What was the ideology of the “open secret” with respect to same-sex orientations in 1920s Harlem?
(1)What was the ideology of the “open secret” with respect to same-sex orientations in 1920s Harlem? How did Nugent conform to or challenge this framework in his life and work?
(2) A post for discussion:
For this week, please choose one element (illustration, poem, or other text) from Fire!! to present to your classmates, drawing on the background information in the Wirth reading. We are taking a break from our small groups this week to participate in a forum with the class as a whole.
Fire!! was a literary magazine published by artists, writers, and thinkers associated with the Harlem Renaissance, including writers Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes, as well as artists Aaron Douglas and Richard Bruce Nugent. Only one issue appeared in 1926, but it has since achieved legendary status. NOTE: the first few pages of the PDF are retrospective material that was appended to the magazine on the occasion of its republication–the actual facsimile starts a bit later.
Try to respond to the following in about 200 words.
1. What element have you chosen? Describe it and relate it to the context of the publication. What is your element like, and how does it fit into the magazine as a whole? Take a look at this excellent resource on How to Read a Magazine (Links to an external site.) for ideas.
2. How does the Wirth reading help contextualize it?
3. What does this object tell us about aesthetics, race, gender, and sexuality in the context of the Harlem Renaissance? Does this material connect to any of the ideas that we have previously encountered?
