Wallace+Thurman...

﻿Wallace Thurman...Writer Extraordinaire By Julie Jacobs Wallace Thurman ("Achievements")

__Biography __ Wallace Thurman was born on August 16, 1902 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was an African American novelist during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. When Thurman was not even a month old, his father left him and his mother. Thurman was raised by his maternal grandmother as his mom went through many marriages. His childhood was very lonely, his family was instable, and he suffered from poor health. Throughout all he went through, he was an avid reader ("Thurman!").

Wallace Thurman attended the Univeristy of Utah from 1919-1920 as a pre-medical student. In 1922, he transfered to the Univeristy of Southern California but quit before he recieved a diploma. While he was in Los Angeles, he got a job writing a column for a local newspaper owned by African Americans but it turned out to be short-lived. He also started his first magazine in Los Angeles called //Outlet// ("Thurman!").

In 1925, he moved to Harlem and in the span of 10 years, Thurman obtained many writing jobs such as a publisher, and editor for magazines and a major publisher, a writer of novels, plays, and articles, and at various times he served as a ghostwriter to many people. He became editor of various magazines like //The Messenger// and //World Tomorrow.// he also helped in publishing a magazine called //Fire! Devoted to Younger Negro Artists ("Thurman!").//

"Thurman attempted to show the real lives of African Americans, both the good and the bad. He stated that black artists should be more objective in their writings and not so self-conscious that they did not acknowledge and celebrate the arduous conditions of African American lives" ("Thurman!").

Thurman died at the age of 32 from tuberculosis.

__Poetry Analysis __

Forward to //Fire//!!

FIRE...flaming, burning, searing, and penetrating  far beneath the superficial items of  the flesh to boil the sluggish blood... FIRE...weaving vivid, hot designs upon an ebon <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> bordered loom and satisfying pagan <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> thirst for beauty unadorned...and <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> an inward flush of fire...Beauty <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> ...flesh on fire--on fire in the <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> furnace of life blazing... <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> "Fy-ah, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Fy-ah, Lawd, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Fy-ah gonna burn ma soul!"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">By Wallace Thurman and Langston Hughes

__<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Analysis __ __﻿﻿__ <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Wallace Thurman and Langston Hughes were both very influential and this poem that they wrote together shows their strong beliefs. The message of this poem was to encourage the African Americans to take a stand. It was to light the flame within them so they could have the courage to try to make a difference in their lives and in the lives of those around them. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">They used imagery by using very descriptive words and phrases that emphasized the point they were trying to make such as "flaming, burning, searing, and penetrating" (1), "thirst for beauty" (6), and "flesh on fire" (8). They used these words and phrases to get the audience to understand the emotions they were trying to provoke. Thurman and Hughes also used metaphors in their poem in order to represent their message. Things like "boil the sluggish blood" (3), "furnace of life" (9), and "FIRE/Fy-ah" (1, 4, 10-12) are meatphors. These things all have a meaning behind them that are used to stir the feelings of the audience and make them feel a certain way.

__<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Works Cited __ <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Thurman, Wallace, and Langston Hughes. "mediaplayer." //ARTSEDGE: The Kennedy Center's Arts Education Network//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/harlem/mplyr <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> "Wallace Thurman Achievements, Author Biography, Trivia, and Movies – Juggle.com." //Encyclopedia & Reference Resource – Juggle.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. [].

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> "Wallace Thurman!." //Best Harlem Tours, Harlem People, Harlem Place, Cheap Gospel Tour Harlem, Harlemculture, Harlem Attractions//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://welcometoharlem.com/page