Nocturne
This cool night is strange
Among midsummer days…
Far frosts are caught
In the moon’s pale light,
And sounds are distant laughter
Chilled to crystal tears.
From The Book of American Negro Poetry (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1922) edited by James Weldon Johnson. This poem is in the public domain.
Gwendolyn Bennett
Gwendolyn Bennett was born on July 8, 1902, in Giddings, Texas, to Joshua Robin and Mayme (née Abernathy). Bennett spent her early childhood in Washington, D.C. Her parents divorced when she was around four. Joshua kidnapped Bennett in 1910. Father and daughter lived on the run for a lengthy period, moving between Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and New York. Bennett had no further contact with her mother until she was an adult. She attended Brooklyn Girl’s High School and graduated in 1921.