Atlanta University.
Author of the _Suppression of the Slave Trade, The Philadelphia Negro,
The Souls of Black Folk, John Brown, Darkwater_, etc. He is the editor
of _The Crisis_.
DUNBAR, PAUL LAURENCE. Born at Dayton, Ohio, 1872; died 1906. Dunbar was
educated in the public schools. He wrote his early poems while working as
an elevator boy. His first volume of poems, _Oak and Ivy_, was
published in 1893 and sold largely through his own efforts. This was
followed by _Majors and Minors, Lyrics of Lowly Life, Lyrics of the
Hearthside, Lyrics of Love and Laughter, Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow_
and _Howdy, Honey, Howdy_. _Lyrics of Lowly Life_, published in
New York in 1896 with an introduction written by William Dean Howells,
gained national recognition for Dunbar. In addition to poetical works,
Dunbar was the author of four novels, _The Uncalled, The Love of Landry,
The Sport of the Gods_, and _The Fanatics_. He also published
several volumes of short stories. Partly because of his magnificent voice
and refined manners, he was a very successful reader of his own poems and
was able to add greatly to their popularity.
FAUSET, JESSIE REDMON. Born at Snow Hill, New Jersey. She was educated in
the public schools of Philadelphia, at Cornell University and the
University of Pennsylvania. For a while she was teacher of French in the
Dunbar High School, Washington, D.C. Author of a number of uncollected
poems and several short stories. She is literary editor of _The
Crisis_.
HILL, LESLIE PINCKNEY. Born at Lynchburg, Va., 1880. He was educated in
the public schools at Lynchburg and at Harvard University. On graduation
he became a teacher of English and methods at Tuskegee. Author of the
_Wings of Oppression_, a volume of verse. He is principal of the
Cheyney Training School for Teachers at Cheyney, Pa.
HOLLOWAY, JOHN WESLEY. Born in Merriweather County, Ga, 1865. His father,
who learned to read and write in slavery, became one of the first colored
teachers in Georgia after the Civil War. Mr. Holloway was educated at
Clark University, Atlanta, Ga., and at Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.
He was for a while a member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Has been a
teacher and is now a preacher. He is the author of _From the Desert_,
a volume of verse.
JAMISON, ROSCOE C. Born at Winchester, Tenn., 1888; died 1918. He was a
graduate of Fisk University.
JOHNSON, CHARLES BERTRAM. Born at Callao, Mo., 1880. He was educated in
the public schools of his home town and at Western College, Lincoln
Institute and at Chicago University. He was a teacher for a number of
years and is now a pastor of a church at Moberly, Mo. He is the author of
_Songs of My People_.
JOHNSON, FENTON. Born at Chicago, 1888. He was educated in the public
schools and at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. The
author of _A Little Dreaming, Songs of the Soil_ and _Visions of
the Dusk_. He has devoted much time to journalism and the editing of a
magazine.
JOHNSON, GEORGIA DOUGLAS. Born in Atlanta, Ga., 1886. She was educated in
the public schools of that city and at Atlanta University. She is the
author of a volume of verse, _The Heart of a Woman_ and other poems.
JOHNSON, JAMES WELDON. Born at Jacksonville, Fla., 1871. He was educated
in the public schools of Jacksonville, at Atlanta University and at
Columbia University. He taught school in his native town for several
years. Later he came to New York with his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson,
and began writing for the musical comedy stage. He served seven years as
U. S. Consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua. Author of _The Autobiography of
an Ex-colored Man, Fifty Years and Other Poems_, and the English
libretto to _Goyescas_, the Spanish grand opera, produced at the
Metropolitan Opera House in 1915.
JONES, EDWARD SMYTH. Attracted national attention about ten years ago by
walking some hunderds of miles from his home in the South to Harvard
University. Arriving there, he was arrested on a charge of vagrancy. While
in jail, he wrote a poem, "Harvard Square." The poem created a sentiment
that led to his quick release. He is the author of _The Sylvan
Cabin_.
JONES, JOSHUA HENRY, JR. He is engaged in newspaper work in Boston and is
the author of a volume of poems, _The Heart of the World_.
MARGETSON, GEORGE REGINALD. Was born at St. Kitts, British West Indies, in
1877. He was educated at the Moravian school in his district. He came to
the United States in 1897. Mr. Margetson has found it necessary to work
hard to support a large family and his poems have been written in his
spare moments. He is the author of two volumes of verses, _Songs of
Life_ and _The Fledgling Bard and the Poetry Society_ and, in
addition, a large number of uncollected poems. Mr. Margetson lives in
Boston.
McCLELLAN, GEORGE MARION. Born at Belfast, Tenn., 1860. Graduate of Fisk
University and Hartford Theological Seminary, teacher, principal and
author. He is the author of _The Path of Dreams_.
McKAY, CLAUDE. Born in Jamaica, West Indies, 1889. Such education as he
gained in boyhood he received from his brother. He served for a while as a
member of the Kingston Constabulary. In 1912 he came to the United States.
For two years he was a student of agriculture at the Kansas State College.
Since leaving school Mr. McKay has turned his hand to any kind of work to
earn a living. He has worked in hotels and on the Pullman cars. He is
to-day associate editor of _The Liberator_. He is the author of two
volumes of poems, _Songs of Jamaica_ and _Spring in New
Hampshire_, the former published in Jamaica and the latter in London.
MOORE; WILLIAM H. A. Was born in New York City and received his education
in the public schools and at the City College. He also did some special
work at Columbia University. He has had a long career as a newspaper man,
working on both white and colored publications. He now lives in Chicago.
He is the author of _Dusk Songs_, a volume of poems.
NELSON, ALICE MOORE (DUNBAR). Born at New Orleans, La., 1875. She was
educated in the schools of New Orleans and has taken special courses at
Cornell University, Columbia University, and the University of
Pennsylvania. Author of _Violets and Other Tales, The Goodness of St.
Rocque, Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence_, and _The Dunbar
Speaker_. She was married to Paul Laurence Dunbar in 1898. She has been
a teacher and is well known on the lecture platform and as an editor.
ROGERS, ALEX. Born at Nashville, Tenn., 1876. Educated in the public
schools of that city. For many years a writer of words for popular songs.
He wrote many of the songs for the musical comedies in which Williams and
Walker appeared. He is the author of _The Jonah Man, Nobody_ and
other songs made popular by Mr. Bert Williams.
SHACKELFORD, THEODORE HENRY. Author of _Mammy's Cracklin' Bread and
Other Poems_, and _My Country and Other Poems_.
SPENCER, ANNE. Born in Bramwell, W. Va., 1882. Educated at the Virginia
Seminary, Lynchburg, Va. She lives at Lynchburg and takes great pride and
pleasure in her garden.
WATKINS, LUCIAN B., was born in Virginia. He served overseas in the great
war and lost his health. He died in 1921. He was the author of a large
number of uncollected poems.