Adelicia of Louvaine: The Rose of Brabant

(Johnson, Helene)

Published by London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1916

About this Item

Octavo, blue cloth lettered in gilt, edge-wear, staining to covers. First edition of M. D. Huger's epic poem about Adelicia, Queen of England from 1121 to 1135, a patron of the arts and literature. Helene Johnson's copy, with the poet's early ownership signature on the front endpaper. [Together with] Typed letter signed, "William Stanley Braithwaite" to Johnson, on personal letterhead. "Dear Miss Johnson: It would give me great pleasure to have your permission to include your poem `Metamorphism,' from `Opportunity,' in the 1926 `Anthology.' With many thanks."; unpublished. (Curiously, Johnson's poems "The Road" and "Fulfillment" appeared in the editor's influential anthology for 1926.)----- In the book "Notable Black American Women," T. J. Bryan writes: "In African-American literary history, Helene Johnson's works are models for aspiring poets -- especially for African-American women poets who have long been led to believe that no tradition of achievement exists among black American women in this genre prior to the 1960's. [She was] a transitional poet whose works of the 1920's and 1930's signal a striking out in new directions among black American women poets, who began to abandon romantic themes and poetic conventions at this juncture. Her work was published regularly for a decade beginning in the mid-1920's and much less frequently in subsequent years. It appeared in a variety of magazines, including "Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life" and "Vanity Fair," and in Cullen's "Caroling Dusk" and other anthologies. A magnificent association copy, and an extraordinarily rare signature.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1666548039912

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Adelicia of Louvaine: The Rose of Brabant
• Publisher: London: Longmans, Green and Co.
• Publication Date: 1916
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • African American literature