“The poems of that rising young negro poet, William Stanley Braithwaite have been collected under the general title ‘Lyrics of life and love.’”—R. of Rs.
“A poet of the race in which both the gloom of life and its wildest joys meet with prompt response. Neither his metres nor his moods are classic in suggestion, and his wayward rhythms have the attractiveness of undisciplined grace, but his melody is unmistakable and his images are haunting.”
| + | N. Y. Times. 10: 50. Ja. 28, ‘05. 150w. |
“Verse is musical, clear, and forceful.”
| + | R. of Rs. 30: 759. D. ‘04. 30w. |
Branch, Anna Hempstead. Shoes that danced and other poems. [**]$1.10. Houghton.
“In the present volume ... there are sinewy dramatic sketches, meditative monologues, child verses, lyric odes, and fragments of dramatic narrative, all marked by fluent, unconventional music, and strong, unconventional phrase. Yet the mood of wonder that underlies all of it is singularly integral.”—Nation.
“Poetry that is at once full, sometimes a little too full, of temperament, and in the truest sense of the word, ‘significant’, both in its own quality, and in its relation to some of the deeper moods of the hour.” Ferris Greenslet.
| + | Atlan. 96: 421. S. ‘05. 680w. |
“Miss Branch’s work exhibits a mind saturated with English poetry—particularly its naive older forms—and prettily echoes a variety of manners. It is touched with mysticism, and has considerable imaginative reach. Many of the pieces are marred by obscurity and an obvious straining for effect.” Wm. M. Payne.