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- 105 votes. Langston Hughes. Fine Clothes to the Jew, Black Misery, Not Without Laughter.
- 110 votes. Maya Angelou. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Sister, Sister.
- 59 votes. Gwendolyn Brooks. In the Mecca; Poems, Annie Allen.
- 52 votes. James Baldwin. Go Tell It on the Mountain, Another Country, Notes of a Native Son.
- Etheridge Knight. Etheridge Knight is a black poet with a fascinating story. He started writing poetry while he was jailed in the Indiana State Prison.
- Lucille Clifton. Lucille Clifton was an African American poet who, between 1979 and 1985, was Poet Laureate of Maryland. She was twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry and won several awards such as the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, National Book Award for Poetry, and Lannan Literary Award for Poetry.
- Yusef Komunyakaa. Yusef Komunyakaa is a poet who grew up during the Civil Rights movement’s commencement and started writing in 1973. As a result, his poetry focuses on the suffering of black people.
- Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in international literature and a symbol in Harlem Renaissance. He was one of the first jazz-poetry innovators and the vast majority of his poems talk about the struggles of black people.
People also ask
Who are the best African American Poets?
What is the 100 Best African American Poetry?
Why are African American Poets important?
Who was the first Negro poet?
- Maya Angelou. Acclaimed American poet, author and activist Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. Often referred to as a spokesman for African Americans and women through her many works, her gift of words connected all people who were “committed to raising the moral standards of living in the United States.”
- James Baldwin. Though he spent most of his life living abroad to escape the racial prejudice in the United States, James Baldwin is the quintessential American writer.
- Amiri Baraka. Born in 1934, poet, writer and political activist Amiri Baraka used his writing as a weapon against racism and became one of the most widely published African American writers.
- Octavia Butler. In a genre known for being traditionally white and male, Octavia Butler broke new ground in science fiction as an African American woman.
- Lynnette Nicholas
- Poets are interpreters. There are many types of poetry in the world, from love poems that will make you swoon to nature poems and protest poems that examine the world around us in very different ways.
- Countee Cullen. Best-known poems: “Incident” and “Heritage” Countee Cullen was one of the most significant Black poets of the Harlem Renaissance. A graduate of New York University who went on to get a master’s degree in English from Harvard, Cullen was one of the most famous voices of the early 20th century.
- Jean Toomer. Best-known poem: “Blue Meridian” Jean Toomer was a famous Black poet and novelist whose work impacted the Harlem Renaissance and modernist literary movements.
- Langston Hughes. Best-known poems: “Harlem” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Langston Hughes isn’t just one of the most well-known Black poets of the early 20th century—he’s one of the most celebrated American poets, period.
In the 1960s, when this essay was published, Hughes’ refusal to convey a definitive political stance in his work caused some tension within the African American community, where conversation was dominated by the voices of Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael. “200 Years of Afro-American Poetry” was originally intended as the ...
Nov 1, 2010 · A Poet's Anthology Of African American Poetry African Americans have made large contributions to the literature of the United States especially in poetry. The award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni has selected for this volume 100 (or so) of the best poems written by African Americans. The book is accompanied by a CD of readings of 36 of the poems.
"Cane" is a collection of vignettes and poems that depict the life of African-Americans in both the rural South and urban North during the early 20th century. The narrative explores themes of racial identity, cultural heritage, and the African-American experience, blending elements of fiction, poetry, and drama.
