Harlem Renaissance
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Langston Hughes, Eubie Blake & Noble Sissle, Song of the Towers by Aaron Douglas, *Zora Neale Hurston
Library catalog searches by Subject:
(People are necessarily limited to those who figure as Subject Headings in the IC Library collection.)
Note: In addtion to the books in our collection, be aware that we have a database called which contains extensive full-text nonfiction by over 1,000 African American writers, including most of those associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance--Exhibitions
Nineteen twenties
World War, 1914-1918--Participation, African American
United States--History--1919-1933
United States--Social conditions--1918-1932
United States--Social life and customs--1918-1945
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--History
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Intellectual life--20th century
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Social conditions
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Social life and customs
African Americans--New York (State)--New York
African Americans--New York (State)--New York--Intellectual life
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African Americans--New York (State)--New York--Social conditions--20th century
African Americans--Intellectual life--20th century
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Urban League
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Universal Negro Improvement Association--History
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963--Criticism and interpretation
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963--Political and social views
Note: the first 12 years (1910-22) of Du Bois' magazine The Crisis is available on the Web.
Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940
Locke, Alain LeRoy, 1886-1954
Note: We have Locke's The New Negro in the IC collection.
Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-
Johnson, James Weldon, 1871-1938
Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967
Hurston, Zora Neale
Hurston, Zora Neale--Criticism and interpretation
Bontemps, Arna Wendell, 1902-1973--Correspondence
McKay, Claude, 1890-1948
Toomer, Jean, 1894-1967--Criticism and interpretation.
Fauset, Jessie Redmon--Criticism and interpretation
Cullen, Countee, 1903-1946.--Criticism and interpretation
Fisher, Rudolph, 1897-1934
Larsen, Nella
American literature--African American authors
American literature--African American authors--History and criticism
American literature--African American authors--History and criticism--Theory, etc.
American drama--African American authors
American drama--African American authors--History and criticism
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American fiction--African American authors
American fiction African American authors History and criticism
American poetry--African American authors
American poetry--African American authors--History and criticism
African American art--20th century
Modernism (Art)--United States
Douglas, Aaron--Exhibitions
Lawrence, Jacob, 1917---Criticism and interpretation
African American arts
African American arts--20th century
African American arts--New York (State)--New York
African Americans--Music--History and criticism
African Americans--New York (State)--New York--Music--History and criticism
Jazz--1921-1930--History and criticism
Jazz--History and criticism
Apollo Theater (New York, N.Y. : 125th Street)
Cotton Club--Drama
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974
Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983
Morton, Jelly Roll, d. 1941
Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994
Smith, Bessie, 1894-1937
Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971
Waller, Fats, 1904-1943
Also see my research guide for the Blues.
(People are necessarily limited to those who figure as Subject Headings in the IC Library collection.)
Note: In addtion to the books in our collection, be aware that we have a database called which contains extensive full-text nonfiction by over 1,000 African American writers, including most of those associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance--Exhibitions
Nineteen twenties
World War, 1914-1918--Participation, African American
United States--History--1919-1933
United States--Social conditions--1918-1932
United States--Social life and customs--1918-1945
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--History
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Intellectual life--20th century
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Social conditions
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Social life and customs
African Americans--New York (State)--New York
African Americans--New York (State)--New York--Intellectual life
African Americans--New York (State)--New York--Intellectual life--20th century
African Americans--New York (State)--New York--Social condition
African Americans--New York (State)--New York--Social conditions--20th century
African Americans--Intellectual life--20th century
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Urban League
Universal Negro Improvement Association
Universal Negro Improvement Association--History
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963--Criticism and interpretation
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963--Political and social views
Note: the first 12 years (1910-22) of Du Bois' magazine The Crisis is available on the Web.
Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940
Locke, Alain LeRoy, 1886-1954
Note: We have Locke's The New Negro in the IC collection.
Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-
Johnson, James Weldon, 1871-1938
Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967
Hurston, Zora Neale
Hurston, Zora Neale--Criticism and interpretation
Bontemps, Arna Wendell, 1902-1973--Correspondence
McKay, Claude, 1890-1948
Toomer, Jean, 1894-1967--Criticism and interpretation.
Fauset, Jessie Redmon--Criticism and interpretation
Cullen, Countee, 1903-1946.--Criticism and interpretation
Fisher, Rudolph, 1897-1934
Larsen, Nella
American literature--African American authors
American literature--African American authors--History and criticism
American literature--African American authors--History and criticism--Theory, etc.
American drama--African American authors
American drama--African American authors--History and criticism
African Americans in the performing arts--New York (State)--New York--History--20th century
American fiction--African American authors
American fiction African American authors History and criticism
American poetry--African American authors
American poetry--African American authors--History and criticism
African American art--20th century
Modernism (Art)--United States
Douglas, Aaron--Exhibitions
Lawrence, Jacob, 1917---Criticism and interpretation
African American arts
African American arts--20th century
African American arts--New York (State)--New York
African Americans--Music--History and criticism
African Americans--New York (State)--New York--Music--History and criticism
Jazz--1921-1930--History and criticism
Jazz--History and criticism
Apollo Theater (New York, N.Y. : 125th Street)
Cotton Club--Drama
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974
Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983
Morton, Jelly Roll, d. 1941
Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994
Smith, Bessie, 1894-1937
Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971
Waller, Fats, 1904-1943
Also see my research guide for the Blues.
Library catalog searches by Subject:
African Americans--History--To 1863
African Americans--History--1863-1877
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
African Americans--History--1877-1964
African Americans--Social conditions--To 1964
African Americans--Segregation--History [the "Jim Crow" era]
African Americans--Civil rights--Southern States--History--19th century
African Americans--Southern States--Social conditions--19th century
African Americans--Southern States--Politics and government--19th century
African Americans Migrations History 20th century (the "Great Migration")
Migration, Internal United States History 20th century
Rural-urban migration United States History 20th century
United States--Race relations--History
United States--Race relations--History--19th century
United States--Race relations--History--20th century
United States--Race relations--Political aspects--History--19th century
United States--Race relations--Political aspects--History--20th century
African Americans--Civil rights--History--19th century
African Americans--Civil rights--History--20th century
African Americans--Social conditions--20th century
Racism--United States--History
Racism Southern States History
Racism--United States--History--19th century
Racism--United States--History--20th century
African Americans--Segregation
African Americans--Segregation--History
African Americans--Segregation--History--20th century
African Americans--History--To 1863
African Americans--History--1863-1877
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
African Americans--History--1877-1964
African Americans--Social conditions--To 1964
African Americans--Segregation--History [the "Jim Crow" era]
African Americans--Civil rights--Southern States--History--19th century
African Americans--Southern States--Social conditions--19th century
African Americans--Southern States--Politics and government--19th century
African Americans Migrations History 20th century (the "Great Migration")
Migration, Internal United States History 20th century
Rural-urban migration United States History 20th century
United States--Race relations--History
United States--Race relations--History--19th century
United States--Race relations--History--20th century
United States--Race relations--Political aspects--History--19th century
United States--Race relations--Political aspects--History--20th century
African Americans--Civil rights--History--19th century
African Americans--Civil rights--History--20th century
African Americans--Social conditions--20th century
Racism--United States--History
Racism Southern States History
Racism--United States--History--19th century
Racism--United States--History--20th century
African Americans--Segregation
African Americans--Segregation--History
African Americans--Segregation--History--20th century
MLA International Bibliography provides the most complete and fully indexed coverage of articles and books on modern literatures, linguistics, folklore, rhetoric, and composition from 1925 to the present. There is ample full text provided by ProQuest, as well as links to full-text articles in JSTOR and Project Muse. Full text from other IC databases is also readily available via the "GetIt" links below article citations.
Because books, book chapters/essays, and dissertations will usually not be available full text, you may wish to limit your search to "Journal article" under "Source type."
"Author's Work" and "Author as Subject" will be especially helpful search fields at finding literary criticism. And for additional search field options either click on "Show more fields," or, for the complete list, open the drop-down menus to the right of the "Anywhere" default for the top three rows of search slots. This list includes both "Literary Influence"--who influenced a particular author you have entered--and "Literary Source"--who was influenced by that particular author.
If you set up a free "My Research" account with Proquest (top right), you can save all the articles you check, all the searches you want to remember, and set up e-mail or RSS notification for any new articles that match your search terms.
JSTOR has excellent 100% full-text coverage of literary scholarship. There is no Subject searching, so remember to put titles and authors' names in quotation marks to search them as Keyword phrases--and leave authors' names in the normal first-name last-name order. Set "Limit" to "Article"--or else you may unleash an avalanche of reviews of books on your topic.
JSTOR access to journal articles begins 2-4 years prior to the present--so don't look for any criticism from the last couple of years--but coverage always extends back to the first issue of each journal--in some cases into the 19th century and beyond. This allows you, for instance, to retrieve articles responding to the early works of Ernest Hemingway from the 1920s. Set the date range "Limit" below the search slots to target an era.
Project Muse , although a smaller database, it complements JSTOR. LIke JSTOR it provides 100% full text of mostly scholarly journals, but its coverage is entirely current--mainly spanning the last 10-15 years. Muse offers a basic keyword search (be sure to put the titles of literary works in quotation marks). Once you've retrieved a set of articles you can sort them into broad categories using the Research Area options on the left.
Note: Checking the "Articles" box under Content Type before you run a search will eliminate reviews of books about your topic and leave you with just the articles on your topic.
ProQuest Research Library & Academic Search Premier are comprehensive databases and include considerable literary criticism--much of it full text. In running searches on authors, don't settle for a Keyword search on the author's name, as this will retrieve too many articles in which the author is only mentioned in passing. Instead use the specialized Subject search each provides. In ProQest enter the name, last name first, in the "Person" slot. In Academic Search Premier open the "Select a Field" drop down menu and search the name, last name first, in the "People" field.
In both databases the titles of literary works must be searched as Keyword phrases, so be sure to put them in quotation marks.
In both databases you can set a "Document Type" limit and choose "Book review" or, if it's a contemporary writer, "Interview." (For a contemporary writer you might also try an "Author" search, since many writers publish criticism and social commentary that might shed light on their creative work.)
General OneFile is another comprehensive database with considerable literary criticism, but the default Subject search forcess you to retrieve EVERYTHING on a particular author. The standard "subdivisions" by which General OneFile organizes these results--"Ethical Aspects," Political Aspects," "Social Aspects"--are broad in respect to authors.
If you wish to focus on a particular a theme, the best strategy is to open all the results from the initial Subject search and then use the the "Search within these Results" slot at the upper left to enter thematic Keywords.
If you wish to focus on a specific literary work, open "Advanced Search" and in the "Select Index" box choose "Named Work": this allows you to run a Subject search on a title.
ERIC (Ebsco interface) is an Education database where you can find many scholarly articles on the interpretation and teaching of literary texts at the levels of both secondary and higher education.
New York Times (1851-2009) offers the full text of the New York Times from 1851 up to 2006, so you can access contemporary reviews and articles about authors and artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Enter a Keyword search, putting phrases in quotation marks. You might begin by searching in the “Citation and Abstract” field, then, if this doesn’t yield enough results, expand to the default “Citation and document text” field. And many of these figures from the 20s and 30s had sufficient written about them over the entire course of their careers--and perhaps even more postumously--that you will want to target the critical reception in particular eras by using the date range limits below the search slots.
America: History and Life : This database can be invaluable because it allows you to set a "Historical Period" limit (below the search slots on the left). If you set this for 1919-1930, any Subjects or Keywords you enter above will retrieve articles on that topic as it played out during the decades of Thoreau's most intensive literary production. For example, a Subject search on Nature with that time limit will retrieve articles on other American figures concerned practically or artistically with the American environment. But: be aware that setting a Period limit of 1919-1930 will also retrieve any Period that contains those 11 years--for example an article on American poetry between 1865 and 1940.
Be sure to set the "Document Type" limit to "Article" to weed out all the many book reviews that will otherwise clot your search for articles.
Literary Reference Center : The emphasis here is on articles from a wide range of reference resources, including Magill's Survey of American Literature, Cyclopedia of World Literature, Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature, Masterplots, etc. There is also access to the Critical Insights book series published by Salem Press, each volume dedicated to a single author or a single work. Both the reference works and the Critical Insights series provide very basic biography and interpretation, but these are supplemented by selected scholarly articles.
The simplest approach may be to enter a single author or a particular work in the "Most Studied Authors" or "Most Studied Works" sections of the "Browse" box. An Author or Work record will offer you "Related Information" categories such as "Literary Criticism," "Reference Books," "Biography," and "Plot Summaries."
In addition to literary criticism and reference, there is a wide range of full-text literary works supplied (mostly) by Project Gutenberg.
Because books, book chapters/essays, and dissertations will usually not be available full text, you may wish to limit your search to "Journal article" under "Source type."
"Author's Work" and "Author as Subject" will be especially helpful search fields at finding literary criticism. And for additional search field options either click on "Show more fields," or, for the complete list, open the drop-down menus to the right of the "Anywhere" default for the top three rows of search slots. This list includes both "Literary Influence"--who influenced a particular author you have entered--and "Literary Source"--who was influenced by that particular author.
If you set up a free "My Research" account with Proquest (top right), you can save all the articles you check, all the searches you want to remember, and set up e-mail or RSS notification for any new articles that match your search terms.
JSTOR has excellent 100% full-text coverage of literary scholarship. There is no Subject searching, so remember to put titles and authors' names in quotation marks to search them as Keyword phrases--and leave authors' names in the normal first-name last-name order. Set "Limit" to "Article"--or else you may unleash an avalanche of reviews of books on your topic.
Project Muse , although a smaller database, it complements JSTOR. LIke JSTOR it provides 100% full text of mostly scholarly journals, but its coverage is entirely current--mainly spanning the last 10-15 years. Muse offers a basic keyword search (be sure to put the titles of literary works in quotation marks). Once you've retrieved a set of articles you can sort them into broad categories using the Research Area options on the left.
Note: Checking the "Articles" box under Content Type before you run a search will eliminate reviews of books about your topic and leave you with just the articles on your topic.
ProQuest Research Library & Academic Search Premier are comprehensive databases and include considerable literary criticism--much of it full text. In running searches on authors, don't settle for a Keyword search on the author's name, as this will retrieve too many articles in which the author is only mentioned in passing. Instead use the specialized Subject search each provides. In ProQest enter the name, last name first, in the "Person" slot. In Academic Search Premier open the "Select a Field" drop down menu and search the name, last name first, in the "People" field.
In both databases the titles of literary works must be searched as Keyword phrases, so be sure to put them in quotation marks.
In both databases you can set a "Document Type" limit and choose "Book review" or, if it's a contemporary writer, "Interview." (For a contemporary writer you might also try an "Author" search, since many writers publish criticism and social commentary that might shed light on their creative work.)
General OneFile is another comprehensive database with considerable literary criticism, but the default Subject search forcess you to retrieve EVERYTHING on a particular author. The standard "subdivisions" by which General OneFile organizes these results--"Ethical Aspects," Political Aspects," "Social Aspects"--are broad in respect to authors.
If you wish to focus on a particular a theme, the best strategy is to open all the results from the initial Subject search and then use the the "Search within these Results" slot at the upper left to enter thematic Keywords.
If you wish to focus on a specific literary work, open "Advanced Search" and in the "Select Index" box choose "Named Work": this allows you to run a Subject search on a title.
ERIC (Ebsco interface) is an Education database where you can find many scholarly articles on the interpretation and teaching of literary texts at the levels of both secondary and higher education.
New York Times (1851-2009) offers the full text of the New York Times from 1851 up to 2006, so you can access contemporary reviews and articles about authors and artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Enter a Keyword search, putting phrases in quotation marks. You might begin by searching in the “Citation and Abstract” field, then, if this doesn’t yield enough results, expand to the default “Citation and document text” field. And many of these figures from the 20s and 30s had sufficient written about them over the entire course of their careers--and perhaps even more postumously--that you will want to target the critical reception in particular eras by using the date range limits below the search slots.
America: History and Life : This database can be invaluable because it allows you to set a "Historical Period" limit (below the search slots on the left). If you set this for 1919-1930, any Subjects or Keywords you enter above will retrieve articles on that topic as it played out during the decades of Thoreau's most intensive literary production. For example, a Subject search on Nature with that time limit will retrieve articles on other American figures concerned practically or artistically with the American environment. But: be aware that setting a Period limit of 1919-1930 will also retrieve any Period that contains those 11 years--for example an article on American poetry between 1865 and 1940.
Be sure to set the "Document Type" limit to "Article" to weed out all the many book reviews that will otherwise clot your search for articles.
Literary Reference Center : The emphasis here is on articles from a wide range of reference resources, including Magill's Survey of American Literature, Cyclopedia of World Literature, Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature, Masterplots, etc. There is also access to the Critical Insights book series published by Salem Press, each volume dedicated to a single author or a single work. Both the reference works and the Critical Insights series provide very basic biography and interpretation, but these are supplemented by selected scholarly articles.
The simplest approach may be to enter a single author or a particular work in the "Most Studied Authors" or "Most Studied Works" sections of the "Browse" box. An Author or Work record will offer you "Related Information" categories such as "Literary Criticism," "Reference Books," "Biography," and "Plot Summaries."
In addition to literary criticism and reference, there is a wide range of full-text literary works supplied (mostly) by Project Gutenberg.
Few databases offer 100% full text. Most retrieve a mix of full text articles and article "citations"--article title, author(s), publication info, and usually an "abstract" or one-prargraph summary of the content. When a citation makes you want the full text, look below it for this icon:
Clicking "GETIT" checks (almost all) the IC Library's other databases to see if any offers the full text of the article--or if the Library has a print subscription to the journal in which the article appeared.
Clicking "GETIT" checks (almost all) the IC Library's other databases to see if any offers the full text of the article--or if the Library has a print subscription to the journal in which the article appeared.
- "GETIT" will usually find the full text in another database and open it in a new window.
- If none of our databases can access the full text but we have a print subsciption to the journal, "GETIT" will retrieve the Library catalog record for the journal so that you can see if the date of the article falls within the date range we have on hand.
- If full text is not available from any database or from a print subsciption, "GETIT" will provide a link to the IC Library's Interlibrary Loan. Log in (same as your IC e-mail)--and set up your account if you've never used it before. "GETIT" will have populated the article request form with all the necessary information and you simply submit the request elecrtonically. Most articles are supplied as digital files and will be sent to you via e-mail when they arrive.
- Ebrary
- Citation
- Interlibrary Loan
- Plagiarism Tutorial
Log-in required
- Harlem Renaissance
- Beloved Harlem : A Literary Tribute to Black America's Most Famous Neighborhood, From the Classics to The Contemporary
- Looking for Harlem : Urban Aesthetics in African-American Literature
- Portraits of the New Negro Woman : Visual and Literary Culture in the Harlem Renaissance
- Southern Literary Studies : In the Shadow of the Black Beast : African American Masculinity in the Harlem and Southern Renaissances
- Children's Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
- Montage of a Dream : The Art and Life of Langston Hughes
- Historical Guide to Langston Hughes
- Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life : Critical Perspectives on the Past
- Collected Writings of Wallace Thurman: A Harlem Renaissance Reader
- Sage of Sugar Hill : George S. Schuyler and the Harlem Renaissance
- In Search of Nella Larsen : A Biography of the Color Line
- Black Family Function in Novels by Jessie Fauset, Nella Larsen, and Fannie Hurst
- Brave to be Involved : Shifting Positions in the Poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks
- American Culture in the 1920s
- Primitivist Modernism : Black Culture and the Origins of Transatlantic Modernism
- Nationalism, Marxism, and African American Literature Between the Wars : A New Pandora's Box
- Jazz Revolution : Twenties America and the Meaning of Jazz
- Black Orpheus : Music in African American Fiction from the Harlem Renaissance to Toni Morrison
- Hip Hop Inheritance : From the Harlem Renaissance to the Hip Hop Feminist Movement
- African American Visual Arts : From Slavery to the Present
- Becoming African Americans : Black Public Life in Harlem, 1919-1939
Online: (log-in required)
- Companion to African American Literature
- Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature
- Grove Art Online: Harlem Renaissance(also search by artist)
- Encyclopedia of Aesthetics: Harlem Renaissance
- Grove Music Online: search by artist
- Oxford Companion to United States History
- The Encyclopedia of African American Culture & History (t6th ed)
Print: (main floor, back right corner)
- The 1920s
- American Decades: 1910-1919, 1920-1929, 1930-1939
- African American Encyclopedia
- Encyclopedia of African American Culture & History (2nd ed)
- Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth century: "African American Cultural Movements"
- Encyclopedia of New York City
- Dictionary of Art: by Artist and "African American Art"
- Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
- Encyclopedia of the New York Stage 1920-1930
- Harlem in Review: Critical Reactions to Black American Writers, 1917-1939
- Dictionary of Literary Biography: Vol. 50--Afro-American Writers before the Harlem Renaissance; Vol. 51--Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940.
- Black Literature Criticism
- Oxford Companion to African American Literature
- A Guide to Harlem Renaissance Materials:The Library of Congress owns extensive resources on the Harlem Renaissance, all linked from this guide. Among the resources linked here is the LOC exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and the Flowering of Creativity.
- Perspectives in American LIterature: The Harlem Renaissance: from Paul Reuben. Linked materials for a wide range of authors, and don't overlook the "Introduction."
- Harlem Renaissance: A PBS Forum. Click on the five questions listed at the left.
- Harlem History: From Columbia University. See in particular the "Arts & Culture" tab.
- Harlem Renaissance: A Multimedia Resource: Not the easiest site to navigate, but keep clicking the tabs and scrolling. Also note the audio and video resources linked at the bottom.
- Rhapsodies in Black: from the Institute of International Visual Arts, this addresses concepts like the "New Negro" and Modernism.
- Drop me Off in Harlem: This opens to "Faces of the Harlem Renaissance," which you can use to access information on individual artists, but also be sure to click on "A Place Called Harlem" and "Themes & Variations" at the top.
- A Brief Guide to The Harlem Renaissance: from the Academy of American Poets. Use the links along the left-hand margin to navigate.
- The Black Renaissance in Washington D.C. 1920-1930s: This site is particulary useful for its Biographies and its interactive Timeline.
- Voice of the Shuttle: Minority Literatures: Scroll down to the "African American" links.
- "The New Negro and the Black Image: From Booker T. Washington to Alain Locke" by Henry Louis Gates.
Web Directories differ from search engines like Google in that all the online resources have been selected and annotated by editors, thereby promising a much higher degree of quality control.
Open Directory Project: Harlem Renaissance
Open Directory Project: Harlem Renaissance
MLA is the citation style used by most disciplines in the Humanities. The guides below use the most recent 2008/9 standards.
