Larsen, Nella
1891-1964 · Contribution: 1928-1930
Fiction of the Harlem Renaissance; novels 'Quicksand' (1928) and 'Passing' (1929) explored mixed-race identity, racial 'passing,' gender, and class
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
A central Harlem Renaissance novelist and the first African American woman to win a Guggenheim Fellowship (1930); 'Passing' remains widely taught and was adapted to film in 2021.
Life & background
African-American novelist, nurse, and librarian born April 13, 1891 in Chicago to a Danish mother and an Afro-Caribbean father. Married physicist Elmer Imes. After her literary career ended, she returned to nursing. Died March 30, 1964.
Sources
- History.com; University of Pittsburgh Library Guides
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