Literary Diva Presents: Literary Journey! Angelina Weld Grimke!

Join us as we continue our literary journey with journalist, teacher, author, playwright, and poet Angelina Grimke. Angelina grew up in a prominent bi-racial family that included both slave owners and abolishionist. She attended prestigious liberal schools in Minnesota and Massachussettes, earning a Physical Education degree at the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics. Poetry was her thing as she, in 1909 published her first widely anthologized poem, "El Beso" a lyric meditation on love. Her poems covered many subjects from the social to the romantic, although her preferred theme appeared to be love. She later turned to drama where she produced her most prominent work titled: "Rachel", which was a depiction of a lynching on an African American family and the sadness of having children in a racist society. This drama was the first by an African American playwright to be performed by African American actors for a white public. All in all Angelina is is best known for her poetry, whose hallmark is its brevity, well-wrought images, and pensive moods. Its themes range from the loss of love, especially that of a woman, to tributes to famous people, to the contemplation of nature, to philosophical and racial issues. Her love sonnets, addressed to women from the perspectives of white male personae, have led feminist scholars to reclaim her as a lesbian poet. Tune in as we journey with the one and only Angelina Weld Grimke. Stay tuned and keep it locked.