Though he wrote a master's thesis on contemporary figures in the Harlem Renaissance in African American arts, he was never identified with any particular movement. Tolson was widely published in major literary publications, won numerous poetry awards and was named poet laureate of Liberia in 1947. His work was at times the subject of debate, especially in the turbulent 1960s, because he often chose historical, intellectual subject matter and focused little on politics or ideology. Shifts in literary fashions to more informal poetic styles have added to Tolson's neglect, said Nelson, an American literature scholar and former U.Va. Arts and Sciences dean who has had a longstanding interest in Tolson's work.
Many modern poets have that problem.
We should certainly read it as a controversial treatise about race in the United States and for its robust anatomy of the roles, responsibilities, and enigmas of the African American artist. These are important issues of both the moment and the long haul.