author
Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
1875–1935
A vivid voice of the early Harlem Renaissance, this poet, journalist, and activist wrote with insight about race, gender, and everyday life. Her work blends literary grace with a sharp commitment to justice.
2 Audiobooks
Violets and Other Tales
by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
The Goodness of St. Rocque, and Other Stories
by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
About the author
Born in New Orleans on July 19, 1875, Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson became a poet, short story writer, essayist, journalist, teacher, and political activist. She studied at Straight University and began publishing young, with Violets and Other Tales appearing in 1895.
She is often linked to the early Harlem Renaissance, but her life and work reached far beyond one movement. Along with writing fiction, poetry, and journalism, she taught for many years and took an active role in civil rights and women's suffrage work. Her essays and poems often explore race, gender, class, and the complicated social world she knew firsthand.
Dunbar-Nelson died in Philadelphia on September 18, 1935, yet her reputation has continued to grow. Today she is remembered not only for her literary talent, but also for the range of her career and the clarity with which she documented Black intellectual and political life in her era.