Preface: Ronald Patkus

2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Jean Toomer’s innovative book Cane. This text is now recognized as a high point in the literary movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, and the centenary of its appearance provides an ideal occasion to reflect upon it and other works of the time. The Vassar Library exhibition Beauty Out of the Ashes: Printed Works of the Harlem Renaissance, 1923-1936 represents one attempt to do this. The title comes from the last line of the essay “Beauty Instead of Ashes,” written by Alain Locke, a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. On view is a representative sampling of titles as they first appeared.

The exhibition is drawn primarily from the holdings of Vassar’s Archives & Special Collections Library. Special Collections holds a number of key works of African American literature. These include first editions of Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects (1773), Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845), and Lyrics of Lowly Life (1901), by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Yet until recently there were also noticeable gaps in the collection, especially with regard to twentieth century titles. In an effort to expand the holdings, we have paid special attention to this area of collecting in recent years. Today, the collection of African American literature better supports teaching, research, and outreach activities at the College, though the work is ongoing.

A key focus of the exhibition is the literary production of the Harlem Renaissance. Works of thirteen different authors are presented. Together they provide a window into some of the key aspects of authorship during the Harlem Renaissance. At the same time, it’s also important to note that the exhibition considers not only texts, but also art, since the first editions of these works often included artwork on the dust jackets or within the book itself. By studying not just texts but also physical books, we gain a sense of the visual nature of published works, and thus a wider understanding for how works of the Harlem Renaissance were presented to their reading audience. It should be noted that since these works were products of their time, they sometimes reflect language and attitudes that are racist or otherwise offensive.

This has been a collaborative project from the start, and there are a number of people to thank for their contributions. First, I would like to thank Eve Dunbar, Professor of English on the Jean Webster Chair, for agreeing to explore this topic. Professor Dunbar has written about Jean Toomer, and her essay in the following pages provides a wonderful introduction to our topic. I also appreciate that Professor Dunbar was open to integrating this project into the teaching of her Fall 2022 course Race and its Metaphors. In fact, the students in Professor Dunbar’s course served as co-curators of the exhibition; they researched the works on view and wrote their descriptive labels. Their names are listed separately in this catalogue. I would also like to thank Caroline Culp of the Art Department for offering to work on this project; her essay on the illustrations of the Harlem Renaissance is also included in this catalogue. For their help in producing this catalogue, I would like to thank Ben Morgan, Angelina Papa, Sharyn Cadogan, Aidan Gallagher, and Dan Lasecki. I'm grateful to Nicole Scalessa for creating an excellent online version of the exhibition catalogue.

As a result of the contributions of many, we believe an intriguing exhibition and catalogue have been produced. The materials will be on display in the Vassar Library through June 10, 2023.

Ronald Patkus is Head of Special Collections and Adjunct Associate Professor of History on the Frederick Weyerhaeuser Chair