Anne Spencer
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Anne Spencer – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes
Discover the life, poetry, activism, and lasting legacy of Anne Spencer: Harlem Renaissance poet, librarian, gardener, and voice for civil rights, along with her memorable quotes and lessons.
Introduction
Anne Bethel Spencer (née Bannister; later also Anne Bethel Scales) (February 6, 1882 – July 27, 1975) was an American poet, civil rights advocate, teacher, librarian, and gardener.
While she lived most of her life in Virginia—far from the epicenter of the Harlem Renaissance—she became an influential literary figure, whose home functioned as a salon for prominent African American thinkers and whose poems addressed race, nature, and human dignity.
Her work continues to be cited in anthologies, and her life is honored through the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum.
Early Life and Family
Anne Spencer was born Annie Bethel Bannister on February 6, 1882, in Henry County, Virginia, to Joel Cephus Bannister and Sarah Louise Scales, both born into or descended from enslaved people.
Her parents separated when she was still young, and she was raised primarily by her mother, who later moved with Anne to Bramwell in West Virginia.
In Bramwell, Anne lodged with the Dixie family, a prominent African American household. Because her mother believed local schools were inadequate, Anne initially did not attend school, but spent time reading catalogs (e.g. Sears & Roebuck) and exploring nature—behaviors that nurtured her imaginative and poetic sensibilities.
When her father threatened to take her away unless she was schooled, Anne’s mother enrolled her in Virginia Seminary (now Virginia University of Lynchburg) at age 11.
Anne excelled academically, eventually graduating in 1899 as valedictorian.
Youth, Education, and Early Career
After graduation, Anne taught in West Virginia towns such as Elkhorn and Maybeury from 1899 to 1901.
In 1901, she married Charles Edward Spencer (whom she met while at seminary).
By 1903, the Spencers had moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, where they built their home at 1313 Pierce Street. That home and its garden would become central to Anne’s life, writing, and activism.
In Lynchburg, Anne became involved in local educational and civil rights efforts. She worked as a librarian at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School from 1923 to 1945, supplementing a bare collection by donating books from her own library.
Literary Work and Activism
Entry into Poetry
Though Anne wrote poetry in her youth, her first published poem dates to 1920: “Before the Feast at Shushan,” published in The Crisis. She was about 40 at that time.
Her poetry attracted the attention of James Weldon Johnson, a prominent figure in the NAACP and the Harlem Renaissance. Johnson advocated for Anne’s work, and helped get her published through H. L. Mencken.
Over her lifetime, fewer than thirty poems were published, but they appeared in influential anthologies, connecting her to the Harlem Renaissance despite her location in Virginia.
She was one of the first African American women—and the first woman from Virginia—to be included in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry (1973).
Themes, Style, and Influence
Anne Spencer’s poetry often weaves together nature imagery, religious and mythological motifs, and reflections on race, identity, and social justice.
Her poems are known for economy of phrase, compression of thought, and a subtle but powerful voice.
One of her better-known protest-style poems is “White Things,” which uses the contrast between black and white imagery to critique racial inequality.
Her poetry also drew from her beloved garden and the solace it provided; her garden retreat, Edankraal, was built by her husband and named for “Edward + Anne + kraal.”
Civil Rights and Community Engagement
Beyond poetry, Anne Spencer and her husband were active in the NAACP, helping to establish the Lynchburg branch in 1913.
Their home became a center for African American intellectual life: luminaries such as Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, Marian Anderson, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., and James Weldon Johnson were among their guests.
She also engaged in local activism for equality and educational opportunity.
Legacy and Influence
Anne Spencer died at age 93 on July 27, 1975, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was buried alongside her husband in Forest Hills Cemetery.
Her home and garden are preserved as the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum, open to the public and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Posthumously, her poetry was collected in Time’s Unfading Garden: Anne Spencer’s Life and Poetry (1977).
She is remembered as a pioneering figure—both a regional and national poet of voice and integrity—and as a symbol of resistance, cultivation (in a literal and metaphorical sense), and the power of art in social justice.
In 2020, the U.S. Postal Service honored Spencer with a Forever stamp celebrating figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
Personality, Talents, and Characteristics
Anne Spencer combined a gentle, introspective nature with conviction and keen perception. She understood how to live simultaneously in the world of nature, in the realm of daily labor and community engagement, and in the realm of poetic imagination.
Her role as gardener and botanist was not merely a hobby, but a source of spiritual and creative nourishment—her garden metaphors are woven into her verse.
She showed perseverance: although she began publishing relatively late in life, she remained productive and engaged into old age.
Her ability to host and foster intellectual conversation in her home reflected both hospitality and commitment to community uplift—a psychological “anchor” for many writers and activists in her era.
Her quiet courage is also evident in her poetic and social stances. She did not shy from addressing issues of race and inequality, often in subtle but cutting imagery.
Famous Quotes of Anne Spencer
Here are several well-attributed quotes by Anne Spencer:
“It is dangerous for a woman to defy the gods;
To taunt them with the tongue’s thin tip,
Or strut in the weakness of mere humanity,
Or draw a line daring them to cross.”
“I proudly love being a Negro woman — it’s so involved and interesting.”
“One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.”
“Let me learn now where Beauty is; I was born to know her mysteries…”
“Guilt pins a fig-leaf; Innocence is its own adorning.”
“Is any prophet come to teach a new thing
Now in a more apt time?”
Additionally, from Lib Quotes:
“We trekked into a far country, My friend and I. Our deeper content was never spoken, But each knew all the other said.”
“Once the world was young / For I was twenty and very old / … Now the world is old and I am still young…”
These lines reflect her interplay between interior life, friendship, time, and the silences between people.
Lessons from Anne Spencer
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It’s never too late to begin
Though Anne’s first poem was published when she was about 40, she continued writing and influencing long afterward. -
Root your art in place and community
Her deep connection to Lynchburg, her garden, and her home did not limit her impact—it deepened it. -
Quiet power can resist loudly
Her poems often used subtle imagery and metaphor to comment on racial injustice and human dignity. -
Cultivate multiple roles
Anne was not just a poet but also a librarian, educator, gardener, activist, and host. Her multiple identities enriched each other. -
Legacy is built by preservation and sharing
Her home’s preservation as a museum, and her garden’s symbolism, ensure her voice continues to resonate.
Conclusion
Anne Spencer’s life and work remind us that poetry, when rooted in earnest reflection and moral concern, can transcend geography and time. Though she wrote from Virginia—outside the pulse of Harlem—her voice became part of the chorus of the Harlem Renaissance and American letters.
Her garden, her home, her kindness, and her courage animate her legacy. Her quotes carry the weight of conviction and beauty, urging us to see, resist, and cherish.
Explore more of her poems, visit the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum (if you can), and let her lines continue to echo in your own journey of voice, place, and justice.
Cite this Page:
All information here is drawn from the sources below:
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Poetry Foundation, “Anne Spencer”
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Encyclopedia Virginia, “Anne Spencer (1882–1975)”
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Academy of American Poets, “Anne Spencer”
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Anne Spencer Museum & Garden, biography page
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National Women’s History Museum, biography
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AZQuotes (for quotes)
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Lib Quotes (for additional quotes)