Poems

Frances E. W. Harper was a lifelong writer and poet, whose work illuminated both the causes of abolition and the fight for civil rights, as well as the humanity of African Americans. Many of Harper’s published works reflected her activism; poems such as “The Slave Mother” echoed her abolition work. She helped organize the National Association of Colored Women in 1894 alongside Mary Church Terrell. This volume of poems includes pieces such as “Jamie’s Puzzle,” where a young boy tries to come to terms with the death of his grandmother and mother. The poems also reflect her Christian beliefs, society’s hypocritical actions towards women (such as “A Double Standard” and “Vashti”), and the necessity of humane treatment of others, especially children. The poem “An Appeal to my Countrywomen” encompasses all these themes and reflect her later deeds towards suffrage and civil rights.