An Editor Writes: Short Stories and Poems by Jessie Redmon Fauset

by Jessie Redmon Fauset, Lula Caress (Editor)

This collection illuminates the creative breadth of Jessie Redmon Fausset, a driving force of the Harlem Renaissance who made her mark as an editor, literary critic, novelist, poet, and author of short fiction. Though best recognized as a novelist and pioneer in publishing who amplified marginalized voices, Fausset was a gifted writer across multiple genres. For the first time, An Editor Writes brings together all of Fausset's short fiction and poetry, from psychologically incisive character studies to vivid snapshots of African American life. Fausset explored provocative questions about race, identity, class, and gender that still resonate today, often portraying Black Americans' struggle for equality and individuality. Her poetry demonstrates her flair for stirring emotion through vivid imagery and concise lyrical expression. The anthology also includes her lively short stories and whimsical poems for children from The Brownies' Book, the first magazine for African American children, which she helped establish, showcasing her warm spirit and commitment to inspiring young Black readers. This volume encapsulates Fausset's legacy as a creative force who shaped African American literature and culture while producing her accomplished writing. An Editor Writes offers today's readers an opportunity to rediscover the many dimensions of this trailblazer who both enriched and helped define the Harlem Renaissance.

270 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2023

About the author

Jessie Redmon Fauset was an American editor, poet, essayist and novelist.

Fauset was born in Fredericksville, an all-black hamlet in Camden County, New Jersey, also known as Free Haven (now incorporated into the borough of Lawnside, New Jersey). She was the daughter of Anna "Annie" Seamon and Redmon Fauset, a Presbyterian minister. Her mother died when she was still a young girl. Her father remarried Bella Huff (a white woman), and they had three children, including civil rights activist and folklorist Arthur Fauset (1899–1983).

Fauset attended Philadelphia High School for girls, and graduated as the only African American in her class. After high school Fauset graduated from Cornell University in 1905, and is believed to be the second black woman elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She later received her M.A. in French from the University of Pennsylvania. Fauset came to the NAACP's journal, The Crisis, in 1912. From 1919 to 1926 she served as the literary editor of The Crisis under W. E. B. Du Bois. Eventually 58 of her 77 published works first appeared in the journal's pages. She is the author of four novels, There Is Confusion (1924), Plum Bun (1928), The Chinaberry Tree: A Novel of American Life (1931), and Comedy, American Style (1933). She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Fauset worked as a schoolteacher for many years and retired from teaching in 1944. She died in 1961 from heart failure.