Helene johnson poet biography
Helene Johnson was..
Helene Johnson
American poet
Helen Johnson (July 7, 1906 – July 7, 1995) was an African-American poet during the Harlem Renaissance.
Helen Johnson (July 7, – July 7, ) was an African-American poet during the Harlem Renaissance.
She is remembered today for her poetry that captures both the challenges and the excitement of this era during her short-lived career.
Background
Helen (Helene) Johnson was born on July 7, 1906, to Ella Benson and George William Johnson in Boston, Massachusetts.[1]
Her mother, Ella Benson, is categorized as a domestic worker.
Her father, George William, left soon after her birth and there is minimal information about him. She was raised by her mother and her grandfather, Benjamin Benson.
Confident and accomplished, Johnson published 28 poems, and wrote a total of 34, some of which were not published until Mitchell's This Waiting for Love.Her mother was the child of former slaves. When growing up, Johnson was raised in a town near Boston that was named Brookline.
Johnson was named after her maternal grandmother, Helen Pease Benson, who, along with her maternal grandfather, Benjamin Benson, was born into slavery in Camden, South Carolina.
The pair produced three daughters together