Go There To Know There

Much like her predecessor Phillis Wheatley and her contemporary, Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen's early life and death are shrouded in pathos and tragedy. That Larsen's career assumed a similar trajectory as those women who came before her and alongside her in the literary world should be viewed as a testimony to the sometimes inescapable fate of the woman artist. Before 1970, women writers--particularly African American women writers--faced a formidable challenge when attempting to publish alongside their male contemporaries. While DuBois made the hue and cry of the Harlem Renaissance to make all "art propaganda," and to create for the purpose of racial uplift, gender uplift was lagging behind on the road to literary recognition.  Nella Larsen. Photograph by Carl Van Vechten (featured here ).  Larsen's novellas, Quicksand and Passing were her solitary publications during her long life, but these narratives were significant in their treatment and interr...