Sterling+A.+Brown

=Sterling A Brown= == Sterling A. Brown was born 1901, Washington DC. At Williams College he earned a Bachelor's degree and got his masters at Harvard. His favorite poets were Amy Lowell, Edgar Lee Masters, Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg. He taught at the Virginia Seminary/College til 1926. His first book, //Southern Road,// was published in 1932. He enjoyed jazz, and much of his poem were either about jazz or had a Jazzy feel to them. Souther Road was rated well by poetry critics, but he couldn't find a publisher for his second book of poetry because the great depression had struck. He finally published his compilement, //The Last Ride of Wild Bill// in 1963, almost 50 years after the first. Brown often used imagery unsentimental to black people, and mixed black folklore with the newer styles of poetry. He died in 1989 (Atlanta). Strong Men They dragged you from the homeland, They chained you in coffles, They huddled you spoon-fashion in filthy hatches, They sold you to give a few gentlemen ease.

They broke you in like oxen, They scourged you, They branded you, They made your women breeders, They swelled your numbers with bastards.. They taught you the religion they disgraced. You sang: Keep a-inchin' along Lak a po' inch worm… You sang: By and Bye I'm gonna lay down this heaby load… You sang: Walk togedder, chillen, Dontcha git weary… The strong men keep a-comin' on The strong men get stronger.

They point with pride to the roads you built for them, They ride in comfort over the rails you laid for them. They put hammers in your hands And said-Drive so much before sundown. You sang: Ain't no hammah In dis lan' Strikes lak mine, bebby, Stikes lak mine. They copped you in their kitchens, They penned you in their factories, They gave you the jobs that they were too good for, They tried to guarantee happiness to themselves By shunting dirt and misery to you.... Sterling A Brown fits in remarkably well with the Harlem Renaissance and the time period in general. He had a jazzy style to much of his poetry, and a free spirit. He uses traditional language in all of his poems, and the slang of the time period. Most of his poems actually have lyrics quoted in them. His poem "Strong Men" shows rebellion against the normal, one of the main themes of the Harlem Renaissance. Sterling A Brown embodied the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance (brown).

WORKS CITED

Atlanta, Way Of. "Cabaret - Written by Famous African American Poet Sterling A. Brown Do Enjoy Reading This Poem Send It to a Friend "Famous African American Poetry"" //Black Writers, Black Authors, Famous Black Writers, African American Writers, Harlem Renaissance, Harlem Renaissance Poets, Harlem Renaissance Poems, Famous African American Authors, Black Famous Poets, Harlem Renaissance Writers, Harlem Renaissance Poetry - Welcome to AfroPoets.Net - Famous Black Writers... Here You Will Find Poems Written by Famous African American Poets Robert Hayden, Sterling Brown, Rita Dove, Maya Angelou, Lucille Clifton, Paul L. Dunbar, Jean Toomer, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Tupac Shakur, Gwendolyn Brooks, Claude McKay, Anne Spencer, Arna Bontemps, June Jordan, Quincy Troupe, Alice Walker, Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde, Marcus Garvey, Etheridge Knight, James Weldon Johnson, Frances E.W. Harper, Ntozake Shange, Angelina W. Grimke, Jesse Redmon Fauset, Derek Walcott, Yusef Komunyakaa, Marilyn Nelson, Jayne Cortez, Wanda Coleman, Sonia Sanchez, Forrest Hamer, Haki Madhubuti, Phillis Wheatley//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. [].

Brown, Sterling A. "Sterling A. Brown." //Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. [].