When the writers of the early Harlem Renaissance read cane in 1923, in the words of Arna Bontemps, they "went quietly mad." No prior literary description of the Afro-American experience had reached its level of artistic achievement. Jean Toomer, the...

When the writers of the early Harlem Renaissance read Cane in 1923, in the words of Arna Bontemps, they "went quietly mad." No prior literary description of the Afro-American experience had reached its level of artistic achievement. Jean Toomer, the...

The literary reputation of Jean Toomer is based primarily on Cane (1923), a collection of poems, impressionistic prose sketches, and stories on Afro-American topics. He published a few other poems, stories, and dramas, as well as some essays and book...

Refusing to be labeled black or white, writer Jean Toomer (1894--1967) was first exalted, then criticized, ignored, and forgotten. However, during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1960s and 1970s, Toomer was not only rediscovered but also "hailed as one...