Mae Virginia Cowdery facts for kids

Mae Virginia Cowdery (born January 10, 1909 – died November 2, 1948) was an African-American poet. She lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mae was part of a big art movement called the Harlem Renaissance. This movement started in New York City.

Her Life Story

Mae Cowdery was born in 1909 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the only child of parents who worked hard and did well. Her mother was a social worker. She helped lead a group called the Bureau for Colored Children. Her father, Lemuel Cowdery, was a caterer and worked for the post office.

Mae found out she loved writing poetry when she was a child. She went to the famous Philadelphia High School for Girls. Later, she studied fashion design at Pratt Institute in New York. She did not finish her degree there. While in New York, she often visited places in Greenwich Village at night.

Early Poems and Success

Even when she was in high school, Mae started publishing her poems. In 1927, she had three poems in Black Opals. This was a new writing magazine that started that year. It was created by Arthur Fauset and Nellie Rathbone Bright. They were both teachers and writers in Philadelphia. Their group of writers was also known as the Black Opals.

One of Mae's poems in Black Opals was highly praised. A famous writer named Countee Cullen liked her work. He was an editor for a bigger magazine called Opportunity. This magazine was based in Harlem, New York. Other writing groups like the Black Opals started in cities like Washington, D.C., and Boston. The Black Opals magazine did not last long, only until 1928.

In 1927, Mae Cowdery won first prize in a poetry contest. Her poem "Longings" won the award from The Crisis magazine. Another one of her poems won the Krigwa Prize. By the late 1920s, she was well-known for her poems. She published them in many magazines and books of collected works.

Mae Cowdery published her own book of poems in 1936. It was called We Lift Our Voices: And Other Poems. She was one of the few African-American women poets to publish her own book back then. Critics thought her book was very good.

Her Published Works

• We Lift Our Voices: And Other Poems, 1936