Toward an Understanding of Helene Johnson’s Hybrid Modernist Poetics

CLA JOURNAL 45 Caribbean฀peoples.฀Brodber’s฀thematization฀of฀post-slavery฀colonial฀existence,฀with฀ a฀clear฀focus฀on฀Afro-spirituality฀illuminates฀the฀novel’s฀philosophical฀resonances,฀ ---.฀“The฀Life฀of฀Myth฀and฀its฀Possible฀Bearing฀on฀Erna฀Brodber’s฀ Toward an Understanding of Helene Johnson’s Hybrid Modernist Poetics Robert Fillman Helene฀Johnson’s฀entire฀corpus฀consists฀of฀thirty-four฀poems฀published฀in฀ periodicals and a few undated verses that have only recently found their way into print. For most of the twentieth century, she was a footnote in American literature. But in recent years, feminist scholars and scholars of the Harlem Renaissance฀have฀been฀increasingly฀drawn฀to฀Johnson’s฀work.฀In฀her฀time,฀she฀was฀ praised by her New Negro contemporaries, published in nearly all of the major African American journals and anthologies of her day, and won several awards. In addition to her mastery of traditional verse forms, her reputation rests on her avant-garde representation of the distinctive features of African American culture of the 1920s and 1930s. Her poetry persistently engages social issues—including race politics, the subordination of women, and obstacles faced by the black working class. Her verse also explores the beauty and sensuous pleasures of the natural world. But as quickly as Johnson came on the scene, she disappeared. And unfortunately for us, her sudden departure has prevented critics from grasping the significance of her literary career, something this essay aims to remedy. Helene Johnson was born in Boston on July 7, 1906, to Ella Benson and George William Johnson.1 She was named after her grandmother Helen Pease Benson, but her family and friends called her “Helene,” a nickname given to her by an aunt. Though an only child who never knew her father (her parents separated shortly after her birth), Johnson grew up in a close-knit extended family household. Surrounded by her mother, maternal aunts, and female cousins—including fellow Harlem Renaissance writer, Dorothy West—Johnson experienced a childhood that emphasized education, female solidarity, and a love of the outdoors. The families combined their earnings and, as a result, the poet spent her formative years living in a fashionable neighborhood in the Brookline section of Boston. She received a฀ fine฀ education฀ through฀ the฀ city’s฀ public-school฀ system—attending฀ the฀ elite฀ Boston฀Girls’฀Latin฀School,฀and฀then฀taking฀courses฀at฀Boston฀University฀and,฀later,฀ Columbia University. By the early 1920s, Johnson began to publish in small periodicals. In 1925, at age nineteen, she received an honorable mention for her poem, “Trees at 1 ฀ ฀฀ It฀is฀interesting฀to฀note฀that฀for฀years฀many฀anthologies฀incorrectly฀listed฀Johnson’s฀birth฀year฀as฀ 1907, which speaks to a larger impulse to obscure or misrepresent the poet in the anthologizing process. 46 CLA JOURNAL Robert Fillman Night,” which she had entered in the inaugural contest of the National Urban League’s฀literary฀journal฀Opportunity. The following year established her as one of the youngest and most promising poets of the Harlem Renaissance. In the 1926 Opportunity contest, Johnson received three honorable mentions and her skill in prosody garnered considerable praise from contest judge (and fellow New England poet) Robert Frost, who called her poem “The Road” the “finest” submitted (qtd. in Mitchell “Introduction,” 10). She also received admiration and support from Harlem Renaissance luminaries including Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen—and established lasting friendships with all of them. Along with her cousin, Dorothy West, Johnson accepted an invitation to become฀a฀founding฀member฀of฀Boston’s฀premier฀African฀American฀literary฀group,฀ the Saturday Evening Quill Club. Though she had visited Harlem in the past, by 1927 Johnson took up residence in Manhattan permanently, determined to make it as a writer. Over the next ten years, she published nearly three dozen poems in the leading African American magazines of the day, including FIRE!!, Harlem, The Messenger, Opportunity, and Palms. Her work was also collected in major African American anthologies, including Caroling Dusk, The New Negro, and The Book of American Negro Poetry. She published her poem, “Bottled,” in the May 1927 issue of Vanity Fair, a magazine with a national circulation and predominantly white readership—an impressive feat for a young...