Arna Wendell Bontemps had enough careers and accomplishments for several people. He was born in Louisiana, but was educated to the baccalaureate level in California and completed a graduate degree in Chicago. He served as teacher, administrator, librarian, and visiting professor in private schools, a government agency, colleges and universities respectively and published nearly three dozen books—including novels for adult and young readers; popular histories and biographies; short story, essay and poetry collections; and anthologies of poems and folklore. He participated in the New Negro Movement in literature from 1924-1931, became a leading figure in the Depression-era Black Chicago Writers’ literary movement and, beginning in 1943, served for over two decades as head librarian at…

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Citation: Courage, Richard A.. "Arna Bontemps". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=481, accessed 19 March 2024.]

481 Arna Bontemps 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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