The Heart of a Woman: And Other Poems

by Georgia Douglas Johnson

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Genres: Poetry, African American, Classics

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1918

About the author

Georgia Blanche Douglas Camp Johnson, better known as Georgia Douglas Johnson, was an American poet, one of the earliest African-American female playwrights, and a member of the Harlem Renaissance.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[ZaRi]

The heart of a woman goes forth with the dawn,
As a lone bird, soft winging, so restlessly on,
Afar o’er life’s turrets and vales does it roam
In the wake of those echoes the heart calls home.

The heart of a woman falls back with the night,
And enters some alien cage in its plight,
And tries to forget it has dreamed of the stars
While it breaks, breaks, breaks on the sheltering bars

[Kara Zone · Rating 5 out of 5]

GDJ is Lovely

It's as if I could hear her voice in each poem. Her words are rich and dark and lovely. A must read.

[Nikki Mae, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've officially found my favorite poet. Easily. I'm a sucker for allusions to nature, the human body, and religion. Rest in Peace & Power Mrs. Douglas Camp Johnson. You would've loved literally any song by Mitski.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read such nice poems.
Loved reading this book. The very last poem - "My Little Dreams" - is my favourite.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad girl poetry time

[Julia (Shakespeare and Such) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3/5 stars — I had previously read a poem of georgia douglas johnson in another collection, and I KNEW I was going to have to read more from her at some point. I’m not a big poetry girlie, but I’m so glad I dove back into her work. I love that her poems vacillate between optimism and darker moods, and the themes she picks of womanhood, youth/memory, death, etc are all so beautifully portrayed. I definitely discovered a few new faves.

Writing: 4/5
Enjoyment of subject/ideas: 5/5
Aesthetic: 4/5 (not really a fair category for a classic poetry collection so I’m giving it 4 for pure vibes)

[Courtney Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

GDJ was one of the most read writers of the Harlem Renaissance. She is concise, direct, and powerful and an absolute pleasure to read.

[Muhammad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book of short verse.

[Ursala · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this collection. There were so many times when she stopped short of taking her poetry to the next level.