Search results
There’s a long, and strong, tradition of African-American writing stretching back centuries, and the annals of literature are filled with amazing African-American poets and poems. Below, we introduce just ten of the very best poems by African-American poets, covering over 250 years.
- Maya Angelou, world-renowned author of numerous poetry collections: “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”
- Valerie June Hockett, author of Maps for the Modern World: “I’ve been busy and need to slow my little tail down and sit and meditate somewhere. I do my walking meditations every day, but just to sit still.
- Amanda Gorman, youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history and the author of The Hill We Climb: “There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it.
- Reyna Biddy, author of A Psalm for Us and I Love My Love: “You’re allowed to miss the people who were bullets to you, but you’re not allowed to let them shoot you again.”
People also ask
Who are the most influential black poets?
Who are some African-American Poets?
Who wrote American Negro Poetry?
Why are black poets important?
- Tyehimba Jess on "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks. "We Real Cool" is the poem so many of us know from grade school: the Seven (that sacred number of the seeker, the thinker, the mysterious) at the Golden Shovel (the shovel be golden but be ready to dig your grave).
- Safiya Sinclair on "won't you celebrate with me" by Lucille Clifton. What a balm and a blessing this poem has been to me. I have carried this sonnet—both an ode to the self and also an act of resistance—inside me like gospel, like armor.
- Rickey Laurentiis on "Heartbeats" by Melvin Dixon. “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off,” said Dickinson, “I know that is poetry.”
- Rowan Ricardo Phillips on "American History" by Michael S. Harper. Michael S. Harper’s “American History” is one of the great poems of our or any other language.
Poet and writer Langston Hughes stood at the center of the Harlem renaissance, and advocated the preservation and communication of African American traditions across the genres of music, poetry, and theater. His own poetry often used the musical patterns of spirituals and the blues as received forms.
Poems for Black History Month - To celebrate Black History Month in February—and the rich tradition of African American poetry all year long—browse essays on literary milestones and movements, find important books on black history and poetics, look for lesson plans for Black History Month, read archival letters from classic African American ...
Apr 19, 2021 · Paul Laurence Dunbar. Best-known poem: “We Wear the Mask” Paul Laurence Dunbar, who wrote during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is credited as one of the first...
Feb 2, 2018 · “Peach Picking,” Kwame Dawes. “The First Book,” Rita Dove. “After Birth,” Camille T. Dungy. “Do any black children grow up casual?,” Harmony Holiday. “Blues on a Box,” Langston Hughes. “Blind Boone’s Pianola Blues,” Tyehimba Jess. “I Hope It Rains at My Funeral,” Kevin Young. More poetry available for free PDF download: Winter Poems. Flower Poems.
