I am having a very mixed first reaction to the material, as each poet took very different approaches to the problems at hand. What I really love is the aesthetic at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance that is portraid in different ways with each poet. I feel like I am being cultured as I read and a lot of their work feels musical and I think that is so unique. It feels musical whether it is because of the interesting wording, the rhythm or just the contemplative feeling that radiates from the words.
A lot of the poetry in this unit also hit me pretty hard in a few different ways. It warmed my heart but also felt melancholy to read the poetry that had the approach of not being very assertive about their struggles and mistreatment even though they completely had the right to. I found the poems that just related to life in general and had nothing to do with what they personally endured to be so authentic and enlightening.
Kara's Blog 