Misplaced Pages

Cordelia Ray: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 23:16, 19 September 2015 editJRW03 (talk | contribs)431 edits →Work← Previous edit Latest revision as of 09:57, 15 December 2024 edit undoЯ сошла с ума (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users6,110 edits Changing short description from "American poet" to "American poet (1852–1916)"Tag: Shortdesc helper 
(69 intermediate revisions by 27 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American poet (1852–1916)}}{{Infobox person
'''Henrietta Cordelia Ray''' (August 30, 1852 - 1916) was an ] poet and teacher. She was the sister of ]. She was born in New York City to Charlotte Augusta Burrough and clergyman, abolitionist, and newspaper publisher ], and named for his first wife, ].
⚫ | name = Henrietta Cordelia Ray
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1852|08|30}}
| birth_place = ]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1916|01|05|1852|08|30}}
| occupation = poet, teacher
| parents = ]<br>]
⚫ }}


'''Henrietta Cordelia Ray''' (August 30, 1852 – January 5, 1916) was an ] poet and teacher. Her parents were notable ], and had worked for the ] in ].<ref name="ugapress.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ugapress.org/book/9780820357645/forms-of-contention/|title = Forms of Contention: Influence and the African American Sonnet Tradition}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Snodgrass |first=Mary Ellen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWusBwAAQBAJ |title=The Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations |date=2015-03-26 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-317-45416-8 |pages=675 |language=en}}</ref>
⚫ In 1891 Cordelia graduated from the ] with a ] in ]. She also studied French, German, Greek and Latin at the Saveneur School of Languages.<ref>Brown, Hallie Q. “Homespun Heroines and Other Women of Distinction.” Aldine Publishing Company, Xenia Ohio, 1926</ref> She became a schoolteacher, but stopped teaching in order to write.<ref name=Osborne>{{cite web|last=Osborne|first=Tonya Michelle|title=Charlotte E. Ray: A Black Woman Lawyer|publisher=Stanford Law School|url=http://wlh-static.law.stanford.edu/papers/RayC-Osborne01.pdf|accessdate=30 April 2014}}</ref>


==Biography==
⚫ ]
Cordelia Ray was born in New York City, to parents ] and ]. She was named for her father's first wife, ]. She had six siblings including two sisters, Charlotte and Florence.
⚫ Ray's ] "Lincoln" was read at the unveiling of the ] in ] in April 1876. A memoir of her father, written with her sister Florence, was published by ] in 1887.<ref name=AAR>{{cite web|title=Henrietta Ray|url=http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/henrietta-ray-fine-black-poet-and-biographer|work=African American Registry|accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name=sketch>{{cite book|last=Ray|first=Florence|title=Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Charles B. Ray|year=1887|publisher=J.J. Little|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OQneMgEACAAJ|first2=Henrietta Cordelia|last2=Ray|accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref> Her ''Sonnets'' were printed, also by Little, in 1893, and her ''Poems'' were published in 1910.


⚫ In 1891, Ray graduated from the ] with a ] in ]. She also studied French, German, Greek and Latin at the Saveneur School of Languages.<ref>] ''Homespun Heroines and Other Women of Distinction''. Xenia, Ohio: Aldine Publishing Company, 1926.</ref> She became a schoolteacher, but stopped teaching in order to write.<ref name=Osborne>{{cite web|last=Osborne|first=Tonya Michelle|title=Charlotte E. Ray: A Black Woman Lawyer|publisher=]|url=http://wlh-static.law.stanford.edu/papers/RayC-Osborne01.pdf|accessdate= April 30, 2014}}</ref>
⚫ Ray died in 1916.


⚫ Ray's ] "Lincoln" was read at the unveiling of the ] in ] in April 1876. A memoir of her father, written with her sister Florence, was published by ] in 1887.<ref name=AAR>{{cite web|title=Henrietta Ray, a fine Black poet and biographer|url=https://aaregistry.org/story/henrietta-ray-a-fine-black-poet-and-biographer/|work=African American Registry|accessdate=October 31, 2018}}</ref><ref name=sketch>{{cite book|last=Ray|first=Florence|title=Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Charles B. Ray|year=1887|publisher=J.J. Little|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQneMgEACAAJ|first2=Henrietta Cordelia|last2=Ray|accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref> Her collection ''Sonnets'' was printed, also by Little, in 1893, and her ''Poems'' was published in 1910.
==Work==


⚫ Ray died on January 5, 1916.
⚫ Ray published a volume of poetry entitled ''Sonnets'' in 1893 including sonnets on Milton, Shakespeare, Raphael, and Beethoven.<ref>Sonnets. New York: Press of J.J. Little & Co., 1893</ref> Ray's reputation rests on her 1912 volume, from which poems were republished widely in anthologies in the early twentieth century.<ref>Jesse Fauset, “What to Read,” The Crisis 4:4 (August 1912): 183. </ref> Ray's work has re-emerged in scholarship of the twenty-first century.<ref>Looney, Dennis, ''Freedom Readers: The African American Reception of Dante Alighieri and the Divine Comedy''. University of Notre Dame Press, 2011.</ref><ref>Antonella Francini, “Sonnet vs. Sonnet: The Fourteen Lines in African American Poetry” RSA Journal 14/2003. 45.</ref> Her poem on the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Overture<ref>http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182743</ref> is notable:


==Sonnets==
To those fair isles where crimson sunsets burn,
⚫ ]" (1876), in Washington, D.C.|alt="Emancipation Memorial" (1876), in Washington, D.C.]]
We send a backward glance to gaze on thee,
Ray's ''Sonnets'' (1893) was a short book of 12 sonnets on ], ], ], and ], among other subjects.<ref>Ray, H. Cordelia, ''Sonnets''. New York: Press of J.J. Little & Co., 1893.</ref> Her sonnet on the ]an revolutionary ] is notable for its engagement in black politics (absent from her earlier verse) and for its allusions to ]'s famous sonnet :<ref>Ray, Henrietta Cordelia, at ].</ref><ref name="ugapress.org"/>
Brave Toussaint! thou was surely born to be

A hero; thy proud spirit could but spurn
<blockquote>
Each outrage on the race. Couldst thou unlearn
To those fair isles where crimson sunsets burn,<br>We send a backward glance to gaze on thee,<br>Brave Toussaint! thou was surely born to be<br>A hero; thy proud spirit could but spurn<br>Each outrage on the race. Couldst thou unlearn<br>The lessons taught by instinct? Nay! and we<br>Who share the zeal that would make all men free,<br>Must e’en with pride unto thy life-work turn.<br>Soul-dignity was thine and purest aim;<br>And ah! how sad that thou wast left to mourn<br>In chains ’neath alien skies. On him, shame! shame!<br>That mighty conqueror who dared to claim<br>The right to bind thee. Him we heap with scorn,<br>And noble patriot! guard with love thy name.<ref name=Banks>Banks, M. O. (2000). ''HENRIETTA CORDELIA RAY. African American Authors, 1745–1945: Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook'', 366.</ref></blockquote>
The lessons taught by instinct? Nay! and we

Who share the zeal that would make all men free,
⚫ Ray's reputation as a poet rests primarily on her early poem to ] and on ] from her 1910 volume, which were republished widely in anthologies in the early twentieth century.<ref>], "What to Read", '']'' 4:4 (August 1912): 183.</ref> Her work has been rediscovered in twenty-first-century scholarship.<ref name="ugapress.org"/><ref name=Banks /><ref>Looney, Dennis, ''Freedom Readers: The African American Reception of Dante Alighieri and the Divine Comedy''. University of Notre Dame Press, 2011.</ref><ref>Francini, Antonella, "Sonnet vs. Sonnet: The Fourteen Lines in African American Poetry", '']'' 14/2003. 45.</ref>
Must e’en with pride unto thy life-work turn.
Soul-dignity was thine and purest aim;
And ah! how sad that thou wast left to mourn
In chains ’neath alien skies. On him, shame! shame!
That mighty conqueror who dared to claim
The right to bind thee. Him we heap with scorn,
And noble patriot! guard with love thy name.


==Publications== ==Publications==
Line 32: Line 33:
* ''Poems''. New York: Grafton Press, 1910 * ''Poems''. New York: Grafton Press, 1910


{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Ray, H. Cordelia (Henrietta Cordelia), 1852?-1916}} {{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|lcheading= Ray, H. Cordelia (Henrietta Cordelia), 1852?–1916}}


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* at Digital Schomburg African American Women Writers of the 19th Century.
* {{Librivox author |id=12031}}


{{Persondata
⚫ | NAME = Ray, Henrietta Cordelia
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American political activist
| DATE OF BIRTH = August 30, 1852
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1916
| PLACE OF DEATH =
⚫ }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Henrietta Cordelia}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Henrietta Cordelia}}
] ]
] ]
] ]
⚫ ]
] ]
]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
⚫ ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 09:57, 15 December 2024

American poet (1852–1916)
Henrietta Cordelia Ray
Born(1852-08-30)August 30, 1852
New York City
DiedJanuary 5, 1916(1916-01-05) (aged 63)
Occupation(s)poet, teacher
Parent(s)Charlotte Augusta Burroughs
Charles B. Ray

Henrietta Cordelia Ray (August 30, 1852 – January 5, 1916) was an African American poet and teacher. Her parents were notable abolitionists, and had worked for the Underground Railroad in Manhattan.

Biography

Cordelia Ray was born in New York City, to parents Charlotte Augusta Burroughs and Charles B. Ray. She was named for her father's first wife, Henrietta Ray. She had six siblings including two sisters, Charlotte and Florence.

In 1891, Ray graduated from the University of the City of New York with a master's in pedagogy. She also studied French, German, Greek and Latin at the Saveneur School of Languages. She became a schoolteacher, but stopped teaching in order to write.

Ray's ode "Lincoln" was read at the unveiling of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C. in April 1876. A memoir of her father, written with her sister Florence, was published by J. J. Little & Co. in 1887. Her collection Sonnets was printed, also by Little, in 1893, and her Poems was published in 1910.

Ray died on January 5, 1916.

Sonnets

"Emancipation Memorial" (1876), in Washington, D.C.
"Emancipation Memorial" (1876), in Washington, D.C.

Ray's Sonnets (1893) was a short book of 12 sonnets on Milton, Shakespeare, Raphael, and Beethoven, among other subjects. Her sonnet on the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Overture is notable for its engagement in black politics (absent from her earlier verse) and for its allusions to William Wordsworth's famous sonnet "To Touissaint L'Overture":

To those fair isles where crimson sunsets burn,
We send a backward glance to gaze on thee,
Brave Toussaint! thou was surely born to be
A hero; thy proud spirit could but spurn
Each outrage on the race. Couldst thou unlearn
The lessons taught by instinct? Nay! and we
Who share the zeal that would make all men free,
Must e’en with pride unto thy life-work turn.
Soul-dignity was thine and purest aim;
And ah! how sad that thou wast left to mourn
In chains ’neath alien skies. On him, shame! shame!
That mighty conqueror who dared to claim
The right to bind thee. Him we heap with scorn,
And noble patriot! guard with love thy name.

Ray's reputation as a poet rests primarily on her early poem to Abraham Lincoln and on sonnets from her 1910 volume, which were republished widely in anthologies in the early twentieth century. Her work has been rediscovered in twenty-first-century scholarship.

Publications

  • Sketch of the life of Rev. Charles B. Ray. New York: Press of J.J. Little & Co., 1887
  • Sonnets. New York: Press of J.J. Little & Co., 1893
  • Poems. New York: Grafton Press, 1910
Library resources about
Cordelia Ray
By Cordelia Ray

References

  1. ^ "Forms of Contention: Influence and the African American Sonnet Tradition".
  2. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2015-03-26). The Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations. Routledge. p. 675. ISBN 978-1-317-45416-8.
  3. Brown, Hallie Q. Homespun Heroines and Other Women of Distinction. Xenia, Ohio: Aldine Publishing Company, 1926.
  4. Osborne, Tonya Michelle. "Charlotte E. Ray: A Black Woman Lawyer" (PDF). Stanford Law School. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  5. "Henrietta Ray, a fine Black poet and biographer". African American Registry. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  6. Ray, Florence; Ray, Henrietta Cordelia (1887). Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Charles B. Ray. J.J. Little. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  7. Ray, H. Cordelia, Sonnets. New York: Press of J.J. Little & Co., 1893.
  8. Ray, Henrietta Cordelia, "To Touissaint L'Overture" at Poetry Foundation.
  9. ^ Banks, M. O. (2000). HENRIETTA CORDELIA RAY. African American Authors, 1745–1945: Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook, 366.
  10. Fauset, Jessie, "What to Read", The Crisis 4:4 (August 1912): 183.
  11. Looney, Dennis, Freedom Readers: The African American Reception of Dante Alighieri and the Divine Comedy. University of Notre Dame Press, 2011.
  12. Francini, Antonella, "Sonnet vs. Sonnet: The Fourteen Lines in African American Poetry", RSA Journal 14/2003. 45.

External links

Categories: