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THE MAROON TIGER
11
Southern Road—Brown, Sterling.
Y., 1932. xv. 135p. illus.
£Book fReuituv
Harcourt, Brace, N.
song of woe between the blows of his hammer on the
rocks:
Among the important works of poetry for the year,
this volume is due high place. Mr. Brown, a young
professor in the English Department of Howard Uni
versity, is the newest member of the younger group of
Negro writers, all of whom are winning laurels in Amer
ican literature despite current prejudices and skeptical
opinions of critics and public alike.
In the introduction to the book, James Weldon John
son well states that the principal motive of poetry writ
ten by Negroes is “race.” Because of this, any product
of the Negro’s creative genius furnishes interesting study,
for the same motive stimulates other fields as well as
literature.
Hardly any other group is bound so painfully fast
to such a deep awareness of color. The circumstances
of his life have so hedged him round, so circumvented
his sphere, thereby limiting his chances of development,
that the impress of “race” is evident in almost every
thing he does. Seeking to escape from himself, he has
often thrown aside the dialect, the Negro types and sub
jects, and the Negro treatment of the same. In some
instances this has resulted in mediocrity; in others com
plete failure. Notwithstanding the wave of unfavorable
sentiment in our group against spirituals, it is said
they constitute, with the “blues”, the only original
American music.
So, the Negro has shown most ability in subjects of
Negro Life. In the use of these, he has gained the
higher recognition. The life portrayed may not neces
sarily be typical Negro life, widely prevailing but it
is found among Negroes and it supplies fit and colorful
material for treatment.
In this collection of poems, such subjects as the fol
lowing predominate: bad-men, “blues”, roaming lovers,
episodes of the Mississippi high-water country, folk-bal
lads, superstitions, etc. Under the heading “Vestiges”,
in the fourth and last part, he has grouped some choice
and beautiful poems, most of which are sonnets; but in
the main the first three parts show the measure of the
poet and through these he can claim success.
Take Mr. Brown’s first poem, Odyssey oj Big Boy. The
hero is no drawing-room habitue. He has seen life in
its roughest aspects, has experienced the ups and downs
of love and labor over a wide range. Now, singing his
swan song, he looks on death with the satisfaction of a
complete uie, and asks only to
Lemme be wid Casey Jones,
Lemme be ivid Stagolee
Lemme be wid such like men
When death takes hold on me ,
When death takes hold on me
W ho can understand the philosophy characteristic of
the Negro by which he fortifies his soul—in the time
suffering and hardship—be it racial persecution, loss
of a lover or a sentence on the chain gang? Note the
fatalism in these two stanzas, the first from Southern
Road, his title poem, in which a poor “lifer” sings his
Chain gang never—hunh—
Let me go
Chain gang never—hunh—
Let me go
Po’ los’ boy, bebby,
Evahmo . . .
And the second from Old Man Buzzard:
No need of frettin
Case good times go.
Things as dey happen
Jes’ is so;
Nothin’ las’ always
Farz I know. . . .
One can almost fancy he sees the moaning, rocking
congregation as the leader sings out the pathetic lines
of Sister Lou, interspersed with “amens” and fervent
cries from the others:
Honey
When de man
Calls out de las’ train
You’re gonna ride.
Tell him howdy.
Mr. Samuel and Sam is a real classic of humor and
truth:
Mr. Samuel, he belong to Rotary
Sam to de Sons of Rest;
Both wear red hats lak monkey men
An you cain’t say which is de best.
Mister Samuel die, an’ de folks all know
Sam die widout no noise;
De worV go by in de same ol’ way,
And dey’s both of ’em po’ los’ boys.
Th is book deserves commendation for style, subject
and treatment. Sterling Brown has given us verse in
a refreshing variety of subjects, all of which belong
to no other people in the world except the Negro.
There is no flaming bitterness, no muttering under
notes of discontent. He simply tells his stories, sings
his songs as he believes they should be told and
sung. In some there is an understanding philosophy, in
many there is pathos and humor, in all there is strength
and sincerity.
There is a swing and a rhythm to many of the poems
that remind one of the “blues.” Sometimes, he does
this by means of repetition, not so effectively, however,
as the inimitable Langston Hughes. The language is
not the old dialect of the older group, but the living,
vital speech peculiar to the type of which he writes.
The book is handsomely illustrated with wood-cuts,
done by E. Simms Campbell.
James A. Hulbert, ’33.