Black Studies: Poetry, 20th Century

Vice by Ai From Cruelty (1973) -- From Killing floor (1979) -- From Sin (1986) -- From Fate (1991) -- From Greed (1993) -- New poems.

Black Magic: Sabotage, Target Study, Black art; Collected poetry, 1961-1967 by Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) Records Baraka's journey towards Black Nationalism.

Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women by Maya Angelou Here, four of Angelou's most highly acclaimed poems are assembled in a beautiful edition that provides a feast for the eyes as well as the heart.

The Poetry of the Negro by Arna Bontemps (editor) Langston Hughes (Editor) An Anthology covering 1746-1970

Dream Farmer by Jill Witherspoon Boyer

Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks Contains a selection of poems from three earlier books: "A Street in Bronzeville," "Annie Allen," and "The Bean Eaters" as well as some new selections.

The Collected Poems of Sterling A. Brown by Sterling A. Brown; Michael S. Harper (Editor) Sterling Brown was instrumental in bringing the traditions of African-American folk life to readers all over the world. This is the definitive collection of Brown's poems.

The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 by Lucille Clifton; Toni Morrison (Foreword by); Kevin Young (Editor); Michael S. Glaser (Editor) The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 combines all eleven of Lucille Clifton's published collections with more than sixty previously unpublished poems. The unpublished works feature early poems from 1965-1969, a collection-in-progress titled Book of Days (2008), and a poignant selection of final poems.

Countee Cullen by Countee Cullen; Major Jackson (Editor) A major and sometimes controversial figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Countee Cullen fused a mastery of the formal lyric with a passionate engagement with themes social, religious, racial, and personal in such books as Color, Copper Sun, and The Black Christ.

Collected Poetry of Aimé Césaire by Clayton Eshleman (Introduction by, Translator); Annette J. Smith (Introduction by, Translator); Aimé Césaire The surrealist poetry of the noted Martinican author, Aime Cesaire, portrays Africa's fight for freedom from colonialism.

The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Give Us Each Day: the Diary of Alice Dunbar-Nelson by Gloria T. Hull (editor)

Selected Poems by Robert E. Hayden Hayden’s formal, elegant poems about the Black history and experience earned him a number of other major awards as well. Hayden eventually became the first African American to be appointed as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress

Selected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes The poems in this collection were chosen by Hughes himself shortly before his death in 1967 and represent work from his entire career, including "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "The Weary Blues," "Still Here," "Song for a Dark Girl," "Montage of a Dream Deferred," and "Refugee in America." It gives us a poet of extraordinary range, directness, and stylistic virtuosity.

Madness and a Bit of Hope by Safiya Henderson-Holmes Poems deal with homelessness, city life, family, women's issues, and the African-American experience

Bobweaving Detroit: The Selected Poems of Murray Jackson by Murray Jackson; Ted Pearson (Editor); Kathryne Lindberg (Editor) Jackson first published with Broadside Press, Detroit's and the nation's longest continuously publishing Black poetry press, after a long career of public service during which he opened Detroit's first community college and other educational and artistic venues.

When I Know the Power of My Black Hand by Lance Jeffers Jeffers might accurately be described as a black nationalist without a movement. While he spanned the decades identified with the Black Aesthetic and writers of the 1960s, he was not included in the circles of those most associated with those militant times. Yet Jeffers's political stances as a poet are culturally nationalistic and informed by a consistent appreciation of the beauty and possibilities in black people.

Fifty Years & Other Poems by James Weldon Johnson

Directed by Desire: the Collected Poems of June Jordan by June Jordan; Jan Heller Levi (Editor); Sara Miles (Editor); Adrienne Rich (Introduction by) Directed by Desire: The Collected Poems of June Jordan gathers the work from Jordan's ten books of poetry and includes many never-before-published poems - including a tender, fierce, and innovative collection of poems written before her death, in 2002, from breast cancer

The Essential Etheridge Knight by Etheridge Knight Winner of the 1987 American Book Award The Essential Etheridge Knight is a selection of the best work by one of the country's most prominent and liveliest poets. It brings together poems from Knight's previously published books and a section of new poems.

The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde by Audre Lorde Collected here for the first time are more than three hundred poems from one of this country's major and most influential poets, representing the complete oeuvre of Audre Lorde's poetry. Lorde published nine volumes of poetry which, in her words, detail "a linguistic and emotional tour through the conflicts, fears, and hopes of the world I have inhabited." Included here are Lorde's early, previously unavailable works.

Dynamite Voices: Black Poets of the 1960s by Haki R. Madhubuti (Don L. Lee), editor

The Passion of Claude McKay: Selected Poetry and Prose, 1912-1948 by Claude McKay The Radical Estrangement, 1912-1925 -- Early Articles, 1918-1922 -- The Russian Experience, 1922-1923 -- Selected Poems, 1912-1925 -- The Expatriate Years, 1923-1934 -- An Article and Letters, 1925-1932 -- Experiments in Fiction, 1928-1941 -- Looking Forward: The Final Search for Community, 1934-1948 -- Letters and Essays, 1934-1948 -- The Move to Catholicism, 1944-1948.

Gabriel Okara: Collected Poems by Gabriel Okara; Brenda Marie Osbey (Editor, Introduction by) The first Modernist poet of anglophone Africa, he is best known for The Fisherman's Invocation (1978), The Dreamer, His Vision (2005), and for his early experimental novel, The Voice (1964). Arranged in six sections, Gabriel Okara: Collected Poems includes the poet's earliest lyric verse along with poems written in response to Nigeria's war years; literary tributes and elegies to fellow poets, activists, and loved ones long dead; and recent dramatic and narrative poems.

Tug by G. E. Patterson

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf: a Choreopoem by Ntozake Shange Choreopoem performed by seven women exploring the joys and sorrows of being black and being a woman.

Some Are Drowning by Reginald Shepherd, '88 Winner of the 1993 Associated Writing Programs' Award Series in Poetry, selected by Carolyn Forche.

Harlem Gallery by Melvin B. Tolson The poet Melvin B. Tolson (1898-1966) was once recognized as one of black America's most important modernist voices. Playful, fluent, and intellectually sophisticated, his poems stirred up significant praise, and some lively criticism, during his lifetime.

The Wayward and the Seeking: a Collection of Writings by Jean Toomer by Darwin T. Turner (Editor) Autobiographical selections / Reflections of an earth-being / The early days / The maturing years / The years of wandering / The cane years / The Gurdjieff experience / Fiction / Withered skin of berries / Winter on earth / Mr. Costyve Duditch / Poetry / And pass / White arrow / Angelic eve / Honey of being / Sing yes / At sea / The lost dancer / Men / Peers / Mended / One within / The blue meridian / Drama / Natalie Mann / The sacred factory / Aphorisms and maxims.