Black History Month: Poets and Authors

“We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans – because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings.”
– Maya Angelou

Writers are those who commits his or her thoughts, ideas, and feelings to paper. They can write plays, novels, educational papers or poetry. When you really think about it, they are the ones who color our life with words. Like when you are feeling happy or sad or even angry, words are one way to express ourselves.

The writers below are just some of those who have experienced racism, anger, violence and share what it was like – how they felt about it. They also demonstrate other sides of life like love, family, and other beautiful things in this world.

They were not only the voice of their generation, but also touch us today. We can relate to feelings whether it is fear, sadness or joy. We are thankful to them for their bravery to feel and to voice those feelings to us all.

Shimmy shimmy shimmy like my sister Kate : looking at the Harlem Renaissance through poems / edited by Nikki Giovanni

A remarkable collection of poetry by such authors as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Amiri Baraka, with commentary and a discussion of the development of African American arts known as the Harlem Renaissance.

One last word : wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance / Nikki Grimes

In this collection of poetry, Nikki Grimes looks afresh at the poets of the Harlem Renaissance — including voices like Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and many more writers of importance and resonance from this era — by combining their work with her own original poetry. Using “The Golden Shovel” poetic method, Grimes has written a collection of poetry that is as gorgeous as it is thought-provoking.

This special book also includes original artwork in full-color from some of today’s most exciting African American illustrators, who have created pieces of art based on Nikki’s original poems. Featuring art by: Cozbi Cabrera, R. Gregory Christie, Pat Cummings, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Ebony Glenn, Nikki Grimes, E. B. Lewis, Frank Morrison, Christopher Myers, Brian Pinkney, Sean Qualls, James Ransome, Javaka Steptoe, Shadra Strickland, and Elizabeth Zunon.

A foreword, an introduction to the history of the Harlem Renaissance, author’s note, poet biographies, and index makes this not only a book to cherish, but a wonderful resource and reference as well.

The Vintage book of African American poetry / edited and with an introduction by Michael S. Harper and Anthony Walton

In The Vintage Book of African American Poetry, editors Michael S. Harper and Anthony Walton present the definitive collection of black verse in the United States–200 years of vision, struggle, power, beauty, and triumph from 52 outstanding poets.

From the neoclassical stylings of slave-born Phillis Wheatley to the wistful lyricism of Paul Lawrence Dunbar . . . the rigorous wisdom of Gwendolyn Brooks…the chiseled modernism of Robert Hayden…the extraordinary prosody of Sterling A. Brown…the breathtaking, expansive narratives of Rita Dove…the plaintive rhapsodies of an imprisoned Elderidge Knight . . . The postmodern artistry of Yusef Komunyaka. Here, too, is a landmark exploration of lesser-known artists whose efforts birthed the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts movements–and changed forever our national literature and the course of America itself.

Meticulously researched, thoughtfully structured, The Vintage Book of African-American Poetry is a collection of inestimable value to students, educators, and all those interested in the ever-evolving tradition that is American poetry