Jean Toomer
Jean Toomer was born in 1894 in Washington, D.C, the son of
a Georgian farmer. Though he passed for white during certain
periods of his life, he was raised in a predominantly black
community and attended black high schools. In 1914, he began
college at the University of Wisconsin but transferred to
the College of the City of New York and studied there until
1917. Toomer spent the next four years writing and published
poetry and prose in Broom, The Liberator, The Little Review
and others. He actively participated in literary society and
was acquainted with such prominent figures as the critic
Kenneth Burke, the photographer Alfred Steiglitz and the
poet Hart Crane. In 1921, Toomer took a teaching job in
Georgia and remained there four months; the trip represented
his journey back to his Southern roots. His experience
inspired his book Cane, a book of prose poetry describing
the Georgian people and landscape. In the early twenties,
Toomer became interested in Unitism, a religion founded by
the Armenian George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. The doctrine taught
unity, transcendence and mastery of self through yoga: all
of which appealed to Toomer, a light-skinned black man
preoccupied with establishing an identity in a society of
rigid race distinctions. He began to preach the teachings of
Gurdjieff in Harlem and later moved downtown into the white
community. From there, he moved to Chicago to create a new
branch of followers. Toomer was married twice to wives who
were white, and was criticized by the black community for
leaving Harlem and rejecting his roots for a life in the
white world; however, he saw himself as an individual living
above the boundaries of race. His meditations center around
his longing for racial unity, as illustrated by his long
poem "Blue Meridian." He died in 1967.
Log In to see more information about Jean Toomer
Log in or register now!
Series
Books:Cane, August 1993
Trade Size (reprint)
|