Poems. - Review - book reviews

American Visions, Oct, 1999 by Denolyn Carroll

Poems by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (Post Oak Publications. 1998. $12.95, paper)--This reissue of Frances Harper's 1895 book presents 42 verses and an in-depth biographical introduction by columnist and author Emma Wisdom. Referred to as "the most popular African-American writer of the 19th century, but also one of the most important women in United States history," Harper--lecturer and orator, activist, abolitionist, novelist, essayist and poet--devoted her life to anti-slavery and abolitionist causes, freedmen's and freedwomen's rights and Christian temperance. Her poems highlight her firm belief in God--the Savior, the Redeemer--and have the formal, structured verses, rhyme schemes and cadences typical of her time. Yet, from "A Double Standard" (where she speaks of gender inequality and sexual morality) to "The Martyr of Alabama" (about blacks being murdered for sport) to "The Burdens of All" (where she calls for racial unity), Harper's work is still relevant-almost two centuries later.

Denolyn Carroll is a freelance writer and editor in New York City. She also lectures on writing and editing at Pace University. Her last article for American Visions, "Premium Fare," appeared in the August/September 1999 issue.