James Emanuel
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James Emanuel (born June 15, 1921 – September 28, 2013) was a
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and scholar from
Alliance, Nebraska Alliance is a city in and the county seat of Box Butte County, Nebraska, Box Butte County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. Its population was 8,151 at the 2020 census. Alliance is ho ...
. Emanuel, who is ranked by some critics as one of the bestNebraska-Born Poet Finds Fame Overseas
by Avishay Artsy, Nebraska Public Radio interview with Emanuel, accessed May 6, 2006.
and most neglected poets of the 20th century,James Emanuel, a neglected poet from AFAR
, African American Registry, accessed November 29, 2007. This citation states, "In the annals of American poetry it is hard to picture a more neglected poet than James A. Emanuel."
published more than 300 poems, 13 individual books, an influential anthology of
African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. Phillis Wheatley was an enslaved African woman who became the first African American to publish a book of poetry, which was publis ...
, an autobiography, and more. He is also credited with creating a new literary genre, jazz-and-blues haiku, often read with musical accompaniment.


Early life

Born in Nebraska in 1921, Emanuel was raised in the state. He comes from a family with seven children where he is the fifth. Literature has been part of his life since a really young age. He was induced into stories, poetic rhythms and prose ny various authors. Due to this and all the readings he did reinforced and induced Emanuels ambition to become a writer. His childhood and adolescence were marked by racism which Emanuel says he owes less to the town's egalitarianism than to the more ideological drift of his family conversations and to his general popularity and success in school. He was a straight A student which gave him confidence to obtain a good work and successful life. Emanuel, before after graduating from high school worked on farms and ranches and this work experience served as an inspiration to write poems such as "Three Chores: One Country Day". He spent his early years in the western United States where he worked at a variety of jobs. At age twenty he joined the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and served as confidential secretary to the Assistant Inspector General of the U.S. Army
Benjamin O. Davis Sr. Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. (July 1, 1877 – November 26, 1970) was a career officer in the United States Army. One of the few black officers in an era when American society was largely segregated, in 1940 he was promoted to brigadier general, th ...
He did this in order to make enough money to pay for college. He did wartime duty as a staff sergeant with the 93rd Infantry Division in the Pacific.


Academic and professional life

After his discharge, he did his undergraduate work at
Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
. In 1950 he was awarded his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude. And in his time at Howard he found motivation to write. He published several poems in college anthologies and campus newspapers. On that same year he moved to Chicago and married Mattie Etha Johnson. He started working on his master's degree and obtained it from
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
(M.A.) while working as civilian chief in the pre-induction section of the Army and Air Force Induction Station. After a long time in this position he resigned because he thought that he had been passed over because of his race. Through his time at Northwestern he became more convinced that he wanted to write. His professors praised him for his work and called him a real poet. After hard work and rejections Emanuel was awarded a John Hay Whitney Fellowship which supported his work at Northwestern and received the M.A. degree in 1953, and his first year of work toward the Ph.D. degree at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
(Ph.D.). During time at Columbia he worked as a teacher at the Harlem YWCA Business School. In 1957, He moved to New York City, where he taught at the
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...
(CUNY), where in the 1960s he taught the college's first class on
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
and mentored future scholars such as Addison Gayle Jr.William Yardley
"James A. Emanuel, Poet Who Wrote of Racism, Dies at 92"
''The New York Times'', October 11, 2013.
He worked on his poetry regularly which was encouraged by various well known publication sources such as the New York Times. Emanuel also worked as an editor, with his first editorial project being the publication of a collection of poetry by
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...
, whom Emanuel considered his mentor.James A. Emanuel: A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
prepared by T. Michael Womack, Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
, Washington, D.C., 2000. Accessed May 6, 2006.
Finally in 1962 he received his degree with the support of his wife and seven-year-old son. He was able to overcome the obstacles of his personal and professional life. As the years passed Emanuel became frustrated with the state of racism in America. He was used to black writing from his own childhood but recent works were related to English masters such as Shakespeare. As he studied Hughes he realized the lack of attention that black writers received and decided to take matters into his own hands. He started to read work of black authors and intended to uncover the importance of black writers. And this is how he initiated the movement. In 1966, the first course in black poetry to be taught at CCNY. His desire was to focus on racial identity, race consciousness, and awareness of an attention to his literary forebears and contemporaries. On being offered teaching positions at universities in Europe in the late 1960s, he moved overseas. When his only child, James A. Emanuel Jr., committed suicide in Los Angeles two decades later, after being beaten by, in Emanuel's words "three cowardly cops," he vowed never to return to the United States. Emanuel eventually taught at the
University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...
(as a
Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
scholar in 1968–1969), at the
University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...
, and at the
University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...
. He was living in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, at the time of his death.


Writings


Poetry

Emanuel was a poet, scholar, and critic. As a poet, he published more than 300 poems and 13 individual books. Emanuel has been called one of the best, and most overlooked, poets of his time. Critics have put forward several reasons for Emanuel's poetry being neglected by the larger literary world, including the fact that he wrote more traditional poetic forms, that he left the United States, and the fact that he refused to take part in the
politically correct "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
world of Black academia. On 1968 Emanuel's first poetry named "The Treehouse and Other Poems" was published. This volume contains themes such as innocence, pain of youth and events of racism from his experience. This poems sometimes serious, sometimes ironic, sometimes lyrical, but never light. Almost uniformly they employ traditional patterns of rhythm and rhyme, but occasionally reflect blues and jazz forms learned first, perhaps, from the poetry of Langston Hughes. His poems reflect a racial concern and as his friend Marvin Holdt said that it also expresses the aspects of the black American experience in America, treated with bitterness and revolt. His poems appear in 11 books of his own and in over 120 other volumes. His poems include "Christ, One Morning", "Snowman", "Bojangles and Jo", and many others Emanuel is also credited with creating a new literary genre, jazz-and-blues haiku, which he read to musical accompaniment throughout Europe and Africa. For this creation he was awarded the
Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...
Creative Award in 1996. Emanuel was also awarded the Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement in 2007 from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
's Graduate School of Arts and SciencesDan Schneider, Interview with James Emanuel, ''Cosmoetica'', accessed September 30, 2007. and was also honored with a John Hay Whitney Award, a Saxton Memorial Fellowship, and a Special Distinction Award from the Black American Literature Forum."James A. Emanuel's Haiku"
Terebess Asia Online, accessed September 30, 2007.


Criticism and letters

In addition to his poetry, Emanuel also edited (with Theodore Gross) the influential anthology of African American literature ''Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America.'' The anthology, published in 1968 by Free Press, was one of the first major collections of African-American writings. This anthology, and Emanuel's work as an educator, heavily influenced the birth of the
African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. Phillis Wheatley was an enslaved African woman who became the first African American to publish a book of poetry, which was publis ...
genre. In 2000 a collection of Emanuel letters and writings were placed in the United States
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
. Included among the papers was correspondence with
Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poet ...
,
Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel '' Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. Ellison wrote '' Shadow and Act'' (1964), a co ...
, Benjamin O. Davis,
Ossie Davis Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...
,
W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...
, and many others. Emanuel also edited five ''Broadside Critics'' books (1971–1975) and wrote a number of critical essays. His other published works include a memoir, ''The Force and the Reckoning'', published in 2001.


Bibliography

*''Langston Hughes'' (New York: Twayne. 192 pp.) *''Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America'' with Theodore L. Gross (New York: Free Press. 604 pp.) *''The Treehouse and Other Poems'' (Detroit: Broadside Press. 24 pp.) *''Panther Man'' (Detroit: Broadside Press. 32 pp.) * ''How I Write/2'' with MacKinlay Kantor and Lawrence Osgood (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 256 pp.) *''Black Man Abroad: The Toulouse Poems''(Detroit: Lotus Press. 76 pp.) *''A Chisel in the Dark (Poems Selected and New)'' (Detroit: Lotus Press. 73 pp.) *''A Poet's Mind'' (New York: Regents. 85pp.) *''The Broken Bowl (New and Collected Poems)'' (Detroit: Lotus Press. 85 pp.) *''Deadly James and Other Poems'' (Detroit: Lotus Press. 82 pp.) *''The Quagmire Effect'' *''Whole Grain: Collected Poems, 1958–1989'' (Detroit: Lotus Press. 396 pp.) *''De la rage au cœur'' with Jean Migrenne and Michel Fabre (Thaon, France: Amiot/Lenganey. 173 pp.) *''Blues in Black and White'' *''Reaching for Mumia: 16 Haiku'' *''Jazz from the Haiku King'' *''The Force and the Reckoning''


References


External links


James Emanuel's homepage
* Watson, Douglas. "James A. Emanuel." ''Afro-American Poets Since 1955'', edited by Trudier Harris-Lopez and Thadious M. Davis, Gale, 1985. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 41. ''Gale Literature Resource Center'' * Emanuel, James A. “ oetry James A. Emanuel.” ''African American Review'', vol. 29, no. 1, 1995, pp. 92–92 * Emanuel, James A. “Christ, One Morning.” ''Phylon'', vol. 30, no. 1, 1969, pp. 100–100 * Emanuel, James A. “Snowman.” ''Phylon'', vol. 26, no. 4, 1965, pp. 419–419 * Dan Schneider
"Whole Grain: The Collected Poems of James A. Emanuel"
''The Simon'', February 16, 2006 *Anthony Zanetti
Review of Whole Grain: The Collected Poems of James A. Emanuel
December 3, 2007


Online audio interview with Emanuel

Nebraska-Born Poet Finds Fame Overseas
by Avishay Artsy, Nebraska Public Radio interview with Emanuel {{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel, James African-American poets People from Alliance, Nebraska 1921 births 2013 deaths Howard University alumni Writers from Nebraska Northwestern University alumni Columbia University alumni City College of New York faculty Academic staff of the University of Toulouse Academic staff of Grenoble Alpes University Academic staff of the University of Warsaw American expatriates in France 20th-century American poets 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American writers United States Army personnel of World War II American expatriates in Poland