It was in the late 1910s and early 1920s that DuBose Heyward seriously began to pursue writing poetry and having it published. By the time of his death in 1940, however, he had given it up for novels and playwriting. Today, despite the fact that his poems have all been forgotten (a fate not entirely merited), his novels are mostly unread, and his plays remain unstaged, he has gained worldwide renown for his role in the writing of the opera Porgy and Bess.

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, on 31 August 1885, the poet was christened Edwin DuBose Heyward, although DuBose, an inheritance from his Huguenot ancestor Isaac DuBose, was the sole name by which he was known. His parents were Jane Screven DuBose Heyward and Edwin Watkins (Ned) Heyward, great-grandson of Thomas Heyward, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Had he been born earlier, Heyward would have been born into...