Scan barcode
drehillart's review against another edition
4.0
Harlem Shadows is the cool, pale, twinge of twilight that hits the concrete jungle. In this collection, McKay pens his love for New York (Harlem), the seasons, and even elements and forces of nature. All of which is juxtaposed by the justified rage of a black person of the era, or frankly, any era. In a way, that rage has a timelessness that transcends into the now. Into the present. But so too, does the love. The softness. The gentle twinkling of light, and the dewy mist the dusts off McKay's words. Harlem Shadows feels like one of those pivotal, must read, kind of collections.
gijs's review against another edition
4.0
Great collection; got to know McKay through Langston Hughes and what was called the 'Harlem renaissance' phenomenon in the interwar period. Favorite:
Baptism
Into the furnace let me go alone;
Stay you without in terror of the heat.
I will go naked in—for thus ‘tis sweet—
Into the weird depths of the hottest zone.
I will not quiver in the frailest bone,
You will not note a flicker of defeat;
My heart shall tremble not its fate to meet,
My mouth give utterance to any moan.
The yawning oven spits forth fiery spears;
Red aspish tongues shout wordlessly my name.
Desire destroys, consumes my mortal fears,
Transforming me into a shape of flame.
I will come out, back to your world of tears,
A stronger soul within a finer frame.
Baptism
Into the furnace let me go alone;
Stay you without in terror of the heat.
I will go naked in—for thus ‘tis sweet—
Into the weird depths of the hottest zone.
I will not quiver in the frailest bone,
You will not note a flicker of defeat;
My heart shall tremble not its fate to meet,
My mouth give utterance to any moan.
The yawning oven spits forth fiery spears;
Red aspish tongues shout wordlessly my name.
Desire destroys, consumes my mortal fears,
Transforming me into a shape of flame.
I will come out, back to your world of tears,
A stronger soul within a finer frame.
colin_cox's review against another edition
5.0
Recently, I spoke to a class about the antagonism I feel toward the literature anthology. There are a handful of reasons to find anthologies frustrating, but on this day I spoke about how anthologies circumscribe a reader’s understanding of a writer, poet, or playwright. This tendency is particularly noticeable with poets. Too often, anthologies reduce volumes of production to a compact series of predictable poems. Naturally, as with all anthologies, there is a utility to this practice, but that utility comes at the cost of understanding the breadth and scope of a poet’s production. Plus, many anthologies ignore underwhelming or simply bad poems by canonical figures. There is little, I argue, more instructive than reading a bad poem from a great poet.
This is one of many reasons why I read Claude McKay’s 1922 collection, Harlem Shadows. It is a breathtaking collection of poems that demonstrate McKay’s range and skill. In addition to heavily-anthologized poems such as “Harlem Shadows” and “America,” Harlem Shadows contains thoughtful, and at times underwhelming, poems on home, racial, social, and geographic displacement, and even romance. Reading Harlem Shadows in its entirety is an education in the ways single volumes of poetry trace the development of a poet’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and preoccupations. Many, for example, of McKay’s early poems focus on his memories of Jamaica, the home he left in 1912 when he migrated to the United States. This theme fades near the end of Harlem Shadows, and in its place steps a cavalcade of poems about unrequited love. These themes bookend Harlem Shadows beautifully and suggest a possible sense of maturity on the poet’s part.
Not every poem in Harlem Shadows is perfect, but that remains one of the book’s most appealing features. Harlem Shadows is a flawed and imperfect read, but its blemishes are just as striking as its beauty marks.
This is one of many reasons why I read Claude McKay’s 1922 collection, Harlem Shadows. It is a breathtaking collection of poems that demonstrate McKay’s range and skill. In addition to heavily-anthologized poems such as “Harlem Shadows” and “America,” Harlem Shadows contains thoughtful, and at times underwhelming, poems on home, racial, social, and geographic displacement, and even romance. Reading Harlem Shadows in its entirety is an education in the ways single volumes of poetry trace the development of a poet’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and preoccupations. Many, for example, of McKay’s early poems focus on his memories of Jamaica, the home he left in 1912 when he migrated to the United States. This theme fades near the end of Harlem Shadows, and in its place steps a cavalcade of poems about unrequited love. These themes bookend Harlem Shadows beautifully and suggest a possible sense of maturity on the poet’s part.
Not every poem in Harlem Shadows is perfect, but that remains one of the book’s most appealing features. Harlem Shadows is a flawed and imperfect read, but its blemishes are just as striking as its beauty marks.
faysak's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
2.5
hard to read at times, though maybe i was rushing through it. reads like an old-timey poetry book except its sometimes about his childhood in the caribbean. not sure what to make of it as of now: im sure things will become clearer and more meaningful to me as i continue to analyze the poems. (read for a class)
piginthecity's review
5.0
Instantly, Claude Mckay is up there as a favourite writer. Such beautifully written poetry in here. He does not miss! The lyricism and whimsy that sings his life and activism to you, right up my street.