Explore Black History

1978

A white plastic cassette tape with recordings of two episodes of the radio program The Literary Corner. The cassette has a beige label on which typewritten text on one side reads [THE LITERARY CORNER / Intro to Afro American Poetry part 1. THE LITERARY CORNER Intro to Afro American Poetry part 2]. The typewritten text on the other side reads [THE LITERARY CORNER Intro to Afro American Poetry part 2].
Side A: Introduction to African American Poetry with Eugene Redmond—Part I
Episode 11 of the Literary Corner radio program. It is part one of a “two-part historical introduction of Afro-American poetry” and begins with poet Eugene Redmond reciting a poem, before segueing into an introduction by host Brooks Robinson. After the introduction, Redmond names some of the earliest African American poets, such as Phillis Wheatley, Jupiter Hammon, Briton Hammon, George Moses Horton, Gustavus Vassa (also known as Olaudah Equiano) and Frederick Douglas. Topics discussed include a brief overview of Phillis Wheatley’s life, and race consciousness (or lack thereof) in her work; how the first African enslaved people in the New World expressed their experiences or envisioned a new world in a new language; the development of folk literature and folk poetry; the development of written and oral protest poetry; writers in the 19th and 20th century, such as Albery Whitman, Paul Laurence Dunbar and James Weldon Johnson; the different schools of poetry, such as plantation and dialect; the use of unrealistic dialects by white writers. The discussion concludes with Eugene Redmond outlining the contributions and legacy of Paul Dunbar by listing institutions that have commemorated him through eponyms.
Side B: Introduction to African American Poetry with Eugene Redmond—Part II
Episode 12 of the Literary Corner radio program. It is part II of a two-part discussion on African American poetry. The episode begins with host Brooks Robinson introducing his guest, Professor Eugene Redmond, before segueing into a discussion of the Harlem Renaissance. Some of the themes and individuals discussed in the episode include the Harlem Renaissance; James Weldon Johnson’s contributions to African American poetry; black poets that emerged in the 1930s and 1940s, such as Frank Marshall Davis, Robert Hayton, M. Carl Holman, Gwendolyn Brooks and Melvin Tolson; Gwendolyn Brooks’ rise to prominence; black poets of the 1950s such as Lance Jeffers, Percy Johnston, Jay Wright, Henry Dumas, Clarence Major, Ted Joans, Bob Kaufman, and Russell Atkins; individuals of the early 1960s such as Larry Neal (Liberator magazine), John Henrik Clarke (Freedomways magazine) and several others; crucial figures of the Black Arts movement such as Ed Bullins, Leroy Jones (also known as Amiri Baraka) and Haki Madhubuti. The episode concludes with Eugene Redmond reading one of his poems, “I Can Never Unlove You,” while instrumental jazz music plays in the background.

Transcribed by digital volunteers

Cassette tape with two episodes of the Literary Corner radio program

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

The Literary Corner: Black Writers of the World

Time-based Media - Audio

Harlem Renaissance (New Negro Movement)
BAM (Black Arts Movement 1965-1976)

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Contributed in memory of Professor Sarah Webster Fabio (1928-1979), poet, educator, Black Arts Movement icon, and one of the Literary Corner's analysts.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

2010.17.1.6a

audio cassettes

© Brooks B. Robinson
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

plastic and tape

H x W (audiocassette): 2 3/4 × 4 1/4 × 5/8 in. (7 × 10.8 × 1.6 cm)
Duration (side a): 00:14:19
Duration (side b): 00:14:50

Title • The Literary Corner: Introduction to African American Poetry with Eugene Redmond—Part I (side A) / Introduction to African American Poetry with Eugene Redmond—Part II (side B)

nmaahc_2010.17.1.6a

NMAAHC

THE LITERARY CORNER: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY WITH EUGENE REDMOND—PART I (SIDE A) / INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY WITH EUGENE REDMOND—PART II (SIDE B)

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

1970s

Wheatley Peters, Phillis • Dunbar, Paul Laurence • Brooks, Gwendolyn • Robinson, Brooks B. • Johnson, James Weldon • Cham, Robert • Redmond, Eugene B.

New York • Harlem • United States • North and Central America

Literature • Harlem Renaissance (New Negro Movement) • BAM (Black Arts Movement 1965-1976) • Poetry • Radio

Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America • City • Harlem • County • New York • State • New York

Sound recordings

Limited Use