Poetry Project

Children of the Sun

Works Cited

-. Harlem. N.d. -, unknownw. BAM's blog. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.

-Brown, Lois. Encyclopedia of the Harlem literary renaissance . New York, N.Y.: Facts On File Inc., 2005. Print.

-Kellner, Bruce. The Harlem Renaissance: a historical dictionary for the era. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1984. Print.

-Unknown Photographer. Fenton Johnson. N.d. -, -. oldpoetry.com. Web. 5 Apr. 2011.

-unknown photographer. sleepy lion. N.d. -, unknown location. Desi Colours. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.

MLA formatting by BibMe.org.

Biography Continued...

• Johnson was included in the Bontemps-Hughes Anthology, a collection of poetry from the most prominent writers of the Renaissance.

• Was called by Weldon Johnson "one of the first Negro Revolutionary poets"

• Themes of his work: "racial and religious"

• Poetry described as "fatalistic despair".

Biography of Fenton Johnson:

• Born in 1888 in Chicago.

• Attended Univeristy of Chicago and Northwestern University.

• 19 Years old___ plays produced by Old Pekin Theatre in Chicago.

• Published 3 volumes of poetry in the decade before the Harlem Renaissance.

• His career was catalyzed by Arna Bontemps (his prime supporting writer), who persistantly encouraged him.

Harlem Renaissance Poetry Project:

-Fenton Johnson

Fenton Johnson

By: Tricia Wiles,

Matt Pienkowski,

and Lukas Chandler

Tired

We have come through cloud and mist,

Mighty men!

Dusk has kissed our sleep-born eyes,

Reared for us a mystic throne

In the splendor of the skies,

That shall always be for us,

Children of the Nazarene,

Children who shall ever sing

Liberty! Fraternity!

We are the star-dust folk,

Striving folk!

Sorrow songs have lulled to rest;

Seething passions wrought through wrongs,

Led us where the moon rays dipIn the night of dull despair,

Showed us where the star gleams shine,

And the mystic symbols glow--

Liberty! Fraternity!

We are children of the sun,Rising sun!

Weaving Southern destiny,

Waiting for the mighty hour

When our Shiloh shall appear

With the flaming sword of right,

With the steel of brotherhood,

And emboss in crimson die

Liberty! Fraternity!

Imagery

Themes:

• Individuals must unite under a common brotherhood to acquire the fruits of freedom.

• People will strive for equality even in times when societal circumstances do not favor their cause.

• A races potential should not be inhibited by the amibitions of others.

Symbol:

Stars- the hope of the slaves that they may one day be released from their perpetual darkness.

Symbols:

Rising Sun: the potential of African Americans.

The Flaming Sword of Right: slaves path to freedom

Children of the Sun

Last Chance Saloon: the last chance for freedom, every other place is full of segregation and discrimination. This is the last place were the black man can be treated correctly and respectably.

I AM tired of work; I am tired of building up somebody else’s civilization.

Let us take a rest, M’Lissy Jane.

I will go down to the Last Chance Saloon, drink a gallon or two of gin, shoot a game or two of dice and sleep the rest of the night on one of Mike’s barrels.

You will let the old shanty go to rot, the white people’s clothes turn to dust, and the Calvary Baptist Church sink to the bottomless pit.

You will spend your days forgetting you married me and your nights hunting the warm gin Mike serves the ladies in the rear of the Last Chance Saloon. 5

Throw the children into the river; civilization has given us too many. It is better to die than it is to grow up and find out that you are colored.

Pluck the stars out of the heavens. The stars mark our destiny. The stars marked my destiny.

I am tired of civilization.

Lines 6 -10 show the depression and the angst for a better life. It shows how the speaker is exhausted and done with building up someone else's life. Lines 14 and 15 show how the speaker does not think that things will get better, how life is at a stalemate in moving forward.Line 16 is the speaker understanding that his future is not a good one. There is no heaven for a colored man. He is tired.

The Creation: by Aaron Brooks

• Inspired by the book of Genesis

• Theme: Birth and beginning, relates to the spiritual rebirth of African culture during the Harlem Renaissance.