Reviews for When Harlem Was in Vogue

The average rating for When Harlem Was in Vogue based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-02-25 00:00:00 John Brown «Cada libro, obra de teatro, poema o lienzo realizado por un afroamericano podía convertirse en un arma contra los viejos estereotipos raciales.» Reseña en español | Review in English (below) El Renacimiento de Harlem fue un movimiento de renacer intelectual y cultural de la cultura afroamericana (arte, literatura, música, moda…) centrado en el barrio de Harlem, que abarcó las décadas de 1920 y 1930. David Levering Lewis traza una visión general del movimiento en Cuando Harlem estaba de moda *, pero es quizá una visión un poco dispersa y serpenteante con la enumeración de demasiados nombres, asociaciones, lugares y fechas, en la que es difícil seguir la pista de los protagonistas clave. Como destaca el autor en el prólogo, desde sus inicios en 1919 "hasta su balbuceante final en 1934", sus objetivos raciales y políticos permanecieron constantes. Eso sí, el Renacimiento del Nuevo Negro fue también una "respuesta elitista de un grupo formado mayoritariamente por afroamericanos universitarios de segunda generación y en general acaudalados". «A la mayor parte de los afroamericanos, nada les habría parecido tan extravagante e impracticable para mejorar la situación racial que escribir poesía o dedicarse a pintar.» Aunque he aprendido muchísimo con la lectura de Cuando Harlem estaba de moda, es un libro que requiere concentración por ser un escrito muy detallado pero que, en ocasiones, se queda un poco descafeinado y llega a ser incluso tedioso. He echado de menos más interés en artistas pintores y escultores afroamericanos del periodo; y es que el autor se centra, particularmente, en el movimiento literario y "los seis" -Fauset, Johnson, Locke, White, Holstein y Weldon Johnson- que ayudaron a que la producción harlemita fuese mucho más cuantiosa e influyente. También se dan algunas pinceladas sobre el mundo del teatro y obras de Broadway, así como la cultura del jazz y la explosión de las fiestas y música en vivo en cabarets y bares nocturnos en los que, curiosamente, se fue prohibiendo la entrada a personas afroamericanas cuando eran la mayoría de la población del barrio. Mis partes favoritas han sido las tangentes al movimiento, cuando el autor se centra en sociología, cultura o incluso sobre religiones (Father Divine o los judíos negros). Cuando Harlem estaba de moda es un ensayo histórico muy interesante sobre ese movimiento cultural -cómo nace y se desarrolla, las claves de las obras literarias escritas, y también las disputas internas entre sus miembros-, pero creo que aportará más a los lectores que ya estén bastante familiarizados con los protagonistas y obras de los que se hablan. «Sabían que no ser blanco en Norteamérica significaba ser algo menos que humano. Reconocían que, en función de las leyes del Sur y de las costumbres del Norte, la distinción fundamental que la mayoría de los blancos establecía era entre afroamericanos buenos y afroamericanos malos.» *He leído la edición española, con traducción de Javier Lucini, publicada por ediciones del oriente y del mediterráneo. Al estar mal catalogada en Goodreads, he decidido hacer la reseña de la edición original americana. - - - - The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American culture (art, literature, music, fashion, etc.) centred in Harlem spanning the 1920s and 1930s. David Levering Lewis outlines an overview of the movement in When Harlem Was in Vogue ; but it is perhaps a somewhat scattered and meandering view with a detailed list of too many names, associations, places and dates, and in which it is difficult to keep track of the key players. As the author points out in the prologue, from its inception in 1919 "to its stuttering end in 1934," its racial and political goals remained constant. Of course, the New Negro Movement was also an "elitist answer from a group made up mostly of second-generation college-bound African-Americans, and generally wealthy." Although I have learnt a lot from reading When Harlem Was in Vogue, it is a book that requires concentration for its highly detailed writing but that, at times, becomes watered-down and even tedious. I have missed the writer had not paid much attention to African-American artists, painters and sculptors. The fact is that the author focuses specifically on the literary movement and "the six" -Fauset, Johnson, Locke, White, Holstein and Weldon Johnson- who helped make the harlemite production larger and influential. There is also some insight into theatre and Broadway plays, as well as jazz culture and the burst of parties and live music in cabarets and nightclubs -in which, oddly enough, African-Americans were banned from entering when they were the majority of the population of the neighbourhood-. My favourite parts were those when the author focuses on side subjects to the movement: on sociology, culture or even on religions (with the "anecdotes" of Father Divine or the black Jews). When Harlem Was in Vogue is an interesting historical essay on the Harlem Renaissance -its origins, the keys to the literary works published, and also the in-fightings within its members-, but I think it will be more stimulating to readers who are already quite familiar with the protagonists and works discussed.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-05-26 00:00:00 Jose Aragon "The Depression accelerated a failure that was inevitable, for the Harlem Renaissance could no more have succeeded as a positive social force, whatever the health of Wall Street, than its participants could have been persuaded to try a different stratagem of racial advancement." 305 The Harlem Renaissance has fascinated me since I was a little girl and I think I've come full circle now that I've read one of the most widely-cited books on the time period. I took an English class in college on the time period so I was familiar with most of the writers and works mentioned but I wanted to learn more about the lives of the movers and shakers during this period and in that regard this book did not disappoint. Lewis focuses on "The Six" figures the most; Jean Toomer, Wallace Thurman, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen and Zora Neale Hurston and they embody the various strains of thought during the Harlem Renaissance come alive. Some fully embraced the Harlem Renaissance while others chose not to live in Harlem or a la Jean Toomer produced a seminal work of the time and then wanted nothing to do with the movement. Lewis argues that the main goal of the Harlem Renaissance failed (as evidenced by my chosen quote) that a focus on the arts and literature was not enough to change the way white America viewed Black people. The strategy of those who dubbed it the Harlem Renaissance and helped usher it in was not something I had considered before and thus I appreciated this new way of analyzing the Harlem Renaissance. Propaganda did not work. Lewis doesn't just focus on the Black voices of the time but also notes which white allies were sincere (viewed the works as talented and done by people who happened to be Black) versus fascinated by the "exotic" nature of the artistic Black community (to my relief Dorothy Parker fell into the former camp). He covers not only the artists and writers but also the economic realities of the time, the parties, the activists and the political reality of the day. It ends up being a history of Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s. Lewis even touches briefly on the immediate generation of Black writers after those of the Harlem Renaissance (Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison). I think the best thing to do is to continue to teach students about the Harlem Renaissance and have them read a few of the revolutionary works, to keep alive the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and resurrect many of the artists and writers who fell into obscurity after their death (or are only known by academics who study the period today). Bought at Capitol Hill Books, my favorite DC bookstore