"The Boat Is Tethered to the Floor": After the Harlem Renaissance

by Helene Johnson

Recognized as an important young voice during the Harlem Renaissance, poet Helene Johnson was thought to have stopped writing some time after 1935 when she no longer published regularly in little magazines and periodicals. With this chapbook, an original manuscript of never-before-seen poems comes to light. Titled The Boat is Tethered to the Floor, the manuscript was evidently prepared for publication by Johnson herself. Written after her move downtown in the 1960s, these poems evoke themes of desire, friendship and aging, and provide an entirely new perspective on the literature of the era.

70 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Kanye Waldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this collection and its author! I was excited all the way through. Johnson manages to convey sentiment and humor effortlessly. It left me contemplating and laughing all at once. A bona fide gem!