From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Wilds, Myra Viola Brown
(born: August 1865 - died: October 25, 1932)Nubia Lateefa Baraka suggested this entry.
Myra Viola Brown was a dressmaker and a poet from Mt. Ollie, KY. It has been assumed that the location was Mt. Olivet, KY, though there are several small communities in Kentucky named Mt. Ollie, with one location in Allen County. Myra V. Brown may have actually meant Mt. Ollie and not Mt. Olivet. As for Wilds' education, as early as 1874 there were five colored school districts in Allen County, KY.
Much of what has been repeatedly written about Wild's life comes from the preface of her book, Thoughts of Idle Hours. The book was written in 1915, three years after Wilds lost her eyesight. According to Wilds, she wrote the poems in her own handwriting and her husband copied the poems in a book.
Myra Wilds was referred to as a blind poet in the newspapers. On November 13, 1915, there was an entire column titled "Prominent people praise the blind poetess." The column was on the front page of The Philadelphia Tribune. Her first name is sometimes mistakenly written as Mary in historical newspapers and at many present-day websites. Myra V. Wilds gave public recitations from her book, sometimes accompanied by musicians. The book was published in Nashville, TN.
Myra Viola Brown and Dodd Helems Wilds had come to Philadelphia from Kentucky and were married in Philadelphia in March of 1897. Myra's name is given as Marie Viola Brown on the marriage license. The couple is included in the 1900 Philadelphia city directory, they lived at 509 S. 20th Street. Myra was a dressmaker and Dodd was a waiter. When Myra's book was published in 1915, the couple lived at 2045 Bainbridge Street in Philadelphia.
As a younger man, Dodd H. Wilds had lived in Louisville, KY, where he was employed as a porter at the Courier-Journal. On January 1, 1885, Dodd married his first wife, Lulie Griffin, at the Knox Presbyterian Church. In 1892, Wilds' letter to the editor, "Colored Youth of To-day," was published in the Courier-Journal. Two years later, it was reported that Dodd H. Wilds and Robert Lee Anderson paid $4,250 for land on sixth street in Louisville for the development of Wilds and Anderson Park. The park opened in May of 1894.
In Philadelphia, Dodd H. Wilds (1860-1923) was employed as a bellman. He was born in Kentucky and died in Philadelphia. The informant on his death certificate was his wife, Myra Wilds. Dodd H. Wilds is buried at Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, PA. Myra V. Brown Wilds died nine years after her husband. Her occupation is given as a dressmaker on her death certificate. She is buried at Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, PA.
Myra Viola Wilds is included among the Six Poets of Racial Uplift (1996). Her poem "Thoughts" is included in Virginia's Sisters by Gabi Reigh (2023). There is also a children's book, Dream a Dress, Dream a Poem: dressmaker and poet, Myra Viola Wilds by Nancy Johnson James, illustrator Diana Ejaita (2025).
Sources:
Myra Wilds, Pennsylvania Death Certificate, File No. 88325, Registered No. 20527 (Ancestry); Dodd H. Wilds, Pennsylvania Death Certificate, File No.31758, Registered No. 7420 (Ancestry); see Dodd Wilds and Myra Wilds in Gopsill's Philadelphia City Directory for 1900, p.2442.
"Dodd H. Wells ..." The Courier-Journal, 20 December 1884, p.8; "Colored youth of to-day." The Courier-Journal, 04 October 1892, p.5; "New park to be thrown open in the spring by worthy young colored men." The Courier-Journal, 07 January 1894, p.13; "Opening of Wilds and Anderson's Park." The Courier-Journal, 14 May 1894, p.6.
"Prominent people praise the blind poetess." The Philadelphia Tribune, 13 November 1915, front page; Dodd H. Wilds at Find A Grave; Maria Viola Brown and Dodd Helems Wilds, Marriage License No.91887, Philadelphia, PA (Ancestry); "Marriage Licenses Issued." The Philadelphia Inquirer, 03 March 1897, p.9.