John Michael CooperSep 24 min readREDISCOVERING WILL DIXON AT 145The latter-day rediscovery of musical and theatrical polymath Will Dixon offers today's world a much-needed opportunity -- and a challenge
John Michael CooperMar 24, 20234 min readMARGARET BONDS, LANGSTON HUGHES, AND THE JOY OF “JOY”: A Conspirare Premiere and a Gratuitous Youthful Photo Langston Hughes’s poem Joy was first published in the collection The Weary Blues...
John Michael CooperJan 2, 20222 min readTHE FIRST LIVE RECORDING OF AN AFRO-MODERNIST “COTTON DANCE” (ca. 1940) BY FLORENCE B. PRICEperformed by Michael Lu On New Year’s Eve of the rough-and-tumble year 2021 I got a fabulous musical surprise – 365 days late. The...
John Michael CooperDec 3, 20212 min readOUR PROMISES TO THE WORLDA Teacher Bids a Fond Farewell (for now) to His Fine Students and an Adventurous Course [Background: Yesterday was the last regular class...
John Michael CooperAug 28, 20214 min readFLORENCE PRICE V. LANGSTON HUGHES AT THE “FEET O’ JESUS” Langston Hughes’s relationship with the Christian church was . . . complicated. Except that it wasn’t. While he acknowledged that the...
John Michael CooperMar 7, 20213 min readTHE BEAUTY OF BLACKNESSFlorence B. Price’s “Night” (Text by Bessie Mayle) The poetry, music, and other artworks of the Harlem Renaissance and Chicago Black...