Anne Spencer LETTER TO MY SISTER

Biographical Facts

Bibliography

-Born Henry Country, Virginia on Feb. 6, 1882-

-Anne Bethel Bannister

-attended Virginia Seminary and graduated in 1899

(meet her future husban Edward Spencer May 1, 1901)

-First went to school when she was 11

-James Weldon Johnson publish first poem

"Before the Feast at Shushan“

-1882- 1995 birth to death

-Daughter of former slaves

-popular in the 1920s

-librarian

-found the Lynchburg Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Davidson, Cathy N., Ed., and Linda Wagner-Martin. "About Anne Spencer." About Anne Spencer. Oxford Press, 1995. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

"Anne Spencer." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

Salmon, Nina. "Anne Spencer (1882–1975)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 27 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Dec. 2016.

Letter to My Sister

-Anne Spencer

Harlem Renaissance

La Vie En Rose

It is dangerous for a woman to defy the gods;

To taunt them with the tongue's thin tip,

Or strut in the weakness of mere humanity,

Or draw a line daring them to cross;

The gods own the searing lightning,

The drowning waters, tormenting fears

And anger of red sins.

Oh, but worse still if you mince timidly--

Dodge this way or that, or kneel or pray,

Be kind, or sweat agony drops

Or lay your quick body over your feeble young;

If you have beauty or none, if celibate

Or vowed--the gods are Juggernaut,

Passing over . . . over . . .

This you may do:

Lock your heart, then, quietly,

And lest they peer within,

Light no lamp when dark comes down

Raise no shade for sun;

Breathless must your breath come through

If you'd die and dare deny

The gods their god-like fun.

• Louis and Anne wants listeners to hear his voice
• Louis is telling listeners to wish for things you can never imagine
• the only thing that made Anne feel safe is to contact heer sister and Louis feels safe with his boo thang
• both have inner hope within themselves

Down Hearted Blues

General Career Facts

Extended Metaphor

Gee, but it's hard to love someone

When that someone don't love you

I'm so disgusted, heartbroken, too

I've got those down-hearted blues

Once I was crazy 'bout a man

He mistreated me all the time

The next man I get has got

To promise to be mine, all mine

Trouble, trouble, I've had it all my days

Trouble, trouble, I've had it all my days

It seems that trouble's going to follow me to my grave

I ain't never loved but three men in my life

I ain't never loved but three men in my life

My Father, my brother and the man that wrecked my life

- Smith sings about her being taken advantage of by the men in her life

-It relates to the poem, where it says,n the poem, it says "Or vowed--the gods are Juggernaut,

Passing over . . . over . . ."

Spencer uses the words: God, gods, sins, and vowed. In using these words they represent the slave owners. Slaves had to respect and obey their slave owner like a "God". The slave owners were like royal Kings and Queens with their peasants, the slaves, tending to their needs.

-joined of Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry

Written in 1973

- had several critics

H. L. Menken ( did not publish her work)

Keith Clark ( wrote an essay on how her work was “unnerving”

-never changed her work for others

-strong minded

Cocktails

By Archibald Motley

Down Hearted Blues

La Vie En Rose Video Clip