Biography:
Jessie Redmon Fauset was born April 27, 1882 in Camden, New Jersey.
Her parents were Redmon Fauset, an African Methodist Episcopal minister, and Annie Seamon Fauset.
Fauset studied classical languages at Cornell University and was elected to the honor society, Phi Beta Kappa. In 1919, sociologist and political activist W.E.B. DuBois asked Fauset to move to New York City and to work as an editor of the magazine, Crisis. Fauset received a Masters of Arts Degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1929 and a certificate from the Sorbonne in Paris, France.
Fauset is noted for her work at the Crisis, the official publication of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As an editor, Fauset published the works of Harlem Renaissance writers, such as Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and George Schuyler. Fauset also contributed some of her own essays, poetry, and short stories to the magazine.
Fauset also published four novels during her career as a writer. The first novel, There is Confusion, was published in 1924 and was created as a response to what Fauset believed to be an inaccurate portrayal of black life in fiction. The second novel, Plum Bun, is the story of a woman trying to make people believe she is white, and the novel is Fauset's most acclaimed piece of work. Her final two novels, The Chinaberry Tree and Comedy, American Style, did not receive as much attention as her first two works. Unfrtunately, Jessie Fauset only received a small amount of recognition and honor during her life and career as a writer. Some believe her modesty and selflessness kept her from becoming a greater figure in literature. Although she did not receive awards for her work, she is now remembered for her success in writing, editing, translating, and teaching.
Jessie Redmon Fauset died April 30, 1961 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania due to hypertensive heart disease.
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