Fun Facts Friday: William Braithwaite

William Braithwaite (6 December 1878 – 8 June, 1962) was a poet, writer and critic from Boston, MA.

Books by William Braithwaite*

1. Braithwaite’s father was from a wealthy Guiana family, while his mother was the daughter of a slave from North Carolina.
2. At age 12, the writer’s father passed away and he was forced to quit school and support the family.
3. When, at age 15, the young Mr. Braithwaite was apprenticed to a typesetter he discovered his love to poetry and began to write his own literature.
4. Mr. Braithwaite started writing for The Boston Evening Transcript in 1906. He also wrote for other publications such as the New York Times, The New Republic, and Atlantic Monthly.
5. Eventually, Mr. Braithwaite became the literary editor for The Boston Evening Transcript.
6. In 1935 the author became a professor of creative literature at Atlanta University.
7. In 1918 Mr. Braithwaite was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP.
8. Some of the poets Mr. Braithwaite admired were John Keats, William Wordsworth, and Percy Shelley.
9. Together with is wife, Emma Kelly, he had seven children.
10. After retiring from his post at Atlanta University, 1946, the Braithwaite family lived in Harlem, NY where Mr. Braithwaite continued to write and publish.

Books by William Braithwaite*

Zohar – Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account