Anita Scott Coleman Explained

Anita Scott Coleman
Birth Date:November 27, 1890
Birth Place:Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico
Death Date:March 27, 1960 (aged 69)
Death Place:Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation:Writer

Anita Scott Coleman (November 27, 1890 – March 27, 1960) was an American writer born in Mexico and raised in New Mexico.

Early life

Anita Scott was born in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico in 1890, the daughter of William Henry Scott and Mary Ann Stokes Scott.[1] Her parents were American; her father was a Buffalo Soldier from Virginia, and her mother was a laundry worker, born under slavery in Florida.[2] She was raised on a ranch near Silver City, New Mexico, where her father worked for the railroad. She trained as a teacher at the New Mexico Teachers College, graduating in 1909.[3]

Career

Coleman wrote dozens of short stories, poems, silent film scenarios, and a children's book, The Singing Bells (1961).[4] [5] She also wrote a novel, Unfinished Masterpiece.[6] Her poetry was published in volumes, Small Wisdom (1937) and Reason for Singing (1948).[7] Her poems were also included in Negro Voices (1938)[8] and Ebony Rhythm (1948).[9] [10] Her stories and essays were published in national Black outlets including Opportunity, Half-Century Magazine, The Messenger, The Crisis,[11] [12] and The Pittsburgh Courier,[13] between 1919 and 1943.[14] Scholarly interest in her works has grown in recent years,[15] positioning her as a Western response to the Harlem Renaissance,[16] and as an Afro-Latinx writer.

She moved to Los Angeles with her husband and children in 1926,[17] and managed a boarding house. She won awards for her writing from The Crisis and from the Robert Browning Poetry Contest.[18] [19] In 1946, she was appointed chair of the YWCA advisory board at the University of Southern California.[20]

Personal life and legacy

In 1916, Anita Scott married James Harold Coleman, a photographer and printer. They had five children born between 1917 and 1928;[21] daughters Willianna and Mary were also poets as young women. Coleman died in Los Angeles in 1960. Two collections of her writing were published in 2008, by Texas Tech University Press,[22] and the University of Oklahoma Press. Her grandson Douglas Jackson, a professor at Elizabeth City State University, has given presentations about her life.[23]

There is a state historic marker about Coleman near the Silver City Visitor Center in Grant County, New Mexico,[24] dedicated in 2015.[25]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Mitchell, Verner D. "A Family Answers the Call: Anita Scott Coleman, Literature, and War" War, Literature and the Arts 20(2008): 301-313.
  2. Defares, Giselle. "Anita Scott Coleman: Afro-Latinx Writer of the Harlem Renaissance" BESE (April 20, 2018).
  3. http://townofsilvercity.org/DocumentCenter/View/798/Famous-Figures---Anita-Coleman "Famous Figures of Silver: Anita Scott Coleman"
  4. Book: Coleman, Anita Scott. The Singing Bells. 1961. Broadman Press. en.
  5. Champion, Laurie and Bruce A. Glasrud, Eds. Unfinished Masterpiece: The Harlem Renaissance Fiction of Anita Scott Coleman. Lubbock TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2008.
  6. Web site: Hattum. Fatima van. 2019-03-22. Anita Scott Coleman. 2021-02-19. NewMexicoWomen.Org. en-US.
  7. Book: Coleman, Anita Scott. Reason for Singing. 1948. Decker Press. en.
  8. Book: Murphy, Beatrice M.. Negro Voices. 1938. H. Harrison. en.
  9. Book: Murphy, Beatrice M.. Ebony Rhythm: An Anthology of Contemporary Negro Verse. 1948. Exposition Press. 978-0-598-53490-3. en.
  10. Young. Mary E.. 1997. Anita Scott Coleman: A Neglected Harlem Renaissance Writer. CLA Journal. 40. 3. 271–287. 44324976. 0007-8549.
  11. Web site: January 8, 1930. Letter from W. E. B. Du Bois to Anita Scott Coleman. 2021-02-19. W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, University of Massachusetts Amherst. en.
  12. News: 1926-10-28. Negro Prize Winners. 9. Des Moines Tribune. 2021-02-19. Newspapers.com.
  13. News: Coleman. Anita Scott. 1941-10-11. Unofficial Broadcast. 13. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2021-02-19. Newspapers.com.
  14. News: 1943-08-14. Next Week's Story. 13. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2021-02-19. Newspapers.com.
  15. Book: The Sleeper wakes : Harlem renaissance stories by women. 1993. Serpent's Tail . London . 978-1-85242-317-9.
  16. Book: Coleman, Anita Scott. Western echoes of the Harlem Renaissance : the life and writings of Anita Scott Coleman. 2008. University of Oklahoma Press. Cynthia J. Davis, Verner D. Mitchell. 978-0-8061-3956-2. Norman. 212432556.
  17. News: Sayers. Emma Lue. 1926-11-06. Ink Slingers. 16. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2021-02-19. Newspapers.com.
  18. News: 1940-04-25. Anita Scott Coleman Victor in California Poets Contest. 17. California Eagle. 2021-02-19. Newspapers.com.
  19. News: 1940-04-16. Three to Talk Today for U. R. Writers Week. 13. The San Bernardino County Sun. 2021-02-19. Newspapers.com.
  20. News: 1946-02-07. Matron Appointed to Board on S. C. Campus. 11. California Eagle. 2021-02-19. Newspapers.com.
  21. News: 1943-08-21. The Author. 13. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2021-02-19. Newspapers.com.
  22. Henderson. Carol E.. 2009. Unfinished Masterpiece: The Harlem Renaissance Fiction of Anita Scott Coleman. African American Review. en. 43. 2–3. 516–517. 10.1353/afa.2009.0008. 161347937. 1945-6182.
  23. Web site: History for Lunch: Anita Scott Coleman: Author and Poet of the Harlem Renaissance. 2021-02-19. Museum of the Albemarle.
  24. https://www.nmhistoricwomen.org/location/anita-scott-coleman/ "Anita Scott Coleman"
  25. Web site: September 9, 2015. Anita Scott Coleman Historic Marker Dedication. 2021-02-19. Grant County Beat. en-gb.

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