Browse Items (55 total)

This poem by Poon Kant Mok of the 1927 graduating class describes separation between the narrator and a hesitant lover who ultimately leaves him. The narrator encourages this lover, whom he calls "Far-to-seek," to keep going despite him.

In this poem, writer R. A. S. states his admiration for Pocahontas. He contrasts her with her native people, the "fierce Indian lads," whom he likens to barbarians. Through this poem, the author portrays his negative views on indigenous people in…

This poem contrasts the longings of two Mexican men. The first, "born into Gayety Hall," feels out of place during a visit to Mexico and wishes to be back home in busy Manhattan. The second, born in Mexico, is in the setting that the first dreams of,…

This sketch preceding the Campus Notes section of The Messenger depicts two Asian people: one is dressed in a gown with a sword on his lap as the other, dressed as a clown, is jumping over or balancing on his head. This illustration is unrelated to…

This poem reinforces ideas of hopelessness and permanence, repeating many lines and ultimately lamenting, "but you are trapped, hung in one spot / dangling over water, lost / to one world, lost in the other[.]" "Bugger" is a homophobic slang term.…

The Winter 1970 edition of the Messenger featured several photos that depicted black individuals or enterprises. The front and back covers of the magazine are photos of a shop known as Nathan's Market. Nathan's was a mini-mart on West Leigh Street in…

This short story was written by student Yeu Chor Chan from Hong Kong. This story was his first publication in English. In it, he describes a peaceful scene by a lake (possibly Westhampton Lake, as a "brick bell tower" is to the left of the narrator…

This poem from the 1954 Messenger addresses a bumpy city bus that the narrator rides, urging it to pay attention to the people that ride it. This narrator speculates about the lives and personalities of some assumedly white riders before listing off…

This "Old Piedmont Negro dialect" poem was written by a white male student masquerading as a black storyteller. Its title refers to the fictional central character, Nias, an enslaved black man who is characterized as an unintelligent, unhygenic, yet…

The narrator of this poem claims that, if he were black, he wouldn't mind being turned away from a white cemetery. The poem finishes by arguing that "it's white of them to give what tantamounts to [an integrated world], and makes us all, for what…