A New Kind of Literary Pulse

Short Édition Logo
Classics African American Literature 20th Century  1 min

At the Carnival

Anne Spencer

Anne Spencer

Harlem Renaissance poet and activist Anne Bethel Scales Bannister Spencer was born on a Virginia farm in 1882. The daughter of former slaves, Spencer’s mother enrolled her in school for the first time when she was 11, at the Virginia Theological Seminary and College (now Virginia University of Lynchburg). Spencer’s poetry engages themes of religion, race, and the natural world. She was the first African American woman poet to be featured in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry (1973).

Gay little Girl-of-the-Diving-Tank,I desire a name for you,Nice, as a right glove fits;For you—who amid the malodorousMechanics of this unlovely thing,Are darling of spirit and form.I know you—a glance, and what you areSits-by-the-fire in my heart.My Limousine-Lady knows you, orWhy does the slant-envy of her eye markYour straight air and radiant inclusive smile?Guilt pins a fig-leaf; Innocence is its own adorning.The bull-necked man knows you—this first timeHis itching flesh sees form divine and vibrant healthAnd thinks not of his avocation.I came incuriously—Set on no diversion save that my m