Jessie Redmon Fauset: Out of the shadows
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The purpose of this project is to reclaim a lost woman writer, Jessie Fauset, by detailing her contributions to literature during the Harlem Renaissance. Fauset's contribution as literary editor at The Crisis, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) journal, was three fold: mentor and editor, journalist and critic, and creative writer. Fauset's contribution as an editor and mentor was to promote women writers and issues, build self esteem of black readers by encouraging pride in cultural heritage, transform stereotypes of Blacks and build a community of African American writers. Despite the “quality” of the works she reviewed, Fauset's philosophy on writing emerges from her critical commentary. Fauset's creativity as a writer of poetry, essays and fiction is evident in the creative work she published in The Crisis. Fauset was much more than a novelist, and she made important contributions both on and off the page.