Achievements of Nella Larsen

1891
Birth

Nella Larsen was born in a mostly white, working-class neighborhood in Chicago.

1914
Nursing School

Larsen enrolled in the nursing school at New York City's Lincoln Hospital and Nursing Home.

1915
Head Nurse

Larsen went to work at the Tuskegee Institute Alabama and soon became the head nurse at its hospital and training school.

1916
Head Nurse

Larsen returned to New York and worked for two years as a nurse at Lincoln Hospital.

1919
Marriage

Larsen married Elmer Imes, a prominent physicist; he was the second African American to earn a PhD in physics.

1921
"Negro art" Exhibit

Larsen worked nights and weekends as a volunteer with librarian Ernestine Rose, to help prepare for the first exhibit of "Negro art" at the New York Public Library (NYPL).

1923
Graduation from NYPL Library School

Larsen became the first black woman to graduate from the NYPL Library School.

1926
Resigning

Larsen gave up her work as a librarian as she made friends with important figures in the Negro Awakening (which became known as the Harlem Renaissance).

1928
Quicksand

Larsen published Quicksand. It received significant critical acclaim and financial success.

1929
Passing

Larsen published Passing, her second novel, which was also critically successful.

1930
Sanctuary

Larsen published "Sanctuary", a short story for which she was accused of plagiarism. "Sanctuary" was said to resemble the British writer Sheila Kaye-Smith's short story, "Mrs. Adis", first published in the United Kingdom in 1919. Kaye-Smith wrote on rural themes, and was very popular in the US. Some critics thought the basic plot of "Sanctuary," and some of the descriptions and dialogue, were virtually identical to Kaye-Smith's work. However, it is clear that her intention was to depict the absurdity of Kaye-Smith’s work, yet her voice is diminished by her identity as a Black woman.

1935
Stopped Writing

Struggling with depression, Larsen stopped writing.

1937
Divorced

When her divorce had been completed, Larsen returned to New York.

1964
Passing Away

Larsen passed away in her Brooklyn apartment at the age of 72.