A huge part of what we do here at Lynnfield is uncovering people that have fallen to the wayside in historical records. History is not as unchanging as you may think. Finding new stories and new interpretations of old stories keeps things fresh. One Harlem Renaissance writer is a perfect example of this idea.

Many of us read Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God in high school. She was integral to the Harlem Renaissance, but she was not the only woman to contribute her literary talents to the movement. Jessie Redmon Fauset was another talented writer of this era. The New Yorker recently published a piece on her work. Read it for some perspective on some of the issues prevalent in the lives of Harlem Renaissance writers and activists.

Further Reading

Fauset's 1924 novel There is Confusion
For an analysis of Fauset's work, read Jacquelyn McLendon's The Politics of Color in the Fiction of Jessie Fauset and Nella Larsen.

In the meantime, Lynnfield wishes you a Happy Black History Month! We have just a week to go. We hope you've learned some new things during the last few weeks.