"Lewis Grandison Alexander"(July 4,1900-1945)

Was an American poet,actor,playwright,and costume designer who lived in Washington D.C. and strong ties to the Harlem Renaissance period in New York.Lewis focused most of his time and creativity on poetry,and it is that he is best-known.Lewis was born in Washington D.C. As a child,he was educated in the Washington public school system.Little biographical is available on Alexander until,at the age of 17,he began writing poetry;he took special interest in Japanese forms haiku,hokku,and tanka.Lewis went on to Study at Howard University in Washington D.C. where he was an active member of the Howard Players,the school's theatre group.He later continued his studies at the University of Pennsylvania.Lewis expressed a special interest in Japanese forms and he is one of few African Americans poets to write in these styles."The Fire!! poems Langston Hughes, Helene Johnson,and Lewis deserve recognition as important modernist verse because they make key forms of modern poetry-free verse,imagism,and dramatic monologue- into racial critique.His notoriety as a poet can best be exemplified by his publication in many popular journals and magazines.Throughout his career,he was published regularly with other major Harlem Renaissance figures such as Langston Hughes,Gwendolyn Bennett, and Countee Cullen.Lewis wrote an article on the top of Japanese hokku that was published,along with two of his poems, in the December 1923 edition of The Crisis.He was published several times in Opportunity:Journal of Negro Life, a popular literary magazine associated with the Harlem Renaissance edited by Charles Spurgeon Johnson,from 1925 to 1929.The first of these appearances occurred in a trio of African-themed poems alongside poems by Langston Hughes and Claude McKay.Lewis most popularly anthologized work,a short poem entitled "Negro Woman"was published in Opportunity at least twice and appears in multiple anthologies in 1927,Lewis,along with many others poets (most notably Langston Hughes) and writers set out to create a literary quarterly expressing the Black experience in America.Unfortunately, Fire!! only produced one issue due to the burning of the magazine's headquarters.In this one issue,Lewis published two poems: "Little Cinderella",a poem often thought to be about a young,black prostitute,and another short verse entitled "Dream Song."Although Lewis did not live in Harlem,he was an active participant in the Harlem  Renaissance movement.His locations outside of Harlem helped spread the inventive new thinking that flourished at the time in New York.After writing extensively in Washington,Lewis moved around the country and joined whichever literary circle that existed in his new city.In Philadelphia,he was associated with a group of young writers who were commonly published in the small-time "Black Opals" literary magazine.In Boston he appeared in the "Saturday Evening Quill."Lewis was influential at the University of North Carolina where he served as honorary editor for special issues of The Carolina Magazine,the official literary publication of the students of the University,which featured black poets and writers.With his help(he selected works from Crisis and Opportunity writing and poetry contest),the magazine continued to publish Negro Poetry Numbers and Negro Play Numbers).The continued issues of Negro Poetry Numbers were dedicated to Lewis.Although he is best known for his work as a poet,Lewis was also a playwright,actor,and costume designer.After participating in the theatre while attending Howard University,Lewis joined the play writers circle of Washington D.C. there,he directed all the plays put on the Randall Community Center in Washington as well as all the plays put on by Ira Aldridge players. He studied and toured with The Ethiopian Art Theatre /players.During their 1923 tour,in which they opened for Broadway,Lewis appeared in Oscar Wilde's Salome and The Comedy of Errors.