Cotter, Joseph S., Jr.

Joseph S. Cotter, Jr. was born in Louisville, KY, to Maria F. and Joseph S. Cotter, Sr. A graduate of Louisville Central High School, he was enrolled at Fisk University when he became sick and was sent home, where he later died of tuberculosis. His sister, Florence Olivia Cotter, was also enrolled in Fisk when she came down with tuberculosis; she died in 1914. Cotter, Jr. was a gifted poet and playwright; he wrote The Band of Gideon and other Lyrics, published in 1918; a book of one act plays; and a number of unfinished sonnets. For more see Lost Plays of the Harlem Renaissance, 1920-1940, by J. V. Hatch and L. Hamalian; and Negro Poets and Their Poems, by R. T. Kerlin.