Read the excerpt from the preface to *The Book of American Negro Poetry* (1922), written by writer and activist James Weldon Johnson, and answer the question that follows:
"What the colored poet in the United States needs to do is something like what Synge did for the Irish; he needs to find a form that will express the racial spirit by symbols from within rather than by symbols from without, and which will be freed from the limitations of Negro dialect as a medium, especially the limitations that practically cut off all emotions but humor and pathos."
Which of the following statements best describes the primary challenge for African American artists identified by Johnson in the excerpt?
- Developing original literary forms that convey the full emotional range of Black life without relying on the restrictive conventions of traditional dialect writing.Answer
- BAbandoning American literary traditions completely to advocate for physical emigration and the establishment of an independent African nation.
- CReconciling the political division between Booker T. Washington's focus on industrial education and W.E.B. Du Bois's defense of the Talented Tenth.
- DSubordinating individual artistic expression to the political platform and mass organizing strategies of Marcus Garvey's Black nationalist movement.
Answer
Developing original literary forms that convey the full emotional range of Black life without relying on the restrictive conventions of traditional dialect writing.
The correct answer is correct because James Weldon Johnson argues that Black poets must find new artistic forms that can express their inner experiences and 'racial spirit' without being restricted by the conventions of dialect, which historically limited expression to superficial humor and pathos.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The New Negro Movement and Cultural Debates