May Miller



May Miller (January 26, 1899 - February 8, 1995) was an African-American poet, playwright and educator. Miller became known as the most widely published female playwright of the Harlem Renaissance, with seven published volumes of poetry during her career as a writer.

Life
Miller was born in Washington, D.C., to Kelly and Anna May Miller, one of the Millers' five children. Kelly Miller, born shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation, was the first African-American student to attend Johns Hopkins University, and later became one of the pioneers of sociology. Miller began writing poetry at an early age, buying a pair of earrings with her first earnings. While attending Dunbar High School Miller studied under the writers Mary P. Burrill and Angelina Weld Grimke. She graduated in 1920 from Howard University, where she won an award for her play Within the Shadows. Miller did graduate work in poetry and drama at American University and Columbia University, followed by twenty years teaching English and speech at Frederick Douglass High School, in Baltimore, Maryland. Miller also lectured at Monmouth College, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and Phillips Exeter Academy.

Writing
Miller's entry into the cultural scene of the Harlem Renaissance began with the publishing of her play The Bog Guide in 1925. Her work claimed third place in the play category for Opportunity magazine's Literary Prize Contest in 1925. Miller sought through her writing to portray black people with a level of respect and dignity that had been absent in drama. Inspired by the work of the Chicago Imagists and Archibald Macleish, Miller turned her writing towards poetry in the 1940s.

Poetry

 * Into the Clearing. Charioteer Press, 1959.
 * Poems. Cricket Press, 1962.
 * Lyrics of Three Women. Linden Press, 1964.
 * Not That Far. Solo Press, 1973. ISBN 978-0-941490-12-2
 * The Clearing and Beyond. Charioteer Press, 1974.
 * Dust of Uncertain Journey. Lotus Press, 1975. ISBN	9780916418052
 * Halfway to the Sun. Washington Writers Publishing House, 1981.
 * The Ransomed Wait. Lotus Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0-916418-40-3
 * Collected Poems. Lotus Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-916418-70-0

Plays

 * The Bog Guide - 1925
 * Scratches - 1929
 * Stragglers in the Dust - 1930
 * Nails and Thorns - 1933