Lewis G. Alexander - Dream Songs & Other Poems

Forgotten Poets #14 / forgottenpoets.substack.com

Dream Songs & Other Poems [104 pages] brings together, for the first time, a comprehensive collection of Harlem Rennaissance poet Lewis Alexander's poems, including 46 of Alexander's haiku, 8 tanka, and a generous selection of free and rhymed verse, originally published in prominent African American arts magazines throughout the 1920s, like Opportunity, The Crisis, The Messenger, Fire!!, etc. Also including two essays by Alexander, one on haiku (1923) and one on poet Georgia Douglas Johnson (1928); with restored cover art, and illustrations by Aaron Douglas.

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-: Night: -

The moonlight

Juice flowing from an over-ripe pomegranate

bursting

The cossack-crested palm trees:

motionless

The leopard spotted shade

inciting fear

silence seeds sown . . .

. . . . . . . . . . .

Forgotten Poets presents new collections of out-of-print and obscure poetry, with a focus on compressed & fragmented 'free' and 'new' verse from the late-1800s & early-1900s, & the early history of English-language tanka & haiku. Verses are carefully selected & spaciously laid-out, adorned with illustrations & ornaments from the books & magazines they originally appeared in.