Georgia Douglas (Camp) Johnson

Poet, playwright, and short-fiction writer Georgia Douglas Johnson (1877-1966) was a central figure in the New Negro Movement of the 1920s and 1930s. Her Washington literary salon, the Round Table, was frequented by such artists and intellectuals as Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Alain Locke, Jessie Redmon Fauset, Countee Cullen, and Angelina Weld Grimke. This volume collects some of Johnson's most important work: four volumes of poetry (including The Heart of a Woman and Other Poems); four short stories (one never before published); eight plays (two never before published); and previously unpublished poems from her private papers. In addition, Claudia Tate's revealing introduction offers newly discovered information on Johnson's life and work.

10th grade

Maya Angelou has fascinated, moved, and inspired countless readers with the first three volumes of her autobiography, one of the most remarkable personal narratives of our age. Now, in her fourth volume, The Heart of a Woman, her turbulent life breaks wide open with joy as the singer-dancer enters the razzle-dazzle of fabulous New York City. There, at the Harlem Writers Guild, her love for writing blazes anew. Her compassion and commitment lead her to respond to the fiery times by becoming the northern coordinator of Martin Luther King's history-making quest. A tempestuous, earthy woman, she promises her heart to one man only to have it stolen, virtually on her weding day, by a passionate African freedom fighter. Filled with unforgettable vignettes of famous characters, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X, The Heart of a Woman sings with Maya Angelou's eloquent prose -- her fondest dreams, deepest disappointments, and her dramatically tender relationship with her rebellious teenage son. Vulnerable, humorous, tough, Maya speaks with an intimate awareness of the heart within all of us.From the Paperback edition.