Sterling A. Brown

Sterling A. Brown attended Williams College in 1918. While at Williams, he received the Graves Prize for his essay, "The Comic Spirit in Shakespeare and Moliére." In 1923, he received his master's degree in English from Harvard University. His first book, Southern Road was published in 1932. Throughout many of his writings, he expressed concern about race and was influenced by the blues, jazz, work songs, and spirituals significant to the Harlem Rennaissance. With the arrival of the depression, he was unable to get other work published. He taught at Howard University until he retired in 1969. His second book, The Last Ride of Wild Bill was published in 1975.

Brown published various poems throughout the Harlem Renaissance and was a very successful poet. His style was that of understanding and his poems reflected the Harlem Renaissance well.