Celebrating Black Poets

Read African American poets who have impacted readers around the world, including beloved writers like Alice Walker and Langston Hughes and contemporary favorites like Terrance Hayes and Robin Coste Lewis.

1

Celebrations

by Maya Angelou

More than a writer, Angelou is a chronicler of history, an advocate for peace, and a champion for the planet, as well as a patriot, a mentor, and a friend. To be shared and cherished, the wisdom and poetry of Maya Angelou proves there is always cause for celebration.

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2

Brown

by Kevin Young

The prize-winning author of Blue Laws meditates on all things “brown” in this powerful collection. A testament to Young’s own–and our collective–experience, Brown offers beautiful, sustained harmonies from a poet whose wisdom deepens with time.

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3

The Weary Blues

by Langston Hughes

Nearly ninety years after its first publication, this celebratory edition of The Weary Blues reminds us of the stunning achievement of Langston Hughes, who was just twenty-four at its first appearance.

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4

The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks

by Gwendolyn Brooks

Starting with A Street in Bronzeville (1945), her epoch-making debut volume, The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks traces the full arc of her career in all its ambitious scope and unexpected stylistic shifts.

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5

Sister Outsider

by Audre Lorde

Presenting the essential writings of black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider celebrates an influential voice in twentieth-century literature.

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6

A Poem Traveled Down My Arm

by Alice Walker

Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and acclaimed poet Alice Walker reveals her remarkable philosophy of life. A Poem Traveled Down My Arm is a lovely collection of insights and drawings, charming and humorous, provocative and profound.

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7

The Black Poets

by Dudley Randall

“The claim of The Black Poets to being… an anthology is that it presents the full range of Black-American poetry, from the slave songs to the present day.” – from the Introduction by Dudley Randall

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8

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin

by Terrance Hayes

A powerful, timely, dazzling collection of sonnets from one of America’s most acclaimed poets, Terrance Hayes, the National Book Award winning author of Lighthead.

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9

Voyage of the Sable Venus

by Robin Coste Lewis

Robin Coste Lewis’s National Book Award-winning debut poetry collection is a meditation on the black female figure through time.

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10

Complete Writings

by Phillis Wheatley

Read the extraordinary writings of Phillis Wheatley, sold into slavery who became a published poet.

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