Fifty Years and Other Poems (1917) is a collection of poems by James
Weldon Johnson. Although less popular than his book God's Trombones:
Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (1927), Johnson's second poetry collection
showcases his talents as a rising star of African American literature.
Including some poems that would be featured in The Book of American
Negro Poetry (1922), an influential anthology compiled and edited by
the poet himself, Fifty Years and Other Poems remains essential to
Johnson's legacy as a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. "Fifty
Years" opens the collection with an ode to emancipation, a starting
point from which millions of men, women, and children were given the
opportunity, however fragile it was, to pursue better lives. Rather than
give thanks for freedom granted, however, Johnson implores his fellow
Black Americans to remain proud, assured that liberty is their
hard-earned right: "This land is ours by right of birth, / This land is
ours by right of toil; / We helped to turn its virgin earth, / Our sweat
is in its fruitful soil." Hopeful and resilient, Johnson reflects on his
own place in this history of struggle, paying particular heed to his
status as a poet, his ability to sing despite centuries of violent
oppression. In his poem "O Black and Unknown Bards," he asks "O black
and unknown bards of long ago, / How came your lips to touch the sacred
fire?" Recognizing the need for a reconciliation between the long
tradition of black culture and the overwhelming erasure of his own
contemporary artists, Johnson highlights the efforts of those poets such
as himself, who "Within [their] dark-kept soul[s], burst into song."
>With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of James Weldon Johnson's Fifty Years and
Other Poems is a classic of African American literature reimagined for
modern readers.
