Articulated with elegant metaphor, in straightforward prose, or with wry wit, the carefully selected and thoughtfully organized quotations come together to form a narrative that entertains, informs, and in the case of aspiring writers, shows the way to better writing.

This revised and expanded version of the collection contains twice the number of poems found in the original, many of them never before reprinted, and adds eighteen new female voices from the Harlem Renaissance, once again striking new ground in African American literary history. Also new to this edition are nine period illustrations and updated biographical introductions for each poet.

Shadowed Dreams features new poems by Gwendolyn B. Bennett, Anita Scott Coleman, Mae V. Cowdery, Blanche Taylor Dickinson, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Jessie Redmon Fauset, Angelina Weld Grimké, Gladys May Casely Hayford (a k a Aquah Laluah), Virginia Houston, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Helene Johnson, Effie Lee Newsome, Esther Popel, and Anne Spencer, as well as writings from rediscovered poets Carrie Williams Clifford, Edythe Mae Gordon, Alvira Hazzard, Gertrude Parthenia McBrown, Beatrice M. Murphy, Lucia Mae Pitts, Grace Vera Postles, Ida Rowland, and Lucy Mae Turner, among others.