Category Archives: Archival

William Burford, March 1950

William Burford was an American modernist poet who now is most often described by the Internet as the friend of the more renowned poet James Merrill. The poet appeared in Poetry Magazine several times between 1949 and 1953. Based on … Continue reading

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Achieving the American Dream: Deferred and Grueling

Langston Hughes’s “Montage of A Dream Deferred” explores the American dream being sought after, yet impossible to grasp for blacks. Out of all of the poems in the Montage, the poem “Theme for English B”illustrates how the American dream of … Continue reading

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Poetry, 1951

In the February 1951 edition of Poetry Magazine there are numerous poems of varying quality. Some are translated works of poetry, including four poems of the French poet Apollinaire translated into English by Harry Duncan. Many of the poems written … Continue reading

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“Theme for English B” in Common Ground

Langston Hughes’s poem, “Theme for English B” from “Montage of a Dream Deferred” was published in an issue of Common Ground in September 1949. Interestingly enough, “Theme for English B” is only one of three poems in the entire issue, … Continue reading

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The Politics of Yeats

In the January 1939 edition of The Atlantic Monthly, three of Yeats’ poems were published alongside one other poem and about 20 different essays and articles. The poems of Yeats included “Politics,” “The Circus Animal’s Desertion,” and “Man and the Echo.” … Continue reading

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On the Heals of WWII

Poetry as it relates to politics was a common theme in the work of W.B. Yeats many of his poems centered around the dicey political landscape of the continent on which he lived. His poem “Politics” written in May if … Continue reading

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Langston Hughes’s Harlem Debut

For my archival post this week, I decided to focus on Langston Hughes’s poetic debut. Instead of looking for one of his poems for our week’s reading in the literary archives, I chose to research where his first piece was … Continue reading

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The Importance of Harriet Monroe

Along with being a poet, Harriet Monroe was an editor, literary critic, as well as founder of Poetry magazine.  Some of her poetry was published in this magazine in January of 1927, a year that we have briefly touched on … Continue reading

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Po’Boy Blues by Langston Hughes

Po’ Boy Blues was written around 1926-1927, which according to The Crisis, was the same time they published the article “The Colored Woman in Industry.” Hughes’ rhyme scheme of AB AB clearly shows that he is suffering from the blues. … Continue reading

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Iris Tree, a Frog, and Modigliani

Any archival post is a shot in the dark. The Modernist Journals Project stops curiously at 1922, and many journals held in the UNZ archives were held under copyright. Nevertheless, I took a stab at Iris Tree in the 1923 … Continue reading

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