“From his very beginning in this country the Negro has been, without the formal recognition of literature and art, creative.”

Affirming a creative tradition that existed long before receiving institutional recognition · Essay, The Negro in American Literature

• Art
• Creativity
• History

“Only gradually through the dull purgatory of the Age of Discussion, has Negro life eventually issued forth to an Age of Expression.”

Describing the movement from being discussed by others towards creative self-expression · Essay, The Negro in American Literature

• Freedom
• Identity
• Literature

“There is an influence more mystical than the average critic gives credit for being which is reshaping the foundation of our poetic ideals and visions.”

Recognising cultural forces in poetry that resist straightforward critical explanation · Introduction, Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1921

• Criticism
• Mystery
• Poetry