CHURCH REVIEW                  427

poetry: "We shall await in hopeful expectation, the
maturing of Mr. Dunbar's great genius and the sus-
tained trial of his power, till he stand crowned by the
serious of the world as 'black, but comely' in the propor-
tion of all his poetic parts."
  Mrs. Josie D. Heard became known to the public
some time ago by the publication of a little volume of
verse appropriately styled "Morning Glories." Out of
this volume, the assistant superintendent of Wanamak-
er's great Sunday school in Philadelphia selected verses
to illustrate the golden text of the current Sunday
School lesson. These verses were printed on cards and
distributed by hundreds.      Mrs.  Heard's poems  are
worthy of a careful perusal, and are sure to give pleas-
ure to the reader. As in the case of Mr. Dunbar, we
feel that Mrs. Heard has yet to do her best work in this
direction.
  Robert Clayton, who has written any number of beau-
tiful poems for the  Christian Recorder, among them,
"The Greatest Gift" and "The Death of Summer," writes
with grace and dignity.  Miss Cordelia Ray has given
to the public a volume of sonnets that has been favor-
ably commented upon by the Anglo-Saxon press. Some
time ago Miss Ray contributed a little gem of poetry
entitled"Niobe," to the columns of the A. M. E. REVIEW.
February 1894, a poem dedicated to Richard Allen fell
under my notice in the columns of the Christian Re-
corder. Since then, from the pages of a scrap book, it
has been read again and again with increased pleasure.
It is a strong poem, well written, and exceedingly
rhythmical. Added to this, it possesses sufficient dra-
matic power to render it suitable for recitation. The
author is Dr. H. T. Johnson, editor of the Christian
Recorder.  Listen:




			

African Methodist Episcopal Church Review, Vol. 14, Num. 4

Afro-American Poets and Their Verse

Davis

Volume:  14
Issue Number:  04
Page Number:  421
Date:  04/1898