Melvin Tolson

Quick Facts

• Born: February 6, 1898
• Died: August 29, 1966
• Education: Lincoln High School in Kansas City in 1919. Then he enrolled at Fisk University but transferred to Lincoln University, Pennsylvania

Family

• Melvin had a wife named Ruth Southall
• Together they had 4 kids, Melvin Beaunorus Tolson Jr., Arthur Lincoln,Wiley Wilson, and Ruth Marie Tolson.

Career

• He was an American Modernist poet, a teacher/educator, columnist, and politician.

His Works

• Many of his works were influenced by the Harlem Renissance
• In 1930 he began poetry
• In 1937 he wrote 2 plays
• Tolson's documents are held in the Libary of Congress

Works He is Known For

• "Dark Symphony", poetry collection Rendezvous with America, "Cabbage and Caviar", Libretto for the Republic of Liberia, rhapsodic, Harlem Gallery

Legacy

• 1947 through 2004 he had many honors and awards
• In 2007 he had a film about him called "The Great Debaters"

Video

Works Cited

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_B._Tolson

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