Angelina Weld Grimke - Essay Example

Angelina Weld Grimke One of the wonderful female that belong to the pre-Harlem Renaissance includes Angelina Weld Grimke (Peterson, 1990, p.91). Grimke was “a transitional figure standing somewhere between the writers of the genteel tradition and those of the Harlem Renaissance” (Harris, 1986, p. 149). Light-skinned Grimke was born to Sarah Stanley and Archibald Henry in 1880. Her mother divorced and never saw Grimke again (Gates, 2004). Angelina had a very intimate relationship with her father and as a child, she was shielded against the potential threats of the society including racism and violence.

She attended the Harvard Law School with her aunt’s help (Reuben, 2010). Grime received education from a lot of schools that include the Clushing Academy and graduated in 1902. After that, Grimke started to teach English in the Armstrong Manual Training School. Till her retirement, Grinke taught in the Dunbar High School which she joined in 1916. Grimke had excellent writing skills since childhood. In 1916, she wrote Rachel followed by The Closing Door in 1919. Both of these novels were highly appreciated among the readers.

With the passage of time, she learnt about racism and expressed her concerns in Rachel. Rachel is largely considered as her “first attempt to use the stage for race propaganda in order to enlighten the American people relating to the lamentable condition of ten millions of Colored citizens in this free republic." (Harris, 1986, p. 152). As an author of short fiction, poet, essayist, and playwright, Angelina Weld Grimke is perceived as the Harlem Renaissance’s forerunner in spite of the fact that most of the work she did was published in her early twenties (Villarreal, 2003).

References: Gates, H. (2004). Norton Anthology of African-American Literature (2nd ed.) ISBN# 9780393977783. Harris, T. (ed.) (1986). Dictionary of Literary Biography: African-American Writers Before the Harlem Renaissance. Vol. 50. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1986. Peterson, B. L. (1990). Early Black American Playwrights & Dramatic Writers. NY: Greenwood Press. Reuben, P. P. (2010). PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide - An Ongoing Project. Retrieved from http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap9/grimke.html. Villarreal, R. (2003). Rebecca Villarreal on Angelina Weld Grimke.

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