Author profile

Jean Toomer

1894–1967 · United States

An American poet and novelist associated with the Harlem Renaissance whose major early work joins verse, prose and drama across Southern and urban Black life.

Fiction Poetry

Life and context

A short timeline

1894
Born in United States.
1923
Cane published.
1967
End of the author’s recorded life.

Recurring concerns

Themes and style

migration
landscape
racial identity
artistic form

Lyrical compression, rhythmic montage, recurring images and movement between poem, sketch, story and drama.

Available here

Works by Jean Toomer

1 work in the Linden collection.

Fiction

Cane

Jean Toomer

Fiction · B1–B2 · 5 hr · Guide

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Author FAQ

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Which Jean Toomer book should I read first?

Explore Cane, then compare the lengths and subjects of the available works.

Is the author portrait historical?

This page labels the image record as historical painted portrait. See the Wikimedia Commons · Winold Reiss · Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery; reuse status: CC0 1.0 / public domain dedication.