Anne Spencer was born in 1882 in Virginia. Though her father was born into chattel slavery, both of her parents represent the first generation of Black Americans who grew up after slavery was outlawed. For most of her own childhood, Spencer was not expected to do chores or to attend the local school, allowing her unlimited play and self-guided exploration. During this formative time, she developed a deeply curious outlook and true connection with plants and nature that proved essential to her role as poet and activist. Spencer did not learn to read until she was 11 years old, when she was enrolled in school for the first time. From this point on, Spencer used poetry to express herself creatively, to delve into philosophy and reflection. She excelled at her schooling and graduated as the valedictorian of her class when she was 17 years old. A few years later, she married Edward Spencer and together they built a home in Lynchburg, Virginia. Their home, and the infamous garden that she cultivated there, became a pivotal place for Black intellectuals, artists, and revolutionaries to gather and organize. The home was often a detour made by civil rights leaders travelling between the North and South. In fact, her poetry career began when she hosted James Weldon Johnson, poet and leader within the NAACP, with the intention to open a chapter of the organization there in Lynchburg. While staying with Spencer and her husband, Johnson came across some of her poetry. He was so completely taken by her work that he connected her with his own publisher. Her first poem was published when she was 40 years old. Later, her work would be featured in “The New Negro,” by Alain Locke. Spencer demanded equity for all oppressed people and was a bold advocate for Black youth. One remarkable moment of this advocacy was when she fought for the Black youth in the community to have the same access to knowledge and books as the white youth. She marched into the “whites-only” library and demanded that they open a library for Black youth...a few months later, a branch was opened in connection with the local Black high school. Spencer served as the librarian there for over twenty years.

[This is one of four featurettes written to support the USPS and their Voices of the Harlem Renaissance stamps series. To read more, visit The Codex.]

This image may be photographic overkill.

Start with a Canon F-1, maybe the finest 35mm SLR that Canon ever made, and add to that a waist level finder.  This may not blow your mind, but it does make life much more interesting.  Then, add to that, the 85mm f/1.2 SSC Aspherical lens to the front... perhaps, a camera dream come true? ⠀ ⠀

In most cases, you'd be right, except we wanted to ramp it up a notch.  In this image, the subject of the F-1's attention is a Canon 7 with the, highly coveted, 50mm f/0.95 "dream lens."  A bit over the top?   Perhaps, but it is also a powerful reminder of just how much we love our Canons.

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The Canon 85mm f/1.2 is like a gaping hole in your camera, through which light pours.

Super fast lenses such as this can be tricky to photograph.  It is hard to convey the same qualities one appreciates when looking through such a lens mounted on a camera.  The heft and mass of all that glass make for a very tactile experience and the large oculus of glass is quite an impressive thing to look through.

Having said that, we think this photo is heading in the right direction, in terms of imparting a sense of the light-gathering ability these lenses possess.

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