"Helene Johnson"[1906-1995]

Was an African American poet during the Harlem Renaissance.She was also a cousin to author Dorothy West.Helene spent her early years at her grandfather's house in Boston.The rest of her formative years were spent in Brookline Massachusetts.Helene literary career began when she won the first prize in a short story competition sponsored by the Boston Chronicles.She also received an honorable mention in a poetry contest organized by Opportunity,the journal of the National Urban League that was one of the leading showcase for the talents of African American artists.She reached the height of her popularity in 1927 when her poem "Bottled,"a work with unconvventional rhythms and innovative slang,was published in the May issue of Vanity Fair.She and Dorothy moved to Harlem in the 1920s.Helene attended Columbia University,but did not graduate.Both were a part of the Harlem Renaissance became friends with such artist as Zora Neale Hurston.In 1935,she last published poems appeared in Challenge:A Literary Quarterly.She married William Hubbel soon after and had one child,Abigail.Helene spent many years composing poems,just for herself ,contining to write a poem a day for the rest of her life,though she stopped publishing after 1937.She dide in Mnhattan