List of African American poets explained

This is a list of notable African American poets. For other African Americans, see Lists of African Americans.

• Ron Allen, poet, playwright^[1]
• Elizabeth Alexander, poet, essayist, playwright^[2]
• Maya Angelou, novelist, poet, and activist^[3]
• Amiri Baraka, poet, writer, activist, and essayist^[4]
• Gwendolyn B. Bennett, poet, writer, journalist, and artist^[5]
• Arna Bontemps, poet, novelist, and librarian^[6]
• Gwendolyn Brooks, poet, author, teacher^[7]
• Lucille Clifton, poet, writer, and educator^[8]
• Jayne Cortez, poet, activist, publisher^[9]
• Countee Cullen, poet, novelist, and playwright^[10]
• Frank Marshall Davis, poet, journalist^[11]
• Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet, novelist^[12]
• Krista Franklin, poet, visual artist^[13]
• Nikki Giovanni, poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator^[14]
• Frances E. W. Harper, poet^[15]
• Yona Harvey, poet, professor^[16]
• Robert Hayden, poet, essayist, and educator^[17]
• Gil Scott-Heron, poet, author^[18]
• Langston Hughes, poet, activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist^[19]
• Erica Hunt, poet, essayist, and teacher^[20]
• Marilyn Nelson, poet, translator, professor^[21]
• Pat Parker, poet, activist^[22]
• Ishmael Reed, poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, playwright, editor, and publisher^[23]
• Sonia Sanchez, poet, playwright, essayist, educator, and activist^[24]
• Patricia Smith, poet, playwright, author, teacher, and journalist^[25]
• Tracy K. Smith, poet, educator^[26]
• Natasha Trethewey, poet, professor^[27]
• Alice Walker, novelist, writer, poet, and activist^[28]
• Phillis Wheatley, poet^[29]
• Richard Wright, novelist, poet, and essayist^[30]
• Al Young, poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor^[31]
• Kevin Young, poet, professor, editor, and literary critic^[32]

See also

• List of African-American writers
• List of African-American nonfiction writers

Notes and References

1. http://www.poetshouse.org/title.asp?title=3714 Poets House
2. Web site: Elizabeth Alexander: Biography and CV . January 15, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090204012032/http://elizabethalexander.net/biography.html . February 4, 2009 .
3. News: Maya Angelou: 'I'm fine as wine in the summertime. November 13, 2013. Younge. Gary. The Guardian. December 13, 2013. London. November 3, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191103032740/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/nov/14/maya-angelou-interview. live.
4. News: Amiri Baraka, legendary poet who never abandoned Newark, dead at 79 . NJ.com . January 9, 2014 . January 10, 2014.
5. Web site: Bennett, Gwendolyn (1902-1981) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. www.blackpast.org. March 28, 2009. 2018-05-10.
6. Web site: Arnaud Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973). Wynn . Linda T.. 1996. Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee. Annual Local Conference on Afro-American Culture and History, Tennessee State University. May 24, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100602104342/http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Bontemp.htm. June 2, 2010 . live.
7. News: Watkins, Mel. Mel Watkins (American writer). December 4, 2000. Gwendolyn Brooks, Whose Poetry Told of Being Black in America, Dies at 83. The New York Times. live. September 13, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20140306170033/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/04/books/gwendolyn-brooks-whose-poetry-told-of-being-black-in-america-dies-at-83.html. March 6, 2014.
8. David Gura, "Poet Lucille Clifton: 'Everything Is Connected'", NPR, February 28, 2010.
9. Web site: . Jayne Cortez 1934–2012 . 2022-03-31 . poets.org.
10. Web site: About Countee Cullen's Life and Career. Early. Gerald. Gerald Early. MAPS: Modern American Poetry Site . 30 September 2022.
11. Web site: Frank Marshall Davis: Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Winner . 2021-02-25 . Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
12. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/paul-laurence-dunbar "Paul Laurence Dunbar"
13. News: Aolie, Peyton . Krista Franklin's Like Water exhibit explores female ability to shapeshift. The Chicago Maroon. October 15, 2015. April 25, 2016.
14. Jane M. Barstow, Yolanda Williams Page (eds), "Nikki Giovanni", Encyclopedia of African American Women Writers (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007), p. 213.
15. Bacon. Margaret Hope. 1989. "One Great Bundle of Humanity": Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911). The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 113. 1. 21–43. 20092281. 0031-4587.
16. News: A review of Yona Harvey' s poetry collection Hemming the Water. Schneider. Mike. June 26, 2013. Pittsugh City Paper. 17 March 2014.
17. Web site: Poet Laureate Timeline: 1971-1980 . Library of Congress . 2008 . December 19, 2008.
18. News: Rohan B.. Preston. September 20, 1994. Scott-Heron's Jazz Poetry Rich In Soul. The Chicago Tribune. June 6, 2011. February 7, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120207223926/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-09-20/news/9409200225_1_gil-scott-heron-songs-spiritual-journey. live.
19. News: Langston Hughes Just Got a Year Older. Schuessler. Jennifer. The New York Times. August 9, 2018 . August 9, 2018. en.
20. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/erica-hunt Erica Hunt
21. Web site: Poetry Society of America . Announcing the 2012 Frost Medalist, Marilyn Nelson . October 1, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170914040018/http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/blog/announcing_the_2011_frost_medali/ . September 14, 2017 . dead .
22. Web site: Rebel Girls from Bay Area History: Pat Parker, Lesbian Feminist Poet and Activist. April 30, 2018. KQED. en-us. June 23, 2019.
23. Web site: About Ishmael Reed's Life and Work. Elliot Fox. Robert. Modern American Poetry website. September 20, 2011. February 6, 2010. October 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181017105058/http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/reed/about.htm. dead.
24. Jazmyn Burton, "Philadelphia names Sonia Sanchez first poet laureate", Temple News Center, January 28, 2012. Retrieved on November 21, 2014.
25. News: December 22, 2014. Library of Congress Awards Patricia Smith the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, Feb. 17.
26. Web site: Tracy K. Smith . Academy of American Poets . April 18, 2012.
27. News: Pulitzer Prize Winner Trethewey Discusses Poetry Collection . April 25, 2007 . . June 7, 2012.
28. Web site: Once (1968). Alice Walker The Official Website for the American Novelist & Poet. September 28, 2010 . March 12, 2017.
29. Book: Scruggs, Charles . Portraits of American Women: From Settlement to the Present. registration. 1998. Oxford University Press. New York. 106. Phillis Wheatley. 978-0-19-512048-6. G. J. . Barker-Benfield.
30. Web site: Richard Wright (1908–1960) . October 7, 2008 . Mullen . Bill . Modern American Poetry . . December 17, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081217062139/http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/r_wright/r_wright.htm . dead .
31. Web site: Genzlinger . Neil . April 23, 2021 . Al Young, Poet With a Musical Bent, Is Dead at 81 . April 24, 2021 . The New York Times.
32. News: Bowley . Graham . Kevin Young, Poet and Author, Is Named to Lead African American Museum . 1 October 2020 . . 30 September 2020 . 30 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200930233205/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/arts/design/kevin-young-to-lead-african-american-museum.html . live .