Poems For Loyal Hearts

New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons, 1914. First edition. 8vo, 173pp, original green cloth with gilt lettering, deckled edges. A collection of Catholic devotional poetry by the reverend at St. Gabriel's Church in Manhattan, including a chapter of poetry written for African Americans. According to the preface, "Many of the following verses, now given with some alterations, were permitted to appear at various times in the Catholic World, the Ave Maria, the Rosary, the New York Freeman's Journal, the Troy Daily Press, the Children of Providence, and Our Colored Missions..." A chapter titled "In Freedom's Name" contains a collection of poems meant to appeal to the African American population, including the poem "Benedict the Moor," which, according to Jeffrey Wheatley's "The Church of St. Benedict the Moor: Propagating and Contesting Black Catholicism in New York City, 1883-1920" used hagiography to frame the Black experience, telling "the story of a sixteenth-century saint with language that would appeal to African Americans struggling in New York City in the wake of emancipation and the failure of Reconstruction." The poem tells the story of a saintly black skinned man: "To the Convent gate, near Palermo town, A young lay brother came; His skin was black and his garments poor. But the monks had heard his name. They knew how blameless his life had been...The son of a negro slave. And their love increased as years went on." In excellent condition, mild damp stain to upper edge of a few pages, hint of wear to spine tips. Item #6272

Price: $75.00

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