Literary Sisters: Dorothy West and Her Circle, A Biography of the Harlem Renaissance

Acknowledgments

ix Acknowledgments This biography took root in April 1997 at the Fifty-seventh Annual College Language Association Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.The conference was hosted by Spelman College, the historic black college for women, founded in 1881. We appeared on a panel focused on women writers of the Harlem Renaissance and presented papers on first cousins Helene Johnson and Dorothy West. Since then we have collaborated on presentations, scholarly articles, and two books.The current project is the culmination of this work and the final part of a trilogy on the intellectual , emotional, and literary relationships of Dorothy West, Helene Johnson , and their circle. A number of very important persons deserve credit for making this book possible. First we thank the family of Dorothy West and Helene Johnson.Their enthusiasm for and pleasure in the project were matched only by our own. Abigail McGrath generously opened her homes to us in New York and on Martha’s Vineyard, provided access to hitherto unpublished material on the two writers, and shared her memories of her mother, Helene Johnson, and of Edna and Lloyd Thomas and Olivia Wyndham.Abigail also introduced us toWorldWar II veteran John Johnson , the writers’ first cousin and the last surviving family member of that generation. Johnson enthusiastically shared his memories of his mother, the Reverend Scotter Benson Johnson, and of several other family members . We were especially fortunate in establishing warm relationships with the late Barbara Franklin and her daughter, Courtney Franklin, and we thank them for hosting us in New Haven, Connecticut, and for providing vintage family photographs and valuable perspectives on the two writers.Tom Wirth shared his memories of Richard Bruce Nugent and provided important photographs from the 1920s. We thank Dr. Carol-Rae Sodano, dean of the School of Adult and Continuing Education, Barry University; Dr. Eric Link, chair of the Department of English, University of Memphis; and Dr. Marie Cini, dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at University of Maryland/ University College.Without their support and encouragement over the past years, we could not have traveled to the archives, libraries, and interviews that provided us with primary sources. Several friends and colleagues also gave crucial support.We extend special thanks to Cheryl A. Wall, whose pioneering work on black women writers provided the inspiration for work on West and Johnson. Cherene Sherrard-Johnson, initially an anonymous reader, has our heartfelt thanks for her cogent commentary and early, pivotal support. Our colleagues DoVeanna Fulton Minor and Ladrica Menson-Furr read the entire manuscript and offered prudent, immensely helpful feedback. Patricia Feito, Linda DiDesidero, Reginald Martin, and Lisa Beth Hill offered valuable perspectives on women’s writing and African American history. Sincere thanks to our graduate assistants, Jervette Ward-Ellis and Jennifer Weber, whom we wish much success as they begin to pursue their own scholarship. We are also indebted to Adelaide Cromwell and the late IsabelWashington Powell, who gave generously of their time and memories in personal interviews. The unsung heroes of academic research are, of course, librarians, and we were fortunate in working with some of the very best.We gratefully acknowledge Beth Madison Howse of Franklin Library, Fisk University ; Ruth Caruth and Graham Sherriff of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University; Janet Sims-Wood of MoorlandSpingarn Research Center, Howard University; Karen Jefferson and Cathy Lynn Mundale of Atlanta University Center Archives; JC Johnson of Mugar Memorial Library, Boston University; Brenda B. Square and Shannon Burrell of Amistad Research Center, Tulane University; Ellen Shea and Diana Carey of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University; Perida A. Mitchell of Thomas County (Georgia) Public Library; Dave Proulx of Family History Center, Plantation, Florida; Elspeth Healey of Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas; Julia Gardner of Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago; Vicki Catozza of Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio; and the staff of the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division,WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection. Barb Mann of University of Maryland/ University College has provided unstinting and enthusiastic support and Acknowledgments x valuable suggestions for using the materials in the University of Maryland Library System. Much gratitude goes to the staff of Rutgers University Press for their commitment to African American literature and for their consummate professionalism. Kathryn Gohl provided outstanding copyediting assistance. Our sponsoring editor, Leslie Mitchner, believed in the project from the very beginning and provided unwavering enthusiasm and wise counsel. Finally, for their inspiration and...